Video ad makers: AI actors or real footage
Six tools that make short video ads, split by the question that decides everything else: does an AI actor say your script, or do you edit footage of a real person? Prices, credits, licences and watermarks are from each company's own pricing and terms pages, read on one day.
Updated . Outside prices and features are read from each company's own pages on the dates shown with them.
If nobody will be on camera, an AI actor ad maker is the quickest route, and of the ones with public prices Creatify is the cheapest per ad: about $1.09 for a 15-second avatar video on its Standard plan billed yearly.
MakeUGC works out at $5.80 per talking-actor video on Starter, and licenses its output only while you keep paying. If you or a creator film the product, use an editor of real footage instead; that is what UGCLive is for, and the ad stays yours.
- Cheapest AI actor ad
- $1.09
- MakeUGC per video
- $5.80
- Tools compared
- 6
- Publish no price
- Arcads
Per-ad figures are our arithmetic on each company's yearly price and the videos its credits make, from their pricing and terms pages read on October 16, 2026. We didn't render ads with any of them.
Do you need an AI actor or a real person?
- AI actor adMakeUGC, Creatify, Arcads, Pippit, Captions
- Yes: FilmingNone: pick an actor, write a script
- Partly: A new variationA new render, paid in credits
- Check: Product on screenGenerated (MakeUGC's Product in Hand) or your images
- Check: RightsWhatever the tool's terms grant; read them
- Real footage adUGCLive, Captions, any phone editor
- Partly: FilmingYou or a creator, on a phone
- Yes: A new variationA new hook or cut of the same take
- Yes: Product on screenThe real one, in a real hand
- Yes: RightsYou own your footage; the creator's contract sets usage
An AI actor also can't pose as a customer: MakeUGC's avatar policy says “misrepresenting AI-generated avatars as real individuals is prohibited” and asks you to follow AI disclosure and advertising rules MakeUGC. If you are a creator, our UGC ad examples show the real-footage kind beat by beat.
What does one AI ad cost?
One AI actor video on the cheapest plan, billed yearly
| MakeUGC | $5.80 |
|---|---|
| Creatify | $1.09 |
Our arithmetic: each plan's yearly price per month over the videos its monthly credits make, from each pricing page read October 16, 2026. Arcads, Pippit and Captions don't publish both numbers.
| Tool | On screen | Cheapest plan | Ads it makes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MakeUGC | AI actor | Starter $29 a month billed yearly: 500 credits, 300+ AI actors, 480p or 720p | About 5 talking-actor videos a month on Starter (100 credits each, per its API docs) | |
| Creatify | AI actor | Standard $15 a month, or $12 billed yearly: 55 credits, 300 AI actors, videos up to 2 minutes | 11 Aurora avatar videos of 15 seconds a month on Standard; longer clips and premium models use more credits, which expire after 2 months | |
| Arcads | AI actor | Starter: 8,000 credits a month; prices are shown only inside the app | About 10 Arcads 1.0 talking-actor videos (800 credits each, up to 2 minutes) on Starter; no public price to divide | |
| Pippit | AI actor | Starter: USD 101 a year (struck through from USD 168) for 1,575 credits a month, as the page showed it to us | Avatar videos are listed, but the page doesn't say how many credits one uses | |
| Captions | AI actor or real footage | Max $24.99 a month (iOS): 500 AI credits, AI Edit and AI Creators (digital twins or custom AI actors) | The pricing page doesn't say how many credits one AI Creator video or AI Edit uses | |
| UGCLive | Real footage | Pro at $20 a month, or $14 a month billed yearly | One monthly balance, not a price per video: Pro covers about 131 finished videos a month |
The per-ad figure assumes you use every credit on that one kind of video. Creatify's credits expire after two months and longer clips cost more Creatify pricing; MakeUGC prices other generations by model, length and resolution MakeUGC. Monthly billing costs more: Creatify Standard is $15 a month that way. The full plan tables are in our MakeUGC review and Arcads credits and licence.
Who owns the ad after you stop paying?
What each tool's terms say about your finished ads
Yours after you cancel
- Yes: Creatify: "You own all of your creatives, even after your plan ends"
- Yes: UGCLive: Our terms: you own the videos you make; we use them only to run the features you use
Only while you pay
- No: MakeUGC: Output is licensed only while you have an active paid subscription (fair use policy, July 11, 2025)
A licence, not ownership
- Check: Arcads: A non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable licence that lets you distribute and market the video; download what you want to keep
Not stated on the pages we read
- Partly: Pippit: Templates and creative assets listed as available for commercial use; the page doesn't say which plans
- Partly: Captions: Not stated on the pricing page
MakeUGC's fair use policy, Creatify's pricing FAQ and terms, Arcads' terms (in force October 16, 2026), Pippit's and Captions' pricing pages, and our own terms, read October 16, 2026.
This matters most for an ad that keeps running. On MakeUGC a winning ad you made a year ago is licensed only while your plan is active MakeUGC. Arcads says it can't grant an exclusive licence because the video is made with AI, and that it is your job to download every video you want to keep Arcads terms.
How do the six ad makers compare?
