Compare your options
Software, guided support or a full agency?
The right choice depends on your budget, the work you want to keep in-house and how much specialist help you need.
Choose the level of help your business needs.
When an agency fits
- Strategy work that goes well beyond advertising
- Big budgets that justify a dedicated team
- Brand, creative production and media planning together
- Businesses that would rather hand the whole thing over
- Complex accounts across many markets or many products
When the platform fits
- A monthly subscription from R599, with advertising spend separate
- Changes you make yourself, when you want them
- Month-to-month plans, subject to the cancellation policy
- Owners who want to manage campaigns and lead follow-up in one place
- A choice of self-service or done-with-you campaign help
What to compare
Five things to check before you choose.
Compare the work, responsibilities and full cost of each option before you commit.
Scope: what work is included?
Scale gives you the platform to manage your own advertising. Dominate adds help to plan, build and launch campaigns. For broader brand strategy, creative production or ongoing management, compare the services in an agency proposal.
Control: who makes campaign decisions?
With AI Ad Engine, you stay involved in your offer, budget and campaign approvals. With an agency, agree who can change campaigns and what needs your approval before work starts.
Turnaround: who makes the changes?
Self-service lets you edit campaigns yourself. If you need hands-on help, agree how requests and approvals will work. Advertising platforms still control their own ad review times.
Ownership: what stays with your business?
Before choosing any provider, confirm who owns the advertising accounts, who has access and what happens to your data and campaign history when you leave.
Total cost: what sits outside the fee?
Compare the subscription or service fee, advertising budget and any separately quoted work. AI Ad Engine starts at R599 per month, with advertising spend separate. Check each provider’s cancellation terms too.
Plans
Choose self-service or guided support.
Both plans include the platform on a month-to-month subscription. Choose Scale to run campaigns yourself or Dominate for hands-on help to plan, build and launch.
Scale
R599
Self-service · per month
For hands-on business owners who want to create, manage and track their own advertising from one place.
Dominate
R1,599
Done-with-you · per month
For businesses that want the full platform plus hands-on help to plan, build and launch their campaigns.
Advertising spend is separate. Your AI Ad Engine subscription does not include the actual advertising budget paid to Meta, Google or TikTok.
Is AI Ad Engine a marketing agency?
AI Ad Engine is an advertising and lead-management platform. Scale is self-service. Dominate adds done-with-you campaign setup, help building and launching campaigns, priority onboarding and priority support. You stay involved in campaign decisions; it is not a full agency retainer.
How much does a marketing agency cost in South Africa?
Ask for a quote based on the work you need, then check whether advertising spend, creative production and other services are included. AI Ad Engine plans start at R599 a month, with advertising spend separate.
Should I leave my agency?
Not necessarily. If an agency is delivering and the fee is proportionate to your budget, that is a working arrangement. The case for a platform is strongest when the retainer is large relative to what you actually spend on ads, or when you want to make changes yourself.
Do I still need to know how to advertise?
AI Ad Engine is designed to simplify campaign creation and management, and the Dominate plan includes help building and launching campaigns. It does not remove the need to know your own customers and your own offer.
Can I cancel if it is not working?
Subscriptions operate month-to-month with no long-term contract, subject to our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Or start with one channel.
Facebook & Instagram ads
Facebook and Instagram use Meta’s advertising system. Run one campaign across both, with control over who sees your ads and where they appear.
Google ads
Google Search reaches people after they type a need into a search box. The job is to match their wording, location and next step with a relevant ad and landing page.
TikTok ads
TikTok places short vertical video in the feed people already watch. For a South African business, the question is whether the offer can be shown clearly in a format that feels at home there.
Individual results vary. Past performance and customer case studies do not guarantee future results.