Guide
A UGC ad is an ad made to look like someone's own post
Updated
A UGC ad is a paid ad made to look like an ordinary person's social post: one person, a phone, a real room. The person in it is usually a creator the brand briefed and paid.
In short
- A UGC ad is a paid ad made to look like a normal social post rather than an advert.
- A UGC ad usually shows one person talking to a phone camera in a real room.
- UGC means user-generated content, but most UGC ads are made by paid creators with an approved script.
- UGC ads are usually 15 to 40 seconds long and vertical, in 9:16.
- You can hire a creator ($139 for 30 seconds on Billo), use AI actors, or film one yourself.
- The vertical shape almost every UGC ad is made in
- 9:16
- How long most UGC ads run
- 15–40 s
- A 30-second video from a UGC creator on Billo, read 21 September 2026
- $139
What is a UGC ad?
UGC stands for user-generated content. Today the name describes the look of the ad, not who made it.
- It is vertical, in 9:16, the shape of a phone screen.
- It is filmed on a phone, handheld or propped up.
- One person talks straight to the camera, in a real room rather than a studio.
- Behind it there is almost always a brief, a script, an approval and a fee.
- UGC ads run as paid ads on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts.
The old meaning and a UGC ad today
Who made it
- Original meaning
- A customer, on their own
- A UGC ad today
- A briefed creator or the brand
Paid
- Original meaning
- No
- A UGC ad today
- Yes
Script
- Original meaning
- None
- A UGC ad today
- Written and approved
Run as an ad
- Original meaning
- No
- A UGC ad today
- Yes
| Original meaning | A UGC ad today | |
|---|---|---|
| Who made it | A customer, on their own | A briefed creator or the brand |
| Paid | No | Yes |
| Script | None | Written and approved |
| Run as an ad | No | Yes |
What a UGC ad looks like
Most UGC ads follow the same order: the claim, the problem, the story, the proof and the offer.
- The first 3 seconds say the claim or the problem straight away, with no logo or intro screen.
- Short clips of the product (called b-roll) play over the person now and then, while they keep talking.
- Captions are burned into the video, because many people watch with the sound off.
- The video ends on the offer and simply stops, the way a normal post does.
A 30-second UGC ad, in order
A typical order. The timings are a rough guide, not a rule.
0 to 3 s
The claim, said to the camera
3 to 10 s
The problem
10 to 20 s
The story: what changed
20 to 25 s
The proof
25 to 30 s
The offer, with no logo screen at the end
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Common types of UGC ad
These are the types of UGC ad you will see most often.
- A testimonial is a person telling the camera what the product did for them.
- An unboxing shows the product being opened and tried for the first time.
- A problem-and-solution ad opens on a problem and shows the product fixing it.
- A before-and-after ad shows the result next to where the person started.
- A how-to ad shows the product being used, step by step.
What makes it look like a post, not an ad
A few small details decide whether a video looks like a post or like an ad.
Ad or post: the signals
| Signal | Looks like an ad | Looks like a post |
|---|---|---|
| Framing | Framed like a photo shoot | Eye height, a bit close, off centre |
| Room | Studio wall | Real room, things on the counter |
| Delivery | Read from a script, word-perfect | Spoken naturally, like talking to a friend |
| First line | Introduces the brand | A claim or a complaint |
| Captions | Missing | Burned in for sound-off viewers |
Signal: Framing
- Looks like an ad
- Framed like a photo shoot
- Looks like a post
- Eye height, a bit close, off centre
Signal: Room
- Looks like an ad
- Studio wall
- Looks like a post
- Real room, things on the counter
Signal: Delivery
- Looks like an ad
- Read from a script, word-perfect
- Looks like a post
- Spoken naturally, like talking to a friend
Signal: First line
- Looks like an ad
- Introduces the brand
- Looks like a post
- A claim or a complaint
Signal: Captions
- Looks like an ad
- Missing
- Looks like a post
- Burned in for sound-off viewers
How to make a UGC ad
There are three ways: hire a creator, use an AI tool with AI actors, or film it yourself.
