comparison
AdBuyMCP vs an agency
You see your price before you talk to anyone, from one published rate with the media and your ads included. We balance your budget across the four channels, and you approve the plan and the ads.
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 Updated
- where an agency is ahead
- 5 strengths
- where AdBuyMCP fits
- 4 reasons
- stage
- Launch phase
- published sources cited
- 4
their promise
What an agency offers
A team that plans, buys and reports on your media, with strategic judgement and channel expertise behind every decision.
side by side
How the two compare on price, minimums and channels
The facts about an agency are desk research, and each figure taken from a published page carries that page and the date we checked it.
| Compared on | A media agency | AdBuyMCP |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | A media agencyA monthly retainer or a share of your ad spend, with the media paid on top. UK agency retainers are typically £1,250 to £3,500 a month for one channel and £3,500 to £16,750 a month for several.Source: Whito, UK agency retainers, checked 20 October 2026 | 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 | A media agencyTypical retainers start at £1,250 a month for one channel, before VAT and the media.Source: Whito, UK agency retainers, 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 | A media agencyWhatever the agency trades, through its own buying relationships. | 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 | A media agencyWhatever each channel the agency buys can offer, chosen by its planners. | 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 | A media agencyUK agencies serving UK businesses, in the research cited here.Source: Whito, UK agency retainers, checked 20 October 2026 | AdBuyMCPPlans run in the UK, and every price is in pounds. |
| What it reports | A media agencyReporting and reconciliation are part of the service. | 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 | A media agencyA proposal or a pitch, then a contract and an account team. | 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
What they do better today
- 01Strategic judgement from people who are accountable for the work
- 02Creative quality and channel expertise built over years
- 03Client service, and a person to call when something goes wrong
- 04Any channel the agency trades, including search, social and LinkedIn
- 05A track record and references from past clients
What AdBuyMCP does for you
- 01A price you can see before you talk to anyone, from one published rate
- 02The media and your ads included in that price, where an agency's retainer comes on top of the media
- 03Your budget balanced across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads for you, with the plan and every ad approved by you
- 04A weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan
If the first list holds what your plan depends on, an agency is the better buy. If you're not sure, ask the founder on a 30-minute call.
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.
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
Choose an agency when
You need judgement more than a price, your plan runs on channels AdBuyMCP doesn't buy, or your procurement needs a supplier with references. For audio alone, Klaxon runs managed UK radio and podcast campaigns at fixed prices, starting with its BOOST package at £2,499 plus VAT for a four-week campaign. For a paid ads test on Meta, LinkedIn or Google Search, Tempa runs one for 30 days at $5,000 plus ad spend, for Y Combinator companies only.
Choose AdBuyMCP when
You know who buys from you, you want to be known by them before they start looking, and you'd rather approve a plan than sit through a pitch meeting and a 40-slide deck.
If you want your first awareness test run with you, without an agency on retainer, the managed first test covers two or three of the four channels, in your own accounts, for £2,500 plus VAT over ten weeks. You pay the sellers for the media yourself, at least £7,500 across the whole test (the managed-test media minimum).
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.
If neither block describes your situation, book a 30-minute call with the founder and talk your market through.
where to check this
These sources back the facts about an agency
Each fact about an agency 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.
Here is what UK agencies charge
- Agency retainer, one channel
- £1,250 to £3,500 a month
- Source: Whito, UK agency retainers, checked 20 October 2026
- Agency retainer, several channels
- £3,500 to £16,750 a month
- Source: Whito, UK agency retainers, checked 20 October 2026
- Agency fee as a share of ad spend
- 10% to 30% of monthly ad spend
- Whito puts the typical share at 10% to 20%, and Finsbury Media at 15% to 30% for most UK PPC agencies.
- Source: Whito, UK agency retainers, checked 20 October 2026Also: Finsbury Media, How much do PPC agencies charge, checked 20 October 2026
- AdBuyMCP
- From £3,000 a month, with the media and your ads included
The agency figures are before VAT and before the media itself. AdBuyMCP’s price includes the media and is shown before VAT.
Sources
Our trust page sets out how each channel is bought, what your weekly report shows and how we handle your data.
Trust and limitsSee what your market costs at 3, 5 or 12 times a week, for all four channels, before you join the waitlist.
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 doing it yourself
For one channel, buy it direct. AdBuyMCP earns its place when you want all four running against one market, at a frequency you choose.
Agency or in-housevs StackAdapt
StackAdapt is the closest like-for-like and the stronger platform today. AdBuyMCP suits a founder who wants one monthly price for the frequency they choose, with the budget balanced across the channels for them.
Platformvs Google and Meta
Google and Meta are the better buy for the buyers who are already looking. AdBuyMCP is for the rest of your market, and the two work together.
Search and socialvs LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is the better buy when you need to reach people by job title. AdBuyMCP reaches the same market away from LinkedIn, and the two can run together.
Search and social
What buyers ask when they weigh an agency against AdBuyMCP
Is an agency a better choice than AdBuyMCP for me?
Yes, if you need judgement more than a price, your plan runs on channels AdBuyMCP doesn't buy, or your procurement needs a supplier with references. For audio alone, Klaxon runs managed UK radio and podcast campaigns at fixed prices, starting with its BOOST package at £2,499 plus VAT for a four-week campaign. For a paid ads test on Meta, LinkedIn or Google Search, Tempa runs one for 30 days at $5,000 plus ad spend, for Y Combinator companies only.
When is AdBuyMCP a better choice than an agency?
Choose AdBuyMCP when you know who buys from you, you want to be known by them before they start looking, and you'd rather approve a plan than sit through a pitch meeting and a 40-slide deck.
What is an agency better at than AdBuyMCP?
Strategic judgement from people who are accountable for the work; creative quality and channel expertise built over years; client service, and a person to call when something goes wrong; any channel the agency trades, including search, social and LinkedIn; a track record and references from past clients.
Where does AdBuyMCP fit better than an agency?
A price you can see before you talk to anyone, from one published rate; the media and your ads included in that price, where an agency's retainer comes on top of the media; your budget balanced across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads for you, with the plan and every ad approved by you; a weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan.