maebe vs. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is the premium suite with listening, inbox and per-seat pricing. maebe is built for the path from raw material to approved post — with PIN client approvals, teams instead of seats and hosting in Germany.
In short
For agencies, freelancers and small teams that need client approvals but don’t want to pay for a suite per seat.
Sprout Social’s smallest plan starts at $79 per seat per month billed annually; approval workflows start with Professional, external approvers without an account on Advanced. maebe has PIN approvals even on the free plan, charges per team and stores data in Germany.
maebe fits if …
Honestly: if listening, inbox, Reddit or WhatsApp are your core, Sprout Social is the more comprehensive suite.
Sprout Social bundles publishing, listening, message inbox and reporting for large brands and connects ten networks, including Reddit, WhatsApp and Bluesky. maebe deliberately doesn’t build listening or an inbox.
Stay with Sprout Social if …
Facts
Verifiable facts only — everything about Sprout Social comes from the provider’s public pages, checked on 15 September 2026.
| Criterion | maebe | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|
| Company & data | ||
| Headquarters | Germany | Sprout Social, Inc., USA |
| Where your data is stored | Stored in Germany (Hetzner); images and videos are delivered via the Bunny CDN (EU provider, edge servers worldwide) | “Servers located in the United States and the EEA”; Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses |
| AI provider | Mistral AI (France, EU) | Not named on the public pages (as of 15 September 2026) |
| Approvals & collaboration | ||
| Approval workflow | In every plan, including Free | Professional and Advanced (“Message Approval Workflows”) |
| Client approval without an account | Via link and PIN, no cap | Advanced: up to 3 external approvers without an account |
| Users | Included in the plan (Solo 1, Pro 3 per team, Studio unlimited) | Priced per seat per month |
| Networks | ||
| Connectable networks | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, Bluesky, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, XING | TikTok, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, Reddit, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Facebook, X, Pinterest |
| Social profiles | Per team via Social Connect (extra) | Essentials/Standard 5, unlimited from Professional |
| Pricing & getting started | ||
| Free entry | Free plan: 1 team, 1 project, 5 GB, PIN approvals, media pools — plus a 14-day trial of all features | No free plan; 30-day trial without a card |
| Smallest paid plan | Solo €19.90 per month, incl. VAT | Essentials $79 per seat per month billed annually, $99 billed monthly |
| Smallest plan with an approval workflow | Free (€0) | Professional $299 per seat per month billed annually; external approvers from Advanced $399 |
| Price scaling | By plan, team members included, euros incl. VAT | Per seat, US dollars, no VAT statement |
Source: Sprout Social pricing page, as of 15 September 2026.
The difference
Most scheduling tools start in the calendar: pick a slot, fill in content. maebe flips that. Material lands in the media pool, gets curated with a traffic light, posts emerge from the good stuff — and only then comes the date, suggested by AI if you like.
Your client gets a link, sees the post exactly as it will go live and confirms by PIN. In every plan, even the free one. In Sprout Social, approval workflows start with Professional; external approvers without an account exist only on Advanced, up to three.
Separate accounts, media and permissions per client. Posting to the wrong client is structurally impossible, and new colleagues only see their own clients.
maebe is deliberately not a business cockpit. Planning, approving, publishing — every task has its place, and clients need no training to approve. Sprout Social, in turn, bundles listening, inbox and reporting in a premium per-seat suite.
maebe learns from your own texts and your briefing. Caption drafts sound like you or your client, not like a generic prompt — processed by Mistral AI in France.
Best posting times from your own performance, complemented by the field of similar accounts. With Radar (from Pro) you also keep an eye on competitors.
German law, privacy policy and data processing agreement in German, storage at Hetzner in Germany, AI by Mistral from France. For clients with data-protection requirements that’s one line in the contract instead of a discussion.
Team members are included in the plan, clients pay nothing to approve and need no account. Prices in euros incl. VAT, German-language interface, German support. The price grows with your setup, not with every new colleague.
To be fair
Listening, inbox, reporting
The suite for large brands: track mentions, answer messages centrally, enterprise-grade reports. maebe deliberately builds neither listening nor an inbox.
Ten networks
Including X, Pinterest, Reddit, WhatsApp and Bluesky — more breadth than maebe.
Servers also in the EEA
Sprout Social names servers in the USA and the EEA and is certified under the Data Privacy Framework — unusually transparent for a US provider.
Pricing
maebe
Free
For trying things out and small setups — without AI.
1 team · 1 person per team · 1 project · 5 GB storage
Solo
For solo creatives running their own feed.
1 team · 1 person per team · 3 projects · 150 GB storage
Pro
For small teams posting regularly.
3 teams · 3 people per team · 10 projects · 250 GB storage
Studio
For setups with many teams and roles.
8 teams · unlimited people · unlimited projects · 500 GB storage
All maebe prices per month incl. VAT, cancel monthly. 14-day free trial, no card.
Start freeSprout Social
Essentials
Per seat, 5 social profiles, no approval workflow
Standard
Per seat, 5 social profiles
Professional
Per seat, unlimited profiles, with approval workflow
Advanced
Per seat, up to 3 external approvers without an account
All Sprout Social prices in US dollars per seat per month, no VAT statement.
Enterprise: custom price. A monthly-billing figure is shown only for Essentials; the other plans show the annual-billing price. No free plan, 30-day trial.
Source: Sprout Social pricing page, as of 15 September 2026.
sproutsocial.com/pricing
· Something out of date? Let us know.
FAQ
For agencies whose clients approve posts and who don’t need a per-seat suite, yes. In Sprout Social, approval workflows start with Professional; external approvers without an account exist on Advanced, up to three. maebe has approvals in every plan, via link and PIN without a client account, with no cap, with teams instead of seats.
No. Clients open an approval link, see the post in preview and confirm with a PIN. If you like, you can also add clients as team members.
There is no automatic import. You reconnect your social accounts in maebe, upload your material to media pools and plan from there. Posts scheduled in Sprout Social keep running independently until you stop them there.
Yes. Free includes one team, one project, 5 GB of storage, client approvals with PIN and media pools, without AI features. You can also try all features for 14 days without a payment method; after that you continue on Free automatically.
Stored on Hetzner servers in Germany; images and videos are delivered via the Bunny CDN. AI features run via Mistral AI in France, payments through an EU provider. Details are in the privacy policy.
Sprout Social is a trademark of Sprout Social, Inc. maebe has no business relationship with Sprout Social. All information about Sprout Social comes from the provider’s publicly accessible pages (pricing, home, privacy policy, support center), checked on 15 September 2026, and may have changed since. Only the provider’s own statements are binding.
maebe vs. Sprout Social
Try all features for 14 days, then continue on Free at no cost. No card.
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