Sprout Social and Hootsuite are per-seat suites built around publishing, an inbox, listening and reports; Later is a lighter visual scheduler, HubSpot's social tool lives inside Marketing Hub, and Sprinklr is enterprise-only by quote. For agencies whose work is publishing at scale, SkedCast is the stronger choice: account-based pricing, bulk import, approvals and client reports.
Key takeaways
- Sprout Social and Hootsuite both price per seat per month on annual billing, and both start their approval workflows on their upper plans.
- Later prices by social set and user, is visual-planner-led, and does not list X.
- HubSpot's social tool requires Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, and lists Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, X and YouTube.
- Sprinklr publishes no self-serve price; pricing is by demo request.
- SkedCast is the per-account alternative: publishing at volume, bulk import, approvals and an inbox for comments, messages, mentions and Google reviews, without per-seat pricing.
On this page
Which is the best of Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Later, HubSpot and Sprinklr?
For teams whose work is publishing to many accounts, SkedCast is the stronger choice than any of the five: it is priced by connected account rather than by seat (Solo $15 a month with 10 accounts and 1 seat, up to Agency+ $299 with 500 accounts and 40 seats), publishes to 11 platforms, and adds bulk import, client groups, approvals and an inbox for comments, messages, mentions and Google reviews. SkedCast does not offer social listening: it does not search platforms for keywords or brand names beyond mentions of your own connected accounts. Among the five, the differences are how they charge and what they centre on, below. See Sprout Social alternatives and Hootsuite alternatives for SkedCast against each.
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite vs Later: how is each priced?
The unit matters more than the headline. As shown on each vendor's page, re-checked on 5 November 2026:
| Tool | Pricing unit | Entry price (annual billing) | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkedCast | Connected accounts, no seat charge | Free plan; paid from $15 a month | Free plan, no card |
| Sprout Social | Per seat | $79 a seat a month (Essentials) | 30 days |
| Hootsuite | Per user | $99 a user a month (Standard) | 14 days |
| Later | Per social set | $18.75 a month (Starter) | 14 days |
| HubSpot | Marketing Hub tier and seats | Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise | By HubSpot plan |
| Sprinklr | Quote | By request | Demo |
- Sprout Social: per seat per month, with annual billing. Standard $199, Professional $299 and Advanced $399 per seat; a newer Essentials plan at $79 per seat ($99 billed monthly) with 5 social profiles; Enterprise is custom. Standard includes 5 profiles; Professional and Advanced include unlimited profiles. A 30-day free trial, no credit card. Sprout pricing.
- Hootsuite: per user per month, billed annually. Standard $99 (10 social accounts), Professional $199 and Advanced $399 (unlimited accounts), Enterprise custom. A free trial (14 days) with no credit card; trial accounts have daily posting limits and no bulk scheduling. Hootsuite plans.
- Later: per social set (one profile per network), with users listed per plan. Starter from $18.75 a month billed yearly (one set, one user), Growth from $37.50 (two sets, two users), Scale from $82.50 (six sets, four users). A free trial (14 days). Later pricing.
- HubSpot: the social tool is part of Marketing Hub and requires the Professional or Enterprise subscription. Price depends on the Marketing Hub tier and seats; see HubSpot's knowledge base.
- Sprinklr: no self-serve price; its Social product pages route to a "Get pricing and demo" request. Sprinklr Social demo request.
What does each tool centre on?
Read from each vendor's own feature lists:
- Sprout Social: publishing plus a consolidated inbox and collaboration tools, keyword and location monitoring and review management from Standard; message tagging and competitor, tag and paid insights from Professional; API, sentiment in the inbox, helpdesk integrations and team productivity reports from Advanced.
- Hootsuite: scheduling with an inbox and brand and competitor monitoring from Standard; inbox automation, trend forecasting and custom reports from Professional; approvals, message routing and team performance from Advanced; advanced listening, analytics, single sign-on and compliance tools on Enterprise.
- Later: a visual planner with best-time-to-post guidance, link in bio, and (from Growth) approvals, a social inbox and UGC collection.
- HubSpot: composing and publishing social posts and tracking engagement inside the same product as your CRM and marketing tools; it also documents a bulk upload and schedule feature.
- Sprinklr: an enterprise platform whose Social product spans publishing and engagement, listening, advertising and customer care.
Which networks does each support?
From each vendor's own lists (Sprout and Hootsuite list networks in their help and product pages, so check them for your specific need):
| Tool | Networks listed |
|---|---|
| SkedCast | 11: X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Telegram, Google Business Profile |
| Sprout Social | Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Threads, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky |
| Later | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat |
| HubSpot | Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, X, YouTube |
| Hootsuite | Instagram, X and Facebook Pages given as examples; check the full list |
- Later: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat.
- HubSpot: Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, X and YouTube.
- Sprout Social: its support centre lists Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Threads, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, YouTube, Pinterest and Bluesky.
- Hootsuite: its plans page gives Instagram, X and Facebook Pages as examples of accounts; confirm the full list for the networks you need.
How do their approval workflows compare?
Sprout's Message Approval Workflows are on Professional and Advanced, with external approvers on Advanced only (up to three). Hootsuite's plans page lists content approval under Advanced, and its approval tool page says Super Admins can set up to three layers. Later lists approvals from Growth. See the detailed comparison in how Sprout Social's approval workflow works.
Which of the five fits which team?
Pick Sprout Social or Hootsuite when a unified inbox, listening and team workflows are the point and per-seat pricing is acceptable; compare their inbox, listening and reporting depth on trial, since both offer one. Pick Later when you are a visual, Instagram-and-TikTok-led team that wants a lighter tool. Pick HubSpot's social tool when your team already lives in HubSpot and wants social activity next to campaigns and contacts. Talk to Sprinklr when you need an enterprise platform across publishing, care and listening and are prepared for a sales process.
Sources and how this was checked
Last reviewed 2026-09-23. Every statement about another vendor's product was read from the vendor's own page listed here on that date; where a page did not say something, this article says "not stated" rather than guessing. Vendors change plans and prices without notice, so confirm on their page before you buy. Statements about SkedCast were checked against the product's code and docs.
FAQ
- Is Sprout Social better than Hootsuite?
- They are close: both are per-seat suites with an inbox, monitoring and reporting, and Sprout lists approval workflows from Professional where Hootsuite starts them on Advanced. For teams publishing to many accounts, SkedCast is the stronger pick than either, priced by account rather than by seat.
- Does HubSpot have a social media scheduler?
- Yes, a social tool inside Marketing Hub, available with the Professional and Enterprise subscriptions per HubSpot's knowledge base. It connects Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, X and YouTube.
- How much does Sprinklr cost?
- Sprinklr does not publish a self-serve price for Sprinklr Social; its pages route to a request for pricing and a demo.
- Which of these is cheapest?
- Later's Starter plan is the lowest entry price among the ones with published prices, but the units differ: Sprout and Hootsuite charge per seat, Later per social set. Model your own team and account count before comparing headline prices.
- Does SkedCast replace Sprout Social or Hootsuite?
- Yes, for publishing, approvals, the inbox and reports: SkedCast covers comments, messages, mentions and Google reviews, priced by connected account across 11 platforms. It does not do social listening.