How Much Does an Agency Ad Account Cost? Flat Fee vs Percent of Spend

There are three models on the market. These are published prices for the main plans, all read on 1 November 2026. For the full comparison by provider, including what each contract says about bans, see our list of 12.

A "from" price is the bottom of the scale, and that goes for ours as well. Some of what you'll find online is also the price of an agency running your campaigns, which is a different service, as ExiScale points out on its own cost page.

Divide the monthly plan by your fee rate. That's your break-even spend. Below it the percentage costs less, above it the flat plan does.

Read it against your own numbers. If you spend $20,000 a month at 5%, you pay about $1,000. A $799 plan saves you $200 a month, as long as the plan covers $20,000. If you spend the same on a 2% rate, you pay $400, and that $799 plan costs you double.

ExiScale says it about its own price. Under roughly $100,000 a month, it writes, a percentage provider will cost you less. That's the $3,000 row at 3%.

The sum leaves out a few things.

• Plan ceilings. A flat fee often covers spend only up to a point. Uproas Gold stops at $6,000 a month, Laurel Starter at $10,000, and our Fixed Plans at $10,000 and $30,000. Check that your break-even sits below the ceiling, otherwise the plan never pays for itself.
• Quiet months. A percentage falls to zero when you stop spending. A flat fee doesn't. If your spend is seasonal, do the sum over twelve months and not over your best one.
• Platform count. Some flat plans price per platform, ours included. Two platforms at $799 is $1,598, which moves every number in the table.

Plain percentages of spend against two flat plans, for a first read. Plan ceilings apply, so check that the plan covers the spend in the row.

The gap gets serious over a year. At $100,000 a month, 4% against a $3,000 plan is $12,000 a year. At $5,000 a month it runs the other way, and even a 6% fee costs less than most flat plans. A rough guide by size, if you take it as a starting point:

• Testing, under about $5,000 a month. A percentage nearly always wins, and it falls to zero when you stop.
• $5,000 to $30,000. Do the sum. A $299 plan starts to beat a 4% fee at about $7,500 and a $799 plan at about $20,000. At 2% the percentage usually stays cheaper.
• $30,000 to $100,000. It depends on your rate and on which flat plans cover your spend. Ask about volume, because rates move here.
• Above $100,000. Flat plans win on the headline. At this size the credit room, the speed of top ups and who picks up on a bad day usually matter more than the fee.

This is where two providers with the same headline rate end up with different bills. All of these came from public pricing pages and contracts.

Take $100,000 a month on Meta through TDS at 7%, paying in USDT. The page shows $7,000, the package adds $100, and on the cash you send, 2% goes before anything else. To land $107,100 you send about $109,300, so the real cost is about 9.3% of your spend. All of that is on TDS's own pages, so you can do the sum before you pay.

Because the rate follows risk and volume, and buyers usually only see the bottom of the scale.

Risk first. Zmatic's Meta tiers go from 6% to 4% on standard accounts and 9% to 5% on high-risk ones. Uproas charges 0% on its low-risk Meta plans and 6% to 4% on medium-risk ones. We price TikTok and Snapchat in three bands, Standard from 2%, Regulated from 4%, and Complex by quote.

Then volume. Threasury takes 1.5 points off its 3% as your spend grows, and the level stays with you once you reach it. TDS steps down from 8% to 5%. Ours drops as your monthly volume grows.

If a vertical matters to you, ask before you pay which column you sit in. Being quoted one rate and moved to another after the first top up is the kind of thing that ends up in a one-star review.

No. In the plans we read, 0% means 0% on spend, and a monthly plan pays for it. Uproas charges $299 and $699 a month for the low-risk Meta plans it labels 0%. Threasury charges $899 or $2,499. Laurel's 0% sits on its $1,198 plan and applies to white hat niches.

That can be a good deal, as the table above shows. A provider still has to earn somewhere, so when a price looks too low for the work, ask how they get paid.

A voucher is a different thing. It's a fixed amount of ad balance that lands when you hit a spend target, with rules and a deadline.

For TikTok and Snapchat we publish it. Other platforms take a message, and that's a weakness we know about.

The percentage is a fee on each deposit, and it drops as your monthly volume grows. Fixed Plans are per platform, the Adtucon Platform is included, and above the plan's ceiling you go back to the percentage. On Meta, Google, X and Bigo your rate depends on vertical and volume, and one message in chat gets you the number.

Now the same sum on us. At 2%, neither Fixed Plan pays for itself, because $10,000 at 2% is $200 and $30,000 at 2% is $600. Stay on the percentage. At 4% the $299 plan wins above $7,475 and the $799 plan above $19,975.

Our offers page has the rest, with the details for TikTok and Snapchat. The short version:

• Starter voucher. $200 on your account after $2,000 of spend in 30 days, with a first top up of at least $1,000.
• Scale vouchers. $3,000 to $10,000 for hitting a spend target in 90 days. On TikTok that's $100,000 for the first one and $400,000 for the last.
• Second Platform. If you spend at least $3,000 a month with us on one platform, 0% on your first $5,000 on TikTok or Snapchat, plus a $200 Starter voucher.

One voucher per company per platform every 12 months, for new clients or a platform you haven't run with us yet. Above $1,000, half lands when you hit the spend and half after 30 more days of active spend, and you use it within 60 days of landing. A voucher is ad balance from us. It isn't cash and it doesn't convert back to money.

Agencies and consultants who bring clients can join our partner programme, which pays 30% of the fees we collect, for life.

Before you compare anyone, write down one line for each provider on your list, using your real numbers.

1. Take your monthly spend per platform, for an average month and a slow one.
2. Multiply by the rate you were actually quoted, in writing. Skip the "from" rate.
3. Add the plan or package, and the floor if the slow month falls under it.
4. Add the payment fee for the way you'll really pay.
5. Divide the total by your spend. That's your effective rate, and it's the number to compare.

Then ask the question no pricing table answers, which is what happens to your money if the account falls. A 2% fee stops being cheap on the day a balance gets stuck. Our provider comparison puts those clauses side by side.

If you want the sum done for you, send us your spend and platforms and we'll tell you which option costs less, including when it's the percentage.