- To hire a creator, brands use marketplaces such as Billo, which lists 5,000+ vetted creators in the US, Canada, UK and Australia.
- On Billo a creator video costs $99 for 15 seconds, $139 for 30 seconds and $169 for 60 seconds, or $164, $204 and $234 with editing.
- AI tools such as MakeUGC and Arcads skip the creator and use AI actors instead of a real person.
- To film one yourself, you need a phone, a real room and a short script.
Three ways to make a UGC ad
Billo, MakeUGC and Arcads prices read from their websites on 21 September 2026.
| Way | How it works | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Hire a creator | You brief, they film and deliver | $139 for a 30-second video on Billo, and a wait for each new version |
| Use an AI tool with AI actors | You write a script, an AI actor reads it | MakeUGC from $59 a month (shown as 50% off). Arcads does not publish its prices |
| Film it yourself | You film on your phone, then edit | Free if you edit it yourself in an app such as CapCut. Cutroom edits it for you: first video free, then about $1.82 a 30-second ad on Basic ($39.99 a month) |
Way: Hire a creator
- How it works
- You brief, they film and deliver
- What it costs you
- $139 for a 30-second video on Billo, and a wait for each new version
Way: Use an AI tool with AI actors
- How it works
- You write a script, an AI actor reads it
- What it costs you
- MakeUGC from $59 a month (shown as 50% off). Arcads does not publish its prices
Way: Film it yourself
- How it works
- You film on your phone, then edit
- What it costs you
- Free if you edit it yourself in an app such as CapCut. Cutroom edits it for you: first video free, then about $1.82 a 30-second ad on Basic ($39.99 a month)
How many UGC ads do you need?
There is no fixed number. Most brands test many ads, because only a few of them sell well.
- Motion, an ad-analytics company, studied 550,000+ Meta ads of every kind and found that only 5 to 8% became top performers.
- That is about 1 in 13 to 1 in 20, so plan to test roughly 13 to 20 ads to find one that works.
How many ads become top performers
Roughly 5 to 8% of Meta ads of every kind, in Motion's study of 550,000+ ads.
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom edits a UGC ad for you from one clip you film on your phone.
- You film one clip of yourself, with the claim first, the story in the middle and the offer at the end.
- You upload it, up to 3 minutes long. It comes back edited, with b-roll added and captions on, and on Punch and Native the pauses shortened.
- You change it on the words. Highlight a phrase for b-roll, or fix a misheard word and the caption follows. B-roll never covers more than about half the video.
- A 30-second ad uses 110 credits. Basic, at $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits, covers 22 of them, about $1.82 an ad.
- Basic also adds music, at 50 credits for a track up to 60 seconds.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
What comes back from one clip
One clip, returned with an opening headline, a b-roll clip and captions timed to each word.
Questions people ask
- What does UGC stand for?
- User-generated content. It first meant posts that customers made on their own. In ads it now means the look of such a post.
- Does a UGC ad have to be made by a real customer?
- No. Most are made by paid creators or by the brand itself. Any claim in it must still be true, because a scripted testimonial from someone who never used the product is a legal problem.
- How much does a UGC creator charge?
- It varies by creator and platform. On Billo, a UGC marketplace, a 30-second video costs $139, or $204 with editing, read 21 September 2026.
- How long should a UGC ad be?
- 15 to 40 seconds for most feeds, with the claim in the first 3 seconds.
- Why does my UGC ad look like an ad?
- Usually because it opens like an ad. Start with a claim or a problem instead of the brand name, film in a real room, and add captions.
- Do I need to say a creator was paid?
- Yes. Paid endorsements must be disclosed in most major markets. Rules differ by country and platform, so check the current guidance where you run ads.
- What is the difference between a UGC ad and an influencer post?
- An influencer post goes out on the influencer's own account, to their followers. A UGC ad runs from the brand's ad account as a paid ad, so the creator is paid for the video, not for their audience.
Film one clip with your claim up front and let Cutroom make the ad. Your first video is free.