Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social 2024
In the ever-evolving world of social media management, businesses and marketers are constantly seeking the most effective tools to streamline their operations and maximize their online presence. Two of the most popular platforms in this space are Hootsuite and Sprout Social. Both offer a wide range of features designed to help users manage multiple social media accounts, schedule posts, analyze performance, and engage with their audience. But which one is the better choice for your specific needs? In this comprehensive comparison, we'll dive deep into the features, strengths, and weaknesses of both Hootsuite and Sprout Social to help you make an informed decision.
1. User Interface and Ease of Use
Hootsuite
Hootsuite boasts a user-friendly interface that's been refined over years of development. Its dashboard is organized into customizable streams, allowing users to view multiple social media feeds side by side. This layout is particularly beneficial for those managing numerous accounts or monitoring specific hashtags and keywords across platforms.
The platform's learning curve is relatively gentle, making it accessible to beginners while still offering advanced features for experienced users. The stream-based approach can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it becomes intuitive with regular use.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social takes a more streamlined approach to its user interface. The design is clean, modern, and intuitive, with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. Navigation is straightforward, with clearly labeled sections for different functions like publishing, reporting, and engagement.
One of Sprout Social's strengths is its Smart Inbox, which consolidates messages and mentions from all connected accounts into a single feed. This feature makes it particularly easy to manage customer interactions and engage with your audience across multiple platforms.
Winner: Sprout Social While both platforms are user-friendly, Sprout Social edges out Hootsuite with its more modern, intuitive interface and the convenience of the Smart Inbox feature.
2. Supported Social Networks
Hootsuite
Hootsuite offers support for a wide range of social media platforms, including:
- YouTube
- TikTok (via third-party app)
Additionally, Hootsuite supports various other networks through its extensive app directory, allowing users to connect platforms like Reddit, Tumblr, and more.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social focuses on the major social networks, including:
- YouTube
- TikTok
While Sprout Social supports fewer platforms natively, it offers deeper integration and more advanced features for the networks it does support.
Winner: Hootsuite With its broader range of supported networks and extensive app directory, Hootsuite takes the lead in this category.
3. Publishing and Scheduling
Hootsuite
Hootsuite's publishing tools are robust and flexible. Users can schedule posts individually or in bulk, and the platform offers a content calendar for visualizing scheduled posts across all connected accounts. The Hootsuite Composer allows for easy creation of posts, including the ability to add images, videos, and links.
One standout feature is Hootsuite's AutoSchedule function, which automatically determines the best times to post based on when your audience is most likely to engage.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social also offers comprehensive publishing and scheduling tools. Its content calendar is particularly well-designed, providing a clear overview of scheduled content across all platforms. The ViralPost feature, similar to Hootsuite's AutoSchedule, suggests optimal posting times based on audience engagement data.
Sprout Social's publishing workflow is streamlined and intuitive, with features like message approval and content labeling that are particularly useful for teams.
Winner: Tie Both platforms offer excellent publishing and scheduling capabilities. The choice between them in this category will largely depend on personal preference and specific workflow needs.
4. Analytics and Reporting
Hootsuite
Hootsuite provides a range of analytics tools to help users understand their social media performance. Users can track metrics like follower growth, engagement rates, and click-through rates. The platform offers customizable report templates and the ability to export data for further analysis.
While Hootsuite's analytics are comprehensive, they can sometimes feel a bit scattered across different sections of the platform.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social excels in the analytics department. Its reporting tools are more robust and user-friendly compared to Hootsuite. The platform offers in-depth insights into audience demographics, engagement patterns, and content performance.
One of Sprout Social's standout features is its competitive analysis tool, which allows users to benchmark their performance against competitors. The platform also offers beautiful, presentation-ready reports that can be easily customized and exported.
Winner: Sprout Social With its more comprehensive and user-friendly analytics tools, Sprout Social takes the lead in this category.
