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Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads

Creatify vs Pencil vs Stripo

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Creatify

4.0

From $15/mo

Pencil

3.7

From $14/mo

Best overall

Stripo

4.2

From $20/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Online stores and ad agencies that need a lot of short video ads to test without booking creators.

Pick it if: Brand and performance marketing teams that need lots of on-brand ad variations across many platforms.

Best overallBest value

Pick it if: Email marketers, agencies and designers who make lots of branded emails for one or more email platforms.

Overview

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
In one lineTurns a product link into video ads with AI presenters, ready for TikTok and Meta.Makes on-brand image and video ads and launches them to ad platforms.Builds responsive email templates by drag and drop, then exports them to your email tool.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidFreemium
Starting price$15/mo$14/mo$20/mo
Free plan Yes No Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes No Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
Overall rating4.03.74.2Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.5
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
3.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
3.5
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No Yes
Mobile app No No No
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension–––
API access Yes– Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps– Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes–
Makes images Yes Yes Yes
Makes video Yes Yes No
Writes code No No Yes
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes–
Learns your brand or style Yes Yes No
Works in many languages Yes– Yes
Capabilities score11/ 179/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
Plans

Free

Free

Trying it out before you pay.

CoreOur pick

$14/mo, or $11/mo billed yearly

A small team trying AI ads.

Free

Free

Trying it out.

Standard

$15/mo, or $10/mo billed yearly

A small store making a few ads a month.

Growth

$55/mo, or $44/mo billed yearly

Teams making ads every week or for several brands.

Basic

$20/mo, or $200/yr

A small business sending a few campaigns a month.

ProOur pick

$55/mo, or $38/mo billed yearly

Brands testing ads every week.

Pro

Custom

Large brands and agencies.

MediumOur pick

$45/mo, or $450/yr

In-house teams and small agencies.

Max

$95/mo, or $66/mo billed yearly

Heavier users and small teams.

Pro

$125/mo, or $1,250/yr

Agencies with many clients.

Business

$195/mo, or $136/mo billed yearly

Agencies and in-house teams.

Prime

Custom

Large teams.

Enterprise

Custom

Large teams needing custom terms.

Which plan to pickPro is the plan that makes Creatify worth it, because ad cloning, competitor tracking and the ad agent start there. Try Standard or the free plan first to see how many credits your typical video uses. The API is priced separately, from $99 a month.Core is cheap enough to test with real campaigns. Move to Growth when 50 generations a month runs out, which happens fast if you resize into many formats. Pro is for enterprise teams and is sold through a demo.Basic covers a business sending a few campaigns a month. Medium is the better fit for teams and small agencies, where 50 exports and two seats run out quickly. Extra members cost $10 each a month.

Key features

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
Standout features
  • URL to video
  • AI actors and avatars
  • Batch variations
  • Ad clone and competitor tracker
  • Ad agent and automations
  • API
  • Many AI models in one place
  • Workflows and canvas
  • Brand safety
  • Performance scores
  • Launch and track
  • Drag-and-drop and HTML editor
  • 1,600+ templates
  • Modules and brand library
  • AI copy and images
  • Testing
  • Export to 90+ platforms

Pros and cons

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
Pros
  • Product link to finished ad in a few minutes
  • Large library of AI actors and custom avatars
  • Batch mode makes testing many hooks easy
  • Cheaper entry than Arcads
  • API for agencies and bulk work
  • Several leading image and video models under one subscription
  • Low entry price for a team tool
  • Brand controls suit companies with strict guidelines
  • Launches ads straight to the major ad platforms
  • Trusted by large global brands, with SOC 2 and a no-training data policy
  • Easy to use, with high ratings for ease of setup on G2
  • Large template library and reusable modules
  • Exports to almost any email platform
  • AI helpers for copy, images, alt text and translation
  • API and MCP connection
Cons
  • Credits run out faster than expected and expire after two months
  • Many of the best templates and ad tools are locked to Pro and above
  • Complaints about refunds and hard-to-reach support
  • AI presenters can still look and sound artificial, and fixing a mispronounced word costs another render
  • Generation caps on the self-serve plans run out quickly, and resizes count
  • Performance prediction is marked 'coming soon' on its own pricing table, which is confusing
  • Reviewers mention a cluttered interface and a learning curve
  • Few independent reviews, with some complaints about billing and cancelling
  • Free plan's four exports a month is very limited
  • Paid plans are capped by exports, which agencies hit fast
  • AI image credits are small on lower plans
  • An extra tool to pay for if your email platform's own editor is good enough

Who each one is for

AttributeCreatifyPencilStripo
Best for
  • UGC-style video ads from a product link
  • Testing many hooks and versions of one ad
  • Ads with AI presenters or your own avatar
  • Bulk video for agencies through the API
  • Making many ad variations from one brief
  • Resizing ads for every platform
  • Keeping AI ads on brand across a team
  • Brands that want several AI models in one place
  • Designing responsive emails without code
  • Agencies working across many email platforms
  • Reusable branded email modules
  • Translating emails into other languages
You'll find it used by
  • E-commerce brands
  • Performance agencies
  • Media buyers
  • App marketers
  • Solo founders
  • Brand marketing teams
  • Performance marketers
  • Agencies
  • Enterprise brands
  • Email marketers
  • Agencies
  • Designers
  • E-commerce teams

Questions people ask

Which is better, Creatify, Pencil or Stripo?

Stripo scores highest overall in our ratings (Creatify 4.0/5, Pencil 3.7/5 and Stripo 4.2/5). Creatify is best for UGC-style video ads from a product link and testing many hooks and versions of one ad. Pencil is best for making many ad variations from one brief and resizing ads for every platform. Stripo is best for designing responsive emails without code and agencies working across many email platforms.

Which is cheaper, Creatify, Pencil or Stripo?

Creatify: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $15/mo. Pencil: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $14/mo. Stripo: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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