If you’re wondering whether or not you should start using user-generated content (UGC) platforms to promote your product or service, think about the last few times you really wanted to buy something.
Was it because you saw an ad the company produced?
Or was it because you saw a friend or coworker with it and immediately knew you wanted to get one, too?
Whether we’re talking about a water bottle or a sports car, we’re more likely to buy something when we see a real person (like us!) using and enjoying it.
That’s the power of UGC.
When we see a video of a real person using a product, our mind goes, “I would like that, too.” It taps into our social instincts to learn from the people around us.
So in this article, we’ll help you find the best UGC platform for your brand by taking a look at some of the top UGC platforms in 2024.
But first–let’s talk through what to pay attention to when you’re checking out UGC websites. There are a few traps you need to watch for!
What factors should you consider when picking a UGC tool?
As you dive into the world of UGC tools, there are SO MANY options.
It can be overwhelming to try to find the right platform. After all, colleagues may have shared horror stories of hidden costs, licensing fiascos, and projects dragging on for months with no progress.
Thankfully, getting UGC for your brand doesn’t have to be that way. You just need to know what to look for.
Pricing
Before you fall in love with any platform, head to their pricing page so you know what you’re getting yourself into. Make sure you check:
- Their price per video, and
- What’s included in that price
Not all UGC tools have all the things you’ll need at their listed price. Some places charge extra for licensing, creator fees, and edits. Others also tack on extra fees for every video you buy.
These extra charges add up over time. And, because UGC campaigns usually involve testing several types of videos before getting it right, it’s a good idea to pay attention to those hidden costs.
After all–you don’t want to blow your entire marketing budget on a few videos and hope the marketing fairies smile upon you and give you one that sells your product, right?
At the same time, you don’t want to buy a bunch of cheap videos that are low-quality and are virtually guaranteed to keep potential customers scrolling.
The key here is to find affordable videos that don’t compromise on quality.
It’s simple: a pricing page should list the price per video and what that includes: the video, creator payment, edits, or licensing. These details should be included for transparency.
Generally, platforms avoid sharing their prices if they are super expensive and only work with brands that have a few thousand dollars of budget per month minimum. This is especially true if you’re hoping to get user-generated content from influencers.
Creator vetting process
Once you know a platform fits your budget, it’s time to turn your attention to the quality you can expect to receive from its creators.
One of the easiest ways to do that? Investigate their creator vetting process.
Ask yourself these questions as you look at their website:
- Are the creators on this platform vetted before they’re allowed to join?
- If they are vetted, how?
- Will I be able to select which creators I want to work with?
You’ll avoid a LOT of headaches if the platform does the vetting for you. Otherwise, you’ll probably spend a lot of time going back and forth, coaching and prodding creators in order to get a slightly usable video. That’s not fun for you, and it’s not fun for the creators, either.
Creators’ location
This one is fairly straightforward: make sure the platform you use has creators who are local to your audience.
If you sell to Americans, why get Australian creators to make user-generated content for you? Your audience might wonder if your product is even available in the US!
Thankfully, this should be pretty easy to check. Look for the so-called “Creator Showcase” pages, where you can see examples of creators and potential videos created by them.
Turnaround time
This one is super important to know upfront–after all, you don’t want to be waiting for weeks (or months) to use your videos!
To check for this, see if the turnaround time is displayed on their website or reach out to their team.
If it’s not, just know that some agencies and platforms can take weeks or months to deliver UGC videos you can use–and there’s no reason you should have to wait that long!
Licensing
If you’re new to user-generated content platforms, you may not realize this, but you can easily end up getting videos that aren’t fully licensed or are only licensed for a while.
This is especially the case with influencers–they might grant you a license for a month, and then after that will email you asking for money. If you’re running a profitable ad, that’s the last thing you want, right?
To have to stop the campaign because the influencer owns the license or spend $500 more because you didn’t read the fine print?
To avoid feeling like you got scammed, check if licensing is included in the UGC platform’s prices. If it isn’t, it might be a good idea to find a different one.
Extra Resources
Before you book your first creator, see what else you can find out about the platform:
- Can you book a demo or free trial?
- Can you see real use cases from customers?
- Can you find verified reviews?
Okay, now that we’ve covered what to look for on UGC websites, let’s talk about the top UGC platforms out there, so you can find the best fit for you!
What are the best UGC platforms for brands, and what are their pros and cons?
In this section, we’ll cover each of the most popular platforms and why you might or might not want to work with each. Let’s get started!
Clip
Clip connects brands with vetted creators who deliver fast, high-quality results. Clip invests in its creators, who receive personalized feedback and training to make sure the content you receive from Clip is optimized for your social media and ad campaigns.
Advantages
- Competitive pricing: Compared with other UGC platforms, Clip’s prices are excellent–one round of edits and full, forever licensing for both paid and organic social media channels are included with each video.
