The short answer
Sprout Social is a premium social media suite known for its Smart Inbox, reporting and customer care tools. Publer is a low-cost social media scheduler known for flexible per-account pricing, bulk scheduling and recycling.
At 10 channels Publer costs $36 a month against $299 for Sprout Social for 1 user, so Publer is $263 a month cheaper (88% less). Publer lists more networks (13 against 12). On the 15 features we track, Sprout Social has nothing Publer lacks, and Publer alone has link in bio page.
Choose Sprout Social if you post to Reddit, Snapchat and WhatsApp and you want a longer trial (30 days). Choose Publer if you want the lower price for 10 channels ($36 against $299 a month), you post to Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram and Mastodon, you need link in bio page (Through Linkie, on every plan including Free) and you want a free plan.
Pricing
Sprout Social charges per user, while Publer charges per social account plus per extra member. The per-user tool gets more expensive as your team grows; the other does not in the same way.
Sprout Social: Per seat (user) per month. Prices shown are for annual billing; only Essentials shows a monthly-billed price. Publer: Per social account plus per extra member. Yearly billing is 20% off per the help center (the page says 2 months free).
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social Essentials | $99 | $79 |
| Sprout Social Standard | Not listed | $199 |
| Sprout Social Professional | Not listed | $299 |
| Sprout Social Advanced | Not listed | $399 |
| Sprout Social Enterprise | Not listed | Not listed |
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Publer Free | Free | Free |
| Publer Professional | $5 | Not listed |
| Publer Business | $10 | Not listed |
| Publer Enterprise | Not listed | Not listed |
Cost at 5 and 10 channels
The cheapest listed plan that covers the number of channels. Where a price depends on seats, brands or workspaces, the table says so.
| Sprout Social | Publer | Postozo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 channels | Essentials plan: $99 per user a month ($79 billed yearly) | Professional plan: about $21 a month, estimated from Publer's calculator rates ($5 for the first account, about $4 for each extra), before extra members | Standard plan: $19 a month ($15 billed yearly) |
| 10 channels | Professional plan: $299 per user a month billed yearly. The monthly-billed price is not listed | Professional plan: $36 a month, per Publer's own calculator, before extra members | Team plan: $29 a month ($23 billed yearly) |
At 5 channels Publer costs $21 a month against $79 for Sprout Social for 1 user, so Publer is $58 a month cheaper (73% less) (1 of these is an estimate). At 10 channels Publer costs $36 a month against $299 for Sprout Social for 1 user, so Publer is $263 a month cheaper (88% less).
Cost for a solo user, a small team and an agency
Seats, brands and workspaces change the bill as much as channels do. This table picks the cheapest listed plan of each tool for 3 setups.
| Setup | Sprout Social | Publer | Postozo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Essentials: $99 a month ($79 billed yearly). Per seat, for 1 person | Professional: about $21 a month. Estimate from Publer's calculator rates: about $4 per extra account and $2 per extra member | Standard: $19 a month ($15 billed yearly) |
| Small team | Professional: $897 a month billed yearly. Per seat, for 3 people; Essentials and Standard cover only 5 profiles | Professional: about $40 a month. Estimate from Publer's calculator rates: about $4 per extra account and $2 per extra member | Team: $29 a month ($23 billed yearly). Unlimited team members |
| Agency | Professional: $1,495 a month billed yearly. Per seat, for 5 people; Essentials and Standard cover only 5 profiles | Professional: about $109 a month. Estimate from Publer's calculator rates: about $4 per extra account and $2 per extra member | Pro: $39 a month ($31 billed yearly). Unlimited team members |
For 5 channels and 1 person, Publer is the lowest at $21 a month and Sprout Social the highest at $79. For 10 channels and 3 people, Publer is the lowest at $40 a month and Sprout Social the highest at $897. For 25 channels and 5 people, Publer is the lowest at $109 a month and Sprout Social the highest at $1,495.
Trials and free plans
Sprout Social: 30-day free trial, no credit card required. No free plan listed.
Publer: 7-day free trial of Professional, 14-day free trial of Business. Paid features can be tried without a credit card. Free plan: Yes: 1 user, 1 workspace, 3 social accounts (no X), 10 scheduled posts per account.
Features
| Feature | Sprout Social | Publer | Postozo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client approval | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social inbox | Yes | Yes | No |
| Analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI writing help | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RSS auto post | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload (CSV) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| White label | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link in bio page | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Canva integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| Client connect link | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
Plan limits on key features
- Analytics. Sprout Social: included. Publer: Business plan and up.
- Public API. Sprout Social: The Sprout API is on the Advanced plan. Publer: Business plan and up (API and MCP).
- MCP server. Sprout Social: Sprout runs a hosted MCP server; its help center says only ChatGPT is officially supported. Publer: included.
- Link in bio page. Sprout Social: not confirmed. Publer: Through Linkie, on every plan including Free.
- Browser extension. Sprout Social: Compose extension for Chrome, on every plan. Publer: included.
- Canva integration. Sprout Social: Canva designs arrive in Sprout as draft posts. Google Drive and Dropbox can be connected too. Publer: Every plan, including Free.
Both list client approval, social inbox, analytics, AI writing help, public API, MCP server, RSS auto post, bulk upload (CSV), mobile app, client reports, browser extension and canva integration.
Neither confirms white label and client connect link.
