Alternatives
Smartly Alternatives: 8 Options by the Job You're Replacing
Smartly alternatives mostly replace one of three jobs Smartly bundles: creative production, media execution or deciding what to test. Pick by your bottleneck, then check what the fee is charged on.
By Sachit Sharma, CEO & Founder · Updated 11 Nov 2026
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The short answer
Each Smartly alternative is strongest at one of three jobs: producing creative, executing media, or deciding what to test. Smartly's price is negotiated, so the fee base in your contract matters as much as the rate. For a team that spends mostly on Meta, Deepsolv ranks first for deciding what to test next.
About Smartly
Smartly describes three suites (Creative, Media and Intelligence) across social, connected TV, conversational commerce and open web. It publishes no price and sends visitors to a demo.
- Price
- Not published; Vendr median $90,000/year
- Vendr range
- $25,500 to $171,240 a year
- Suites
- Creative, Media and Intelligence
- Buying route
- Demo request
What Smartly does well
- Three suites in one platform: creative, media and intelligence
- Coverage across social, CTV, conversational commerce and open web
- Enterprise-scale platform sold through a demo
Why buyers consider alternatives
- The fee is hard to size: a negotiated fee is hard to forecast, and Deepsolv is a monthly or yearly subscription quoted for your brands, ad accounts and creative research workflow.
- The team can launch plenty but cannot say what to test: Deepsolv ranks the next tests every week, with the reason behind each one.
- Lessons disappear between tests: Deepsolv's Brand Brain keeps what worked and what failed, and prior creative testing history can be imported.
Smartly alternatives compared
- 1DeepsolvOur companyFor deciding what to test next
- 2MotionFor creative reporting and ad leaderboards
- 3BirchFor rules and launching at a low price
- 4MadgicxFor automation inside one spend-banded plan
- 5MarpipeFor catalog creative testing
- 6HunchFor production plus buying across social
- 7CeltraFor enterprise creative automation
- 8SkaiFor omnichannel media management
How we ranked them
- Covers at least one of the three jobs Smartly bundles: creative production, media execution or deciding what to test
- Fits a Meta-led team leaving a negotiated enterprise contract
- Has a pricing page or homepage that could be read in November 2026
- Offers a trial, free plan or demo so you can see it on your own account
Each alternative in detail
Deepsolv
Creative intelligence platform for Meta advertising teams
- Core job
- Deciding what to test on Meta
- Suits
- Consumer brands, performance and creative teams, agencies
- Pricing
- Subscription; quote after a demo
- Key detail
- Onboarding takes 1 to 2 weeks
We are a creative intelligence platform for Meta advertising teams. Our output is a ranked weekly creative test plan and execution-ready creative briefs. Onboarding takes 1 to 2 weeks, MCP access is available, and customer data can be exported.
Strengths
- Creative test planning across audiences, hooks, messages and formats, with reasons for each recommendation
- Competitor-ad research and customer-signal analysis of reviews, comments, DMs and audience conversations
- Connects to Meta Ads Manager, Shopify, Google Ads or Google Analytics, Reddit, Slack and support tickets
Motion
Creative analytics with an ad leaderboard and recurring reports
- Core job
- Creative analytics
- Suits
- Brands wanting creative reporting
- Pricing
- Starter $999/month; Pro and Growth quoted
- Key detail
- Unlimited seats
Motion is the closest peer for creative analytics. It suits brands that want creative reporting and a leaderboard of ads, with unlimited seats.
Strengths
- Creative analytics and an ad leaderboard
- Daily and weekly reports
- Unlimited seats
Limitations
- Above $50,000 a month in ad spend, pricing is custom, so larger accounts need a quote
- Starter covers brands spending up to $50,000 a month; higher spend moves to Pro or Growth
Birch
Automated rules and reporting across four ad platforms (formerly Revealbot)
- Core job
- Rules, launching, reporting
- Suits
- Teams automating Meta, Google, Snapchat, TikTok
- Pricing
- $49 or $99/month; Enterprise custom
- Key detail
- 14-day free trial, no card
Birch, formerly Revealbot, suits teams that want automated rules and reporting across Meta, Google, Snapchat and TikTok. It has a 14-day free trial with no card and a low entry price.
