Scouty vs Trend (soona UGC)
Scouty and Trend do different jobs. Trend, which soona is converting into soona UGC during 2026, sells UGC photos and videos from vetted creators with licensing included and no subscription. Scouty is an AI agent that sources, signs, onboards and manages creators who post for your campaign, and you pay those creators directly.
Before you compare. Trend is being folded into soona UGC. soona acquired Trend in 2023, and a soona post dated April 28, 2026 says Trend.io is now soona UGC, that Trend brands are being converted during 2026, and that they keep access to campaigns and content through the end of 2026. Confirm current dates with soona before you buy.Source: soona blog: Trend.io is now soona UGC, soona blog: meet Trend
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At a glance
- Scouty
- An AI agent that sources, signs, onboards and manages UGC creators from one chat.
- Trend
- A credit based UGC content marketplace that soona owns and is converting into soona UGC, a pay per video product.
- Creator pay with Scouty
- Paid by you, directly to the creator, with no commission.
- Creator pay with Trend
- The brand buys credits or videos from Trend or soona. Trend says its creators work on a set budget.
- Trend facts read on
- Trend facts taken from
- trend.io and soona.co, page by page under Sources.
Scouty and Trend, side by side
The Trend column is as published on trend.io and soona.co on October 9, 2026. Where its pages do not describe something, the cell says so and claims nothing more.
| Scouty | Trend (soona UGC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | An AI growth hire for creator-led campaigns, on a subscription. You tell it what you need in one chat and it does the creator-side work. | A UGC content marketplace sold in credit packages, with no subscription. soona says it is becoming soona UGC, a pay per video product with three creator levels.Source: trend.io/pricing, soona blog: Trend.io is now soona UGC, soona.co/ugc |
| How creators are sourced | Two ways: vetted creators from the Creators Club matched to your brief, and a search of TikTok and Instagram with outreach, so the right creators apply. | You submit a brief and choose vetted creators by level. Trend states 3,700+ creators in its network.Source: trend.io/pricing, trend.io |
| Pricing, as published | Subscription plans with a free trial. Creator pay is separate and goes directly to the creator, with no commission. Creator management (the posting schedule and reminders) is its own subscription, bought per campaign.Scouty pricing | 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 across three creator levels, 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 |
| Who pays creators | You do, directly. The rate is the one you set in your brief, and the money goes straight from you to the creator. Scouty never holds it. | 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 |
| Contracts and signing | Scouty handles the contract step with each creator, using your contract. You can start a campaign from the contract and Scouty drafts the brief from it. | Trend advertises no subscriptions, software fees or contracts, and says approved content is fully licensed to the brand. soona UGC says content includes an unlimited, worldwide license.Source: trend.io/pricing, soona.co/ugc |
| Creator onboarding | Scouty walks each enrolled creator through your campaign's onboarding and activation steps, one step at a time. | Not described on the pages we read. |
| Ongoing creator management | A posting schedule for every creator with a reminder before each deadline, a group chat with your creators when you want one, and tracking of how the campaign's posts perform. | Not described on the pages we read. |
| Chat or agent interface | Yes. The chat is the product: you ask for creators, changes and updates in plain words, and you can manage a campaign by text. | Not described on the pages we read. |
| API and MCP | Both. A REST API and an MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT and developer tools can work inside your Scouty workspace with the permissions you give them. | Not described on the pages we read. |
| Best fit | Teams that want creators posting on TikTok and Instagram on a schedule, and want the finding, signing, onboarding and reminding done for them. | Product brands that want a small batch of licensed photos and short videos for a first UGC test, with no subscription.Our reading, not a vendor statement. |
First, check which product you would be buying
A comparison with Trend in 2026 is partly a comparison with soona UGC. The two sites publish different price structures today, credits on one and per video prices on the other, and soona has said Trend brands move across during the year. If you are evaluating Trend, ask soona which product and which price list apply to a new account.
Licensed content, or creators who post
Trend and soona UGC sell content. You brief, you pick creators by level, and you receive photos and videos licensed for your own channels and ads. It is a clean way to get a first batch of assets.
Scouty does not sell content at all. It recruits creators for a campaign, gets your contract signed, onboards them and keeps each one on a posting schedule on their own TikTok or Instagram account. You end up with a roster, not a folder of files.
What you pay for
On Trend and soona UGC the creator's pay is inside the credits or the per video price. On Scouty the subscription covers the agent, and creator pay is a separate line that you set in your brief and pay directly to each creator.
What else Trend publishes
- On trend.io a creator costs 20, 40 or 60 credits by level and first produces 2 videos or 5 photos.Source: trend.io/pricing
- soona says it accepts about 35% of creator applicants.Source: soona.co/ugc
When Trend is the better choice
- You want a small batch of licensed photos and videos for your own channels and ads.
- You want to buy per video or per package, with no subscription.
- You are testing whether UGC works for your product before committing to a program.
- You do not need the creator to post on their own account.
When Scouty is the better choice
- You want an ongoing program of creators posting on their own accounts, not a one-time batch of assets.
- You want the recruiting, signing, onboarding and reminders done for you.
- You want a public API and an MCP server, so your own tools and AI assistants can work on the campaign.
- You want to set creator pay yourself and pay creators directly.
What Scouty does not do
A fair comparison says this plainly.
- Scouty does not produce, edit or review campaign content. Creators make it, to your brief.
- Scouty does not process or hold creator payments. You pay each creator directly.
- Scouty works with creators on TikTok and Instagram.
Sources
Everything this page says about Trend is as published on trend.io and soona.co on . Vendors change their pages, so open the source before you rely on a figure. Everything it says about Scouty comes from this site.
- soona blog: Trend.io is now soona UGC, as published on October 9, 2026.
- soona blog: meet Trend, as published on October 9, 2026.
- trend.io/pricing, as published on October 9, 2026.
- soona.co/ugc, as published on October 9, 2026.
- trend.io, as published on October 9, 2026.
Scouty and Trend, in short
Short answers, in plain words. Each one stands on its own.
