What's the Best UGC Agency in 2024? Our Top 5 Picks

If you’re looking for a TikTok UGC agency (or an Instagram UGC agency), you’ve come to the right place. You already know what UGC is (if you don’t, you should probably read about it first), and you might even be wondering: is hiring a UGC agency worth it?

Good news: You’re about to get our raw, unfiltered thoughts after 5+ years in the UGC marketing space. You’ll also learn the following:

• What are some top UGC agencies out there, that I can use as a brand?
• What are the PROs and CONs of using UGC agencies?
• Is there another alternative to UGC agencies?

Plus, if you stick around to the end, we have a surprise for you. 😉

What are the pros and cons of using UGC agencies?

We’ve been working with UGC agencies for over 5 years, and what we’re about to tell you is insider information:

You need to watch out for a few things when you’re considering hiring a UGC creator agency.

So before we dive into our list, let’s discuss the industry-secret pros and cons of hiring an agency.

Pros of hiring a UGC content agency

There are a few significant advantages to hiring a UGC agency, mainly:

1. They manage the entire process. When you hire an agency, you don’t have to worry about the operational angle of getting UGC. Finding and contacting creators, negotiating, briefing, and asking for edits are all handled for you. All you have to do is brief the agency, and they take care of the rest.

1. You have highly qualified help. Agencies hire smart, experienced marketers. They know industry best practices, trends, and what’s currently working. In some cases, they can even help you create briefs for your campaigns. If you’re not an expert in UGC marketing, an agency can run ads like you are.

1. They have in-house creative experts. Agencies often hire ex-creative people from companies like Meta or TikTok, or people who have previously scaled brands using creatives. So they know what they’re talking about, and can share insights and knowledge with you.

Cons of hiring a UGC content agency

If all of that sounds too good to be true– it’s not. But it does come with disadvantages:

1. They have high prices. All of the good things we just talked about come with a price. Usually, they’ll charge hefty fees to be in charge of your entire process. If you’re wondering what we mean– in 90% of cases, they charge thousands of dollars per month. Also, if you want an agency to agree to work with you, you’re going to have to have a minimum spend or budget. So, while agencies are amazing at what they do, they come with a price tag that’s usually 5x to 10x higher than things like UGC platforms.

1. They move slowly. Because their processes are handled manually– and they’re essentially acting as middlemen– agencies move slowly. Practically speaking, this means that it may take a few weeks for them to deliver your content– so you HAVE to work in advance, or be willing to wait.

1. They draw from smaller creative pools. In our experience, agencies tend to have a smaller pool of creators and usually aren’t as diverse. That’s because they use creators who only work in specific niches like beauty or skincare. Focusing on niches makes sense from a business perspective– after all, if you’re a skincare brand, you want people who know how to make skincare-related content! But when you compare them to more streamlined UGC products, the pool of creators is smaller– so you don’t have access to as much variety.

1. They’re often not built to scale. Agencies usually don’t have the infrastructure built for you to scale your UGC marketing. They’re still passing briefs in Google Docs, uploading videos to Dropbox or Googld Drive, and communicating with creators via email or social media. This type of approach isn’t scalable because it’s operationally intense. If you want to scale your UGC operations, you need a brand account with a content library where you can download assets and create campaigns and briefs. Many agencies can’t support this.

Our top 5 agencies in 2024

Now that we’ve discussed the pros and cons of hiring an agency, let’s look at 5 different agencies you can hire to create UGC for your brand. Read until the end for our opinion on the best UGC agency!

By the way, make sure not to confuse UGC agencies with influencer agencies, they tend to focus on different things.

222 Agency

222 is a performance-first agency. This might be a good option if you are looking for creative that scales for your ads. They have good reviews and use cases, and they seem to focus heavily on scaling your sales.

Reasons to work with them:

• They have an AMAZING track record, according to their website and use cases.
• They’ve worked with very big and trusted brands– and got results!
• They have plenty of case studies available on their website, so you know that what they’re doing works.
• They have free perks you can redeem.

Disadvantages of hiring them:

• Based on their track record and the quality of service they provide, it’s going to be super expensive to hire them.
• We couldn’t tell from their website how many creators they have, but we don’t think they cover everyone included in our audience. If you’re in the US, UK, or AU, check to make sure they have creators who look and sound like your ideal customer.

UGC Shop

UGC Shop describes itself as a “UGC concierge.” They specialize in UGC content for e-commerce brands and focus mostly on potentially viral TikTok videos and videos for ads.

Reasons to work with them:

• They have a great track record, working with brands like Revolut and Candy Crush.
• They have more affordable pricing than some of their competitors.
• Marketing professionals founded the company, so they have lots of insights to share.
• Their portfolio is full of great and original creative.

