A creative-only studio makes ad creative at volume and never touches your account; a full-service agency runs the account and creative together; a UGC marketplace sells you raw creator clips you assemble yourself. Pick by who you want owning media buying — and your real bottleneck.
| Creative-only studio (e.g. Keenhound) |
Full-service Meta agency | UGC marketplace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Flat retainer, ~$3.5k/mo+ | Retainer + % of ad spend | Per-clip ($75–$500+ each) |
| What you get | Finished, on-brand ad creative at volume | Strategy, buying & some creative | Raw creator footage you finish |
| Who owns media buying | You (studio never logs in) | The agency | You |
| Creative volume | High & steady (15–25/wk) | Variable; often the weak spot | As many clips as you commission |
| Speed / turnaround | Fast, weekly batches | Slower; layered approvals | Depends on each creator |
| Brand & claims control | High; specialist QA | Medium–high | Low; you must vet claims |
| Accountability for results | Creative vs your best ad | Whole funnel (harder to isolate) | None beyond delivery |
| Best for | Brands with a buyer who need volume | Brands wanting one team end-to-end | Teams with an in-house editor/buyer |
Ranges above are directional 2026 market norms, not quotes — pricing and scope vary widely by provider.
The hidden cost of bundling is attribution: when results dip under one full-service team, you can't cleanly tell whether it was the media buying or the creative. Separating the two keeps the diagnosis clean — and keeps the creative provider honest, because their work is judged on its own merit against your best-performing ad.
UGC marketplaces are a sourcing channel, not a creative strategy. You get a clip; you still own the angle, the edit, the hook testing, the claims review, and the cadence. For some teams that DIY layer is exactly what they want. For most scaling brands it's the part that quietly stalls — which is why the raw-footage-to-finished-ad gap is where a studio earns its retainer.
I'd rather tell you that up front than sell you something that won't move the needle. Keenhound is deliberately narrow: creative-only, dog supplements only, volume only. If your gap is strategy, buying, or a single accountable owner of the whole funnel, hire a full-service agency. If you just need a stream of raw clips and you'll do the rest, a UGC marketplace is cheaper. If your bottleneck is genuinely fresh creative volume scored against your best ad — that's the entire job I do.
Curious which camp you're in? Read how many creatives you actually need per week, or just send your best ad for a free second opinion.