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SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from Hootsuite to Sprout Social

Sprout has no Hootsuite importer. Future posts move by CSV into Sprout’s bulk scheduler, which needs the Professional plan or above.

Jump to migration steps Read the full comparison
By Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team
Switching from Hootsuite to Sprout SocialVerified Sep 19, 2026

Quick verdict: Export Hootsuite’s calendar (CSV) and reports, pick the Sprout tier that holds the features you use (Standard for the inbox, Professional for approvals and bulk scheduling), reconnect profiles and bulk-schedule future posts, up to 350 per import without video.

Estimate · your inputs

Switching Cost & Friction Estimator

Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.

25,000
10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time —
Data Friction Rating —
Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

    Why teams move from Hootsuite to Sprout Social

    Approvals at a lower tier

    Sprout Professional ($299 a seat, annual) includes approvals; Hootsuite needs Advanced ($399).

    Published monthly pricing

    Sprout lists monthly rates from $99 to $499 a seat.

    Deep reporting

    Competitor, tag and paid reports on Professional.

    How the migration actually works

    Map each Hootsuite feature to a Sprout tier first; Sprout’s Essentials plan has no inbox.

    StepWhat you do
    1Export your Hootsuite calendar and reportsIn Hootsuite, open the calendar and export scheduled and published content as CSV (up to 365 days, including approval history and comments). Export analytics reports (.pdf/.ppt on Professional, .csv/.xlsx on Advanced) and inbox data as CSV.
    2Choose a Sprout tierStandard ($199) for the inbox, Professional ($299) for approvals and bulk scheduling, Advanced ($399) for the API and sentiment.
    3Reconnect each social profileConnect every network account to the new tool and re-authorise it; tokens do not transfer between vendors.
    4Bulk-schedule future postsUse Sprout’s bulk scheduling CSV (up to 350 messages per import; 50 on a trial; no video).
    5Rebuild inbox rulesRecreate tags, saved replies and routing in Sprout’s Smart Inbox.
    6Price add-onsIf you used Hootsuite listening, request Sprout’s Listening add-on price; it is not published.

    What this path doesn’t do for you:

    No importer exists. Video posts must be scheduled by hand, inbox history stays in Hootsuite, and listening is a separately priced add-on on Sprout.

    Pricing side by side

    PlanHootsuiteSprout Social
    Pricing unitPer userPer seat
    Entry planStandard $99/user/mo (annual), 10 accountsEssentials $79/seat/mo (annual), 5 profiles
    ApprovalsAdvanced $399/user/moProfessional $299/seat/mo
    Free plan / trialNo free plan; 14-day trialNo free plan; 30-day trial
    Bulk upload350 posts per CSV350 messages per CSV (Professional+)

    Prices checked on each vendor’s pricing page on September 19, 2026, annual billing.

    Feature parity check

    CapabilityHootsuiteSprout Social
    Import from the other toolBulk Composer CSV onlyBulk scheduling CSV (Professional+)
    ListeningBasic on all plansPaid add-on
    ApprovalsAdvancedProfessional
    Monthly pricesNot publishedPublished
    Free trial14 days30 days

    Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?

    Read the Hootsuite vs Sprout Social comparison Switching from Sprout Social to Hootsuite instead?
    Verified data

    Security & access: what changes when you switch

    Security, offline and access rules that differ between Hootsuite and Sprout Social. Rows where both tools are the same (4) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Hootsuite, Sprout Social.

    What changesHootsuite (today)Sprout Social (after)
    Other certificationsISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, FedRAMP Li-SaaS, CSA STAR Level 1, UK Cyber Essentials, TX-RAMP, SOC 3sourceISO/IEC 27701, CSA STAR Level 1, PCI DSSsource
    HIPAA (BAA)Not publishedBAA availableGuardian (add-on) for PHI collection via Secure Formssource
    Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YesEnterprisesourceYessource
    SCIM user provisioningNot publishedYessource
    Two-factor authenticationYessourceYesEnforcement: All plans (email two-step verification is enforced by default)source
    Admin audit logNot publishedYessource
    Data residency choicesNot publishedUS onlysource
    EncryptionCustomer information encrypted at rest and in transit; TLS 1.2 or abovesourceAES-256 or greater at rest (including backups); TLS 1.2+ in transitsource
    IP allowlistingNot publishedYesAdvancedsource
    Editorial assessment

    Before you cut over

    • Set up single sign-on in Sprout Social before you invite the team, so accounts are created through your identity provider rather than by hand.

    Checked September 19, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site — it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can Sprout import from Hootsuite?

    Not directly. Export Hootsuite’s calendar and use Sprout’s bulk scheduling on Professional or Advanced.

    Will I lose listening?

    Sprout sells Listening as a paid add-on from Standard; its price is not published.

    Which Sprout plan matches Hootsuite Professional?

    For unlimited profiles, Sprout Professional ($299 a seat, annual).

    Will my analytics history come with me?

    No. Analytics history stays with the old tool; the new one starts collecting from the day you connect each profile. Export the reports you need first.

    Canonical data for the tools on this page

    Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page — with the date each figure was last verified.

    HootsuitePricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›Sprout SocialPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›
    Hootsuite vs Sprout SocialHead-to-head comparisonBuffer vs Sprout SocialHead-to-head comparisonHootsuite vs BufferHead-to-head comparison

    Sources

    Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

    Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

    Start with the job

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    Plain-language guides: the steps, what to check before you buy, common mistakes, and every tool it takes with verified prices.

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    Turn this into a one-page decision brief

    Verified prices costed for your team size, a check against your must-have requirements, the questions to settle before you sign, and a source for every figure. Print it, or paste it into an email to whoever approves the spend.

    Build a decision brief

    From shortlist to switched

    Built for the leader who owns the selection, answers for the spend, drives the rollout, and lives with the results. HelpCompare covers the whole decision, not just the first step.

    01 · CompareWhich tool fits your team, side by side.75 comparisons 02 · Price & approveSourced, dated pricing and a one-page brief for sign-off.Decision brief 03 · SwitchWhat moves, what you rebuild, what it costs.150 guides 04 · ShareDownload and cite the data. CC BY 4.0.Open data
    Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
    About the author

    Bill Belcamino

    Founder and author, HelpCompare

    Bill has worked in software and digital marketing for more than 20 years. He spent nine years as an engineer at HP, served as COO scaling a platform past 200,000 users, and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

    “I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

    Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 19, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

    Read Bill’s story How we verify pricingSpot an error? Tell Bill