Skai vs Smartly (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Skai and Smartly share a 1.6 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features and platforms, where Skai grades higher, or value for money, where Smartly does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan 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 Skai if
- Fits if you run an enterprise media budget over $4M a year
- Makes sense if you want one platform for dozens of ad publishers
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are not an enterprise, at $114k a year
- Skip it if you want to try first, since there is no free plan or trial
- Watch out: pricing is annual, with a commitment review after three months
- Watch out: incrementality testing needs Enterprise Premier at $756k
- Watch out: Studio, Agent Connect and Datahub are separate products
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
| 1.6GPASkaiWeak | 1.6GPASmartlyWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | FFrom $114k a year, about $9,500 a month, for spend up to $4M a year, which is far above anything else in ad tools. Tiers go up to $756k and then custom. | CNo price is published, which is where unpublished prices sit.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. | FNothing free: no plan and no trial on record, and the site shows no self-serve option. |
| Features | BOmnichannel media management, automation, competitive insights and an AI layer across 120+ publishers. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work, though Studio, Agent Connect and Datahub are extra. | 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. An enterprise onboarding comes first, with a client success team. | CNo store rating on record. A sales-led rollout comes before use. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app covering 120+ publishers. No phone or desktop apps are listed. | CA web platform. No integrations list, API or apps were found. |
| Best for | omnichannel ad management for enterprise media teams | 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: Skai and Smartly. How we grade
Where they differ
- Skai also covers AI agents.
- Smartly also covers ad creative.
At a glance
| Skai | Smartly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $114k per year, for advertisers spending up to $4M per year | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Skai | Smartly.io Solutions Oy |
| Price read from | skai.io | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Skai
- Pricing starts at $114k per year, and the tier is set by annual ad spend: $4M, $10M, $20M and $35M ceilings.
- Annual pricing, with a review of the commitment available after the first three months.
- Incrementality testing and custom solution development are limited to Enterprise Premier and above.
- Studio, Agent Connect and Datahub are separate products; the pricing page lists the platform tiers 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
Skai
- Omnichannel media management
- Plan, activate, optimize and measure media across search, social, retail media and commerce channels from one platform. The homepage says it covers 300+ channels.
- Celeste AI
- Skai's AI assistant for insights and recommendations, included in every pricing tier.
- Skai Studio
- A separate product for designing, running and governing your own agents and media workflows.
- Agent Connect
- Lets agents you build or use elsewhere reach Skai's data and media actions through MCP connectors.
- Datahub
- A standalone product that unifies marketing data so it can feed analysis and AI agents.
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
Skai
Standard$114k
per year, for advertisers spending up to $4M per year
120+ publishers, automation and optimization, online training, dedicated client success support and Celeste AI.
Advanced$276k
per year, for advertisers spending up to $10M per year
Everything in Standard plus competitive insights and search term analysis.
Enterprise$504k
per year, for advertisers spending up to $20M per year
Everything in Advanced plus more read-only publishers, customizable audits and QA, and expanded customer journey intelligence.
Enterprise Premier$756k
per year, for advertisers spending up to $35M per year
Everything in Enterprise plus incrementality testing, white-glove onboarding and client success, and custom solution development.
Enterprise Premier +Custom
For advertisers spending more than $35M per year; priced to the business, through sales.
Smartly
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smartly.io.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Skai or Smartly?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Skai starts at $114k per year, for advertisers spending up to $4M per year, and Smartly has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Skai or Smartly?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Skai 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.