UGCStarsThe short version
Choose Afluencer if you want influencers to post about your product on their own accounts, including gifted and affiliate collaborations, and want them to apply to you. Choose UGCStars if you want creators to make videos for your own ads and channels and want to search for them yourself.
Afluencer is free to post on, and its Marketplace plan costs $49 a month for more invitations and filters. UGCStars costs $245 a year.
| UGCStars | Afluencer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A database of reviewed UGC creators | An influencer marketplace, part of Influencer Hero |
| Main use | Videos for your ads, website and social accounts | Posts on creators’ own accounts, including gifted and affiliate collaborations |
| Price | $245 a year | Free to post, or $49, $649 or $1,049 a month |
| Finding creators | Search with 20+ filters, or post a free brief | Post a Collab for creators to apply to, or invite creators |
| Creator prices | Each creator shows a starting rate, and you agree the final price | Agreed with each creator |
| Payment | You pay the creator directly | Payment tools come with the $649 Standard plan and up |
| Billing | One payment | Monthly |
Published prices, checked 12 October 2026.
How each one works
UGCStars
UGCStars is a searchable database of UGC creators. A person on our team reviews every profile before it’s listed. Searching and viewing profiles is free, and annual access, $245 a year, unlocks contact details, sample videos, shortlists and saved searches.
You contact creators yourself, agree the brief, price and usage rights with them and pay them directly. UGCStars isn’t part of the deal or the payment.
Afluencer
Afluencer is a self-service influencer marketplace. You post a Collab describing your campaign, and creators apply. You can also search creators by niche, platform and audience size and invite them. The Marketplace plan includes 60 invitations a month.
Afluencer is now part of Influencer Hero. Its Standard and Pro plans give access to the Influencer Hero platform, which handles outreach at scale, product send-outs and creator payments for larger programs.
What you pay
UGCStars charges $245 a year for full access, renewing yearly until you cancel. Nothing is added to what you pay creators, and creators who join during your year are included.
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Post Collabs and receive applications |
| Marketplace | $49 a month | 60 invitation credits a month, premium influencer filters, and phone, email and chat support |
| Standard | $649 a month | The Influencer Hero platform, with 1,000 reach-outs a month, product send-outs and influencer payments |
| Pro | $1,049 a month | 5,000 reach-outs a month, a dedicated account manager and 3 or more seats |
Published prices from afluencer.com/pricing, checked 12 October 2026. Billed monthly.
Five months of the Marketplace plan costs $245, the same as a year of UGCStars. On both, what you pay creators is separate and depends on the deal you agree with each one.
Creator types and search
The two list different kinds of creators. Afluencer focuses on influencers, whose value is their audience and the posts they make on their own accounts. UGCStars lists UGC creators, who make videos for brands to post and run as ads, so audience size matters much less.
On UGCStars you search with more than 20 filters, including age, location, languages, interests, skin type, pets and kids, and there’s no follower minimum. Each profile shows the creator’s starting rate, sample videos and social accounts. How we review creators lists the checks every profile passes before it’s listed.
Afluencer lets you search by niche, platform and audience size, and its premium filters come with the Marketplace plan.
Briefs, payment and usage rights
On Afluencer you agree each collaboration with the creator in its messages, including what they post and what they get in return. If you want to run their content as ads, agree the usage rights with each creator.
On UGCStars you can post a brief for free, and we email it to the creators who match. Creators who are interested send you their profile, and you contact the ones you want. You agree the deliverables, price, deadline and usage rights with each creator and pay them on the terms you agree. Members get templates for outreach emails, briefs, NDAs and creator agreements.
When Afluencer is the better fit
- You want creators to post about your product on their own accounts.
- You want to offer free product or an affiliate commission instead of a fee.
- You want creators to apply to you, on a free or $49 plan.
- You plan to grow into a full influencer program with outreach, send-outs and payments in one tool.
When UGCStars is the better fit
- You want videos for your own ads, product pages and social accounts.
- You care more about the video than the creator’s follower count.
- You want to search the database and contact creators directly.
- You’d rather pay one fee a year than a monthly plan.
For creators
UGCStars is free for creators and takes no commission. You set a starting rate on your profile, brands contact you directly, and you keep everything they pay you.
Afluencer has a free creator plan. Its paid creator plans, $29 and $79 a month, add application credits so you can apply to more collaborations.
Sources and corrections
- Afluencer pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
- Top 10 influencer marketing software tools in 2026, Afluencer blog, 30 July 2026, checked 12 October 2026.
- UGCStars pricing, for the UGCStars side.
UGCStars wrote this page, so it compares our own product with Afluencer. We describe Afluencer from its own website and link to each source. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it.