--- title: "AdBuyMCP vs a media buying agency for B2B awareness" description: "A media agency brings judgement and a team on a retainer, with the media on top. AdBuyMCP prices your plan from your market size, media and ads included." url: "https://adbuymcp.com/compare/media-agency" --- [Home](https://adbuymcp.com/) / [Comparisons](https://adbuymcp.com/compare) / AdBuyMCP vs an agency 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. A media agency plans and buys your media for a fee. On Whito's 2026 research, 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, before VAT and before the media itself. For that you get strategic judgement, creative and channel expertise, and people who answer the phone. AdBuyMCP charges one all-in monthly price that includes the media and the ads we make for each channel from your website, from £3,000 a month before VAT, set by the size of your market and how often it should see you. We balance your budget across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, and you approve the plan and the ads before anything runs. AdBuyMCP is software with its founder in the loop, so there is no account team. [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 an agency is ahead**: 5 strengths - **Where AdBuyMCP fits**: 4 reasons - **Stage**: Launch phase - **Published sources cited**: 4 AdBuyMCP's plans start at £3,000 a month, all-in, before VAT 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. The case for an agency · [see the sources below](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/media-agency#evidence) 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. A media agency 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 | A media agency | AdBuyMCP | | --- | --- | --- | | How you pay | A 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](https://whito.co.uk/research/uk-agency-retainers/), checked 20 October 2026 | £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 | Typical retainers start at £1,250 a month for one channel, before VAT and the media. Source: [Whito, UK agency retainers](https://whito.co.uk/research/uk-agency-retainers/), 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 | Whatever the agency trades, through its own buying relationships. | 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 | Whatever each channel the agency buys can offer, chosen by its planners. | 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 | UK agencies serving UK businesses, in the research cited here. Source: [Whito, UK agency retainers](https://whito.co.uk/research/uk-agency-retainers/), checked 20 October 2026 | Plans run in the UK, and every price is in pounds. | | What it reports | Reporting and reconciliation are part of the service. | 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 | A proposal or a pitch, then a contract and an account team. | 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 an agency is ahead 5 ### What they do better today - 01 Strategic judgement from people who are accountable for the work - 02 Creative quality and channel expertise built over years - 03 Client service, and a person to call when something goes wrong - 04 Any channel the agency trades, including search, social and LinkedIn - 05 A track record and references from past clients Where adbuymcp fits 4 ### What AdBuyMCP does for you - 01 A price you can see before you talk to anyone, from one published rate - 02 The media and your ads included in that price, where an agency's retainer comes on top of the media - 03 Your budget balanced across out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads for you, with the plan and every ad approved by you - 04 A 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. [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 ### 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](https://adbuymcp.com/managed-services) 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. [Book a 30-minute call with the founder](https://adbuymcp.com/contact#book) 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](https://adbuymcp.com/supply) 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](https://whito.co.uk/research/uk-agency-retainers/), checked 20 October 2026 - **Agency retainer, several channels**: £3,500 to £16,750 a month; Source: [Whito, UK agency retainers](https://whito.co.uk/research/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](https://whito.co.uk/research/uk-agency-retainers/), checked 20 October 2026 Also: [Finsbury Media, How much do PPC agencies charge](https://finsburymedia.com/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 - [Whito, UK agency retainers whito.co.uk · checked 20 October 2026](https://whito.co.uk/research/uk-agency-retainers/) - [Finsbury Media, How much do PPC agencies charge finsburymedia.com · checked 20 October 2026](https://finsburymedia.com/how-much-do-ppc-agencies-charge/) - [Klaxon, Targeted radio and podcast advertising klaxon.ai · checked 20 October 2026](https://klaxon.ai/) - [Tempa tempa.agency · checked 20 October 2026](https://tempa.agency/) 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 doing it yourself](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/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-house - ### [vs StackAdapt](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/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. Platform - ### [vs Google and Meta](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/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 social - ### [vs LinkedIn Ads](https://adbuymcp.com/compare/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 [See all 16 comparisons in one table](https://adbuymcp.com/compare) ## 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.