Prices that are actually published
Read from each vendor’s own pricing page on 30 October 2026. Everything else in this market is a quote.
- Self-serve builder, entry
59 euros a month, or 590 a year, for 8 exports a month and one ad network per export.Source: PlayableMaker pricing page
- Self-serve builder, middle
159 euros a month, or 1,590 a year, for 60 exports a month and three networks.Source: PlayableMaker pricing page
- Self-serve builder, top
599 euros a month, or 5,990 a year, for unlimited exports and unlimited networks.Source: PlayableMaker pricing page
- Free tiers
A 30-day trial with 2 exports and no card on one builder. On Unity’s tool the free tier is unlimited exports, but only to Unity Ads.Source: PlayableMaker pricing page and Unity Playworks pricing
- Enterprise build tool
15,000 dollars a month for all supported networks plus insights and creative testing.Source: Unity Playworks pricing
- Outsourced per playable
Between 3,000 and 10,000 dollars each, depending on where the studio is. A 2022 figure from the team behind one of the build tools, and the most specific number anyone has put in public.Source: Unity, five myths about playable ads, 2022
- Studio pricing generally
Not published. The named production studios quote per project or bundle it into media, and the ranges that circulate on vendor glossaries cite no source.Source: The production studios’ own pages
- In-house build time
No publisher states an engineer-days figure. Calendar estimates run from about a week for a straightforward playable to several weeks once concept sign-off and assets are counted.Source: Practitioner estimates quoted by the build-tool vendors
Why the gap is so wide
The two prices buy different things. A builder is a template engine; a studio is a bespoke build. The decision is really about how many playables a year you need.
A builder turns a template and your art into a compliant file, and the subscription is priced on exports, not on quality. If you need a handful of variants of one mechanic, the entry tier at 8 exports a month covers it for less than one outsourced playable.
Watch the per-export network limit rather than the export count. The cheapest tiers publish to one or two networks per export, and a playable is network-specific in its click call, so the same creative across four networks can consume four exports.
A studio build is the right call when the mechanic is the product: an unusual control scheme, a licensed property, a hook nobody has templated. At 3,000 to 10,000 dollars each, that is a decision per creative rather than per month.
The gap to watch is the one between the self-serve ceiling at 599 euros and the enterprise floor at 15,000 dollars. Nothing is published in between, and that is where most studios actually sit, so expect to negotiate. Both of the free tiers are genuinely usable for proving the format before paying for it.
Set this against the video side. A playable is a one-off engineering spend that then runs for weeks, whereas video needs a fresh batch continuously, which is why most accounts carry both and budget them separately. What video ads cost covers that half.
Where the money actually goes
Four decisions move a playable’s cost more than the vendor you pick.
- 1
How many mechanics
One mechanic rebuilt well is the whole format. Studios that brief three mechanics into one playable pay three times and ship something slower than the 5MB cap allows.
- 2
Whether art is reusable
Playables inline every asset as base64, so the art has to be re-exported small. Games with a clean sprite pipeline build playables cheaply; games whose art only exists at full resolution pay for the conversion every time.
- 3
How many networks
Each network wants a different package, MRAID version and click call, so one creative becomes several builds. This is the cost most briefs forget.
- 4
How many end cards
The cheapest test in the format. Same playable, three end cards, and the button copy usually moves installs more than the art does.
Playables at both ends of the budget
A templated single-mechanic playable and a bespoke licensed one look very different. Play them side by side.
PlayableBricks Legend“Puzzle, published by Yang Li”One mechanic, the template end of the market
PlayableRupaul’s Drag Race Match Queen“Match / merge, published by Eastside Games”Licensed art, a bespoke build
PlayableJune’s Journey“Puzzle, published by wooga”Hidden object, custom scene work
PlayableSpades Pop“Cards / casino, published by WildCard Games”Cards, a mechanic that templates well
The video half of the budget
Playables are a per-creative spend. The video around them is the recurring one.
Director by Sprites is a full creative team for your startup, in private beta. Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human.
Strategy, hooks, scripts, shooting and editing, end to end. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.
Every video is checked by a person before it reaches your inbox. No endless revisions.
Questions
How much does a playable ad cost?
Outsourced, between 3,000 and 10,000 dollars per playable is the only public figure, from 2022. Built in-house on a self-serve tool, from about 59 euros a month for 8 exports up to 599 for unlimited.
Is there a free playable ad maker?
Two free tiers exist. One builder gives a 30-day trial with 2 exports and no card, and Unity’s tool is free with unlimited exports but publishes only to Unity Ads.
What do playable ad agencies charge?
Almost none publish a price. The named production studios quote per project or fold the build into a media commitment, and the ranges on vendor glossaries cite no source.
Is a playable cheaper than a video ad?
No. Per creative a playable costs considerably more to build, but it runs longer and earlier Liftoff editions put its cost per install below video for games. Playable ad benchmarks has the sourced figures.
Keep going
Want the video ads handled instead?
Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.