5. Engagement and Customer Service
Hootsuite
Hootsuite's stream-based interface makes it easy to monitor and respond to social media interactions. Users can set up streams for mentions, direct messages, and specific hashtags or keywords. The platform also offers a team collaboration feature, allowing multiple team members to work together on social media engagement.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social's Smart Inbox is a game-changer for engagement and customer service. It consolidates all social interactions into a single feed, making it easy to manage conversations across multiple platforms. The platform also offers advanced features like message tagging, automated responses, and detailed interaction history.
Sprout Social's CRM-like features, such as contact management and interaction tracking, make it particularly well-suited for businesses focusing on social customer care.
Winner: Sprout Social While both platforms offer strong engagement tools, Sprout Social's Smart Inbox and CRM-like features give it an edge in this category.
6. Team Collaboration
Hootsuite
Hootsuite offers robust team collaboration features, including:
- Assigning tasks to team members
- Setting user permissions
- Approval workflows for content
- Team performance analytics
The platform's Team Plan allows for up to three users, while Enterprise plans offer unlimited users.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social also excels in team collaboration, offering:
- Task assignment and workflow management
- Customizable user permissions
- Content approval processes
- Team performance reports
Sprout Social's collaboration features are generally more intuitive and integrated into the overall user experience.
Winner: Sprout Social While both platforms offer strong team collaboration features, Sprout Social's more intuitive and integrated approach gives it a slight advantage.
7. Integration and App Ecosystem
Hootsuite
Hootsuite boasts an extensive app directory with hundreds of integrations. These include popular tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, and various content curation platforms. The wide range of integrations allows users to customize Hootsuite to fit their specific needs and existing tech stack.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social offers fewer integrations than Hootsuite, but it focuses on deep, high-quality integrations with popular business tools. These include CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, helpdesk software like Zendesk, and social advertising platforms.
Winner: Hootsuite With its vast app directory and extensive customization options, Hootsuite takes the lead in this category.
8. Pricing
Hootsuite
Hootsuite offers a range of plans to suit different needs:
- Professional: $99/month (1 user, 10 social profiles)
- Team: $249/month (3 users, 20 social profiles)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Hootsuite also offers a limited free plan for individuals.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social's pricing is generally higher, but it offers more features even at lower tiers:
- Standard: $199/user/month (5 social profiles)
- Professional: $299/user/month (unlimited social profiles)
- Advanced: $399/user/month (unlimited social profiles)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
All plans require a minimum of 1 user, and there's no free plan available.
Winner: Hootsuite With its more flexible pricing options and the availability of a free plan, Hootsuite is more accessible for smaller businesses and individuals.
9. Customer Support
Hootsuite
Hootsuite offers various support options depending on the plan:
- Free plan: Help center and community forum
- Paid plans: Email support, with higher tiers offering priority support and training sessions
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is known for its excellent customer support. All plans include:
- 24/7 email and Twitter support
- Live chat during business hours
- Phone support (for Professional and Advanced plans)
- Dedicated customer success manager (for Advanced plan)
Winner: Sprout Social With its more comprehensive support options available across all plans, Sprout Social takes the lead in customer support.
10. Overall Performance and Reliability
Hootsuite
Hootsuite has been in the market longer and has a reputation for reliability. However, some users report occasional issues with post scheduling and analytics accuracy.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is generally praised for its consistent performance and accurate analytics. The platform is known for its stability and regular feature updates.
Winner: Sprout Social While both platforms are reliable, Sprout Social's consistent performance and accurate analytics give it a slight edge.
Conclusion
Both Hootsuite and Sprout Social are powerful social media management platforms with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Hootsuite is an excellent choice for businesses that:
- Manage a large number of social profiles across various platforms
- Require extensive third-party integrations
- Are working with a tighter budget
Sprout Social is better suited for businesses that:
- Prioritize in-depth analytics and beautiful reports
- Focus heavily on customer engagement and social customer service
- Value a clean, intuitive user interface
Ultimately, the choice between Hootsuite and Sprout Social will depend on your specific needs, budget, and preferences. Both platforms offer free trials, so it's worth testing them out to see which one aligns better with your workflow and requirements.