AdRoll vs Smartly (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AdRoll grades higher than Smartly: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
AdRoll grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick AdRoll if
- Fits if you run an online shop and want retargeting with no minimum spend
- Works for marketers who already use Shopify or WooCommerce
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want prices before you start: none are shown
- Watch out: social ads and attribution are add-ons below the Advanced package
- Not for you if you avoid commitments, as Advanced is one year through sales
- Watch out: third-party audience targeting is for US customers only
Pick Smartly if
- Fits if you are a large advertising team that wants creative, media and measurement together
- Makes sense if you buy through sales and a demo
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before talking to anyone: none is shown
- Not for you if you are a small team, as the site shows no self-serve or free plan
- Watch out: which channels and features come with each suite is not itemized
- Tight if you want to compare features first, since little detail is public
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAdRollWeak | 1.6GPASmartlyWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo dollar prices are shown, which is where unpublished prices sit. The page's FAQ says there is no minimum spend. | CNo price is published, which is where unpublished prices sit. Access starts with a demo request. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no plan and no trial on record. Free ad credits come with the yearly Advanced package. | FNothing free: no plan and no trial on record, and the site shows no self-serve option. |
| Features | CMultichannel campaigns, audience segments, reporting and attribution. Social ads and cross-channel attribution are add-ons on the self-service and managed packages. | CCreative, media and intelligence suites, channel coverage and team solutions. The pages do not itemize what each suite includes. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You install tracking and build audiences and campaigns. | CNo store rating on record. A sales-led rollout comes before use. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app that connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Analytics, Klaviyo, Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign. | CA web platform. No integrations list, API or apps were found. |
| Best for | retargeting and multichannel ads, paid by spend | enterprise ad creative, media and measurement |
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: AdRoll and Smartly. How we grade
Where they differ
- AdRoll also covers marketing automation.
- Smartly also covers workflow automation and ad creative.
In commonWebAI featuresReports
At a glance
| AdRoll | Smartly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | NextRoll, Inc. | Smartly.io Solutions Oy |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AdRoll
- The pricing page shows package names and features but no dollar amounts, so no price is recorded here; the page's FAQ says there is no minimum spend amount.
- Cross-channel attribution and social ads are add-ons on the self-service and managed Ads packages, and are included with the Advanced Package.
- The Advanced Package is a one-year commitment sold through sales and includes free ad credits.
- Third-party audience targeting is available to US customers only.
Smartly
- No prices are published on the pages read; access starts with a demo request, so cost is unknown.
- Built for larger advertising teams; the site shows no self-serve or free plan.
- Which ad channels and features come with each suite is not itemized publicly.
Key features
AdRoll
- Multichannel campaigns
- Retargeting and brand awareness campaigns across display, native, video, in-app mobile and connected TV, with dynamic ads built from products a visitor viewed.
- Audience segments
- Website, mobile app, ecommerce store and contact list segments, AI lookalike targeting, contextual targeting and, for US customers, third-party audiences.
- Social ads add-on
- A paid add-on lets you create and edit Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest campaigns alongside web ads. It is self-service only.
- Reporting and attribution
- Campaign reporting with benchmarking, exportable reports and reporting APIs. Cross-channel attribution is an add-on.
- Managed services
- Creative services, onboarding and account management, with some items available only at qualifying spend.
Smartly
- Smartly Creative
- Builds, personalizes and scales ad creative across platforms, with an AI Studio for personalized content and generative AI for production.
- Smartly Media
- Launches, manages and updates campaigns across channels with automation, aimed at scaling work without adding manual effort.
- Smartly Intelligence
- Brings planning, performance and measurement signals into one view to guide where to invest and scale.
- Channel coverage
- Solution pages cover social media, conversational commerce, connected TV across 200+ streaming services, the open web via DSPs, and video.
- Team-based solutions
- Separate pages for agency, performance, brand, creative and B2B teams describe how the suites fit each workflow.
Plans
AdRoll
Pricing could not be confirmed. See adroll.com.
Smartly
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smartly.io.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AdRoll or Smartly?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AdRoll has no price we could confirm, and Smartly has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, AdRoll or Smartly?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither AdRoll nor Smartly has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.