Smartly.io vs Skai

by Gralio Feb 15, 2025

Smartly.io and Skai are both advertising platforms catering to different needs. Smartly.io excels in social media and video advertising with its robust creative tools and intuitive interface. Skai offers a more comprehensive solution across various channels, including search and retail, but may have a steeper learning curve and occasional technical glitches.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 764 reviews and 60 websites, saving 4 hours, 44 minutes of reading.

Smartly.io

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Skai

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Smartly.io is a digital advertising platform designed for large businesses and advertising agencies who manage large advertising budgets. It helps streamline and automate social media and video advertising campaigns across major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. The platform offers tools for creative production, campaign optimization, and performance analysis. Smartly.io focuses on saving time, improving return on ad spend, and using AI to personalize ad experiences.

Skai is an online advertising platform that helps large brands and agencies manage their marketing campaigns across multiple channels. It brings together data from search engines, social media, retail websites, and app stores, letting users track performance and optimize spending in one place. Skai uses AI to identify trends and opportunities, aiming to help marketers make smarter decisions about their campaigns.

Summary

Main difference

Smartly.io is a better choice for businesses focused on social media and video advertising, especially on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Skai is a more comprehensive platform covering a broader range of channels including search engines, retail websites, and app stores, making it suitable for businesses with more diversified advertising strategies.

Relative strengths of Smartly.io (compared to Skai)

Strong focus and expertise in social media and video advertising.
Excellent creative production tools and integrations with design software like Adobe Creative Cloud.
Intuitive interface praised for its ease of use, especially with features like Google Sheets integration.

Relative weaknesses of Smartly.io (compared to Skai)

Limited channel coverage compared to Skai, primarily focused on social media and video platforms.
Occasional bugs and errors reported by users.
Less developed in areas like dynamic product ads and broader social network integrations.

Who should use Smartly.io VS. Skai

Smartly.io is a powerful ad automation platform streamlining campaigns across major social media and video platforms. Users praise its intuitive interface, Google Sheets integration, and robust reporting. While occasional bugs and limited dynamic product ad features are noted, its exceptional customer support and ease of use make it a top choice for scaling advertising efforts.

Skai is an AI-powered advertising platform best for large brands and agencies managing multi-channel campaigns. Users praise its intuitive interface, excellent customer support, and effective budget management tools. However, some have noted occasional glitches and slow performance. Skai offers robust features like bulk editing, real-time analytics, and a centralized campaign dashboard.

Best fit for medium to large businesses and agencies managing substantial ad budgets.
Ideal for E-commerce, Marketing & Advertising, and Consumer Goods industries.

Best fit for medium to enterprise-level companies.
Ideal for marketing & advertising, and suitable for retail, e-commerce, and software/IT companies.

Smartly.io and Skai features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Facebook Ads integration

Supported

Smartly.io allows managing Facebook Ads campaigns within the platform.

Supported

Skai allows users to create, manage, and optimize Facebook app advertising campaigns within the platform.
Campaign dashboard

Supported

Smartly.io provides a campaign dashboard for an overview of all advertising campaigns.

Supported

Skai provides a campaign dashboard called Skai HQ, that provides a centralized overview of advertising campaigns. It includes tools to monitor performance, identify actions and opportunities. It also offers customizable dashboards tailored to different campaign types and client needs.
Budget tracking

Supported

Smartly.io offers robust budget tracking and pacing insights through features like Budget Pacing Visualizer, Cross-Campaign Budget Optimization, and Predictive Budget Allocation.

Supported

Skai offers robust budget tracking and detailed budget pacing insights through features like Budget Navigator and Pacing Monitor.
Bulk edits

Supported

Smartly.io allows users to edit multiple campaigns simultaneously through features like Smartly Workspaces and Automated workflows.

Supported

Skai enables users to scale their manual optimization workflows through bulk editing of campaigns, ad groups, and ads directly within the platform. Users can also use bulksheets to make and upload changes using spreadsheets, which facilitates making large-scale changes efficiently.
Creative platforms

Supported

Smartly.io enables the integration with platforms for creative creation, including banners, through features like creative automation tools, cross-channel distribution, and integrations with design tools like Adobe Creative Cloud.

Supported

Skai provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing, optimizing, and analyzing creative assets, including banners. This makes Skai a powerful solution for integrating with and enhancing the creation of creative content.
Real-time analytics

Supported

Smartly.io offers real-time analytics for campaign performance monitoring and optimization.

Supported

Skai provides real-time analytics, allowing users to monitor campaign performance metrics such as budget pacing and identify top-performing channels. The Skai HQ dashboard visualizes these metrics in real-time.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

No data

No data
Customer Service

No data

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Use

No data

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

No data

No data
Ease of Implementation

No data

No data
Scalability

No data

No data

Smartly.io and Skai Pricing

No data

We couldn't find a pricing page for Smartly.io.

Skai offers annual subscriptions for its advertising management software with different tiers based on ad spending.

Plans

See full Pricing page

Smartly.io and Skai review insights

763 reviews analysed from

Users love

Highly intuitive interface praised for its ease of use.
Google Sheets integration streamlines campaign and creative management.
Robust reporting dashboard offers custom dimensions, metrics, and views.
Exceptional customer support, often highlighted for its responsiveness and expertise.

