Raven Tools Pro Versus Hootsuite Versus Sprout Social

In the world of online blogging and social media management, there are many tools to accomplish the tasks you need to do each day. There are tools to help you share content, tools to help you manage social profiles, tools for curation, tools for post scheduling, tools for keyword research and much more. When one tool achieves most or all of the functions you need from day to day, that tool becomes one of the top-tier pieces of software in the industry.

Today, two of the most dominant platforms in this space are compared head-to-head: Sprout Social and Hootsuite. Raven Tools, once a competitor in this space, has since shifted its focus primarily to SEO reporting and agency tools, making it less relevant as a direct social media management alternative to these two platforms.

User Interface

How easy is the program to use? Both of these platforms have their pros and their cons.

Hootsuite keeps everything in a well-organized columned layout, with all the information presented front and center. Your top layer of navigation is your social account, which is the master control for each social platform beneath it. This allows several people to manage a different set of profiles from different accounts, all within the one Hootsuite window. To some, it can feel cluttered, particularly when you have accounts to manage across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and others all at once. That said, Hootsuite has made significant UI improvements over the years and most users find it intuitive once they settle in.

Sprout Social is very streamlined by comparison, choosing to present a cleaner, more modern interface that hides complexity until you need it. This makes for a polished, professional look. Once you get used to where certain features live, it’s easy to use and particularly well-suited to teams that prioritize presentation and reporting. Sprout Social has maintained a 95%+ Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score for over five years, and has been recognized as a G2 Enterprise Leader every quarter since 2018 - if you want a deeper breakdown of how these two tools stack up, our comparison of Buffer and Hootsuite offers additional context on cost and effectiveness - earning more than 150 leader badges in G2’s 2025 Summer Reports alone.

Analytics

Hootsuite offers robust analytics across its paid plans, with listening capabilities that cover 150 million websites, 30 social media channels, and 187 languages - making it a powerful option for brands that need broad social listening at scale.

Sprout Social is widely regarded as a great source of analytics presented in a highly visual way. Reports are clean, polished, and could almost pass as ready-made infographics. All the depth you’d expect is there beneath the sleek surface, and for agencies or teams who present reports to clients, Sprout’s presentation quality is hard to beat.

Content Publication, Scheduling and Curation

Hootsuite was designed around collaboration and content management, and it excels in this arena. You can manage multiple accounts by profile, schedule posts, save drafts, and collaborate across teams. Hootsuite also boasts significantly more integrations than Sprout Social, making it the stronger choice for teams that rely on a broad ecosystem of tools.

Sprout Social is equally capable when it comes to publishing and scheduling. Both platforms offer internal trend analytics to help you understand what’s performing well so you can better tailor your content strategy.

Additional Features

What makes Hootsuite stand out? Beyond its sheer breadth of integrations, Hootsuite’s listening tool is a standout feature, scanning an enormous volume of online content across dozens of platforms and nearly 200 languages. It’s also worth noting that Hootsuite offers a HootGiving nonprofit discount of up to 75% off for eligible organizations - bringing the Professional Plan down from $149 to as low as $24.50/month and the Team Plan from $249 to $64.50/month, making it an exceptionally attractive option for nonprofits managing social at scale.

Sprout Social’s differentiators include its smart inbox with deep keyword monitoring, excellent CRM integrations, and a strong helpdesk integration suite. It’s particularly well-suited to customer-facing teams that need to manage social conversations in a structured, accountable way. Sprout Social offers up to 25% off for qualified U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations, bringing its Professional Plan from $299 down to approximately $239/user/month when billed annually.

Pricing

Pricing is where these two platforms diverge most significantly - and it’s important to go in with clear expectations.

Hootsuite starts at $149/user/month for monthly billing, covering up to 10 social media accounts. Their Team plan runs $249/month and includes 3 seats and 20 accounts, making it a relatively cost-effective option for small teams. Enterprise pricing is available for larger organizations with more complex needs.

Sprout Social is considerably more expensive, starting at $199/user/month for their Standard plan. The Professional plan is $299/user/month, and the Advanced plan steps up further from there. To put that in perspective, a team of five on the Professional plan would be looking at nearly $18,000 per year at list price - a cost difference that should be carefully weighed against the platform’s capabilities and your team’s specific needs.

In short, Hootsuite offers more integrations, broader listening capabilities, and a lower price point, while Sprout Social delivers a more polished interface, a consistently high customer satisfaction record, and long-standing recognition as an enterprise leader. The right choice depends heavily on your team size, budget, and what you value most in a social media management platform.