--- title: "AdBuyMCP vs buying each awareness channel yourself" description: "You can buy billboards, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads direct, and for one channel that is usually the better buy. AdBuyMCP runs all four as one plan." url: "https://adbuymcp.com/compare/doing-it-yourself" --- [Home](https://adbuymcp.com/) / [Comparisons](https://adbuymcp.com/compare) / AdBuyMCP vs doing it yourself 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. [Get my plan and price](https://adbuymcp.com/start) [Book a 30-minute call with the founder](https://adbuymcp.com/contact#book) Free, with no card. We read your homepage, draft who buys from you and show your monthly price before you join the waitlist. Nothing is bought until you've approved the plan and the ads. By [James Rooney](https://adbuymcp.com/about) 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](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/doing-it-yourself#evidence) 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 | Each seller's own price, paid directly, with no margin on top. | £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 | Each 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](https://www.universalads.com/uk), checked 20 October 2026 Also: [Spotify Advertising UK, Small business advertising](https://ads.spotify.com/en-GB/small-business-advertising/), checked 20 October 2026 Also: [Loud! OOH, Pricing](https://loudooh.co.uk/pricing/), checked 20 October 2026 Also: [OpenAI Help Center, Create campaigns for ChatGPT ads](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001210-create-campaigns-for-chatgpt-ads), checked 20 October 2026 | From £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 | Every channel, one seller at a time. | Four 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 | Each seller's own targeting, set up separately in each account. | Each 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 | Wherever each seller runs. | Plans run in the UK, and every price is in pounds. | | What it reports | One report per seller, each in its own unit, added up by hand. | Frequency 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 | Each 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](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001213-ads-manager-account-setup), checked 20 October 2026 | You 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](https://adbuymcp.com/pricing). Both columns ## Where each one is stronger Where doing it yourself is ahead 4 ### What they do better today - 01 Direct prices, with no margin between you and the media - 02 Direct relationships and support from each seller - 03 Full control of every account, budget and setting - 04 Less work when you only want one or two channels Where adbuymcp fits 5 ### What AdBuyMCP does for you - 01 One plan across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, with the budget balanced for you - 02 One monthly price for 3, 5 or 12 times a week, set by the size of your market - 03 Ads for all four channels, made from your website and included in the monthly price - 04 One weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan - 05 One 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](https://adbuymcp.com/contact#book) 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](https://adbuymcp.com/start) [Book a 30-minute call with the founder](https://adbuymcp.com/contact#book) 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. [Book a 30-minute call with the founder](https://adbuymcp.com/contact#book) 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](https://adbuymcp.com/supply) grades each of AdBuyMCP’s connectors on what it has done with a real seller so far. ### Sources - [Klaxon, Targeted radio and podcast advertising klaxon.ai · checked 20 October 2026](https://klaxon.ai/) - [Universal Ads UK universalads.com · checked 20 October 2026](https://www.universalads.com/uk) - [Spotify Advertising UK, Small business advertising ads.spotify.com · checked 20 October 2026](https://ads.spotify.com/en-GB/small-business-advertising/) - [Loud! OOH, Pricing loudooh.co.uk · checked 20 October 2026](https://loudooh.co.uk/pricing/) - [OpenAI Help Center, Create campaigns for ChatGPT ads help.openai.com · checked 20 October 2026](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001210-create-campaigns-for-chatgpt-ads) - [OpenAI Help Center, Ads Manager account setup help.openai.com · checked 20 October 2026](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001213-ads-manager-account-setup) Our trust page sets out how each channel is bought, what your weekly report shows and how we handle your data. [Trust and limits](https://adbuymcp.com/trust) See what your market costs at 3, 5 or 12 times a week, for all four channels, before you join the waitlist. [Get my plan and price](https://adbuymcp.com/start) 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. - ### [vs Universal Ads](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/universal-ads) For streaming TV alone, go direct to Universal Ads. AdBuyMCP is for a plan that puts streaming TV beside out-of-home, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, at a frequency you choose. Specialist - ### [vs OOH specialists](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/ooh-specialists) For billboards and screens alone, buy from a specialist. AdBuyMCP is for out-of-home as one of four channels aimed at your market. Specialist - ### [vs CAASie](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/caasie) For digital screens alone with nothing to sign, use CAASie. AdBuyMCP is for screens as one part of a plan, at a frequency you choose. Specialist - ### [vs an agency](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/media-agency) An agency brings more judgement and a team you can call. AdBuyMCP gives you a price before you talk to anyone, with the media and your ads included, and balances the budget across the channels for you. Agency or in-house [See all 16 comparisons in one table](https://adbuymcp.com/compare) ## 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.