The best Arcads alternatives in 2026 are Creatify and MakeUGC for AI actor ads with prices shown before you sign up, Relay for organic TikTok slideshows and videos sent to your own account once you approve them, and Billo or SideShift for real creators instead of AI actors. Arcads is still the strong pick for media buyers who need talking-actor ad variations at volume and already post and test elsewhere. Relay makes one of these tools; claims about the others link to their own pages.
Key takeaways
- Arcads makes AI actor video ads from a script, with 1,000+ AI actors, but lists no dollar prices on its site. A March 2025 review reported its Starter plan at $110 a month.
- The closest like-for-like swaps are Creatify (free plan, Starter $39 a month) and MakeUGC (Starter $59 a month, $1 trial), as of October 2026.
- For organic TikTok on your own account, Relay makes slideshows and videos and sends the ones you approve to your TikTok inbox on a schedule, from $25 for the first month, then $49 a month (pricing).
- For real people instead of AI actors, Billo’s creators film ad videos and SideShift’s creators post from their own accounts.
Why do people look for Arcads alternatives?
What we could confirm, as of October 2026:
- Prices are not public. Arcads has no public pricing page (arcads.ai/pricing returned a 404), and its help center lists plan allowances (Starter 8,000 usage units a month, Creator 16,000) without dollar figures (Arcads help center). A March 2025 review reported Starter at $110 and Creator at $220 a month (Marketer Milk; eesel.ai repeated them in June 2026). Arcads does offer a 72-hour trial with 1,000 units.
- Short ads bill like a full minute. A talking actor costs 800 units per minute, per actor, and length is always rounded up (Arcads help center). A 20-second ad uses as much as a 60-second one.
- Billing and support complaints. Arcads has a TrustScore of 2.6 from 182 reviews on Trustpilot, with 48% one-star and 42% five-star. One-star reviews cite renewals after cancelling, fast-draining usage, and blurry or out-of-sync output.
- It hands you ad files, not a posting calendar. Its help center describes output ready to upload for Reels, Stories, feed and TikTok (help center). Its terms add an optional TikTok connection that publishes a post only after you confirm it.
- The actors are AI. Arcads says its actors are AI versions of real actors who consented and are paid for their likeness (FAQ).
How do the best Arcads alternatives compare?
| Tool | Best for | What it makes | Posting | Real creators | Entry price, as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcads | High-volume AI actor ads | Talking AI actor videos, B-roll, images | Optional TikTok post you confirm | No, AI actors | Not published; $110/mo reported March 2025 |
| Creatify | Same job, visible prices | URL-to-video ads with AI actors | Ad Launcher to ad accounts | No | Free plan; $39/mo |
| MakeUGC | Script-first avatar ads | AI actor and product-in-hand videos | No, MP4 exports | No | $59/mo, $1 trial |
| HeyGen | Avatar video beyond ads | AI avatar and translated videos | Not its focus | No | Free plan; $29/mo |
| Superscale | Creative plus campaign setup | Static and video ads, AI UGC | Ad campaigns plus organic TikTok and Instagram posts, with your approval | No, AI characters | $49/mo Starter on its plan cards (its FAQ and plan docs say $99; confirm at checkout) |
| Relay | Organic TikTok on your own account | Slideshows and videos | Approved posts to your TikTok inbox; add any finishing touches, tap Post | Creator network on Scale | $0 today, 1-day trial (card required); $25 first month, then $49/mo |
| Billo | Creator-shot ad videos | Video ads filmed by real creators | Creators can post on their profiles | Yes | From $99 a video, in packs |
| SideShift | Real creators posting organically | Posts on creators’ own accounts | Creators post | Yes | $299/mo plus creator pay |
What are the best Arcads alternatives?
1. Creatify: the closest swap, with prices on the page
Creatify turns a product URL into AI avatar video ads, with templates, ad cloning and an Ad Launcher. As of October 2026, its pricing page lists a free plan with watermarked exports, Starter at $39 a month (100 units, 300 AI actors, 75+ languages) and Pro from $99 a month (300 units and up, 1,500 AI actors, a competitor ad tracker).
- Best for: media buyers who like the Arcads workflow but want visible prices and a free plan to test on.
- Watch-outs: the bigger actor library and the competitor tracker sit on Pro. For Arcads, Creatify and MakeUGC plans side by side, see Arcads vs Creatify vs MakeUGC.
2. MakeUGC: script-first AI actor ads with a $1 trial
MakeUGC turns a script and an AI actor into MP4 files that you upload to Meta Ads Manager or TikTok Ads yourself (MakeUGC product overview). As of October 2026, its pricing page lists Starter at $59 a month (500 units, exports up to 720p), Growth at $79 (1,000 units, batch mode, up to 4K) and Pro from $149 (2,000 to 5,000 units, 1,000+ AI actors), each with a $1 trial.
- Best for: DTC brands and small performance teams that want script-first avatar ads at a lower entry price than Arcads’ reported Starter.
- Watch-outs: units refresh monthly and do not roll over, and Starter renders one video at a time.