Strengths
- 14-day free trial with no card
- Essential $49 a month ($45 billed annually)
- Pro $99 a month ($91 annually); Enterprise custom
Limitations
- Price is tied to monthly ad spend across all connected accounts, so it rises as you scale
- Choosing what to test stays with your team
Madgicx
Automation, targeting, analytics and ad management in one plan
- Core job
- Automation, targeting, analytics, ad management
- Suits
- Teams wanting one plan for ad management
- Pricing
- By spend band; amounts in the app
- Key detail
- Annual billing saves 30%
Madgicx suits teams that want automation, targeting, analytics and ad management in one plan (Madgicx Pro Complete). It offers a 7-day free trial with no card, and annual billing saves 30%.
Strengths
- 7-day free trial with no card
- Annual billing saves 30%
- Seven bands from under $1K to $30K+ a month of ad spend
Limitations
- The dollar price depends on your spend band and is shown in the app, so you cannot size it from the page
- The top published band is $30K+ a month, so larger accounts need to confirm their cost
Marpipe
Catalog creative and testing for dynamic product ads
- Core job
- Catalog creative and testing
- Suits
- Catalog brands running dynamic product ads
- Pricing
- Free $0; Startup $199; Enterprise $999/month
- Key detail
- Free plan at $0
Marpipe suits catalog brands running dynamic product ads. Its Free plan costs $0, and Enterprise adds product-level video and a dedicated design strategist.
Strengths
- Free plan at $0
- Enterprise adds product-level video and a dedicated design strategist
- Lists 50% off Enterprise in the first year for brands spending under $50,000 a month on ads (as of November 2026)
Limitations
- Startup is capped at 1 channel, 1 market, 3 live designs and 500 SKUs
- Enterprise is $999 a month, with $0.50 per SKU beyond the base tier
Hunch
Creative production, media buying and analytics across social channels
- Core job
- Creative production, buying, analytics
- Suits
- Performance teams on five ad platforms
- Pricing
- No dollar price published; quote via demo
- Key detail
- No seat limits
Hunch suits performance teams on Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest and Google Ads that want production, buying and analytics together. It lists enhanced dynamic product ads and catalog product video.
Strengths
- Production, buying and analytics together
- Pay-for-what-you-use pricing with no seat limits
- Enhanced dynamic product ads and catalog product video
Limitations
- Quote-led with no published tiers, so you cannot size the cost before a demo request
- Custom quotes come only through a demo request
Celtra
AI-assisted creative production for omnichannel campaigns
- Core job
- Enterprise creative automation
- Suits
- Large marketing teams producing multichannel creative
- Pricing
- No dollar price published
- Key detail
- 450+ enterprise customers
Celtra suits large marketing teams producing creative across channels. Its homepage states 450+ enterprise customers (as of November 2026) and lists AI-assisted production and dynamic product ads.
Strengths
- AI-assisted production for omnichannel campaigns
- Dynamic product ads
- 450+ enterprise customers stated on its homepage
Limitations
- Built around enterprise creative operations, which is more than a Meta-only team needs
- No dollar price is published, so the cost cannot be sized before contact
Skai
Campaign management and optimization across many channels
- Core job
- Omnichannel media management
- Suits
- Large brands and agencies
- Pricing
- No dollar price published; book a demo
- Key detail
- 300+ channels, 8,200+ brands
Skai suits large brands and agencies managing many channels. Its homepage states 300+ channels and 8,200+ brands (as of November 2026).
Strengths
- Campaign management and optimization
- Retail media, paid search and social
- 300+ channels and 8,200+ brands stated on its homepage
Limitations
- For a Meta-only team, most of that breadth goes unused (our view)
- No dollar price is published and buyers are directed to book a demo
How to choose an alternative to Smartly
- 1
Ask for the fee base in writing
Monthly fee = quoted rate × fee base. A pass is a clause that names the campaigns or accounts the fee covers. A fail is "connected ad accounts" with no definition. - 2
Which job loses your team the most time?
