comparison

AdBuyMCP vs doing it yourself

You can buy each channel direct. AdBuyMCP makes your ads and runs all four for you as one plan, with one monthly price and one weekly report.

Every channel in an AdBuyMCP plan can be bought direct, and most start small. Universal Ads sells Channel 4, ITV and Sky streaming inventory with a £0 minimum, Spotify sells podcast ads from £250, Loud! OOH sells a billboard from £325 for two weeks, and ChatGPT ads start at £15 a day. If you want one channel, buying it direct is cheaper and simpler. Running all four means four sellers to deal with, an ad to make in each channel's format, four ways of aiming at a B2B market, reports in four different units and the job of deciding the split. AdBuyMCP does all of it for one all-in monthly price, including making the ads from your website, and you approve the plan and the ads.

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By James Rooney Updated 29 October 2026

where doing it yourself is ahead: 4 strengths
where AdBuyMCP fits: 5 reasons
stage: Launch phase
published sources cited: 6

AdBuyMCP's plans start at£3,000 a month, all-in, before VAT

their promise

What doing it yourself offers

You pay each seller directly and keep every account in your own name.

the case for doing it yourself · see the sources below

side by side

How the two compare on price, minimums and channels

The facts about doing it yourself are desk research, and each figure taken from a published page carries that page and the date we checked it.

Doing it yourself and AdBuyMCP compared on how you pay, published minimum, channels, how it reaches B2B buyers, where it runs, what it reports, how you buy it
Compared on	Doing it yourself	AdBuyMCP
How you pay	Doing it yourselfEach seller's own price, paid directly, with no margin on top.	AdBuyMCP£100 a month for every 1,000 people in your market, for each time a week they should see you. All-in: the media, the ads we make for each channel from your website, the planning, buying and balancing across the four channels, and your weekly report, with no fee on top. Prices are shown before VAT.
Published minimum	Doing it yourselfEach seller sets its own: £0 on Universal Ads, £250 on Spotify, £325 for one billboard for two weeks at Loud! OOH and £15 a day for ChatGPT ads.Source: Universal Ads UK, checked 20 October 2026Also: Spotify Advertising UK, Small business advertising, checked 20 October 2026Also: Loud! OOH, Pricing, checked 20 October 2026Also: OpenAI Help Center, Create campaigns for ChatGPT ads, checked 20 October 2026	AdBuyMCPFrom £3,000 a month, at 3 times a week. Plans are priced on a market of at least 10,000 people, so all four channels get enough to run.
Channels	Doing it yourselfEvery channel, one seller at a time.	AdBuyMCPFour channels in one plan: out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, with the budget balanced between them by us.
How it reaches B2B buyers	Doing it yourselfEach seller's own targeting, set up separately in each account.	AdBuyMCPEach channel is aimed at your market with the targeting its seller offers: places and times of day for out-of-home, business data such as company size and industry for streaming TV where the seller offers it, shows and categories for podcasts, and the topic of the conversation for ChatGPT ads. None of them targets people by job title in the UK.
Where it runs	Doing it yourselfWherever each seller runs.	AdBuyMCPPlans run in the UK, and every price is in pounds.
What it reports	Doing it yourselfOne report per seller, each in its own unit, added up by hand.	AdBuyMCPFrequency is planned: each week we buy enough ads aimed at your market for it to see you that many times on average. Some of every channel's audience sits outside your market, and the weekly report shows what each channel delivered against the plan.
How you buy it	Doing it yourselfEach seller's own sign-up, contract or sales process. ChatGPT ads need your own verified OpenAI ad account.Source: OpenAI Help Center, Ads Manager account setup, checked 20 October 2026	AdBuyMCPYou type your website or work email, see your plan and its price, then join the waitlist in five questions with no card. ChatGPT ads run in your own OpenAI ad account, which we set up with you. Nothing is bought until the plan, the ads and the start date are confirmed with you. No media has been bought through AdBuyMCP yet, so your campaign would be among the first.

A cell with no source under it is our own summary. “Not stated” means the sources we cite give no figure. AdBuyMCP’s prices are explained on the pricing page.

both columns

Where each one is stronger

where doing it yourself is ahead

What they do better today

01Direct prices, with no margin between you and the media
02Direct relationships and support from each seller
03Full control of every account, budget and setting
04Less work when you only want one or two channels

where adbuymcp fits

What AdBuyMCP does for you

01One plan across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, with the budget balanced for you
02One monthly price for 3, 5 or 12 times a week, set by the size of your market
03Ads for all four channels, made from your website and included in the monthly price
04One weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan
05One place to approve the plan, the ads and the start date

If the first list holds what your plan depends on, doing it yourself is the better buy. If you're not sure, ask the founder on a 30-minute call.

Book a 30-minute call with the founder

before you decide

Ask which one fits your market.

Bring your market and the plan you're weighing. If the alternative fits you better, that's the answer you'll get on the call.

Get my plan and price Book a 30-minute call with the founder

Free, with no card.

Talk your market and your plan through with James Rooney, who built AdBuyMCP and wrote its code.

the decision

Each one suits a different buyer

Do it yourself when

You want one or two channels, or you have someone to run each seller's account. For streaming TV alone, Universal Ads has a £0 minimum. For audio alone, Klaxon's managed BOOST package is £2,499 plus VAT for a four-week campaign. Klaxon guarantees the advert will be heard by 33,000 of your target customers, and the package plays it 100,000 times. For billboards alone, Loud! OOH publishes prices from £325 for two weeks.

Choose AdBuyMCP when

You want your market to see you on all four channels every week, and you'd rather approve one plan and its ads than make an ad for each channel, run four accounts and add up their reports.

For one channel, buy it direct. AdBuyMCP earns its place when you want all four running against one market, at a frequency you choose.

If neither block describes your situation, book a 30-minute call with the founder and talk your market through.

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where to check this

These sources back the facts about doing it yourself

Each fact about doing it yourself that rests on a published page links it below, with the date we checked it. The supply status page grades each of AdBuyMCP’s connectors on what it has done with a real seller so far.

Sources

Our trust page sets out how each channel is bought, what your weekly report shows and how we handle your data.

Trust and limits

See what your market costs at 3, 5 or 12 times a week, for all four channels, before you join the waitlist.

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Free, with no card.

the other comparisons

You may be weighing these alternatives too

All 16 comparisons are on the comparison hub, with their prices, minimums and channels in one table.

See all 16 comparisons in one table

What buyers ask when they weigh doing it yourself against AdBuyMCP

Is doing it yourself a better choice than AdBuyMCP for me?

Yes, if you want one or two channels, or you have someone to run each seller's account. For streaming TV alone, Universal Ads has a £0 minimum. For audio alone, Klaxon's managed BOOST package is £2,499 plus VAT for a four-week campaign. Klaxon guarantees the advert will be heard by 33,000 of your target customers, and the package plays it 100,000 times. For billboards alone, Loud! OOH publishes prices from £325 for two weeks.

When is AdBuyMCP a better choice than doing it yourself?

Choose AdBuyMCP when you want your market to see you on all four channels every week, and you'd rather approve one plan and its ads than make an ad for each channel, run four accounts and add up their reports.

What is doing it yourself better at than AdBuyMCP?

Direct prices, with no margin between you and the media; direct relationships and support from each seller; full control of every account, budget and setting; less work when you only want one or two channels.

Where does AdBuyMCP fit better than doing it yourself?

One plan across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, with the budget balanced for you; one monthly price for 3, 5 or 12 times a week, set by the size of your market; ads for all four channels, made from your website and included in the monthly price; one weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan; one place to approve the plan, the ads and the start date.