Arcads pricing
Currency: USD · Last verified May 20, 2026
Plans
Pricing tiers
Starter
$110
$88/mo billed annually annual
Solo media buyers and individual founders testing UGC-style variants
- 100 video credits/month (~100 videos)
- Access to standard actor library (400+ actors)
- 1080p export
- Single user, single brand
- Watermark removed
- Commercial-use rights
- Premium actors burn 2x credits
- Single user only
- No custom voice clones
Pro
$220
$176/mo billed annually annual
DTC brands and small agencies running daily UGC ad variant testing
- 250 video credits/month
- Premium actor library access (1,000+ actors)
- 3 brand workspaces, 3 team seats
- Custom voice clones (up to 3)
- Bulk variant generation
- Priority queue + faster render times
- Basic API access
- Premium actor 2x multiplier still applies
- Custom voice clones take 24-48h to train
- API rate limits are tight
Scale
$440
$352/mo billed annually annual
Mid-sized DTC brands and agencies shipping 100+ UGC variants/month
- 600 video credits/month
- All Pro features
- 10 brand workspaces, 10 team seats
- Up to 10 custom voice clones
- Custom actor onboarding (1 included)
- Higher API rate limits
- Slack integration
- Custom actor onboarding takes 2-3 weeks
- Additional custom actors are $500-2,000 one-time
- Annual prepay strongly preferred at this tier
Enterprise
Custom (typically $800-3,500+/mo)
Custom (typically 20% discount) annual
Large agencies + enterprise brands shipping 200+ ad variants/month
- Custom credit allocation (1,500+/mo)
- Unlimited custom voice clones
- Unlimited brand workspaces
- Dedicated CSM + onboarding
- Custom MSA + SOC2 paperwork
- Full API access
- Priority feature requests
- Annual contracts required
- Implementation engagements $5-20k one-time
- Custom actor library expansion priced separately
Shuttergen
UGC ads are one format. Variant generators cover them all.
Arcads ships UGC-style avatar ads. Shuttergen generates 10+ variants per hook across UGC, static, and storyboard formats - tuned to competitor winners in your category. Free to try.
Watch out
Hidden costs
Premium actors burn 2x credits
Standard actors burn 1 credit per video. Premium actors (the most recognisable / polished faces) burn 2 credits. A Pro plan with 250 credits handles 250 standard videos OR ~125 premium videos. Most users discover this in week 2 of their first month. Plan your actor mix explicitly.
Custom actor onboarding is slow + expensive
Scale tier includes 1 custom actor but onboarding takes 2-3 weeks. Additional custom actors are $500-2,000 one-time depending on usage rights and exclusivity. For brands wanting their founder or staff as an Arcads actor, plan that timeline 4-6 weeks before launch.
Voice clone limits bind agency use
Starter: no voice clones. Pro: 3 clones. Scale: 10 clones. Enterprise: unlimited. Agencies running 5+ brand voices force Scale tier at minimum. Plan voice clone needs upfront - they're harder to expand than credit volume.
Render time varies dramatically by load
Standard render times are 5-15 minutes per video on Pro and below. During peak hours or high system load, render times stretch to 30-60 minutes. Pro tier and above get 'priority queue' but it's relative, not absolute. Plan launch timing accordingly.
Annual prepay locks 12 months
Annual saves ~20% across tiers - meaningful given the $110-440/mo monthly rates. Take annual only if committed for 12 months. Refunds rarely available mid-term and the contract is genuinely a year.
Arcads pricing in 2026 - the honest numbers
Arcads sits in the AI UGC-style ad creative category - the tool brands use to generate dozens of 'real person speaking to camera' style ads from a single script. Its pricing is structured around video credits (the universal unit) and tier-gated capabilities (actor library access, voice clones, team seats, custom actors).
Starter at $110/mo ($88 annual) is the cheapest viable tier - 100 credits, standard actor library, single user. Pro at $220/mo ($176 annual) doubles to 250 credits and unlocks premium actors, voice clones and small-team workspaces. Scale at $440/mo ($352 annual) is the agency tier with 600 credits and 10 brand workspaces. Enterprise is custom from $800/mo upwards.
The unit economics: Pro at $220/250 credits = $0.88 per standard-actor video, or $1.76 per premium-actor video. Compare to hiring a UGC creator at $100-500/video and the math favours Arcads for high-volume variant testing.