- Premium creators: All the creators on Clip’s platform are manually vetted, plus they have intro videos and portfolios available.
- High-quality UGC services: With such a selective talent pool, high-quality content is the norm.
- Continuous improvement: All of Clip’s home studio creators receive personalized feedback on their work from professional content creators—this results in higher-quality UGC videos.
- Fast turnaround times: Clip’s creators average a 7-day turnaround time–with a maximum of no more than 10 days.
- Easy communication: Clip’s built-in messaging system allows you to communicate directly with creators.
Disadvantages
- No product returns: Clip doesn’t offer an option for brands to get their products back after the creators review them. If you need your products returned after the content is made, Clip probably isn’t a good fit.
- No photos: Clip currently focuses exclusively on UGC videos–you cannot get photos on the platform.
Bottom line: Clip offers high-quality UGC services at competitive prices, with fast turnaround times. Plus, they’re always finding ways to help their creators make their videos even better. If you’re looking for affordable and high-quality UGC software, Clip is a great choice.
Social Cat
Social Cat is a platform that connects businesses with influencers on Instagram and TikTok. But why is it included here, right? It’s an Influencer Marketing platform. To be fairly honest, a big reason for working with influencers is UGC.
And if you can get affordable UGC from nano and micro-influencers, it’s even better. This is precisely what this platform does, but if you disagree, feel free to skip this one.
Advantages
- Affordable: Social Cat is a subscription-based service where you can work with up to 5 influencers per month on their entry tier. This means you can get multiple pieces of UGC for the same campaign at a lower rate. Plus, their influencers are nano and micro-influencers, so their rates are more affordable than big names.
- Gifted collaborations: This platform is one of the only ones that does gifted collaborations for brands. If you have a small budget or just want to test things out with UGC, this might be the right choice to start with.
- Large talent pool: There are thousands of influencers active on the Social Cat platform, all vetted by their team. Plus, you get access to many of their metrics, reviews, and content portfolios so you can make informed decisions.
- Greater awareness: Because you’re working with influencers, they post on their social media channels about your brand. As a result, you get more brand awareness and sales.
- Support for every step: Everything you need to run an influencer campaign is provided by Social Cat. Influencers can apply to your campaigns. You can invite them to collaborate and communicate through their messaging system. When they’ve created your content, it’s uploaded to the platform and you can leave them reviews too.
Disadvantages
- Quality: Most of the collaborations on Social Cat are “gifted collabs,” where you give your product to the influencer to create content with it. You still can get high-quality UGC with a setup like this, but you’ll probably have to work with many influencers to find ones who deliver what you’re looking for.
- Turnaround times: The turnaround time to get collaborations live on social media and get the content uploaded on the platform is slightly longer, averaging around 14 days, as stated by their support team.
Working with influencers might not be the best way to get UGC, but when done right, it can bring a lot of affordable content that can be easily repurposed. It’s just not as straightforward as with purely UGC platforms.
Insense
Insense offers several ways to work with influencers: traditional posting on influencers’ accounts, as well as running ads from their creator’s handles. However, they also have an option to purchase UGC from their influencers, which is what we’ll talk about in this article!
Advantages
- Large talent pool: Lots of influencers means you can find a creator for any need. Plus, they have influencers on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, so you have your choice of platform, too.
- Video options: You can choose from different types of video content, like “how to” content, testimonials, and unboxing videos.
- Content options: You can get photos and videos from Insense.
Disadvantages:
- Price: One month starts at $550 plus other fees (including creator payments and licensing). More affordable per-month options are available, but they require committing to the platform for at least 3 months, so you’re spending even more at the beginning.
- Licensing: Licensing is NOT included in their price– it’s an extra fee.
- No home studio creators: Content from influencers isn’t as authentic as content from home studio creators, so your UGC might not be as effective if you get UGC here (This is a common problem across influencer platforms).
Insense is a good option for you if you have a higher budget and you’re focused on Influencer Marketing. However, their fee structure, contracts, and paid trials mean you have to spend loads of cash before you see any ROI.
Billo
Billo offers “made-to-order” UGC content for a wide range of channels. They also offer in-house video editing if you need it.
Advantages
- Large talent pool: They have over 5,000 creators with a range of demographics–like older UGC creators, creators with tattoos, and more.
- Additional services: They also offer video editing services, so you have more creative control over the finished product.
- Communication: A messaging system where you can chat with creators is included on their platform.
- Content options: You can order different types of assets: testimonials, unboxing, “how-to” videos, and more!
Disadvantages
- United States-focused: Most of their talent is US-based, so if you’re looking for talent from other countries, you’re out of luck.
- Startup costs: Their pricing is good, but you have to buy 5 videos before you can get started. To try their platform, you have to pay at least $500.
- Hidden info: We couldn’t find licensing information on their website or help center. It’s also unclear if their creators are vetted. To avoid unpleasant surprises, you may want to reach out and ask about these things before starting with them.
