Sprout Social Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Sprout Social costs Free to $399 per month as of July 2026, with 6 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free Trial (free), Essentials at $79/month, Standard at $199/month, Professional at $299/month, and Advanced at $399/month. Enterprise pricing is available on request. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Sprout Social offers 6 pricing tiers: Free Trial, Essentials, Standard, Professional, Advanced, Enterprise. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Essentials at $79/seat/month, Standard at $199/seat/month, Professional at $299/seat/month. The Essentials plan is social media professionals focused on simplifying publishing workflows.
Yes, Sprout Social offers a free trial plan as of July 2026. The free tier includes 3 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $79/seat/month (Essentials). Pricing verified from 2 sources by CostBench.
Sprout Social's free offering is a time-limited trial to test the full product.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 30-day free trial
- No credit card required
- Annual billing
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Connect up to 5 social profiles
- Optimal send times
- Profile and post-level reporting
- Simplified publishing workflows
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Connect up to 5 social profiles or Optimal send times
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Sprout Social branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Essentials Plan Comparison
| Free Trial $0 | Essentials $79/seat/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 3 included | 4+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Sprout Social branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Try Sprout free before committing | Social media professionals focused on simplifying publishing workflows |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Sprout Social free?
Yes, Sprout Social offers a free trial plan with 3 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Sprout Social's free plan?
Sprout Social's free plan includes: 30-day free trial, No credit card required, Annual billing. Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Sprout Social's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Connect up to 5 social profiles, Optimal send times, Profile and post-level reporting, Simplified publishing workflows. You'll also have Sprout Social branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Sprout Social's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Connect up to 5 social profiles or Optimal send times, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $79/seat/month.
05 Is Sprout Social's free plan really free forever?
Sprout Social's free offering is actually a time-limited trial, not a forever-free plan. After the trial period, you'll need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the service.