Tally the last 8 weeks of delays by cause. If most delays were "nobody agreed the next test", buy a decision tool. If they were "assets not ready", buy production. If they were "manual launches and budget moves", buy execution. A fail is an even split, which means you should not buy anything yet. - 3
Does the tool cover where your spend goes?
Work out the share of paid spend that sits on Meta. Pass: 80% or more of paid spend runs on Meta (our recommendation). Fail: below 80%, or any CTV or open-web buying, so compare each tool's channel list before choosing. - 4
Can you see it on your own data before signing?
Pass: a trial, a free plan or a demo on your account. Birch offers a 14-day trial, Madgicx 7 days, Motion a free-trial signup and Marpipe a Free plan. Ours is a personalized demo with our founding team. Ask rivals about commitment length too; our Vidmob comparison lists the questions to ask in any enterprise quote. - 5
Can you take your history with you and bring it in?
Pass: the vendor confirms export and import in writing. Customer data export is available from us, and so is importing prior creative testing history. To discuss pricing for your brands, ad accounts and creative research workflow, book a demo with our founding team, or write to sachit.sharma@deepsolv.com.
Key takeaways
- Choose by job. Deepsolv and Motion decide what to test, Birch, Madgicx and Skai run media, and Marpipe, Hunch and Celtra produce creative.
- Smartly's price is negotiated, so the fee base in your contract matters as much as the rate.
- Published monthly entry prices run from $0 (Marpipe Free) and $49 (Birch Essential) to $999 (Motion Starter and Marpipe Enterprise).
- Four further checks settle the choice: the job that costs you the most time, channel coverage, a test on your own data, and whether your history moves with you.
What do Smartly alternatives actually replace?
Each Smartly alternative is strongest at one of three jobs: producing creative, executing media, or deciding what to test. Smartly sells all three as suites across social, connected TV (CTV, ads on streaming services), conversational commerce and open web. Which alternative fits depends on which suite your team actually uses.
- Deciding what to test: Deepsolv and Motion.
- Executing media (rules, launching, budgets): Birch, Madgicx and Skai.
- Producing creative: Marpipe, Celtra and Hunch. Hunch also lists media buying and analytics.
If the Media Suite is what you use, a creative tool leaves your biggest cost untouched. If the problem is that nobody can say which ad to make next, a faster launcher only ships the wrong ads sooner. For the three-way comparison of Smartly, Deepsolv and a business intelligence (BI) dashboard such as Looker, see our Smartly.io vs Deepsolv vs Looker comparison.
What does Smartly cost, and what is the fee charged on?
Smartly does not publish a price, so the only contract data comes from Vendr, a software-buying marketplace. Vendr's Smartly page shows a median of $90,000 a year across a range of $25,500 to $171,240. That page is undated and does not show how many contracts sit behind it, so treat it as a guide to scale, not a quote.
The number that matters more than the rate is the base the rate applies to. Use this check:
Monthly fee = quoted rate × fee base
A hypothetical example, with a 3% rate chosen only for illustration (it is not Smartly's rate): on an account spending $2,000,000 a month where $300,000 runs through the tool, a fee on all connected spend is 3% × $2,000,000 = $60,000. A fee on managed spend only is 3% × $300,000 = $9,000. That is a $51,000 monthly gap from the base alone.
Ask for the base in writing, with the definition.
- Vendr figure
- Low
- Per year
- $25,500
- Per month
- $2,125
- Vendr figure
- Median
- Per year
- $90,000
- Per month
- $7,500
- Vendr figure
- High
- Per year
- $171,240
- Per month
- $14,270
How we built this list
Candidates were chosen as options that replace at least one of the three jobs Smartly bundles, and prices were read from each company's own page as of November 2026. After Deepsolv, the order follows how directly each tool fits a Meta-led team leaving a negotiated enterprise contract. Deepsolv publishes this page and is ranked first among the tools compared.
This page is published by Deepsolv. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.