Billo is a great option for UGC if you are in the United States and can commit to paying $500 to test their platform. However, we recommend reaching out to them to ask about licensing fees before handing over your company credit card– if those aren’t included, the price could be way higher.
Twirl
Twirl is focused on delivering high-quality, vetted, and diverse video content–and managing the entire process for you. If you’re looking for a done-for-you, agency-style approach to UGC, Twirl fits the bill.
Advantages
- Licensing: Unlimited licensing is included in their pricing. Rejoice!
- Revisions: One content revision is also included in their pricing.
- Agency-style communication: They take care of all the communication–once you create your brief, the entire process is handled by their staff and the creators themselves, sort of like a marketing agency.
- Large talent pool: They have over 1,500 vetted creators in the US and UK.
Disadvantages
- Price: Pricing starts at $320 per video, which is on the higher side.
- Time: Since their team acts as the middle-man, communication (and, therefore, results) can take longer.
Twirl is an agency-style platform that can get you high-quality UGC and has a large pool of diverse creators, which is great. However, the fact that it’s not a self-serve platform means that the price tag is higher, and turnaround times might be longer.
Trend
Trend allows you to create a brief and collect applicants for free–which is nice since many platforms are pay-to-try. Their goal is to build “the most frictionless way for brands to find content creators that match their vision.”
Advantages
- Content options: You can purchase both videos and photos from their creators.
- Large talent pool: They have a network of over 3,700 vetted creators to choose from.
- Licensing: Their videos are fully licensed–no worries there!
- Customer support: 24/7 support is available once you become a customer.
Disadvantages
- Time: It can take 2-3 weeks to get the content, which is a longer turnaround time than many of the other companies we’ve mentioned in this article.
- Revisions: It’s unclear from their website whether revisions are included or even available.
- Price: While their starting price per video is good, you need to be willing to spend at least $500 to get started with their platform. Plus, “higher level” creators cost more, so you may need to pay more for good-quality content.
Overall, Trend is a solid option for UGC. However, just remember that the turnaround time is a little bit longer, and the pricing is higher–especially as you get started.
BeeRoll
In addition to having a punny name, BeeRoll has AI-powered storyboarding and editing that can help you splice together clips from creators to create your UGC.
Advantages
- Large talent pool: BeeRoll has over vetted 5,000 creators, although there are no sample videos to show where the creators are located.
- Communication: Their storyboard templates (which replace the content briefs you need to write on other platforms) make it super easy to show creators what you’re looking for.
- Additional services: They also provide AI-powered video editing services.
Disadvantages
- Fees: Their pricing starts at $79/month to access the platform but does not include creator payments (which they say are generally $100/video) and the $50 per video transaction fee they charge for every video. After you add it all up, that’s significantly more per video than other platforms.
- Inaccessible features: Many of their main selling points–like editing services, storyboards, and custom creator sourcing–are only available at the highest tier. There’s no price listed for that tier, so all we can tell you is that it’s *definitely* high.
At first glance, BeeRoll seems like an affordable option. However, if you look at the pricing more closely, you have to wonder: can you still even use the good parts of their service on the lowest price tier?
Influee
Influee is an all-in-one UGC video platform with creators from over 23 countries. They also offer post-production options, including an AI-powered video editor.
Advantages
- Extremely large talent pool: With over 50K vetted creators from 23 countries, Influee is probably the most diverse UGC platform.
- Additional services: They have video editing options available, which can save you hassle and time if you don’t have an in-house video editing team.
- Licensing: All videos are fully licensed, so you can use them however you want.
- Revisions: Their videos come with unlimited revisions
- Collab options: You can offer to gift creators with your product in exchange for a collab. The quality isn’t usually as good on unpaid collaborations, but it’s nice to have the option, right?
Disadvantages
- Price: Influee is a subscription-based service starting at $199/month. That doesn’t include creator fees or the percentage-based marketplace fees they charge every time you buy a video. Their fees are unpredictable because they depend on how much the creators charge.
- No free trial: There’s no free trial to test out the platform before you subscribe.
- Extras are extra: The video editing services are separate and are billed on top of the fees we’ve already mentioned.
- Fuzzy details: Although they have a creator showcase from each country, it’s unclear how many creators are available in every location.
All in all, Influee is a promising platform, especially if you’re looking for a UGC marketplace outside of the US, UK, or Australia. However, the subscription cost is high, and the price per video is unpredictable.
Summing it up how to choose
At the end of the day, you have to decide what factors are most important to you in a UGC platform for e-commerce. We recommend focusing on the following:
- Finding a good balance between pricing and the quality of the videos because you don’t want bad content, but you don’t want to go bankrupt getting good UGC.
- Getting fully licensed videos because you NEED to be able to use your UGC whenever and wherever you want.
After that, you can pick a platform that best meets your needs. Happy searching!