ScoutyScoped and priced on a call
- A team that runs your creator program
- Scouty pays the creators
- Every video reviewed, measured and scaled
Trend alternatives: six options while it becomes soona UGC
The main alternatives to Trend, now becoming soona UGC, are Scouty, Twirl, Billo, JoinBrands, Collabstr and Cohley. Twirl and Billo also sell finished videos per order. JoinBrands and Collabstr are open marketplaces with free plans, and Cohley is an enterprise platform. Scouty is a services company whose team recruits, pays and manages creators for an ongoing program.
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Who looks for a Trend alternative
Trend is in an unusual position. soona owns it and says it is converting Trend into soona UGC during 2026, and today the two sites list different price structures, credit packages on one and per video prices on the other. What both sell is the same: licensed photos and videos from vetted creators, with no subscription. The reasons to look elsewhere follow from that.
- Buyers who want to know which product and which price list they are signing up for while Trend brands move across to soona UGC.
- Brands whose first batch worked and who now want creators working every month, where Trend sells content by the batch.
- Teams that want creators posting on their own accounts, which is not described on the Trend or soona pages we read.
- Buyers planning batches far apart, since credits bought on trend.io expire a year after purchase.
How Scouty is priced, next to Trend
ScoutyTrend (soona UGC)
Pricing as published on
From $89 per video
soona UGC per video prices. trend.io still lists credit packages from $550 to $3,872.
- trend.io still lists credit packages from $550 to $3,872, with credits that expire 12 months after purchase.
- soona UGC lists videos from $89 to $259 per video depending on the creator level you choose, with no credit packages.
- Which of the two a new buyer is offered is not clear from the two sites.
6 alternatives to Trend
Scouty is first because this is its site. The rest are in no order of merit, and each note says who the option suits.
1. Scouty
A creator marketing services company: our team builds, runs and scales your creator program.
Best for a brand whose first batch worked and that now wants the program run for it. Scouty's team recruits and pays the creators, briefs them, reviews every video before it ships and measures what the program brings in, then scales what works. It is the wrong choice for a one-time folder of licensed photos: Scouty sells no content by the batch.
2. Twirl
A UGC production service with its own platform and creator network, sold as pay as you go video credits or monthly managed plans.
Best for buyers who like paying per video and want more done on each one. Twirl sells finished videos by the credit, each with a clean edit and a final edit in two formats, two revision rounds and a project manager on every project. Its credits never expire, and it says it is focused on the United Kingdom and the United States.
3. Billo
A pay per video UGC ad platform with a vetted creator pool and an optional managed service.
Best for brands in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom that want short ad videos per order from one vetted pool, with creator pay inside the price. Billo funds orders from prepaid packs and sells a managed service for teams that want the sourcing, briefing and follow-up done for them.
4. JoinBrands
A creator marketplace for UGC, influencers and TikTok Shop affiliates, with a free pay as you go plan and a platform fee on creator payments.
Best for sellers who want photos and videos in volume at low listed prices and will choose creators themselves. JoinBrands has a free pay as you go plan with a platform fee on each creator payment, campaigns where the creator also posts the content, and Spark Ad and Partnership Ad codes with relevant campaigns.
5. Collabstr
An open influencer and UGC marketplace where brands buy fixed price packages from creator profiles, with escrow.
Best for a brand that wants a post on the creator's own account as well as the content. Collabstr is an open influencer and UGC marketplace: you buy a fixed price package from a creator's profile and pay through escrow, on a free plan with a fee on each order.
6. Cohley
An enterprise creator content platform for UGC, influencer content, product seeding and reviews, with an AI agent called Finn and custom pricing.
Best for mid-market and enterprise brands with physical products in the United States or Canada that need photography, reviews and product seeding as well as UGC video, all year. Cohley sells by demo with custom pricing and an optional paid pilot, and processes creator payments inside its platform.
The options and Trend, side by side
Each vendor's cells are what that vendor publishes, with the page it was read on. Trend is the last row, for reference.
