PublishQ
PublishQ

PublishQ vs Sprout Social

TL;DR

PublishQ is better for solo creators and teams that want fast daily publishing, flat pricing, and CLI/MCP/API access on the free plan without a credit card.

Sprout Social is better for marketing and customer care teams that work from one shared inbox.

At a glance

CategoryPublishQSprout Social
Pricing modelFlat pricingPer seat
Platform support8 (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky)11 (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat)
CLI/MCP/API accessIncluded on free planFrom Advanced ($499/mo)
Ideal customerSolo creators posting across multiple platforms who want flat pricingMarketing and customer care teams that work from one shared inbox

Feature-by-feature comparison

FeaturePublishQSprout Social
Social Accounts
Free ($0)3
Solo ($14/mo)5
Starter ($29/mo)15
Professional ($49/mo)30
Business ($99/mo)100
Free ($0)✗
Essentials ($99/mo)5
Standard ($249/mo)5
Professional ($399/mo)unlimited
Advanced ($499/mo)unlimited
Enterprise (Custom)unlimited

Per-seat pricing: each plan price is for one seat, and every teammate is another seat. Billed annually, plans cost $79, $199, $299 and $399 per seat/month. 30-day free trial, no credit card required. Every plan includes 100 Trellis AI agent credits per seat each month. Listening, Premium Analytics and Employee Advocacy are paid add-ons from Standard. The Sprout API is on Advanced and Enterprise.

Posts per month
Free ($0)15
Solo ($14/mo)unlimited
Starter ($29/mo)unlimited
Professional ($49/mo)unlimited
Business ($99/mo)unlimited
-Unknown
Scheduled Posts
Free ($0)15
Solo ($14/mo)unlimited
Starter ($29/mo)unlimited
Professional ($49/mo)unlimited
Business ($99/mo)unlimited
-Unknown
Team Members
Free ($0)1
Solo ($14/mo)1
Starter ($29/mo)2
Professional ($49/mo)3
Business ($99/mo)unlimited
Free ($0)✗
Essentials ($99/mo)$99/seat
Standard ($249/mo)$249/seat
Professional ($399/mo)$399/seat
Advanced ($499/mo)$499/seat
Enterprise (Custom)custom
Workspaces
Free ($0)1
Solo ($14/mo)1
Starter ($29/mo)3
Professional ($49/mo)5
Business ($99/mo)unlimited
-Unknown
Media Library
Free ($0)✗
Solo ($14/mo)10GB
Starter ($29/mo)100GB
Professional ($49/mo)250GB
Business ($99/mo)unlimited
Free ($0)✗
Essentials ($99/mo)✗
Standard ($249/mo)✗
Professional ($399/mo)✓
Advanced ($499/mo)✓
Enterprise (Custom)✓
API Access
Free ($0)✓
Solo ($14/mo)✓
Starter ($29/mo)✓
Professional ($49/mo)✓
Business ($99/mo)✓
Free ($0)✗
Essentials ($99/mo)✗
Standard ($249/mo)✗
Professional ($399/mo)✗
Advanced ($499/mo)✓
Enterprise (Custom)✓
MCP Access
Free ($0)✓
Solo ($14/mo)✓
Starter ($29/mo)✓
Professional ($49/mo)✓
Business ($99/mo)✓
-Unknown
CLI Access
Free ($0)✓
Solo ($14/mo)✓
Starter ($29/mo)✓
Professional ($49/mo)✓
Business ($99/mo)✓
-Unknown
SDK Access
Free ($0)✓
Solo ($14/mo)✓
Starter ($29/mo)✓
Professional ($49/mo)✓
Business ($99/mo)✓
-Unknown
Analytics
Free ($0)✗
Solo ($14/mo)Post analytics
Starter ($29/mo)Post + account analytics
Professional ($49/mo)Post + account analytics
Business ($99/mo)Post + account analytics
Free ($0)✗
Essentials ($99/mo)✓
Standard ($249/mo)✓
Professional ($399/mo)✓
Advanced ($499/mo)✓
Enterprise (Custom)✓

Detailed comparison by category

Features

Sprout Social: Sprout Social: All-in-one social media management for teams: publishing, a unified inbox, analytics, listening, and customer care.

