If you're running a social media marketing agency in 2025 and you're still paying for Sprout Social, we need to talk.
Not because Sprout Social is a bad tool. But because of what agencies actually need, you're probably overpaying by somewhere between 500% and 900%. And I'm not even exaggerating here.
Let me paint you a picture. You're an agency managing, let's say, 8 clients. Each client has maybe 4-5 social profiles (Usually more). That's roughly 35 social accounts you need to manage. With Sprout Social, you need at least 5 team members to handle that workload efficiently.
Here's the math that should keep you up at night: 5 users × $199/month (and that's just the Standard plan) = $995/month. That's $11,940 annually. And remember, the Standard plan doesn't even include approval workflows, which are basically essential for agencies. So you'd need the Professional plan at $299/user/month. That's $1,495/month or $17,940 annually.
For similar functionalities, you could replace it with something that costs 90% less and does the job just as well, if not better.
To verify this further, let's see what people are actually saying about Sprout Social.
How Sprout Social Scores on Review Platforms
Sprout Social maintains a mixed rating of
- 2.2/5 rating on Trustpilot from 72 reviews.
- 4.4/5 rating on G2 from 3,818 reviews.
- 4.4/5 on Capterra from 593 reviews.
On the surface, those numbers look pretty solid. But when you dig into what people are actually saying, you will notice a very different image.
The positive reviews tend to focus on three things:
- The clean interface, robust analytics.
- The smart inbox feature.
- The approval feature.
But... for the negative reviews, they're almost universally about the same two issues:
- Pricing
- Customer Service
- Contract Policies
Why Sprout Social's Model Doesn't Work for Agencies
Here's the fundamental problem: Sprout Social's per-user pricing model was built for enterprise companies with massive social teams, not for agencies managing multiple clients.
Think about how agencies actually work. You have:
- Account managers who need to see everything but don't post daily
- Content creators who need full access to scheduling
- Designers who occasionally need to upload assets
- Junior team members who create drafts but need approval
- Clients who want visibility into their campaigns
With Sprout Social's model, every single one of those people needs a paid seat.
The 3 Best Sprout Social Alternatives for Agencies in 2025
1. Nuelink — The Affordable Automation Powerhouse
Pricing: Agency plans from $128/month
Best For: Mid-sized agencies that need automation and client management without the enterprise price tag
Let me tell you why Nuelink is sitting at #1 on this list:
Agency plans start at $128/month and go up to $228/month.
You're paying for capabilities. That agency plan gives you the ability to manage up to 30 clients with 300 social channels.
But it's not just about price. Nuelink's entire philosophy is centered around automation, which is exactly what agencies need. Here's what makes it special:
Multi-Brand Workspaces: This is huge. Each client gets their own independent workspace with separate social channels, automations, collections, insights, and even a link-in-bio page.
Automation: Here's where Nuelink shines. You can set up automations to automatically import posts from your clients' blogs, product listings from their online stores, videos from YouTube channels, podcasts, and more.
Once your client publishes a blog post, it will automatically be scheduled across their social channels.
Time Zone Customization: Each brand can have its own time zone settings, which is critical when you're managing clients across different regions.
Activity Logs: Track every action performed by each team member with detailed records including timestamps and changes made.
Find out more about how Nuelink can help your agency 👇
Why Nuelink is better than Sprout Social for agencies:
- 85% cheaper for comparable functionality
- Built-in client management and multi-brand workspaces (Sprout charges extra for this)
- Automation features that actually save time, not just schedule posts
- No per-user fees, so your entire team can access it without breaking the bank
- Time zone customization per client.
2. Sendible — The White-Label Champion
Pricing: Agency plans from $199/month
Best For: Agencies that want to white-label their social media management platform
Here's why agencies love Sendible: the Scale plan at $199/month includes white-label capabilities, meaning you can customize it with your agency's branding, domain, and colors. Your clients log into what looks like your proprietary software, not a third-party tool.
Let's talk pricing for agencies specifically. The Traction plan at $199/month supports 7 users and 49 social profiles with team collaboration, assignment and approvals, client dashboards, and user management.
Why it's better than Sprout Social for agencies:
- White-label capabilities at $199/month vs. enterprise pricing at Sprout
- Client dashboards with secure access controls (no password sharing)
- Unlimited scheduling regardless of plan level
- Custom approval workflows without paying for Professional tier
- Significantly better money-value: same features as Sprout Social for 70-80% less
3. SocialBee — The AI-Powered Content Machine
Pricing: Agency plans from $149/month
Best For: Agencies that want AI assistance with content creation and need powerful evergreen recycling
SocialBee has been quietly building one of the most sophisticated social media management platforms for agencies, and its recent focus on AI puts it in a unique position.
Let's talk agency pricing: Agency plans start at $149/month (Pro50), supporting 50 social profiles with 10 users across 10 workspaces.
But SocialBee's real value proposition isn't just price; it's how they use AI to dramatically reduce the time agencies spend on content creation.
AI Social Media Copilot: The AI Copilot generates an entire social media strategy, including ready-to-use captions and images. When you onboard a new client, instead of spending 5-10 hours building a content strategy, you answer some questions, and the AI generates a complete strategy.
Evergreen Recycling: Recycle evergreen posts or expire time-sensitive content easily. Set certain posts to recycle every 30, 60, or 90 days, and time-sensitive posts to automatically stop posting after a certain date.
Workspace Management: The Pro plan provides 3 users across 5 workspaces, with agency plans scaling up significantly. Each client gets their own workspace, keeping everything organized and preventing the nightmare of accidentally posting to the wrong account.
Why it's better than Sprout Social for agencies:
- AI Copilot creates entire strategies and content plans in minutes
- Content categories automate variety and balance across client accounts
- Evergreen recycling eliminates repetitive content creation
- 88% cheaper than Sprout Social for a similar agency scale
- Two years of analytics data for long-term reporting
Final Thoughts: It's Time to Stop Overpaying
Here's the reality: Sprout Social is a great tool. But it's a great tool built for Fortune 500 companies with massive budgets and dedicated social media teams of 20+ people. That's not you. That's not most agencies.
Ready to make the switch?
