Zeely and Madder start from the same place, a small seller with a product and no marketer, and then go different ways. Zeely's strength is making the ad. It turns a product photo into video and image ads with AI, and it has phone apps. Madder's strength is the campaign around the ad. It drafts the plan from your page, creates it in your own Meta ad account and can check it every day. If you mostly need creatives, Zeely is the stronger tool today.
What we say about Zeely comes from its own website and help centre, read on 7 October 2026. We have not used the product. We make Madder.
Side by side#
| Zeely | Madder | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it says it is for | "Zeely helps small sellers run ads like big brands" | Small-business owners with no marketer or agency |
| Where paid ads run | Facebook and Instagram. For TikTok its page says it creates the video for you to download and use in TikTok Ads Manager | Meta only (Facebook and Instagram) |
| Price | $29.95, $49.95 or $79.95 a month, with 2,500, 5,000 or 10,000 credits. Each is shown as reduced from a higher price. Its help centre says trials are paid, from $19.95 for two weeks | Free during early access. It will be paid later and the price is not set |
| Fee on your ad spend | 12% when ads run through Zeely's own Meta account, 6% with an add-on. None when you launch from your own Meta account, where Meta bills you directly | None. You pay Meta from your own ad account |
| Where the ads come from | AI makes video with avatars, and images, from your product photo. When ads run through Zeely's Meta account, only media made in Zeely can be used | Photos you upload and approve. Making images and video with AI is built and not switched on |
| Phone app | Yes, for iPhone and Android, and on the web | Web only |
| Changes without you | Its help centre says "nothing publishes without your approval" and that budget, audience and the decision to launch stay with you | Off by default. With Autopilot on, budget cuts, pauses and small raises are applied. A launch always waits for you |
| Status with Meta | States that it is a Meta Business Partner | Connects through Meta's official sign-in and API. It is not a Meta Business Partner |
Where Zeely is the better pick#
- You need the ad itself made. Zeely makes video ads with AI avatars and image ads from a product photo. Madder builds an ad only from a photo you already have.
- You have no Meta ad account. Zeely can run your campaign through its own Meta account. Madder works only in an ad account you own.
- You want to work from your phone. Zeely has iPhone and Android apps. Madder is a website.
- You want to pick the audience. Zeely's help centre describes choosing location, gender and age range, or taking its suggestion, with budgets from $10 to $100 a day. Madder aims a campaign at a whole country and has no narrower location targeting yet.
- You want leads or sales as the campaign goal. Zeely's help centre lists traffic, leads and sales. Madder's campaigns are set to bring visits to your page.
- You also post without paying. Zeely schedules posts to Instagram and TikTok. Madder does not post.
Where Madder is the better pick#
- You want your photo to be the ad, as you took it. Madder puts the photo you approved into the ad unchanged. Zeely starts from your product photo too, and AI makes the ad from it. Through Zeely's own Meta account, its help centre says, you cannot upload your own finished images or videos.
- You do not want a fee on your ad spend. Through Zeely's Meta account, 12% of what you spend goes to Zeely on top of the subscription. On $300 of ads that is $36 a month. You avoid it in Zeely by launching from your own Meta account. Madder works only that way and takes nothing from your ad budget.
- You want small changes made for you once it runs. Madder's daily check-up, when you switch it on, looks at each running campaign and suggests a pause or a budget change, and with Autopilot on it makes the cuts, pauses and small raises itself. Zeely's help centre says it offers ongoing optimisation suggestions and that the budget stays with you.
- You want it free for now. Madder is free during early access. Its later price is not set, so this may change.
Check the price you will really pay#
Zeely's pages give several figures, so read them before you subscribe.
- The pricing page shows plans from $29.95 a month, and its own FAQ on that page says plans start at $19.99.
- Its help centre says discounts usually apply to the first billing period, and the plan then renews at the regular price (article dated 13 July 2026).
- A paid trial moves to the $79.95 plan automatically when it ends.
- Its FAQ says the fee on ad spend is "up to 12%", and the help centre says it is 12%, or nothing on your own Meta account.
Before you pay, ask Zeely which starting price, which renewal price and which fee apply to the route you are taking.
What Madder does not do today#
- It does not make images or video with AI. That is built and not switched on.
- It works with Meta only. Google Ads and TikTok are not available.
- It aims a campaign at a whole country, with no city, radius or interest targeting.
- It sets a campaign to bring visits to your page. It does not yet optimise for leads or purchases.
- It has no phone app, and it is in early access with a waitlist and no customer results to show.
The steps are at How Madder works. The wider field of tools is in Which AI ads tool fits a small business?. For a shop's first campaign, see Ads for a small online shop.
Questions people ask#
How much does Zeely cost?
Its pricing page lists three plans at $29.95, $49.95 and $79.95 a month, with 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 credits (checked 7 October 2026). Its help centre adds a fee of 12% of ad spend when ads run through Zeely's own Meta account, and no fee when you launch from your own.
Does Zeely launch ads without my approval?
Its help centre says no. In its words, "nothing publishes without your approval", and budget, audience and the decision to launch stay with you.
Is Zeely a Meta partner?
Zeely's home page states that it is a Meta Business Partner. Madder is not one. It connects through Meta's official sign-in and API.
What is a good Zeely alternative for a small business?
It depends on what you want from it. For AI-made video ads, Madder is not an alternative, because it does not make them today; the other tools are in our list of AI ads tools. If you want the campaign planned, created and checked in your own Meta ad account from your own photos, Madder is built for that and is free during early access.
Can I use my own photos in Zeely?
Its home page says you can generate or upload creatives. Its help centre says that when a campaign runs through Zeely's Meta partner account, only images and videos created in Zeely can be used.