Enterprise tools shouldn't cost enterprise prices.
Sprout Social Standard starts at $199/user/month (annual), and that's before you factor in creative AI. Rheos is £55 flat inc. VAT and includes image generation.
TL;DR
- Sprout Standard is $199/user/month (annual), roughly £150 per seat per month. Monthly billing is $249/seat.
- Rheos Social Media Manager is £55/mo flat inc. VAT, around 70% cheaper than Sprout Standard monthly.
- Sprout has deep CRM and social listening features built for large teams.
- Sprout added a cheaper Essentials tier (~$79/seat annual) in 2025. If publishing is all you need, that narrows the price gap.
Why small businesses are switching from Sprout Social
Dramatically cheaper for small teams
Rheos Social Media Manager is £55/mo flat inc. VAT. Sprout Standard is $199/seat/mo (annual) or $249/seat/mo (monthly), per seat.
AI creates content, not just suggests it
Sprout has AI-assisted captions and content recommendations. Rheos reads your website and generates full on-brand posts: text and images. No image or video generation in Sprout.
Built for how SMEs actually work
Sprout is enterprise-grade with CRM, social listening, Salesforce/HubSpot integrations, and approval flows most small businesses will never use. Rheos strips that out and focuses on 'create → ship'.
Platform coverage at a glance
Rheos publishes to all 4 live platforms on every plan. Here's what Sprout Social covers, and what it doesn't.
Rheos
All 4 platformsSprout Social
4 of 4 supportedSprout covers the major platforms (~9) plus a new Reddit partnership added in 2026, including TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest, which Rheos doesn't cover yet.
Plus: only Rheos has this
The first MCP server for social media.
Rheos ships with an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. Draft posts directly from Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code or Cursor. The AI reads your brand context and content calendar, then writes and queues the post in Rheos. Sprout Social doesn't offer this.
Works in Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients, on every Rheos plan. Free to set up.
Learn about the Rheos MCP serverRheos vs Sprout Social: feature by feature
Both tools do scheduling. Here's every other feature side by side.
| Feature | Rheos | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | £55/mo inc. VAT Social Media Manager (10-day free trial, no card needed) | From $79/seat/mo Essentials · $199/seat/mo Standard (annual billing, no free plan) |
| AI content generation | Brand-aware text and images | AI suggestions + enhance (text only, no images/video) |
| Image creation | Yes, built in | No |
| Social listening | Not yet | Yes, category-leading |
| CRM / customer care | Not yet | Yes, deep inbox with Salesforce/HubSpot integrations |
| Platforms | 5 live | ~9 (incl. Reddit partnership added 2026) |
| Best for | SMEs, founders, small teams | Mid-market + enterprise with social care teams |
Pricing side by side
| Plan | Rheos | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 10-day free trial of the full plan, no card needed. Then £55/mo inc. VAT | No free plan |
| Entry paid | £55/mo inc. VAT Social Media Manager | From $79/seat/mo Essentials (limited) · $199/seat/mo Standard (annual) |
Pick Rheos if…
- You're a small business, not a mid-market enterprise.
- You want AI to create content, not just suggest captions.
- $150-250/seat/month for scheduling feels absurd for a 1-5 person business.
- You don't need enterprise-grade social listening or CRM.
Stick with Sprout Social if…
- You're a mid-market or enterprise company with a dedicated social team.
- Social listening and competitor monitoring is business-critical.
- You have a customer care team using social as a support channel.
Frequently asked questions
How much cheaper is Rheos than Sprout Social?
Sprout Standard is $199/user/month (annual) or $249/user/month (monthly). Rheos Social Media Manager is £55/month flat inc. VAT. For a single user on monthly billing, Rheos is ~70% cheaper; on annual it's ~65% cheaper. Rheos also includes creative AI content generation (images) that Sprout doesn't do. Note: Sprout's newer Essentials tier at $79/seat/month narrows the gap if all you need is basic publishing.
Does Sprout Social have AI content generation?
Sprout has AI-assist features, including caption suggestions, rewrite, and enhance, but doesn't generate full on-brand posts, images, or video. Rheos reads your website to learn your brand and creates on-brand text and images.
Is Rheos enterprise-grade?
Rheos is built for SMEs and small teams first. If you need enterprise social listening, multi-brand CRM, or 20+ user approval workflows, Sprout is still the stronger tool. If you're a 1-20 person business, Rheos covers 95% of what you'd use Sprout for at a fraction of the price.
Does Rheos do social listening?
Not yet. Social listening (tracking brand mentions, competitor monitoring, sentiment) is on Rheos's 2026 roadmap. If listening is business-critical today, Sprout or Brandwatch are stronger.
What does Rheos replace that Sprout costs extra for?
Rheos Social Media Manager (£55/mo inc. VAT) replaces Sprout Standard (scheduling) + Canva (image creation) + OpenAI/ChatGPT for content generation. Typical combined cost elsewhere: £200-300/month. Rheos: £55.
Try Rheos.
All four live platforms, AI content generation included, from £55/month flat inc. VAT.