3. HeyGen: avatar video beyond ads
HeyGen is a general-purpose AI avatar and video translation tool. As of October 2026, its pricing page lists a free plan (3 videos a month), Creator at $29 a month ($24 billed annually) with 175+ languages and dialects, Pro from $49 a month, and Business at $149 a month plus $20 per seat.
- Best for: teams that need avatar or translated videos for more than ads.
- Watch-outs: its pricing page lists no ad-testing tools such as competitor ad research or ad launching, and free videos are capped at 1 minute.
4. Superscale: an AI agent that also sets up the campaigns
Superscale is a prompt-driven AI marketing agent that makes static and video ads, including AI UGC, and with your approval creates campaigns in connected Meta, Google and TikTok ad accounts or publishes organic TikTok and Instagram posts (Superscale docs). As of October 2026 its plan cards start at $49 (Starter), though its pricing FAQ and plan docs still say $99; confirm at checkout. It offers a 5-day free trial; see our Superscale pricing breakdown.
- Best for: performance teams that want creative and campaign setup in one place.
- Watch-outs: its homepage labels Meta and Google launch and scheduling as coming soon; confirm what is live.
5. Relay: organic TikTok instead of ad files
Relay makes TikTok content for your brand. Paste your website or App Store link and answer a few one-tap questions; Relay looks at what gets views in your niche and makes slideshows and videos in your voice. Swipe right to approve or left to pass, connect your TikTok once, and Relay sends each approved post to your TikTok inbox on its day. When a post does well, it makes new takes of it.
Pricing as of October 2026 (pricing): Starter is $25 for the first month, then $49 a month for 40 posts made and 20 sent to your TikTok. Growth is $45, then $99 a month for 120 made and 60 sent. Scale is $149, then $249 a month for 300 made and up to 150 posts a month in total, split between your TikTok and Relay’s creator network of 50,000 creators, who post your approved drafts from their own accounts. Annual billing gets 2 months free. It is $0 today with a 1-day trial (card required) that converts to the paid first month unless cancelled.
- Best for: brands and apps that grow on organic TikTok and want a steady posting calendar without writing briefs.
- Watch-outs: self-serve Relay works with TikTok only, and its trial is 1 day against Arcads’ 72-hour trial.
Relay’s separate managed UGC ads service makes UGC ad creative from its creator network at about $5 a creative, starting with a free 15-minute call.
6. Billo: creator-shot ad videos
Billo matches brands with real creators who film video ads, with options for organic posts on creator profiles and partnership ads from creator handles. Billo does not publish a price list (its pricing link redirects to a login page), but its own guide lists videos from $99 each.
- Best for: DTC brands that want human UGC ad files instead of AI actors, especially for Meta ads.
- Watch-outs: creators usually deliver 7 to 12 days after they receive your product (help center).
7. SideShift: real creators posting on their own accounts
SideShift is a marketplace where brands brief creators who post from their own accounts. As of October 2026, its pricing page lists Starter at $299 a month, or $210 a month billed annually, with 15 creators live at once. Creator payments are separate, and it recommends $2,000 to $5,000 a month in creator spend at that tier. Monthly plans include a 14-day free trial.
- Best for: funded consumer apps that want many real faces posting organically.
- Watch-outs: at the recommended spend, creator pay is several times the software fee.
What does each Arcads alternative cost per video?
As of October 2026 (Arcads’ price is a March 2025 report), divide plan price by actual output:
| Plan | Monthly price | Allowance | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcads Starter | $110 reported | 8,000 units at 800 per actor-minute, rounded up: about 10 one-actor ads of up to 60 seconds | About $11 an ad, whether it runs 15 or 60 seconds |
| Creatify Starter | $39 | 100 units at 5 per 15 seconds of avatar video, rounded up: about 20 fifteen-second ads, or 10 at 30 seconds | About $2 a 15-second ad, about $3.90 at 30 seconds |
| MakeUGC Starter | $59 | 500 units; a talking-actor video uses 100 | About $11.80 a video |
| Relay Starter | $49 after a $25 first month | 40 posts made, 20 sent to your TikTok | About $2.45 a post sent |
Rejected renders raise every AI figure: if half your Arcads renders are unusable, each keeper costs about $22. Test one product and hook in two tools first, and see AI UGC vs creator UGC for when real creators are worth the cost.
When is another Arcads alternative a better fit than Relay?
- You need Instagram, Facebook or YouTube publishing. Self-serve Relay works with TikTok only today; Superscale documents organic Instagram posts, and Arcads, Creatify and MakeUGC export files you can run anywhere.
- You need a scripted AI spokesperson in many languages. Arcads lists 35 languages and accents for talking actors (FAQ); Creatify lists 75+ and HeyGen 175+ languages and dialects.
- You want a tool to run paid campaigns. Self-serve Relay makes organic content and sends what you approve to your TikTok; it does not manage ad accounts. Creatify’s Ad Launcher and Superscale’s approval-gated campaigns do.
- You need guaranteed view counts. Relay does not promise views; it shows each post’s views and makes new takes of the ones that do well.
Where to go from here
If your goal is a brand TikTok with fresh posts every week, see how Relay makes AI UGC videos or read Relay vs Arcads. If you mainly buy ad creative, run the two-tool test above against your Arcads ads.