| Option | Model | Pricing, as published | Who pays creators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scouty | A creator and UGC marketing services company. A team of creator marketing operators builds, runs and scales your creator program end to end, with our own technology making the team faster. | No public price list. A program is scoped and priced on a call, and you pay Scouty for the service. | Scouty does. You pay Scouty for the service, and the team recruits, pays and manages every creator on your behalf. |
| Twirl | A UGC production service with its own platform. Brands buy video credits and brief creators themselves, or take a monthly plan where Twirl's team develops concepts and runs the campaign.Source: usetwirl.com/pricing | Pay as you go video credits, with no subscription and no additional platform fees. With United States dollars selected on the read date, the pricing calculator showed $475 per video, falling to $440 at 10 videos and $325 at 60, with a minimum first purchase of 4 credits. Prices for the monthly plans were not shown on the page as it rendered.Source: usetwirl.com/pricing | The brand buys video credits from Twirl. Twirl says one credit is one finished video with everything included, and that pricing stays consistent across creators.Source: usetwirl.com/pricing |
| Billo | A UGC video platform. A brand posts a brief, qualified creators apply, the brand selects creators and sends out the products. A managed service is sold separately.Source: Billo help center: how does Billo work, billo.app/managed-service | Prepaid packs, valid for 12 months: Essential at $1,000 covers up to 10 videos, Professional at $2,500 adds a $300 bonus and covers up to 28, and Refine at $5,000 adds a $700 bonus and covers up to 57. Videos start at $99 per video. The managed service starts from $2,000 a month plus video costs.Source: billo.app/pricing, Billo blog: how Billo pricing works, billo.app/managed-service | Creator compensation is included in the per video price, according to Billo's own pricing post.Source: Billo blog: how Billo pricing works |
| JoinBrands | A creator marketplace with a free pay as you go plan and three paid subscriptions. A brand hires from creator profiles or launches a campaign that creators apply to, and a platform fee is added to each creator payment.Source: joinbrands.com/pricing, joinbrands.com | Pay as you go: free, with a 15% platform fee. Start-up: $99 a month with a 12% fee. Pro: $299 a month with a 10% fee. Max: $499 a month with an 8% fee. Annual billing is advertised at 10% off. Listed content prices start from $10 for a UGC image and from $25 for a UGC video, with the platform fee on top.Source: joinbrands.com/pricing | The brand, through JoinBrands. The platform fee is added to each creator payment, and JoinBrands says your payment stays protected until the content is approved.Source: joinbrands.com/pricing, joinbrands.com |
| Collabstr | An open influencer and UGC marketplace. Brands search creator profiles and hire directly, or post campaigns on paid plans, with payment held in escrow.Source: collabstr.com/pricing, collabstr.com | Free: $0 a month with a 10% hiring fee. Pro: $299 a month, or $249 a month billed annually. Premium: $399 a month, or $333 a month billed annually, with a 5% hiring fee. Enterprise: starting at $1,000 a month on an annual contract. Creators pay a separate 15% fee on their payout.Source: collabstr.com/pricing | The brand pays upfront through Collabstr, and payment is held in escrow until the brand approves the deliverable.Source: collabstr.com/pricing |
| Cohley | A creator content platform for mid-market and enterprise brands that sell physical products in the United States and Canada, sold as a platform license or as managed services. Brands post a Creative Brief and vetted creators apply.Source: cohley.com, cohley.com/plans | No public prices. The plans page says all plans have custom pricing based on the amount of content you generate, and offers an optional 3 month paid pilot. Creator compensation is set by the brand in each brief and is separate.Source: cohley.com/plans, cohley.com | The brand sets creator compensation in the brief, and Cohley processes creator payments inside the platform, including end of year tax documents such as 1099s.Source: cohley.com, cohley.com/faq |
| Trend (soona UGC) | A UGC content marketplace sold in credit packages, with no subscription. soona says it is becoming soona UGC, a pay per video product priced by the creator level you choose.Source: trend.io/pricing, soona blog: Trend.io is now soona UGC, soona.co/ugc | trend.io still lists credit packages from $550 to $3,872, with credits that expire 12 months after purchase. soona UGC lists videos from $89 to $259 per video depending on the creator level you choose, with no credit packages. Which of the two a new buyer is offered is not clear from the two sites.Source: trend.io/pricing, soona.co/ugc | The brand buys credits or videos from Trend or soona. Trend says its creators work on a set budget.Source: trend.io, trend.io/pricing |
Vendor facts as published on each vendor's own site, read on November 9, 2026. A linked name opens the full comparison with Scouty. Vendors change their pages, so open a source before you rely on a figure.
How to choose among them
- Which product you get. If you stay with this model, ask soona which product and price list a new account gets. If you move, read the alternative's own pricing page on the day you buy.
- A test or a program. A first batch to learn whether UGC works suits a per video vendor. Creators every month, briefed and kept on schedule, is a program, and points to a managed service.
- Photos as well as video. If you need photos, confirm the alternative lists them. Cohley's plans list photography, and JoinBrands lists UGC images among its content.
- What expires. Check whether you prepay, and whether what you prepay expires. Each vendor's pricing page or terms say so, and the table below carries what each one publishes.
When staying with Trend is the right call
If you want a small batch of licensed photos and short videos for your own channels and ads, with no subscription, Trend and soona UGC were built for that, and soona says Trend brands keep access to their campaigns and content through the end of 2026. Ask soona which product applies to you, and move only when the answer stops fitting.
Trend alternatives, in short
Short answers, in plain words. Each one stands on its own.
What is the closest alternative to Trend?
Twirl and Billo. Both sell finished UGC videos per order with creator pay inside the price, as Trend and soona UGC do. Twirl adds a final edit in two formats and a project manager on every project, and Billo's creators are in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Is soona UGC the same as Trend?
It is what Trend is becoming. soona owns Trend and says it is converting Trend brands into soona UGC during 2026, a pay per video product priced by creator level. The trend.io site still lists credit packages, so the two sites publish different price structures. Ask soona which applies to a new account.
Which Trend alternatives sell photos as well as videos?
Cohley's plans list UGC photography and professional photography alongside video. JoinBrands lists UGC images among its content. Twirl and Billo describe videos. Check the vendor's own page for the format you need before you buy, since what is offered can change.
Can Scouty replace Trend?
Not for a batch of licensed content: Scouty sells no content by the batch. Scouty's team runs an ongoing creator program, from recruiting and briefs to reviewing every video and measuring results. A brand can buy a first batch to test UGC and move to a program once it works.