For your team
Ad creative for startups without a designer: image ads in Canva, video ads with AI
Ad creative is the images and videos you run as ads on Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn or Google. Early-stage startups often make it themselves, without a designer or an agency.
In short
- Startups without a designer usually make image ads in Canva or AdCreative.ai, and video ads with Creatify or Cutroom.
- Canva Pro, at US$144 a year, and AdCreative.ai, from $39 a month, make image ads without a designer.
- Creatify makes video ads with an AI actor from a link to your site, from $39 a month.
- Cutroom turns a phone video of the founder talking into a finished vertical ad, under $2 an ad on Lite.
- Only 5 to 8% of ads became winners in Motion's study of 550,000+ Meta ads, so run several ads, not one.
- Share of ads that become winners, per Motion's study of 550,000+ Meta ads
- 5-8%
- A year for Canva Pro, for image ads
- US$144
- One 30-second founder video ad in Cutroom, on the Lite plan
- Under $2
What ad creative a startup needs
Ad creative is the image or video people see in the ad. A startup usually needs both.
- For people who have never heard of you, lead with the problem you solve. Save the product demo for people who already know you.
The main kinds of ad creative
| Kind | What it is | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|
| Image ad | One picture with a headline, often a benefit or a screenshot | Meta, LinkedIn, Google |
| Carousel | Several images people swipe through | Meta, LinkedIn |
| Short video ad | A vertical video, often a person talking to camera | TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook, YouTube Shorts |
| Demo video | A screen recording of the product in use | Meta, YouTube and LinkedIn, shown to people who already visited your site |
Kind: Image ad
- What it is
- One picture with a headline, often a benefit or a screenshot
- Where it runs
- Meta, LinkedIn, Google
Kind: Carousel
- What it is
- Several images people swipe through
- Where it runs
- Meta, LinkedIn
Kind: Short video ad
- What it is
- A vertical video, often a person talking to camera
- Where it runs
- TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook, YouTube Shorts
Kind: Demo video
- What it is
- A screen recording of the product in use
- Where it runs
- Meta, YouTube and LinkedIn, shown to people who already visited your site
Tools that make ad creative without a designer
Canva and AdCreative.ai are for image ads. Creatify and Cutroom are for video ads.
Ad creative tools for startups
Prices as each company publishes them on the day shown. Plans change, so check before you buy.
| Tool | Best for | Editing approach | Platform | Pricing from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canva | Image ads and simple videos from templates | Drag-and-drop design with templates and a brand kit | Browser, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac | Free plan; Pro US$144/year for one person |
 AdCreative.ai | Many image ads generated from your brand assets | Import your logo and colours, pick a format, and it generates ads | Web | 7-day free trial; Starter $39/month |
 Creatify | Video ads with an AI actor, made from a link | Paste a link; it writes a script and an AI actor reads it | Web | Free plan (2 ads a month, watermark); Starter $39/month |
| Cutroom | Video ads with the founder on camera | Upload a video of you talking; it adds captions, stock clips and an opening headline | Web | First video free; Lite $19.99/month |
- Canva
- Best for
- Image ads and simple videos from templates
- Approach
- Drag-and-drop design with templates and a brand kit
- Platform
- Browser, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac
- Pricing from
- Free plan; Pro US$144/year for one person
- AdCreative.ai
- Best for
- Many image ads generated from your brand assets
- Approach
- Import your logo and colours, pick a format, and it generates ads
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- 7-day free trial; Starter $39/month
- Creatify
- Best for
- Video ads with an AI actor, made from a link
- Approach
- Paste a link; it writes a script and an AI actor reads it
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- Free plan (2 ads a month, watermark); Starter $39/month
Cutroom
- Best for
- Video ads with the founder on camera
- Approach
- Upload a video of you talking; it adds captions, stock clips and an opening headline
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- First video free; Lite $19.99/month
Prices and plans read from each vendor's own pricing page on 21 September 2026.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to make a founder video ad with Cutroom
You film yourself answering one question customers ask, up to 3 minutes. The edit comes back in about a minute.
- Cutroom edits the video, adds captions timed to your voice and places stock clips over parts of it.
- A sentence you are not happy with stays in, because Cutroom cannot delete a line, so film the answer again.
- Record your product with any screen recorder, upload it, and highlight the words that name the feature to place it there.
- Export a vertical 9:16 MP4 for Reels, TikTok, Shorts and LinkedIn.
A finished founder ad, as one frame
The founder on screen, a clip of the product in a small box over the words that name it, and captions in the video.
What Cutroom costs
Cutroom charges in credits: 100 to edit a video and 20 per minute to export it. A 30-second ad costs about 110 credits.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It has a Cutroom watermark across the middle.
- The Lite plan removes the watermark. One 30-second ad costs under $2 on it.
- The money you spend showing the ads is separate. You set that budget in each ad platform.
Cutroom plans and how many 30-second ads they cover
| Plan | Price | Credits | 30-second ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, no card | Your first video | 1, with a watermark |
| Lite | $19.99 a month | 1,250 | About 11 |
| Basic | $39.99 a month | 2,500 | About 22, plus avatars and music |
| Premium | $79.99 a month | 5,000 | About 45 |
Plan: Free
- Price
- $0, no card
- Credits
- Your first video
- 30-second ads
- 1, with a watermark
Plan: Lite
- Price
- $19.99 a month
- Credits
- 1,250
- 30-second ads
- About 11
Plan: Basic
- Price
- $39.99 a month
- Credits
- 2,500
- 30-second ads
- About 22, plus avatars and music
Plan: Premium
- Price
- $79.99 a month
- Credits
- 5,000
- 30-second ads
- About 45
Which tool should you choose?
You will probably want one tool for image ads and one for video ads.
Which tool should you choose
Choose Canva if you need image ads and social posts and want one design tool for all of it.
Choose AdCreative.ai if you want many image ads generated in every size and can spend $39 a month.
Choose Creatify if you want video ads but nobody on the team will film.
Choose Cutroom if the founder will talk to a phone for a few minutes and you want finished video ads from it. Your first video is free.
Questions people ask
- How much does ad creative cost for a startup?
- About $32 a month covers both kinds: Canva Pro (US$144 a year, about $12 a month) for image ads and Cutroom Lite ($19.99, about 11 video ads of 30 seconds) for video ads. AdCreative.ai and Creatify each start at $39 a month.
- How many ad creatives should a startup test?
- More than one or two at a time. Only 5 to 8% of ads became winners in Motion's study of 550,000+ Meta ads, so two ads rarely tell you whether a channel works. Cutroom's Lite plan covers about 11 video ads a month.
- Should the founder be in the ads?
- Often, yes. The founder knows the customer's problem best and can film a new answer the same day. If nobody wants to be on camera, Creatify's AI actors or a Cutroom avatar on the Basic plan can present instead.
- Do we need an agency for ad creative?
- Not for image ads or short videos of someone talking. Canva and Cutroom cover those. For brand films, product shoots or widescreen videos, an agency or an editor is still the better choice.
- Can our product demo appear in the ad?
- Yes. Record your screen with any screen recorder and upload the clip to Cutroom. Highlight the words where you name the feature and the recording appears over them.
Film yourself explaining the problem your startup solves, and get the finished ad back. Your first video is free.