Sprout Social and Zoho Social sit at opposite ends of the pricing spectrum. Sprout Social is a publicly traded enterprise platform with social listening, advocacy, and inbox management, priced per seat at $79–$399/month at annual-billing rates (as of June 2026). Zoho Social is the social scheduling tool inside the Zoho business suite — a far cheaper entry point at $15/month for one brand and one user, with a forever-free plan and platform coverage that actually edges ahead of Sprout: Zoho includes all 11 major platforms plus Telegram and WhatsApp, and crucially supports Mastodon, which Sprout does not list. This page compares the two honestly, and shows where SocialKit fits as a flat-EUR alternative that doesn’t require adopting a wider suite or paying per-seat enterprise rates.
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All three tools side by side, grouped by category. Pricing and feature availability as of June 2026.
| Feature | Sprout Social | Zoho Social | SocialKit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | |||
| Platforms supported | 10 of 11Also supports: Reddit, Snapchat | All 11Also supports: Telegram, WhatsApp | All 11 |
| Bluesky | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mastodon | No | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Business | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Pricing & trial | |||
| Entry price | $79/seat/mo (Essentials, annual billing)$99/seat/mo billed monthly · as of June 2026 | $15/mo (Standard — 1 brand, 1 user)$10/mo billed annually · forever-free plan available | €29/mo flat (€17.40/mo billed annually) |
| Pricing model | Per seat — every user billed $79–$399/mo at annual rates | Per brand + per seat — extra members and brands are paid add-ons or higher tiers | Flat plans — all 11 platforms included, no per-network pricing |
| Social accounts included | 5 profiles on Essentials & StandardUnlimited profiles from Professional ($299/seat/mo) | 1 brand on Standard & ProfessionalFree plan: 1 brand, 6 channels (June 2026) | 15 on Solo · 30 on Team |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card required | 15 days, no card (then limited free plan) | 7 days — €0.00 due today |
| Money-back guarantee | NoNone listed on sproutsocial.com/pricing (June 2026) | NoNone listed on zoho.com/social pricing (June 2026) | 7 days |
| Publishing & scheduling | |||
| Scheduled posts | No cap listedPost limits not shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | UnlimitedPer Zoho’s own comparison pages (June 2026) | Unlimited on every plan |
| Best-time auto-posting | Optimal send timesListed from the Essentials plan | SmartQ predictions | Yes |
| Per-platform customization | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| First-comment scheduling | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Calendar view | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Content & AI | |||
| AI assistant | AI Assist from Professional ($299/seat/mo)AI alt text on Standard · AI reply enhancement on Advanced | Not listedSmartQ covers best-time only; a writing assistant is not shown on the pages we reviewed (June 2026) | Every plan (metered credits) |
| Post templates | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Content library | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Thread posts (X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon) | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Hashtag manager | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Yes |
| Collaboration | |||
| Team seats | Per seat — each user adds $79–$399/mo | 1 on Standard/Professional · 3 on PremiumExtra members listed at about $11.50/member/mo (June 2026) | 2 on Team · unlimited on Enterprise |
| Approval workflow | Not listed by planApproval details not broken out on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listed by planPlan gating not shown clearly on the pricing page (June 2026) | Team & Enterprise plans |
| Comments on posts | Not listedNot shown on Sprout’s pricing page (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Team & Enterprise plans |
| Integrations & support | |||
| Analytics | Profile- & post-level reporting from EssentialsPremium Analytics is a paid add-on (price not published) | Deeper analytics on higher tiersUsers report analytics-depth limits on basic plans (G2/Capterra) | Included on every plan |
| API + webhooks | Advanced plan ($399/seat/mo)API access listed on Advanced and up (June 2026) | Not listedNot shown on the Zoho Social pricing page (June 2026) | Every plan, incl. Solo |
| Support | Priority support on Enterprise plan | Varies by planUsers report slow support responses on G2/Capterra | Email · priority on Enterprise |
| Verdict | |||
| Best for | Enterprise teams needing listening, inbox & advocacy suites | Solo, single-brand users already inside the Zoho suite | Posting to many platforms on one flat EUR plan |
Pricing as of June 2026. Sprout Social figures per their public pricing page; Zoho Social figures per their public pricing page. Both may change. SocialKit facts per our own pricing page.
Entry plans compared. SocialKit prices are in EUR; all 11 platforms included — no per-network pricing.
$99/seat/month billed monthly. Standard $199, Professional $299, Advanced $399 per seat/month at annual rates. As of June 2026.
$10/month billed annually. Extra members are listed by third parties at about $11.50/member/month; Premium is $65/month (1 brand, 3 members) and Agency starts at $320/month. USD prices as of June 2026 — Zoho adjusts by region.
billed annually · €29/month billed monthly
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Pricing as of June 2026. Sprout Social and Zoho Social prices are taken from their public pricing pages (linked above) and may change. Full SocialKit plan details on our pricing page.
Each tool genuinely wins somewhere. Here is the honest split.
Bottom line
Pick by ecosystem fit and scale. Sprout Social is the right choice for large organizations that need enterprise-class listening, advocacy, and inbox tooling and are budgeted for per-seat pricing — its Reddit and Snapchat coverage are a genuine differentiator, and its 30-day trial is the most generous here. Zoho Social is the right choice for small businesses and solo users already inside the Zoho ecosystem: the free plan, the $10/month annual rate, and the CRM integration are hard to beat for that specific setup, and Mastodon and Telegram/WhatsApp coverage give it a platform edge over Sprout. For teams between those two poles — outgrown a single-brand Zoho plan, not ready for per-seat enterprise pricing — SocialKit’s flat EUR plans cover the scheduling and collaboration job at a predictable price.
FAQ
Still weighing it up? These are the answers people look for before they switch.
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Every SocialKit plan includes all 11 platforms, analytics, AI, and API + webhooks — no per-channel meters, no per-seat pricing. Try it free for 7 days.
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