A pay-per-video alternative to Arcads for AI UGC ads
The cheaper-to-start alternative to Arcads is OpenShorts AI Shorts: it turns a product URL into a 20 to 25 second UGC-style ad with a lip-synced AI actor, b-roll and captions for about $0.65 a video in Low Cost mode (about $2 in Premium), billed by fal.ai and ElevenLabs on your own keys. OpenShorts itself is free to self-host under MIT, or from $12/month hosted. Checked 30 October 2026 Arcads terms read on arcads.ai and its help centre.
Arcads is a closed-source subscription for AI UGC ads with AI actors. It does not publish its prices on its website; its help centre lists Starter (8,000 credits a month), Creator (16,000 credits a month), then Pro, Scale and Business, and a 72 hours with 1,000 generation credits; a card is required at sign-up and the trial rolls into the Starter plan unless cancelled.
OpenShorts AI Shorts does one format of the same job (a 20 to 25 second product ad with a lip-synced AI actor) and bills it per video on your own fal.ai and ElevenLabs keys: about $0.65 in Low Cost mode, so two ads in a month cost two ads, not a plan.
Open AI Shorts in the app and add your fal.ai and ElevenLabs keys: about $0.65 a video billed by them. Paid plans from $12/month; self-host free under MIT.
Arcads vs OpenShorts AI Shorts
| OpenShorts AI Shorts | Arcads | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | About $0.65 a video (Low Cost) or $2 (Premium), paid to fal.ai and ElevenLabs; OpenShorts $0 self-hosted or from $12/month hosted | Subscription in credits; prices shown in the app, not on arcads.ai |
| Trial | Free plan, no card: scripts and research run on its minutes | 72 hours with 1,000 generation credits; a card is required at sign-up and the trial rolls into the Starter plan unless cancelled |
| Input | Product URL (page + up to 3 subpages) or a description | Script, product and actor chosen in the app |
| Output | 20-25 s vertical MP4, 1080x1920, lip-synced actor, 2 b-roll inserts, captions | UGC-style ads with AI actors in several formats |
| Your own face | Yes, from a photo (with consent) | See arcads.ai |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | No |
How AI Shorts makes an ad
1. Describe the product or paste its website
Open the AI Shorts tab in the app. Paste the product's URL (the page and up to 3 of its subpages are read, and the product is researched on the web) or describe the business in your own words. Pick the language, the actor's gender, a script style and how many scripts you want.
2. Choose a script, an actor and a voice
Each script is a 20 to 25 second ad in five beats: hook, problem, solution, demo, call to action. Pick one, edit the narration if you like, then choose an actor (from the gallery, from three new AI portraits, or your own photo) and a voice from your ElevenLabs account.
3. Generate, then download or post
Choose Low Cost (about $0.65 a video) or Premium (about $2), billed by fal.ai and ElevenLabs on your keys. You get a 1080x1920 MP4 with the lip-synced actor, two b-roll inserts and burned-in captions, ready to download or post to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
The full walkthrough, the formats and the limits are on the AI UGC video generator page.
When Arcads is the better choice
- You want one subscription and no provider accounts or API keys to manage.
- You need more than one ad format, or a larger library of actors.
- Your team produces ads at a volume where a credit plan is simpler to budget than per-video provider bills.
Common questions
- What is a cheaper alternative to Arcads?
- OpenShorts AI Shorts, if you would rather pay per video than per month: about $0.65 a video in Low Cost mode (about $2 in Premium), billed by fal.ai and ElevenLabs on your own keys, with no avatar quota. OpenShorts itself is free to self-host under MIT, or from $12/month hosted.
- How much does Arcads cost?
- Arcads does not publish its prices on its website (checked 30 October 2026). Its help centre names the plans: Starter (8,000 credits a month), Creator (16,000 credits a month), then Pro, Scale and Business. The free trial is 72 hours with 1,000 generation credits; a card is required at sign-up and the trial rolls into the Starter plan unless cancelled.
- Is there a free Arcads alternative?
- Not for the video itself: lip-synced AI actors cost compute on every tool. With OpenShorts the scripts and product research run on the free plan, and the video is billed per piece by fal.ai and ElevenLabs on your keys, about $0.65 in Low Cost mode. Self-hosted, OpenShorts is free under MIT and you add a Gemini key.
- What does OpenShorts AI Shorts make?
- A 20 to 25 second vertical UGC-style ad from a product URL or description: hook, problem, solution, demo and call to action, said by a lip-synced AI actor, with two b-roll inserts and burned-in captions, as a 1080x1920 MP4. English and Spanish.
- Where is Arcads better?
- It is a dedicated UGC ad product with one subscription and no API keys to manage, a larger actor library, and more ad formats and workflows than a single 20-second structure. OpenShorts AI Shorts is narrower: one ad format, your own provider keys, open source code.
Sources
- Arcads plans and free trial: help.arcads.ai ("How to buy more credits", "How the free trial works"), checked 30 October 2026. arcads.ai showed no public price list on that date.
- OpenShorts AI Shorts estimates:
dashboard/src/components/SaaShortsTab.jsx, 29 October 2026. Source: github.com/mutonby/openshorts.