# Captions vs Topview (2026): Price per Ad, Features & Verdict

> Captions vs Topview compared on price per video ad, features and who each one suits. List prices checked October 2026.

Canonical: https://use-addy.site/compare/captions-vs-topview
Last updated: 2026-10-26

On list prices checked October 2026, Topview is the cheaper of the two per video ad (about $0.50 versus about $0.75 on Captions' best-value plan). Captions: AI video editor with AI creators, AI Twin and a product-URL-to-ad tool (AI Ads). Topview: AI video agent for link-to-video ads, product avatars and viral video recreation. If you want the ads written, rendered and posted for you, Addy is a third option at about $0.95 per 15-second ad.

## Price per video ad

Monthly list prices. One finished video ad is the unit.

| Tool | Plan | Price / mo | Video ads / mo | Per video ad | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captions | Max | $24.99 | 33 | 76¢ | 500 credits; AI Ads costs 1 credit per second, so 15 credits per 15-second ad. Credits are shared with all AI features |
| Captions | Frontier | $69.99 | 93 | 75¢ | 1,400 credits at 15 credits per 15-second AI ad |
| Captions | Frontier 2x | $139.99 | 186 | 75¢ | 2,800 credits at 15 credits per 15-second AI ad |
| Topview | Plus | $36 | 20 | $1.80 | Billed yearly ($432). 100 credits/mo; Viral Video Agent is 5 credits per 15-second video |
| Topview | Business | $44 | 50 | 88¢ | Billed yearly ($528). 3,000 credits a year upfront (~250/mo) at 5 credits per 15-second video |
| Topview | Ultra | $50 | 100 | 50¢ | Billed yearly ($599.90). 500 credits/mo at 5 credits per 15-second video |

## Feature by feature

| Feature | Captions | Topview |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait 9:16 video ads | Yes | Yes |
| Learns brand from URL | Product URL to ad | Link to video |
| Competitor + Reddit research | No | No |
| Multiple ad formats (16) | Partial | Partial |
| AI creators that post daily | No | No |
| Reels / TikTok / Shorts scheduler | — | No |
| Launches Meta ads | — | No |
| Winner / loser learning loop | — | — |
| API + MCP | — | Yes |
| Free trial without card | Free plan, one-time credits | — |
| Photoreal AI actor library | Yes | 5,000+ avatars |
| Your own face in ads | AI Twin | From your photo |
| Remix any winning ad from a link | — | Reference video recreate |
| Never trains on your data | — | — |

## Which should you pick?

Pick Captions if you want: About 75¢ per 15-second AI ad on Max; Paste a product URL and get a UGC-style ad; Strong mobile editor with an AI Twin of yourself.

Pick Topview if you want: Cheap per video on yearly plans; API and MCP on every plan; Recreates a reference video's style; 5,000+ public avatars.

Captions is a well-made AI video editor, and its AI Ads tool turns a product URL into a UGC-style avatar ad for about 75¢ per 15 seconds on the Max plan, which is cheaper per clip than Addy. If you want to make and edit avatar ads yourself on your phone, it is a good pick. Addy is an agent rather than an editor: it researches the brand, writes concepts across 16 formats and posts to Reels, TikTok and Shorts, with its own actor library, your own face and remix from a link.

## How we compared

- Prices are each vendor's public monthly list price in US dollars, last checked October 26, 2026. Yearly-billing discounts are noted next to the plan where the vendor publishes them.
- Cost per video ad is the monthly price divided by how many short portrait video ads the plan buys. When a vendor sells credits or minutes, we convert at its published rate; when it publishes no rate, we use third-party reports and label the figure as reported.
- Features come from each vendor's own site and docs. A dash means we could not confirm a feature, not that it is missing.
- Addy is our product. To keep that from tilting the page, tools are listed alphabetically, Addy is scored on the same criteria, and its limits are published on the [facts page](https://use-addy.site/facts).
- Something out of date? Tell us on the [contact page](https://use-addy.site/contact) and we will correct the page and its date.

## Sources

- [Captions](https://www.captions.ai): official pricing page, checked October 2026 (vendor pricing page shows iOS prices; AI Ads rate from Captions help docs).
- [Topview](https://www.topview.ai): official pricing page, checked October 2026 (only yearly-billed prices published; credit rates from Topview's guide, updated Jan 2026).
- [Addy pricing](https://use-addy.site/pricing): our own plans.

## Questions

### Is Captions or Topview cheaper?

Topview, on list prices checked October 2026: about $0.50 per video ad on its best-value plan versus about $0.75 on Captions. Check what each counts as one video before comparing; some tools count statics or slideshows.

### What is the main difference between Captions and Topview?

Captions: AI video editor with AI creators, AI Twin and a product-URL-to-ad tool (AI Ads). Topview: AI video agent for link-to-video ads, product avatars and viral video recreation.

### Is there an alternative to both Captions and Topview?

Addy learns your brand from your website, writes hooks you approve, renders 15-second portrait video ads from 99¢ and posts them to Reels, TikTok and Shorts. The first ad is free, no card.

### Where do these numbers come from?

Each vendor's own pricing page or, where a vendor does not publish one, third-party reports, checked October 2026. Email hello@use-addy.site if something is out of date.

## Related

- [Addy vs Captions](https://use-addy.site/compare/addy-vs-captions)
- [Addy vs Topview](https://use-addy.site/compare/addy-vs-topview)
- [2026 pricing guide](https://use-addy.site/compare/pricing)