Datareportal reveals that internet users spent two hours and 23 minutes on social media in 2023. Plus, a billion users switch between social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to get updates about their friends and family, eliminate boredom, and read news. However, many users are also on social media to research products and view brand content. That said, social media managers should invest in social media management tools to publish engaging content. Two of these tools are SproutSocial and Hootsuite. Read about our head-to-head in our SproutSocial vs Hootsuite review.
SproutSocial vs Hootsuite: Overview
SproutSocial was founded in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2011 that the company introduced a platform in 2011. Justyn Howard, Gil Lara, Aaron Rankin, and Peter Soung are the co-founders of this popular social media management tool. Over the years, they have been considered one of the best software apps.
Two years prior to SproutSocial’s founding, Hootsuite had already become a formidable player in 2008. Their journey started because their agency needed an all-in-one tool for social media. Thus, Hootsuite was born. 10+ years later, they have earned multiple honors. Plus, there are now 200,000+ users.
SproutSocial Features
SproutSocial has three core features that social media managers or marketers can enjoy for their campaigns.
First is social media engagement. They have a sentiment detection tool powered by AI to help managers prioritize messages. Then, you’ll get crisis notifications to see which message type should be avoided in further damaging the brand. Finally, with AI’s help, you can spend more time talking to customers by building a better brand and your brand’s voice.
Second is the publishing tool. This is a must-have for any social media management tool. Sprout Social’s Optimal Times feature reviews the best time for you to post on social media to get the MOST engagement. Next, you can use their Sprout link to drive more traffic, which you can track. Finally, collaborate with your team members and other stakeholders before publishing posts!
The last core tool is Analytics. Get visual reports on your social media performance. Plus, see how your paid and organic performance is doing and improve for future campaigns!
Other notable features of SproutSocial are:
- Premium analytics
- Social media listening
- Influencer marketing
- Employee advocacy
Hootsuite Features
Hootsuite has a full suite of features that social media managers can leverage. Let’s discuss the primary features.
Publishing and scheduling are their primary feature. Their publishing feature is assisted by OwlyWriter AI, which we discuss further below. Aside from that, they have a bulk social media scheduler, so you don’t forget to publish content on a specific date. Then, use a customizable link to track your performance. Additionally, they have a Canva integration to create designs straight from Hootsuite.
Hootsuite’s social media analytics tool will guide you in understanding your business performance and your competition’s as well! Their analytics tool can review the best times to post. Like SproutSocial, you can also repurpose content instantly!
They have social media monitoring to help you understand your customers and how to reach them better! With this tool, you can get more views and protect your brand better!
Finally, they have a social media engagement tool. You can generate hashtags and monitor the best hashtags and brand mentions! Also, you can measure your engagement rates and monitor all messages in one place!
Other features:
Winner: Hootsuite gets the point for having an AI content creation tool and a “best times to post” feature.
AI
Like other software applications, SproutSocial and Hootsuite adapt to the times by integrating AI into their platforms. Here’s how their AI works.
SproutSocial uses AI for its textual and sentiment analysis features. The social media management tool uses the OpenAI model for all things AI. Aside from these, here are the other ways their AI helps businesses:
- Respond to and prioritize customer replies
- Generate compelling captions before publishing
- Know which hashtags are trending
- Understand customer sentiment
Hootsuite’s AI focuses more on content creation. Here’s how their AI fares against SproutSocial.
They have the OwlyWriter AI. It generates social media captions. Plus, you can get content ideas if you need to publish more on your social media accounts. Additionally, repurpose your old content and make it better! Finally, OwlyWriter AI will help you fill out your content calendar, including all the holidays!
What about safety, you ask? You are in control of the content before you publish it.
Hootsuite also acquired Heyday AI, now integrated into their social media engagement features.
Winner: SproutSocial gets the win here since their AI can help with analytics, engagement, publishing, and social listening.
Integrations
Integrations-wise, Hootsuite has the advantage of having 100+ apps for integration into their platform. These include:
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Asana
- Dropbox
- Figma
- MailChimp
- Notion
- Slack
- Spotify
- Trustpilot
- Vimeo
Meanwhile, SproutSocial has the following integrations:
- Salesforce
- Hubspot
- Zendesk
- Marketo
- Google Business Messages
- Tripadvisor
- Yelp
- Shopify
- Canva
- Microsoft Teams
- Dropbox
Winner: Hootsuite gets a point here for having multiple integrations.
Pricing
Both social media management platforms have a tiered system and custom enterprise pricing.
Sprout Social has four plans:
- Standard - $249/mo
- Professional - $399/mo
- Advanced - $499/mo
- Enterprise - Custom
Meanwhile, Hootsuite has these plans, billed annually:
- Professional - $99/mo
- Team - $249/mo
- Enterprise - Custom
Pros and Cons of SproutSocial and Hootsuite (from REAL Users!)
SproutSocial Pros and Cons
Pros
- Great at scheduling
- User-friendly dashboard
- Good analytics reporting
Cons
- Many users report how expensive SproutSocial is
- Publishing needs more work
- Customer service response could use more work
HootSuite Pros and Cons
Pros
- Users love scheduling and creation
- Many praise analytics reporting
- Inbox management is among the best in the industry
Cons
- Free option is no longer available
- The interface needs more work
- Many experience glitches while using the app
Conclusion
SproutSocial and Hootsuite are two of the biggest names in social media management. And it’s imperative that social media managers pick the right option to streamline and optimize their social media tasks. SproutSocial is the BEST in scheduling, analytics, and engagement. Whereas, Hootsuite is more content creation with social media scheduling. Both choices are excellent for social media management; it all boils down to your purpose of managing your social media content.