Where Arcads fits: purpose-built for the UGC-aesthetic ad workflow. Different specialisation than creatify-ai-pricing (broader, cheaper at entry) or HeyGen (corporate/explainer-leaning). Arcads' moat is the actor library quality and the UGC vibe of outputs.
Which Arcads tier you should pick
Default recommendation: Pro at $220/mo. This is where most paying users land. 250 credits handles 30-50 videos/mo of mixed actors. Premium actor access matters - the difference between Starter's standard-only library and Pro's full library is significant. Voice clones (3 included) cover most single-brand use cases.
Take Starter ($110) if: you're solo, shipping <30 videos/mo, and the standard actor library covers your needs. Starter is a real working tier for individual media buyers and solo founders, not just a trial.
Take Scale ($440) if: you're an agency running 5+ client brands or shipping 100+ videos/mo. The 10 brand workspaces is the value driver, not just the credit volume. Custom actor onboarding (1 included) becomes meaningful for brand-specific UGC.
Take Enterprise if: you're shipping 200+ videos/mo, you need unlimited voice clones, OR API integration is core to your workflow. The $800+/mo floor is steep but the volume math makes sense.
UGC ads are one format. Variant generators cover them all. Arcads ships UGC-style avatar ads. Shuttergen generates 10+ variants per hook across UGC, static, and storyboard formats - tuned to competitor winners in your category. Free to try.
Arcads vs the UGC + AI-avatar competition
vs. creatify-ai-pricing-2026: Creatify is cheaper at entry (Lite $45 vs Starter $110) and broader in use case. Arcads has the deeper UGC-actor library and tighter UGC aesthetic. Pick Creatify for variant volume + flexibility; Arcads for UGC feel and actor quality.
vs. HeyGen ($24-720+/mo): HeyGen is broader (corporate, explainer, educational) with deeper enterprise tooling. Arcads is narrower (UGC ads only) but better at that specific job. HeyGen wins on avatar realism for corporate; Arcads wins on UGC vibe for paid social.
vs. hiring UGC creators ($100-500/video): the honest comparison. Pro at $220/mo generating 30 videos/mo = $7.33 per video vs $100-500 per UGC creator video. The trade-off is authenticity - real UGC creators bring genuine product use and real reactions; Arcads brings speed + iteration count + cost. Most serious brands use both.
vs. Billo / Insense / Trend UGC marketplaces: marketplace creators run $50-300/video plus platform fees. Slower turnaround (3-10 days vs minutes), higher authenticity. For hero ads: marketplace creators. For high-volume variants: Arcads.
The honest take: Arcads is the leading purpose-built UGC AI tool in 2026. Its premium pricing reflects the actor library investment. Worth it for teams whose paid-social testing requires UGC-style creative at scale. For broader AI-creative needs, best-ai-ad-generators covers the wider landscape.
Hidden cost realities you'll hit
Premium actor multiplier is the #1 surprise. Most users assume '250 credits = 250 videos' on Pro. The reality: premium actors burn 2 credits. Heavy premium-actor users blow through quota in 2-3 weeks. Plan your actor mix - the standard actors are competent and don't burn the extra credit.
Custom actor lead time blocks launch. 2-3 weeks from upload to ready, plus $500-2,000 per additional actor beyond the 1 included on Scale. Brands planning launches around custom actors need 4-6 weeks of buffer. Re-training (after quality rejection) restarts the clock.
Voice clone caps are agency killers. No clones on Starter, 3 on Pro, 10 on Scale, unlimited on Enterprise. Agencies running 5+ brand voices force Scale tier at minimum ($440/mo), often Enterprise for unlimited.
Render time variance is real. Standard 5-15 min renders stretch to 30-60 min during peak hours. Pro tier and above get 'priority queue' but it's relative. Plan launches accordingly.
Annual prepay is a real commitment. 20% savings on Scale ($88/mo difference) is meaningful but the contract is genuinely 12 months with limited refund options. Don't take annual if you might churn or are still evaluating.
FAQ
Frequently asked
How much does Arcads cost?
How do Arcads credits work?
Is Arcads worth the price vs hiring UGC creators?
What's the difference between Starter and Pro on Arcads?
Can I get a custom actor on Arcads?
Does Arcads have an API?
Can I cancel Arcads any time?
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UGC ads are one format. Variant generators cover them all.
Arcads ships UGC-style avatar ads. Shuttergen generates 10+ variants per hook across UGC, static, and storyboard formats - tuned to competitor winners in your category. Free to try.