Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads

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.

Pencil

3.7

From $14/mo

Details Visit

Best overall

Stripo

4.2

From $20/mo

Details Visit

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Pencil3.7

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

Stripo4.2

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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

Overview

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
In one line	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 model	Paid	Freemium
Starting price	$14/mo	$20/mo
Free plan	No	Yes
Works with Claude Code	No	Yes

Rating breakdown

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

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
Overall rating	3.7	4.2Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	3.5	4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	4.0	4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	3.5	4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	3.5	4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	4.0	4.0

Feature comparison

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

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
Access & platform
Free plan	No	Yes
Mobile app	No	No
Desktop app	No	No
Browser extension	–	–
API access	–	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	Yes	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes
Connects to other apps	Yes	Yes
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	Yes
Understands images	Yes	–
Makes images	Yes	Yes
Makes video	Yes	No
Writes code	No	Yes
Runs agents or automations	Yes	–
Learns your brand or style	Yes	No
Works in many languages	–	Yes
Capabilities score	9/ 17	9/ 17

Pricing

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

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
Plans	CoreOur pick $14/mo, or $11/mo billed yearly A small team trying AI ads.	Free Free Trying it out.
	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.
	Pro Custom Large brands and agencies.	MediumOur pick $45/mo, or $450/yr In-house teams and small agencies.
		Pro $125/mo, or $1,250/yr Agencies with many clients.
		Prime Custom Large teams.
Which plan to pick	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

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
Standout features	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

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
Pros	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	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

Attribute	Pencil	Stripo
Best for	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	Brand marketing teams Performance marketers Agencies Enterprise brands	Email marketers Agencies Designers E-commerce teams

Questions people ask

Which is better, Pencil or Stripo?

Stripo scores highest overall in our ratings (Pencil 3.7/5 and Stripo 4.2/5). 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, Pencil or Stripo?

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.

Which is easier to use, Pencil or Stripo?

Stripo rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Email marketers, agencies and designers who make lots of branded emails for one or more email platforms.

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

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