Disadvantages of hiring them:

• We can’t tell from their website just how many creators they manage, or where they’re located– this could be a concern, depending on the audience you’re trying to reach.
• Although their pricing is more affordable than most, you still have to commit to a package that starts at $1,200/month. Again, this is on the affordable side for a UGC marketing agency– but it’s not cheap.
• It’s unclear if licensing is included in their pricing, or if there’s an extra charge for ad licensing.
• There are not a ton of case studies online– you can see samples of their work, but not how it performed.

The UGC Agency

The UGC Agency is a data-driven UGC agency for creators in the Fintech industry. They also offer all-in-one marketing and deep fake options, if you’re into that.

Reasons to work with them:

• They have over 3,000 content creators, which is a great pool to draw from.
• They also offer other UGC-related services, including ad building and optimization, plus analytics and data insights
• They have a great track record with brands like Vayner Media and Barrat Homes.

Disadvantages of hiring them:

• They’re focused solely on the Fintech industry. This isn’t a disadvantage if you’re in Fintech, but it is if you aren’t– Most of their creators will be from that industry, so it might be hard to get the kind of content that you need.
• We can’t find any information on their website about pricing– which probably means it’s expensive.
• They aren’t 100% focused on UGC. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, but it’s something to be aware of. They don’t focus all of their resources on UGC like many competitors do because they are a blended marketing agency.

Crafted

Crafted is a hybrid influencer and UGC creative agency, with options for content or influencer campaigns. Their focus is retail brands, and they have a lot of example videos in the food and cooking space.

Reasons to work with them:

• They have a great track record of delivering high-performing UGC for brands.
• They have plenty of case studies available.
• They have a diverse pool of creators to work with.
• They can also help you find influencers for your brand.

Disadvantages of hiring them:

• At the time we’re writing this, they aren’t taking on new clients– this could be a problem if you want to start right away.
• Their prices are on the expensive side, with a minimum commitment of $3,000/month to start.
• We’re not sure where their creators are based– before hiring them, definitely make sure they have creators in the area where you’re trying to market.

Trend IO

Trend emphasizes the creative element of being a UGC creator agency. They connect you with vetted UGC creators who make photos and videos for brands.

Reasons to work with them:

• They’re more affordable than their competitors, starting at $500/month.
• You can get photos and videos from their creators.
• Licensing is included in their pricing– yay!
• They’ve automated parts of their agency process, which makes obtaining UGC faster.
• There are lots of types of UGC content available to purchase on their platform.

Disadvantages of hiring them:

• Although they have a large pool of creators, it’s unclear how many of them are available or where they’re located.
• We’re also not sure how diverse their creator pool is– it’s hard to tell with so few examples.
• Although the pricing is more affordable at the bottom tier, their premium creators cost more.

Our honest opinion– the best UGC agency in 2024

The moment you’ve been waiting for has arrived! In our opinion, the best agency on this list is at the top: the 222 Agency.

Here’s why:

• Their track record is impeccable.
• They focus on performance-based creative that has real results.
• They guarantee these results and say on their homepage, “If we don’t beat your current CPA, you don’t pay us.” We haven’t seen anything like that with other UGC agencies!
• Their large number of case studies proves they know what they’re doing.
• They have creators in the US, UK, and AU
• They don’t specialize in one particular niche, making them a great fit for different types of businesses.

However, all of these amazing benefits come at a cost– which is something you will find out the hard way if you decide to work with a UGC ad agency.

Oh, and if your company doesn’t already generate at least $50,000 in monthly recurring revenue, 222 Agency probably won’t take you on as a client, per their website.

But don’t worry! If you’re starting to wonder if hiring a UGC agency is the right fit for your brand, there are other options.

Are there better alternatives to UGC agencies?

So glad you asked! The answer is yes.

We know this from personal experience because Clip connects brands and agencies with home studio creators who deliver best-in-class UGC videos.

We’re not an agency– we’re a UGC platform.

You might imagine that working with our creators takes more time than working with an agency, but that’s simply not true. Many of our customers who have worked with agencies are amazed that working with a self-service platform is so easy.

That’s because we’ve automated the entire process to make it super simple:

1. You post a campaign on our platform
2. Creators apply
3. Within 24 hours, you can start reviewing creators and sending out products (their addresses are linked, so it’s super simple to send them stuff)
4. Once the products are delivered, they upload the videos in 7-10 days.

It’s super fast. Super simple. And super scalable as your brand grows.

Oh, and our pricing is also much more reasonable than UGC agencies– because we don’t have the same operational costs.

Want to learn more? Book a demo today.