PublishQ: PublishQ focuses on fast post creation, scheduling, and repurposing for modern creators.

Bottom line: Choose the tool based on workflow depth versus publishing speed.

Pricing

Sprout Social: Sprout Social starts at $99/month, with per-seat pricing.

PublishQ: PublishQ uses flat pricing that does not grow per user or channel, from 3 social accounts on Free to 100 on Business, with unlimited workspaces on Business.

Bottom line: If cost predictability matters as you grow channels or users, flat pricing is usually easier to plan.

Support

Sprout Social: Sprout Social support is delivered through Live chat (24/5), Phone support (24/5), Help center, The Arboretum community.

PublishQ: PublishQ support is direct and founder-led, with practical setup help for migration and publishing workflows.

Bottom line: Pick enterprise support structure when governance is critical; pick direct support when speed is critical.

Ease of use

Sprout Social: Sprout Social is built for mid-size and enterprise marketing, social, and customer care teams, plus agencies.

PublishQ: PublishQ is built around a fast publishing flow for solo creators, and also supports growing and larger teams.

Bottom line: Pick the tool whose daily workflow matches how you publish.

Integrations

Sprout Social: Sprout Social supports 11 connected platforms: Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat.

PublishQ: PublishQ supports 8 platforms: Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky. CLI, MCP server, and API are included on the free plan.

Bottom line: Validate the specific channels you rely on and test an end-to-end posting flow before deciding.

Pricing

What does it actually cost?

Sprout Social charges per seat, so the bill grows with every seat you add. PublishQ keeps pricing flat to avoid seat-by-seat cost growth.

PublishQ

Free: $0

  • - Social Accounts: 3
  • - Posts per month: 15
  • - Drafts: 15

Solo: $14/month

  • - Social Accounts: 5
  • - Posts per month: unlimited
  • - Drafts: unlimited

Starter: $29/month

  • - Social Accounts: 15
  • - Posts per month: unlimited
  • - Drafts: unlimited

Professional: $49/month

  • - Social Accounts: 30
  • - Posts per month: unlimited
  • - Drafts: unlimited

Business: $99/month

  • - Social Accounts: 100
  • - Posts per month: unlimited
  • - Drafts: unlimited

Sprout Social

Essentials: $99/month

  • - Social Accounts: 5
  • - Drafts
  • - Team Members: $99/seat

Standard: $249/month

  • - Social Accounts: 5
  • - Drafts
  • - Team Members: $249/seat

Professional: $399/month

  • - Social Accounts: unlimited
  • - Drafts
  • - Team Members: $399/seat

Advanced: $499/month

  • - Social Accounts: unlimited
  • - Drafts
  • - Team Members: $499/seat

Enterprise: Custom

  • - Social Accounts: unlimited
  • - Drafts
  • - Team Members: custom

Service and support

CategoryPublishQSprout Social
DocumentationGuides for onboarding and publishing workflowsHelp center, Sprout Academy learning portal, certification program, and self-service training recordings
Response timeFounder responses on paid plans, typically same-day24/5 support on every plan, with priority support on Enterprise
ChannelsEmail support, Help centerLive chat (24/5), Phone support (24/5), Help center, The Arboretum community
OnboardingSelf-serve onboarding with optional setup help on paid plansSelf-serve 30-day trial or a guided demo, with white-glove onboarding and implementation on Enterprise

Who should choose what

PublishQ is best for

  • Solo creators posting across multiple platforms who want flat pricing
  • Small businesses and growing teams that want unlimited team members without per-seat costs
  • Creators who tailor the same post per platform instead of cross-posting it verbatim
  • Larger teams that need unlimited workspaces without per-channel pricing
  • Developers who want API, SDK, CLI, and MCP access to their social media tool

Sprout Social is best for

  • Marketing and customer care teams that work from one shared inbox
  • Enterprises that need Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zendesk connected to social
  • Brands managing reviews on Google, Trustpilot, Yelp, and app stores alongside social
  • Teams that report on competitors and paid social next to organic results

Trade-offs to know about

PublishQ

  • Newer product, with a smaller user base and less market track record
  • No social listening or brand monitoring
  • No ad management or boosting
  • No employee advocacy tools
  • No unified social inbox for comments and messages

