Let’s set one thing straight: this is the ninth time we’ve rewritten this article in under three years. Why? Because Smartly keeps evolving, Hunch continues growing, and the industry isn’t slowing down. Plus, this time, we want to go beyond feature comparisons to unpack the fundamental difference in approach between Hunch and Smartly.
If you’re here, chances are you’ve already come across some of our content about Smartly—whether it’s the alternatives article or the one about their pricing. But now, you’re ready to dive deeper into what makes Hunch stand out.
So, let’s have an honest conversation about why more businesses are rethinking Smartly—and why Hunch is emerging as the speedboat in a sea of fancy cruisers.
The Cruiser vs. the Speed Boat: A tale of two platforms
Imagine this: Smartly is like a luxury cruiser. It’s big, impressive, and packed with everything you might need—fancy restaurants, a pool, a casino. But let’s be real: how often do you use all of it? For many mid-market brands, Smartly feels like that—loaded with advanced features for omnichannel advertising, but you’re paying for tools you rarely touch.
Now, picture Hunch as a speed boat. It’s focused, and built for one purpose: getting you where you need to go, fast. No fluff, no unnecessary extras, just the essentials to help you scale Meta and Snapchat campaigns with ease.
But don’t take our word for it. Learn what mid-market brands have to say.
When the cruiser becomes too much: Why some businesses seek an alternative to Smartly
Smartly wasn’t always a cruiser. In the beginning, it was a nimble speedboat - fast, agile, suited for challenger brands looking to dip their toes into the waters of paid social. Over time, though, Smartly grew. It expanded its capabilities, evolving into a robust platform designed for enterprises managing multimillion-dollar budgets across multiple channels.
But what happened along the way?
As Smartly scaled, so did their pricing. They added new features aimed at simplifying cross-channel advertising, but this came at a cost - both financially and operationally. The once-sleek ride transformed into a complex cruiser with workflows that weren’t tailored to everyone.
For mid-market brands, this shift created challenges. These businesses weren’t looking for an amusement park of features, they just wanted a smooth way to publish campaigns on Meta or other platforms. Instead, they found themselves navigating a heavy, cumbersome system—and paying premium fees, whether they used all of them or not.
And what about support?
While Smartly does offer customer support, it’s not the same for everyone. Businesses with smaller ad budgets often find themselves stuck with slow or outsourced support, making real-time help a frustrating challenge. For many, the speedboat they once relied on had turned into a cruiser that no longer fit their journey.
Breaking down Hunch’s speedboat approach
Hunch was built with the same vision to drive advanced paid social campaigns, but our journey took a different route. As a younger company, we quickly realized we couldn’t be everything to everyone. Instead, we sharpened our focus on Meta and Snapchat.
Today, Hunch delivers everything you can do with Smartly—within the scope of Meta and Snap. We’ve built full integrations with both platforms, automating creative and media workflows to make your advertising efficient.
This sharp focus gives us an edge. It allows us to tailor workflows to your specific needs and help you reach your goals faster. Unlike Smartly, Hunch is built with growth-phase businesses in mind. Our pricing is fair and straightforward - mid-market brands only pay for what they actually use, with no extra costs for built-in features.
But what truly gives you that "speedboat ride" with Hunch, is the level of support we provide. We won’t just hand you the keys to the platform and leave you to figure it out. Instead, we’ll provide you with a dedicated team of experts who’ll do more than just solve your day-to-day challenges. They’ll proactively propose strategic guidance to help you level up your campaigns, and use the full potential of our platform.
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| Pricing | Starts at €2500 per month | 💰 💰 💰 💰 |
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| Automated Campaigns | |
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| AI Background Removal | |
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| Dynamic media & Adapt to Placement | |
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| PSD & Figma import | |
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| Dedicated Customer Success Manager | |
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| Professional Services (Design and Solution) | |
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| Predictive Budget Allocation |  |
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The tough questions we often get asked when compared to Smartly
It’s no surprise—we get compared to Smartly a lot. When prospects see us as a Smartly alternative, the same questions tend to come up during calls. So, we thought, why not answer them all right here?
#1 Why are you cheaper if you offer everything that Smartly does?
First of all, we don’t offer everything that Smartly does. But that’s by design. Our platform isn’t built for advertisers who need everything Smartly offers. Instead, our solution is designed for marketers who feel trapped in a massive system they’re not fully utilizing.
As we’ve already mentioned, we focus on Meta and Snapchat, which means we can easily replicate your Smartly workflows for these two platforms. And even if you need creatives for other social platforms, you can still produce them effortlessly using Hunch. In a nutshell, we’ve built a solution tailored for marketers who want speed, and efficiency, without paying for features they don’t need.
#2 Why don’t you offer Predictive Budget Allocation?
PBA works based on CPA (Cost per Acquisition) which has become a less reliable KPI for optimization. But if you don’t have multiple lower funnel campaigns running it’s not a common practice to connect an upper funnel and a lower funnel campaign to the same budget pool. Since they don’t have the same goal, the PBA may be imprecise.
For the cross-channel PBA, let's assume we set PBA based on CPM, (even if it’s CPA) different platforms, different algorithms, different bidding processes, and different competition. This means a feature like PBA will favor the platform where you buy ads “cheaper” which very often leads to Meta being underserved.
#3 Do you charge extra for your AI features?
No, we don’t. Right now, Hunch offers AI-powered background removal and color discovery, both of which are built directly into our Creative Studio. These are in-house features, and we don’t charge extra for using them.
What’s more, we’re here to help you achieve the best possible results with these tools, making sure you’re fully equipped to enhance your creative production.
#4 Will migrating from Smartly to your platform hurt our performance?
It won’t. Hunch strongly emphasizes creating a seamless migration for our customers, keeping their performance and workload untouched.
To back these words with action, here’s the story of how Nordbutiker was able to quickly re-launch their Catalog ads, with the lightning-fast onboarding process, in just 3 days.
When should you pick Hunch?
You should pick Hunch when the cruiser starts feeling too slow, too heavy, or too costly for your needs. If you’re stuck navigating a bulky system with features you rarely use or paying top-tier prices without seeing the value, it’s time for a change.
Hunch is a speedboat that’s built for agility and focus. It’s perfect for businesses in growth mode that want to move fast, by scaling Meta and Snapchat campaigns.
And with Hunch, you’re never riding solo. Our team is here to guide you, solve your challenges, and make sure you’re making the most of the platform.
Sometimes, all you need is a faster, lighter ride to leave the competition behind. That’s where Hunch comes in.