- MakeUGCAI actor · makeugc.ai, in the browser
- Cheapest planStarter $29 a month billed yearly: 500 credits, 300+ AI actors, 480p or 720p
- WatermarkWatermark removal listed on every paid plan; no free plan
- Check: LicenceOutput is licensed only while you have an active paid subscription (fair use policy, July 11, 2025)
- Trial$1 for any plan
- CreatifyAI actor · creatify.ai, in the browser
- Cheapest planStandard $15 a month, or $12 billed yearly: 55 credits, 300 AI actors, videos up to 2 minutes
- WatermarkFree plan (10 credits) exports with a watermark; paid plans remove it
- Yes: Licence"You own all of your creatives, even after your plan ends"
- TrialFree plan
- ArcadsAI actor · arcads.ai (FRESHR), in the browser
- Cheapest planStarter: 8,000 credits a month; prices are shown only inside the app
- WatermarkNot stated on its pricing or terms pages
- Partly: LicenceA non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable licence that lets you distribute and market the video; download what you want to keep
- Trial72 hours, 1,000 credits, card required; then Starter is charged
- PippitAI actor · "Powered by CapCut"; in the US, run by TikTok USDS Joint Venture
- Cheapest planStarter: USD 101 a year (struck through from USD 168) for 1,575 credits a month, as the page showed it to us
- Watermark"Remove watermark" is listed from Starter, so free exports likely carry one
- Partly: LicenceTemplates and creative assets listed as available for commercial use; the page doesn't say which plans
- TrialFree plan with daily credits
- CaptionsAI actor or real footage · Captions, LLC (iPhone and web)
- Cheapest planMax $24.99 a month (iOS): 500 AI credits, AI Edit and AI Creators (digital twins or custom AI actors)
- WatermarkNot stated on the pricing page
- Partly: LicenceNot stated on the pricing page
- TrialFree plan with basic tools and no AI credits
- UGCLiveReal footage · Our own editor, in beta on the web; the iPhone app isn't out yet
- Cheapest planPro at $20 a month, or $14 a month billed yearly
- WatermarkNone on a plan's exports
- Yes: LicenceOur terms: you own the videos you make; we use them only to run the features you use
- TrialNo free plan: every product runs on a plan; the free tools on ugc.live stay free
UGCLive's row is our own product in beta, which nobody outside the team has checked.
How do you turn one real take into an ad?
- 1. Film one takeRead the script off the teleprompter; retakes are fine.
- 2. Cut it with AI editPauses, fumbles and the weaker takes of each line come out.
- 3. Caption every wordAuto captions, styled to follow the voice.
- 4. Write the opening lineThe hook writer suggests openings from your brief.
That is UGCLive's editor as it stands in our test build. Exporting the same edit with two or three different hooks for an A/B test is built but switched off for now, so this page doesn't count it. For hooks without the app, the UGC hook library is free.
What did this comparison leave out?
Not tested
- Partly: Rendering the same script in each tool
- Partly: How each ad performs once it runs
- Partly: Arcads' in-app prices, which aren't public
- Partly: Pippit's prices outside the yearly view it showed us
Free tools for the same video
Sources
Each company's own pricing, terms and help pages, read on October 16, 2026. Prices change often and can differ by country, platform and promotion; the checkout screen has the final word. Nobody pays to be listed: how we research and test.
- MakeUGC: Pricing
- MakeUGC: API rate limits and credits
- MakeUGC: Fair Use Policy
- Creatify: Pricing
- Creatify: Terms of Service (effective September 23, 2024)
- Arcads help: How does Arcads pricing work?
- Arcads help: How the free trial works
- Arcads: Terms & Conditions
- Pippit: Pricing & Plans (pippit.ai/pricing)
- CapCut US Privacy Policy (last updated April 15, 2026)
- Captions: Pricing
- App Store (US): Captions: AI video editor
- MakeUGC: Custom Avatar Policy
Video ad makers: AI actors or real footage FAQ
What is the cheapest AI video ad maker?
Of the ones with public prices, Creatify: its Standard plan is $15 a month, or $12 billed yearly, with 55 credits, which its page says makes 11 Aurora avatar videos of 15 seconds. MakeUGC starts at $29 a month billed yearly for 500 credits, about 5 talking-actor videos.
Can I use AI avatar ads commercially?
On paid plans, yes, under each company's terms. MakeUGC's fair use policy licenses output only while your paid subscription is active; Creatify says you own your creatives even after the plan ends; Arcads grants a non-exclusive licence.
Do free AI ad makers add a watermark?
Creatify's free plan exports with a watermark, and Pippit lists watermark removal from its Starter plan. MakeUGC has no free plan, only a $1 trial, and Arcads a 72-hour trial.
Should a brand use AI actors or real creators?
AI actors are faster and cheaper per variation; real creators bring a real face, a real product in hand and a review someone can stand behind. A common split is to test hooks with AI and film the winners with a creator.
Still have questions?Email us
Other comparisons
Make UGC videos with an AI creator, or a faceless video from a script.
Our AI writes the hooks, makes the parts and edits them together.