Area by area
How Sprout Social and Publer handle each part of the job, in the words of their own pages.
Publishing and scheduling
Sprout Social: Sprout posts to 12 networks and uses WhatsApp for inbox messages. CSV bulk scheduling of up to 350 posts and automated feed publishing are on Professional and Advanced.
Publer: Publer posts to 13 networks, including WordPress and Telegram. Bulk scheduling handles up to 500 posts at once, including from a CSV file.
Team and client approval
Sprout Social: Pricing is per seat. Message approval workflows are on Professional and Advanced.
Publer: Pricing is per social account plus per extra member. Approval workflows work for team members and outside clients.
Inbox and replies
Sprout Social: The Smart Inbox is the center of Sprout, with review management, and Advanced adds sentiment in the Smart Inbox and Reviews.
Publer: You can reply to comments on published posts from inside Publer. We found no unified direct message inbox.
Analytics and reports
Sprout Social: Professional and up include presentation-ready reports that you share by link.
Publer: Analytics and downloadable reports are on Business and up.
AI help
Sprout Social: AI help is included.
Publer: AI help is included.
Integrations and apps
Sprout Social: Canva designs can be sent into Sprout as draft posts, Google Drive and Dropbox can be connected, and the Compose extension for Chrome works on every plan. The API is on Advanced, and Sprout runs a hosted MCP server; its help center says only ChatGPT is officially supported.
Publer: Link in Bio (through Linkie) and Canva are on every plan, including Free. There is a browser extension and a mobile app. The API and MCP server are on Business and up.
Networks
Sprout Social lists 12 networks and Publer lists 13. They share 9 networks: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky.
| Networks | |
|---|---|
| Only on Sprout Social | Reddit, Snapchat, WhatsApp |
| Only on Publer | Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon |
| On Postozo but on neither | SMS, Discord, Slack, Medium, Tumblr, DEV, Hashnode, Lemmy, Listmonk, Nostr, VK, Farcaster, Dribbble, Twitch, Kick |
Strengths from each side
Sprout Social
- Smart Inbox with messages, review management and customer care reports.
- Keyword and location monitoring, with listening as an add-on.
- iOS and Android apps on every plan, in the app stores.
Publer
- Free plan and a very low entry price for 1 or 2 accounts.
- Link in bio and Canva even on the free plan, plus a browser extension and an app store mobile app.
- Replies to comments on published posts from inside Publer.
Postozo as a 3rd option
Postozo is a social media scheduler with 30 channel types, client review links, team roles, AI writing help, a public API and an MCP server. Plans are flat: $19, $29, $39, $79 a month for 5, 10, 30, 100 channels, with unlimited posts.
- Postozo costs $29 a month ($23 billed yearly) for 10 channels with team members. At 10 channels Postozo costs $23 a month against $299 for Sprout Social for 1 user, so Postozo is $276 a month cheaper (92% less). At 10 channels Postozo costs $23 a month against $36 for Publer, so Postozo is $13 a month cheaper (36% less).
- Postozo supports SMS, Discord, Slack, Medium, Tumblr, DEV, Hashnode, Lemmy and 7 more, which neither Sprout Social nor Publer lists.
- Postozo has white label, which neither confirms.
- Postozo has client connect link, which neither confirms.
What you would give up: social inbox (Sprout Social and Publer have it) and canva integration (Sprout Social and Publer have it).
See Postozo vs Sprout Social and Postozo vs Publer for the full head to head pages.
More about each tool
Sprout Social review, Sprout Social alternatives, Publer review, Publer alternatives, Postozo pricing.
Sources
Is Sprout Social or Publer cheaper?
At 5 channels Publer costs $21 a month against $79 for Sprout Social for 1 user, so Publer is $58 a month cheaper (73% less) (1 of these is an estimate). At 10 channels Publer costs $36 a month against $299 for Sprout Social for 1 user, so Publer is $263 a month cheaper (88% less). Prices are the lowest listed per month, with yearly billing where offered, checked on 29 September 2026.
Which has more networks, Sprout Social or Publer?
Sprout Social lists 12 and Publer lists 13. Only Sprout Social: Reddit, Snapchat, WhatsApp. Only Publer: Google Business Profile, WordPress, Telegram, Mastodon.
Do Sprout Social and Publer have an API and MCP server?
Sprout Social: API yes, MCP yes. Publer: API yes, MCP yes. Postozo includes both on every plan.
Is there a cheaper option than Sprout Social and Publer?
Postozo is $19 a month for 5 channels and $29 for 10 with a team. It has no social inbox and canva integration, so check those first.
Which is cheaper for a team of 3 with 10 channels, Sprout Social or Publer?
For 10 channels and 3 people, Publer is the lowest at $40 a month and Sprout Social the highest at $897.
Do Sprout Social and Publer have client reports and a link in bio page?
Client reports: Sprout Social yes (Presentation-ready reports shared by link, Professional and up), Publer yes (Downloadable analytics reports, Business and up). Link in bio: Sprout Social not confirmed, Publer yes. Postozo includes both on every plan.
Can clients connect their own accounts in Sprout Social or Publer?
Sprout Social: not confirmed. Publer: not confirmed. Postozo has a client connect link on every plan.
Did you test Sprout Social and Publer?
No. This page compares facts from their official pricing and feature pages, checked on 29 September 2026.
Not sure about Sprout Social or Publer?
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