Skai’s user interface is intuitive and easy to use.
The customer support is excellent.
Bulk editing features save time and simplify campaign management.
Skai’s budget management tools are highly effective.
Skai provides insightful reporting that helps optimize campaigns.

Users dislike

Occasional bugs and errors require troubleshooting.
Image template editor lacks robust features found in competitors like Creatomate.
Dynamic Product Ads with instant forms as a destination are not yet supported.
Integration with other social networks beyond Facebook and Pinterest is still under development.

Skai can be glitchy at times and doesn’t always reflect lead counts or conversion events accurately.
New campaigns can take several days to appear in Skai.
Some workflows, such as automated actions, are a little limited in functionality.
The platform can be slow.
Some changes in the system can cause overspending.

Smartly.io and Skai Ratings

G2

4.4/5

(468)
TrustPilot

3.2/5

(1)
Glassdoor

3.6/5

(249)

G2

4.0/5

(296)
Glassdoor

3.8/5

(318)

Company health

Employee growth

4% increase in the last year

12% increase in the last year

Web traffic

25% decrease in the last quarter

8% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

August 2019 - $23M

September 2015 - $60M

How do Smartly.io and Skai compare in managing video ad creation workflows?

Both Smartly.io and Skai offer robust video ad creation workflows. Smartly.io emphasizes creative automation and cross-channel distribution, integrating with design tools like Adobe Creative Cloud. Skai provides a comprehensive suite of creative management tools with a focus on optimization and analysis, but specific details regarding video creation features are less emphasized in the provided information. Therefore, Smartly.io's description more explicitly highlights video ad creation as a core feature, while Skai's focus seems broader, encompassing overall creative asset management.

Which platform, Smartly.io or Skai, better integrates with various social media channels?

Smartly.io integrates with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok. Skai integrates with Facebook and various other channels including search engines, retail websites, and app stores, giving it a broader reach than Smartly.io. Therefore, Skai offers better integration with a wider variety of social media channels.

What are the advantages of Smartly.io?

Smartly.io excels in social media and video advertising automation, particularly across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, making it ideal for visually driven campaigns. Its strength lies in creative production tools, campaign optimization features, and a user-friendly interface, as praised by users. While Skai offers broader cross-channel marketing management, Smartly.io's focused approach provides a more streamlined and efficient solution for businesses heavily reliant on social media and video advertising. Furthermore, Smartly.io's robust reporting dashboard offers valuable insights, allowing for data-driven optimization and improved return on ad spend.

What are the disadvantages of Smartly.io?

Smartly.io has some limitations regarding its integrations, primarily supporting Facebook and Pinterest, with other social network integrations still in development. Users have reported occasional bugs and errors requiring troubleshooting. The platform's image template editor has also been criticized for lacking features found in competitors. Finally, dynamic product ads with instant forms as a destination are not currently supported.

Alternatives to Smartly.io and Skai

AdScale

AdScale is an advertising platform that helps businesses manage online ad campaigns. Its AI-powered tools automate tasks like campaign creation, audience targeting, and ad copywriting. AdScale integrates with platforms like Google Ads and focuses on e-commerce businesses looking to simplify their advertising efforts and increase sales. It promises improved ad performance and offers different solutions for agencies and businesses of various sizes.

Plai

Plai is a digital marketing platform designed to simplify online advertising for businesses of all sizes. It offers tools to create and manage ads across multiple platforms, including Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Plai uses AI to automate tasks like ad copywriting, audience targeting, and performance optimization. It also provides analytics and reporting to track campaign results. Plai aims to make digital marketing accessible for users with limited experience, offering a user-friendly interface and affordable pricing plans.

Zitcha

Zitcha is a software platform built for retailers to manage their own advertising network. It gives retailers tools to plan, create, and measure the performance of ad campaigns across their website, physical stores, and other channels. Zitcha aims to replace the need for multiple systems and provide a centralized hub for retailers to collaborate with advertisers and sell ad space effectively.

Adsbot

Adsbot is a software platform designed to simplify your Google Ads campaigns. It provides automated tools and insights to help you optimize your spending, track performance, and save time. Adsbot offers features like budget control, competitor analysis, and performance dashboards. It integrates with popular platforms like Google Ads, Google Analytics, and more. A 14-day free trial is available.

Adcore

Adcore is an advertising management platform with a suite of tools designed to improve and simplify your online advertising. It helps businesses manage their ad campaigns, optimize spending, and track performance. Adcore focuses on providing solutions for e-commerce, brand awareness, and performance marketing. Its AI-powered features aim to help businesses of all sizes achieve better results from their digital advertising efforts.

Basis

Basis is a software platform designed for managing digital advertising. It allows you to control all aspects of your campaigns, from planning and buying to analysis, all in one place. Basis offers automation tools to streamline tasks, along with features for targeting specific audiences and managing budgets across various channels like social media, search engines, and connected TV. The platform focuses on improving efficiency and effectiveness for businesses running digital ad campaigns, promising to save time and maximize your advertising budget. Basis also offers educational resources and support to help your team get the most out of the platform.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

How are we doing?

Is this information helpful to you? Is there anything we are missing?

Did this help you select your product?

Other issues? Vote & Let us know