Sprout Social

  • No free plan: a 30-day trial, then $79 per seat/month minimum on annual billing
  • Per-seat pricing: every teammate adds $79 to $499 a month, depending on plan and billing
  • Essentials and Standard cap you at 5 social profiles
  • The public API is only on Advanced and Enterprise, and an account representative has to enable it
  • Listening, Premium Analytics, and Employee Advocacy are paid add-ons on top of the seat price
  • Month-to-month billing costs 25-33% more than annual billing

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about PublishQ vs Sprout Social

It depends on your needs. PublishQ is better for solo creators and teams who want fast multi-platform publishing with API access on each plan. Sprout Social is better for marketing and customer care teams that work from one shared inbox.
Sprout Social starts at $99/month, with per-seat pricing. PublishQ uses flat pricing that does not grow per user or channel, from 3 social accounts on Free to 100 on Business, with unlimited workspaces on Business.
Yes. Connect your social accounts to PublishQ and start scheduling immediately. There is no data migration needed: your existing posts on each platform remain untouched.
PublishQ supports 8 platforms: Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky. Sprout Social supports 11 platforms: Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat.
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Last updated: May 2026. Pricing and features verified against public documentation.

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Also see: Sprout Social Alternative

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Alexandro - Founder
PublishQ

me 👋

Hi, I'm Alexandro 👋

I left my Software Engineer role at Amazon to build tools that solve real problems, the kind big companies ignore because they read spreadsheets instead of using their own products.

I was spending over an hour daily just scheduling 2 shorts across 3 platforms: logging in, reformatting, uploading one by one. That felt broken. So I built PublishQPublishQ . Now I create 4 shorts in 3 minutes and schedule them to 4 platforms in under 30 seconds.

PublishQ is bootstrapped. No investors, no vanity metrics. I build what actually helps you, because I use it every day myself.

Thank you,

Alexandro

tear off your free start
see you inside ✨Start for Free →see you inside ✨Start for Free →see you inside ✨Start for Free →

Solo-creator pricing, enterprise-grade power

Upgrade or cancel anytime. No bloated pricing.

Free

Best for trying it out

$0/month

  • 3 social accounts

  • 15 posts per month

  • 15 drafts

  • 1 workspace

  • Not included: Media Library

  • MCP, CLI, SDK, API

  • Not included: Analytics

No credit card required

Solo

Best for creators starting out

$14/month

  • 5 social accounts

  • ∞ posts per month

  • ∞ drafts

  • 1 workspace

  • 10GB media library

  • MCP, CLI, SDK, API

  • Analytics

$0 due today • Cancel anytime

Starter

Best for a single brand

$29/month

  • 15 social accounts

  • ∞ posts per month

  • ∞ drafts

  • 3 workspaces

  • 100GB media library

  • MCP, CLI, SDK, API

  • Analytics

$0 due today • Cancel anytime

Most Popular

Professional

Best for creators and small teams

$49/month

  • 30 social accounts

  • ∞ posts per month

  • ∞ drafts

  • 5 workspaces

  • 250GB media library

  • MCP, CLI, SDK, API

  • Analytics

$0 due today • Cancel anytime

Business

Best for agencies and brands at scale

$99/month

  • 100 social accounts

  • ∞ posts per month

  • ∞ drafts

  • ∞ workspaces

  • ∞ media library

  • MCP, CLI, SDK, API

  • Analytics

$0 due today • Cancel anytime

VAT is not included. Final price is calculated at checkout. 14-day refund policy on all paid plans.

