If you want short-form video for a software product, the two options most teams look at first are hiring UGC creators or using a done-for-you studio like Chisel. They're good at different things. This page lays out the differences so you can pick, or use both.
The short answer
- Pick UGC creators when your buyer needs to see a real person using the product, for example consumer apps, where trust and personality carry the sale.
- Pick Chisel when your buyer first needs to understand what the product does, for example AI tools, developer tools and B2B SaaS, and when you need many videos rather than a few.
Side by side
| UGC creators | Chisel | |
|---|---|---|
| Who's on screen | A real person, usually on camera | Nobody. Voiceover, captions and your real UI |
| Price per video | Commonly about $150 to $1,200 (see below) | About $6 to $7 ($199 for 30, $450 for 75) |
| Volume | A handful per creator, per brief | 30 or 75 per package, 5 delivered a day |
| Script | Often written by the creator, from your brief | Written by us from your docs, approved by you |
| Product accuracy | Depends on how well the creator learns your product | Every claim checked against your docs |
| Turnaround | Varies by creator, shipping and filming | About a week from link to files |
| Usage rights | Often priced separately for ads | You own the reels once paid, ads included |
| Best at | Trust, personality, consumer products | Clarity, volume, technical products |
What UGC actually costs
UGC rates vary a lot by creator and by what counts as a deliverable. Two 2026 rate guides show the spread:
- Influee's 2026 guide puts the average single video at roughly $150 to $212, with discounts for bundles.
- JoinBrands' 2026 guide says most professional creators charge $500 to $1,200 per video, with a full range of $200 to $3,000.
Usage rights for paid ads, raw footage and extra hook variations usually cost more on top. A Chisel reel costs about $6.63 in the Pilot and $6 in the Launch pack, with ad use included.
Where UGC wins
A real face builds trust faster than any animation. If your product is something people use with their hands or in their life (a skincare app, a fitness tracker, a budgeting app) seeing a person react to it is the whole point. UGC also borrows the creator's style, which can feel more native in a feed.
Where Chisel wins
Software, especially AI software, has a clarity problem before it has a trust problem. The viewer doesn't know what the tool does yet. A creator holding a phone up to the camera rarely fixes that, because the screen is small and the script is loose.
Chisel reels are built for that job:
- The hook is scored before we build.
- By second seven, the voiceover says what the tool is in plain words.
- Your real UI fills the frame instead of a phone held up to a camera.
- Every word is on screen for people watching muted.
And because a reel costs a few dollars rather than a few hundred, you can test 30 hooks and keep the five that work.
What 30 videos cost each way
| UGC creators | Chisel | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 videos at entry-level rates ($150 to $212 each) | $4,500 to $6,360 | $199 (Pilot) |
| 30 videos at professional rates ($500 to $1,200 each) | $15,000 to $36,000 | $199 (Pilot) |
| Paid-ad rights | Often extra | Included |
| Your time | Briefing, reviewing, chasing deliveries | Approving scripts |
Prices for creators vary a lot. The ranges come from the two rate guides linked above. Treat them as a starting point and ask for quotes.
Questions to ask a UGC creator before you hire
- Have you made content for a software or AI product before? Can I see it?
- Do you write the script, or do I?
- How many hook variations are included?
- Can we run the video as a paid ad, and for how long?
- Do I get the raw footage?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
- When will the files arrive?
A creator who has never shown a software product on screen will need a tight brief and probably a screen recording from you.
When faceless reels build trust too
Faceless doesn't mean faceless forever. Viewers trust what they can see working. A reel that shows your real product doing a real job, with every claim checked against your docs, builds a different kind of trust: confidence that the product does what you say. For technical buyers, that often matters more than a friendly face.
Using both
Plenty of teams do. A common split is Chisel reels for volume and education (one per feature, one per objection, posted daily) and a few UGC videos for the ads that need a human face. The Chisel reels also tell you which angles work, so you can brief your creators on the hooks that already proved themselves.
FAQ
Is UGC better for ads than faceless reels?
For consumer products, often yes, because a real person reacting sells the experience. For software, test both. Faceless reels are cheap enough to test thirty hooks, and the winners tell you what to brief a creator on.
Can I use Chisel reels as ads?
Yes. You own them once they're paid for, including for paid ads, with no extra usage fee.
Do UGC creators post the video on their own account?
Usually not by default. UGC is normally made for your account and your ads. Posting to the creator's own audience is closer to influencer marketing and is typically priced separately.
Can Chisel add a real voice instead of an AI one?
Yes. Send a voice recording and we cut the reel to it.
Next step
Send us a link to your product and we'll reply with hook ideas before you pay anything. Or see Chisel vs AI avatar video tools if you're also looking at software that makes videos for you.