Smartly or Confect? Comparison for ecommerce

Comparison of Smartly and Confect

We’ve talked to hundreds of marketers weighing the pros and cons of Smartly versus Confect. Some choose Smartly. Many go with Confect.

Here’s what we’ve consistently heard from marketers in eCommerce companies and agencies.

Where are Smartly and Confect similar?

For Catalog Ads specifically, the tools offer very similar features—they just approach them differently.

🧑‍🎨 You can design Catalog Ads

Both Smartly and Confect allow full design flexibility for Catalog Ads. Design options are comparable across both, but Confect tends to be more intuitive, and Smartly more complex because of its many features and usecases outside Catalog Ads.

🤖 Use AI in your catalogs

Smartly and Confect both include AI-powered tools such as Background Remover, Color Enhancements, and the ability to auto-generate custom fields for products.

📱 Story Catalog Ads / Adapt to placement

You can create Catalog Ads tailored to 9:16 formats like Stories and Reels in both tools. Design outcomes are very similar across the board.

📽️ Video Catalog Ads / Product level video

Both Confect and Smartly support converting Catalog Ads into video formats, also called Product Level Videos, with little to no difference in the output capabilities.

👻 TikTok, Snap, and other channels

You can use both Smartly and Confect to design for TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, and other platforms. However, only Smartly supports automated media buying on these additional channels.

💬 Great support

Users consistently praise the support teams behind both tools on G2. Confect earns a 9.8/10 rating, while Smartly scores 9.3/10, both excellent.

Where are Smartly and Confect different?

The main distinction lies in the product's breadth. Smartly is an expansive, enterprise-level platform that automates your entire paid social strategy. Confect is narrowly focused on one thing; designing high-performing Catalog Ads.

This foundational difference leads to several key differences:

💰 Pricing

Smartly's pricing is based on your ad spend and starts from €5,000/mo., paid yearly. The average Smartly customer pays $90,000 per year.

Confect's pricing starts from $299/mo., and the average Confect customer pays ~$400/mo. Smartly has a lot of features outside Catalog Ads, which you also pay for.

📑 Commitment

Confect offers a 30-day free trial, and after that, you can pay monthly. You can try Confect for free right now. Smartly customers are contractually bound to yearly contracts, with no free trials.

🧑‍💻 Workflow

Smartly has its own Ads Manager that operates through Meta’s APIs - meaning you create and manage everything within Smartly’s interface instead of Meta's Ads Manager. Confect integrates directly into Meta’s native Ads Manager, making it easier for teams already familiar with Meta’s ecosystem.

🗺️ Product focus

Smartly is a wide-ranging platform covering everything from media buying to custom automations like bid optimization or weather-triggered campaigns. Catalog Ads are just a slice of what Smartly offers. Confect concentrates solely on Catalog Ads - and pours all its development into improving them.

🛍️ Industry focus

Smartly serves businesses across all industries. Confect is purpose-built for eCommerce, with tools designed specifically for common eCommerce challenges.

Which marketers choose Confect over Smartly?

If you want to enhance your Catalog Ads or Dynamic Product Ads, but still prefer to manage ad campaigns inside Meta’s native Ads Manager - Confect is likely your best bet.

Ad spend between $10k-$500k/mo.

For teams spending $10,000 to $500,000 per month on Meta ads - especially with a strong focus on Catalog Ads - Confect offers great value. If your spend is below $10,000/month, you may want to explore lower-cost options.

Most of your paid social spend is on Meta or TikTok

If most of your paid social budget goes toward Meta and TikTok, and you don’t need full-scale automation across many platforms, a focused tool like Confect will likely suit your needs better.

You want to design Catalog Ads

Confect is laser-focused on being the best tool for designing and optimizing Catalog Ads. If that’s your priority, Confect is your ideal match.

Which marketers choose Smartly over Confect?

If your team needs a complex enterprise solution to manage and automate all aspects of paid social - beyond just Catalog Ads - Smartly may be a better fit.

Teams managing >30 markets

If your company operates in more than 30 markets, and your team needs to launch many campaigns across multiple channels, Smartly is extremely great at scaling this.

Meta ad spend above $400,000/mo.

For large advertisers spending more than $400,000 monthly on Meta - and also investing heavily in TikTok, Pinterest, and Snap - Smartly helps automate your work across all your channels.

In need of Media buying automation or hyper-localization

Smartly shines with its advanced automations; like auto-bidding, city-level localization, or fully automated ad creation for each store location.