A Smartly alternative search usually comes from a team that wants automated ad production and campaign management, and does not have the budget, the volume or the months for an enterprise rollout.
Hermoso is an AI marketing agent and AI ad generator. It makes the ads, then builds and manages the campaigns, and you can start on the free plan the same day.
This is an independent comparison written by Hermoso. We describe Smartly only at the category level, as an advertising platform for large brands that automates creative production and social campaign management, because we will not put words in a competitor's mouth, and anything we said about their roadmap or their limits would be a guess. Everything specific below is about Hermoso, and it is checkable.
What Hermoso does beyond making the clip
- Finished ads from your brand. Paste your website and it makes image and video ads with your real product, logo and colors, captions and CTA typed in, in every placement size.
- Ad Spy. See the ads your competitors run in the Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok ad libraries before you make yours.
- Publishing and scheduling to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bluesky, Telegram, Google Business Profile, WordPress, Discord, Slack and Whop, from one calendar.
- Paid campaigns on twelve ad platforms: Meta, Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Reddit Ads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X Ads, TikTok Ads, Snapchat Ads, ChatGPT Ads, Apple Search Ads and AppLovin Ads.
- From one chat, or from your own AI: ChatGPT, Claude or any MCP client, plus a CLI and an API.
Campaigns on twelve ad platforms, from one place
Hermoso builds the whole campaign tree (campaign, ad set or ad group, ad) on Meta, Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Reddit Ads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X Ads, TikTok Ads, Snapchat Ads, ChatGPT Ads, Apple Search Ads and AppLovin Ads, with real targeting, budgets and bidding, and reads it back from the platform before it reports what it made. Reports, budget changes and pausing work the same way. Campaign management uses no credits on any plan.
Creative that starts from your brand and your market
It reads your website into a brand profile (products, real photos, logo, colors, voice), studies the ads competitors run in the public ad libraries, and makes image and video ads from both, in every placement size. One brief can fan out into many hooks and versions to test.
Run it from a chat, or from your own AI
Everything above is available in Hermoso's own chat, and to ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor and any other MCP client, plus an npm CLI and an API. A media buyer can ask for "this week's report and three new ads for the best ad set" in plain words.
How you actually make an ad in Hermoso
- Give it a starting point. A website URL is the usual one: Hermoso reads your products, real product photos, logo, palette and voice into a brand profile. If you have no site, describe the brand in a paragraph or hand over a social handle instead; all three paths land in the same profile.
- Say what you want. Plain language: a UGC testimonial hook, a product demo, a 30-second spot, a 4:5 static. Hermoso grounds it against ads already running in your market rather than starting from a blank prompt, and can fan out several hooks to split-test.
- Get an on-brand ad back. Your real product in the scene, captions and CTA composited in, sized 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9. Then publish it organically to fifteen channels, or as a paused Meta, Google, Microsoft, Reddit, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X Ads, TikTok Ads, Snapchat Ads, ChatGPT Ads, Apple Search Ads or AppLovin Ads campaign you launch when you are ready.
Who a Smartly alternative like Hermoso suits
- Growing brands that want automated creative and campaigns without an enterprise contract.
- Agencies running many clients' ad accounts, each in its own brand profile with its own team access.
- Media buyers who already work inside ChatGPT or Claude.
Other comparisons: Zeely · Creatify · AdCreative.ai · Pencil · Predis.ai · Creatopy · HeyGen · Synthesia · Postiz · Post Bridge · ManyChat · Fastlane · Zernio · Blotato · Buffer · Runway · Krea · Freepik · Arcads · Higgsfield · the category guide
Frequently asked questions
Is Hermoso a good Smartly alternative for a smaller team?
It covers the same loop on self-serve terms. Smartly is an advertising platform for large brands that automates creative production and social campaign management. Hermoso makes AI ads from your brand and builds and manages campaigns on twelve ad platforms, with a free plan and monthly plans from $9.99.
Which ad platforms can Hermoso manage?
Meta, Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Reddit Ads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X Ads, TikTok Ads, Snapchat Ads, ChatGPT Ads, Apple Search Ads and AppLovin Ads. It builds campaigns, ad sets or ad groups and ads, reads reports, and changes budgets and status.
Does Hermoso have a free plan?
Yes. A free account starts with 25 credits and 135 more you can earn as you set up and create. Paid plans start with Basic at $9.99 a month: unlimited posting and Autopilot access. Includes the same 160 free credits as the Free plan. Monthly credits start on Starter. Starter, Pro and Studio are $29, $69 and $149 a month for 1,300, 3,100 and 6,750 credits, with no markup on models, and any plan, Free included, can top up with a credit pack. Every plan, Free included, gets the full studio (image, video, UGC avatars, unlimited profiles and team seats). Free posts up to 10 times a month on 3 channels; unlimited posting and autopilot access start on Basic at $9.99 a month, and enterprise SSO is on Studio.
Can an AI agent drive Hermoso?
Yes. Hermoso ships an 1,000+ tool MCP server over one OAuth'd endpoint, an npm CLI and installable skills, so Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Cline and any other MCP client can run research, generation, publishing and campaign management directly. There is also an API for calling Hermoso from your own code.