Professional

$49 per month
Try for free
Accounts
Social AccountsNumber of social accounts that can be connected
30
WorkspacesNumber of workspaces to organize accounts
5
Post Across WorkspacesSend one post to accounts from different workspaces at once, so a launch shared by two brands is still one post.
Included
Publishing
Schedule PostsAbility to schedule posts for future publishing
Included
Cross-Platform PostingWrite once and publish to every account you select at the same time, instead of opening each app in turn.
Included
Customize Content per PlatformChange the text or the media for individual accounts inside the same composer — a longer version for LinkedIn, a shorter one for X — without leaving and creating a second post.
Included
Platform-Specific SettingsSet each network’s own publishing options in the composer: YouTube title, privacy, category, tags, playlist and made-for-kids; TikTok privacy level and comment, duet and stitch toggles; Instagram reel or story, share-to-feed and trial reels; plus the equivalents for Facebook, Threads, LinkedIn, X and Bluesky.
Included
Edit a Scheduled Post or DraftChange the text, the media, the accounts or the time on anything that has not gone out yet, instead of deleting it and starting again.
Included
Duplicate a PostReuse a post you already made — all of it, or just its text, just its media, or just its accounts — rather than rewriting it.
Included
Posts per month*How many posts you can schedule or publish. The allowance covers a month from your start date and then resets. Scheduled and published posts both count, and one post counts once however many accounts it goes to. Deleting a scheduled post frees its slot.Unlimited plans are subject to each network’s own daily posting limits, which we enforce to prevent spam and abuse.
Unlimited
DraftsPosts you can save without scheduling, held at once. Publish, schedule or delete one to free a slot.
Unlimited
Posts with media at a timeDrafts and scheduled posts that can carry images or video at once, on a plan with no media library. Publishing or deleting one frees a slot.
Unlimited
Content CalendarVisual calendar view of scheduled posts
Included
Post GroupingA post sent to several accounts appears once in your calendar with the platform icons on it, instead of being duplicated one row per platform.
Included
Per-Platform PreviewsSee exactly how post looks on each platform
Included
Content types
Carousel & Multi-Image PostsPost several images as one swipeable carousel on Instagram and Threads.
Included
Video PostsUpload videos up to 4 GB and publish them as posts, reels or shorts. No re-encoding, no compression, no watermark.
Included
StoriesPublish to Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories from the same composer as everything else.
Included
Custom Video ThumbnailsUpload or pick a JPG or PNG thumbnail for each YouTube video, from the composer or the API. Each YouTube channel in a post takes its own.
Included
Media and AI
Image OptimizationUploads are converted to the format each platform accepts, compressed, and resized to fit that platform’s limits — so a post is never rejected for the wrong file type or dimensions.
Included
Media LibraryUpload and organize media files (storage in GB)
250GB
Max File SizeThe biggest single image or video you can upload
4GB
Media Search, Filter and SortFind a file in your media library by its name, show only images or only videos, and sort by date, size or name.
Included
See Where Each File Is UsedEvery file in your library shows how many posts and accounts use it. Click the count to open those posts.
Included
Analytics
Post analyticsHow each individual post performed — views, likes, comments — for every post you publish.
Included
Account analyticsAccount-level numbers for each connected account: followers or subscribers, total views, and how they move over time.
Included
Posting Activity GraphA year of your posting at a glance, one square per day, with your current and longest posting streak — so you can see the gaps instead of guessing whether you have been consistent.
Included
Posts You Made ElsewherePosts published straight from the network are pulled in and sit alongside the ones you scheduled here, so your calendar and your numbers cover everything that account has done, not only what went through us. Available on the platforms whose API reports an account’s own posts. The rest are on the way as their APIs allow it.
Included
Automation for developers and agents
MCP AccessModel Context Protocol server access
Included
API AccessREST API access for automation
Included
CLI AccessCommand-line interface for posting
Included
SDK AccessOfficial TypeScript SDK on npm (@publishq/sdk)
Included
Everyday use
Dark ModeThe whole app in light or dark, or following whatever your system is set to.
Included
Time ZonePick your time zone once. Every post time, the calendar and every chart are read in it, so a schedule means what you think it means wherever you are.
Included
Live UpdatesThe dashboard keeps itself current. A post going out, an upload finishing or a video rendering shows up the moment it happens, in every tab you have open, with nothing to refresh. The same goes for your AI agent: a draft it writes, a post it schedules or publishes and any change it makes through the API, CLI or MCP server appear in your browser as it happens.
Included
Draft RecoveryClose the composer, or the whole tab, and the post you had started is waiting for you when you come back. Nothing to save first, and no window you have to leave open.
Included
  1. *Unlimited plans are subject to each network’s own daily posting limits, which we enforce to prevent spam and abuse.