AdCreative.ai vs Pencil
We give AdCreative.ai and Pencil the same GPA: 2.2 out of 4.0. AdCreative.ai grades higher on features. Pencil grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AdCreative.ai
AI ad banners, product photos and video ads, with creative scoring
Pencil
AI ad creation across many image, video and text models
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAdCreative.aiFair | 2.2GPAPencilFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DGraded on a few dozen ads a month against the AI ad makers it's listed with. Starter at $20 billed yearly gives 20 credits, one per download, so you'd want 120 credits at $95. Even that has no video or creative scoring, which start on Professional at $125. That's dear next to its rivals. | CGraded on a few dozen ads a month. Core's 50 credits at $11 billed annually won't go that far, since each action is charged by model and resizing costs 1 credit per format, so it's Growth: 250 credits for $44 billed annually ($55 monthly). That's the middle of this category. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 7-day trial with 10 credits to try banners, videos and UGC videos. The listing doesn't say whether a card is taken. Generating is unlimited; it's downloading that spends credits. | CNo free plan. The refund policy mentions a free trial and says you choose to upgrade to a paid plan afterwards, but no length is given anywhere on record. |
| Features | BBanners in every size, ad copy, product and fashion photoshoots, video ads from one image, scoring before launch, reports from your Meta, Google and LinkedIn accounts and rivals' best ads. That's the whole job, though video and scoring aren't on Starter. | CText, image, video and voice models, ready-made and custom agents, editors with Figma and Photoshop imports, launching to seven ad platforms and scores before launch. Plenty for making ads, but nothing on record for studying rivals' ads, and bulk generation from feeds is Pro only. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Making a banner from a product photo looks quick, but there are brands to set up, ad accounts to connect for the insights, and credits to watch, since every download spends one. | CNo rating on record. Choosing among many models, each priced differently in credits, is a learning curve of its own, and agents and workflows take setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus an iPhone app, which has its own App Store subscription. It reads Meta, Google and LinkedIn ad accounts and pulls stock photos from iStock. No Android or desktop app, and no API on record. | BWeb only, with no apps. It launches to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360 and LinkedIn, imports from Figma, Photoshop and After Effects, and can add CreativeX scores. |
| Best for | banner ads in every size without a designer | many AI models for ads in one workspace |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AdCreative.ai and Pencil. How we grade
Price against what you get
AdCreative.ai starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pencil starts at $11 a month and scores 2.3.
AdCreative.ai scores higher, and starts $9 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other ad creative and reporting tools on the chart, none scores higher than AdCreative.ai for less, and 1 scores higher than Pencil for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- AdCreative.ai starts at $20 per month for 20 credits, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly). Pencil starts at $11 per month for 50 credits, billed annually ($14 billed monthly).
- Only AdCreative.ai lists an iOS app.
- Pencil also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| AdCreative.ai | Pencil | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $20 per month for 20 credits, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly) | $11 per month for 50 credits, billed annually ($14 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with 10 credits to generate ads, banners and videos | Free trial mentioned in the refund policy; length not stated |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | ADYOUNEED SAS | Pencil AI Limited |
| Price read from | adcreative.ai | trypencil.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
AdCreative.ai
- Small businesses that need ads in many sizes without a designer
- E-commerce brands turning product photos into image and video ads
- Agencies producing ads for many brands from one account
Pencil
- Marketers who want several AI image and video models in one ad tool
- Solo marketers needing a low-cost credit plan for ad creatives
- Enterprise brand teams that need governance and IP terms for AI content
Worth knowing
AdCreative.ai
- A credit is spent each time a generated creative is downloaded; generating is unlimited and credits renew monthly.
- Starter plans leave out videos, custom templates, batch creatives, the compliance checker and creative scoring.
- The iPhone app has its own App Store subscription: $5 a week, $29 a month or $209 a year.
- Refunds are offered within 7 days on monthly plans and 30 days on yearly ones, only if nothing has been generated or downloaded.
Pencil
- Core and Growth cannot go past their monthly credits; you upgrade or wait for the reset, and unused credits do not roll over.
- Each AI action costs credits by model and size of the job, so 50 credits can cover very different amounts of work.
- Enterprise terms such as IP assignment, no-train, data ring-fencing and SSO are on Pro, priced through sales.
- Refunds are not given once a paid plan has started after the free trial; cancelling stops billing at the end of the period.
Key features
AdCreative.ai
- Ad banners in every size
- Generates ad creatives and ad copy for each platform's formats from ready-made templates or templates you build, with batch generation on the higher plans.
- Product and fashion photoshoots
- Turns plain product photos into styled e-commerce shots, and fits clothing photos onto AI-generated models.
- Video ads from a product image
- Makes UGC-style videos, product videoshoots, fashion videos and storytelling ad videos from an uploaded image. Video tools start on Professional.
- Creative Scoring
- Scores an uploaded ad for predicted performance and brand recall, spotting logos, buttons and products and estimating where viewers will look.
- Creative Insights
- Connects Meta, Google and LinkedIn ad accounts to show which creatives and texts perform best and to warn when an ad is wearing out.
- Competitor Insights
- Shows competitors' best-performing ad creatives, with a compliance checker that reviews ads against brand and ad platform rules.
Pencil
- Many AI models in one place
- Text, image, video and voice models from OpenAI, Google, Adobe, Runway, Stability AI and others, chosen per task, with each model priced in credits by what it costs to run.
- Agents and Scribble
- Ready-made agents for common marketing jobs, plus your own agents and multistep workflows; Scribble is its chat assistant for briefs and campaigns.
- Ad editors and resizing
- Drag-and-drop, image, video and display ad editors, Figma, Photoshop and After Effects imports, and AI resizing to any ad format at 1 credit per format.
- Launch and track ads
- Sends ads to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360 and LinkedIn and shows their results in a dashboard.
- Predictions and creative insights
- Scores creatives before launch and gives insights from connected ad accounts on how to improve them; CreativeX scores can be added.
- Bulk generation from feeds
- On Pro, generates variations in bulk from product, audience and market feeds, with role-based access across brands and markets.
Plans
AdCreative.ai
Starter$20
per month for 20 credits, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly)
1 brand and 1 user. Price rises with credits: 120 credits are $95 a month billed yearly. No videos, custom templates or creative scoring.
Professional$125
per month for 300 credits, billed yearly ($249 billed monthly)
10 brands and 10 users; adds videos, custom templates, batch creatives, compliance checker and creative scoring. 600 credits are $200 a month billed yearly.
Ultimate$500
per month for 300 credits, billed yearly ($999 billed monthly)
25 brands and 20 users, everything in Professional plus model fine-tuning. 600 credits are $700 a month billed yearly.
EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: custom AI models in a dedicated instance, custom implementation, team training and an account manager.
Pencil
Core$11
per month for 50 credits, billed annually ($14 billed monthly)
For one person: AI agents for text, images, video and ad creatives, AI scores, ad launch and tracking, 1 workspace and chat support.
Growth$44
per month for 250 credits, billed annually ($55 billed monthly)
Everything in Core with more credits at a lower cost each, unlimited workspaces and direct access to the product team.
ProCustom
Sold through sales: committed-use credits, bulk generation from product feeds, unlimited users and brands, IP assignment and no-train terms.
Ways to pay less
AdCreative.ai
- Annual discount
Half the monthly rate with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Starter is $20 a month instead of $39, Professional $125 instead of $249 and Ultimate $500 instead of $999. Quarterly billing takes 25% off ($29, $185 and $749).
Pencil
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Billed annually, Core is $11 a month instead of $14 and Growth $44 instead of $55.
