Motion alternatives: why creative teams are switching (and where they're going)

We built Atria, so yes—we think it's the best alternative to Motion. But instead of giving you marketing fluff, we're sharing exactly what we're hearing from customers who've used both platforms. We'll tell you where Motion excels, where we still have room to grow, and give you the highlights of other players out there so you can make the best decision for your brand. Thanks for reading!

What Motion is (and why teams are looking elsewhere)

Motion transforms ad platform data into stunning visual reports that stakeholders actually understand. You can connect your ad accounts and generate gorgeous, shareable dashboards that are genuinely impressive. But here's what thousands of brands and agencies discovered after the honeymoon period: Motion gives you gorgeous analytics—but leaves you hanging when you want to actually DO something with those insights.

The pricing reality hits brands and agencies especially hard. Josh Graham, Founder @ Alpha Inbound put it bluntly after Motion's pricing quote:

"I almost had a heart attack. Motion would eat into our margins way more than we're comfortable with."

Paul Fairbrother, Creative Strategist and Media Buyer from the popular brand Orbit Key echoes this:

"We've done the classic route of starting off with Motion. Fantastic product. Can't fault them. The price is very high."

The fundamental issue: Motion excels at "here's what happened" but creative teams need platforms that also answer "here's what to do about it"—without requiring a second mortgage.

What teams discover after switching to Atria

Same visual analytics—but with specific recommendations you can apply in a click

Atria delivers the visual reporting excellence that made Motion popular. Clean dashboards, stakeholder-friendly visualizations, and the same "aha moment" clarity that converts data into insights.

But here's where Atria diverges: AI automatically grades your ads with letter grades (A, A-, B+, etc.) and tells you exactly how to improve underperforming creative. It's the difference between "this ad is struggling" and "this ad is a C+, and here are three specific changes to make it an A." Then there’s the “Iterate” button that lets you generate an ad that takes all of the feedback into account.

Simon Freeman, founder @ Welcome to Digital explains this game-changing feature:

"I love Radar—particularly with our in-house team, we can quickly see where we're at and identify quick wins. We can show clients: 'We know we've got good content, the visuals are great. We just got to change up that hook and this becomes a great winning ad.'"

Curated ad libraries that focus on winners

Motion lets you save ads, but you're still digging through Meta's frustrating ad library. Atria's curated ad library makes it easy to find exactly the ad you're looking for with intelligent search and filters.

"With Atria, we're not pulling inspo from an ad that ran for three days and turned off because it didn't work. We're pulling from a more curated set of ads—so we can be pretty sure there's something that works," explains Cody at Alpha Inbound.

Competitor breakdowns that let you reverse-engineer any brand’s strategy

While Motion provides light competitor tracking, Atria lets you tap into detailed competitive playbooks that change how you approach strategy—all in a single click.

Simon Freeman uses this feature daily:

"I'll be on a call with a brand and they'll ask about competitors—while I'm on that call, I can pull in any competitor, sync it up, and in 5-10 minutes still on that call, I can say 'right, let's have a look.' We can see if they're actually active, what they're spending, what creative they're testing."

From competitor ad to your version in one click

This is where Motion completely drops off. See a winning competitor ad? Atria lets you recreate it instantly—no more screenshots to designers with "make something like this."

"Atria's image ad generation gets you 90% there. I can hand off a concept to a designer and say, 'Right, tidy this up to our brand fonts and make it perfect.' It's giving them a really good template to work from."

explains Paul Fairbrother, Media Buyer and Creative strategist at OrbitKey

Where Atria still has room to grow

Just like any platform, you’ll find some pros and cons. Here are a few reasons Atria might not be able to check every box for you:

Platform limitations: Currently supporting Meta and TikTok with Google and LinkedIn on the roadmap. If you're running campaigns across multiple platforms today, you'll need supplementary tools temporarily.

Mobile experience: No dedicated mobile app yet, so competitive research happens at your desk rather than on-the-go.

Integration ecosystem: Northbeam and other attribution platforms are on the roadmap.

Alternative platforms: where they excel and fall short

Foreplay: the ad library champion

What Foreplay does exceptionally well:

• Pinterest for ads approach that makes creative discovery genuinely enjoyable

• Mobile app functionality for saving ads on-the-go without the frustration

• Clean, intuitive interface that focuses on inspiration over intimidation

• Pricing structure starting at $49/month Basic, $149/month Workflow (supports 1 account), $389/month Agency (10 accounts)

• Quick competitor tracking for seeing what brands are testing

• AI brief generation to help translate inspiration into actionable creative direction

Where Foreplay creates limitations:

• No performance optimization insights - it shows you what's running, not what's working or why

• Basic analytics only with no custom metrics or performance depth

• Pure inspiration platform - once you find winning ads, you're completely on your own to recreate them

• No iteration guidance or recommendations for improving underperforming creative

• Limited creative production support beyond basic brief generation

• Less depth, less intuitive - having tools that offer enough value and that are easy enough for your team to run with is key

• Pricing doesn't scale well for agencies - At $389/month for 10 accounts, agencies managing 15-20+ clients l would need Enterprise pricing, potentially $1000+ monthly

Here’s what we heard from customers who switched from Foreplay to Atria: Cody Lucero, Head of Growth from Alpha Inbound used to use Foreplay. He explains:

"For the most part Foreplay worked pretty well, but Atria has been more intuitive and more straightforward. We did use Foreplay, but we use Atria a lot more consistently. There's just more meat." 

Foreplay is great if you're a small team that wants to browse competitor ads and save inspiration, and you don’t need more heavy-duty analytics.

If you want to actually do something with those winning ads you find—like understand why they work, know exactly how to improve your underperforming creatives, or turn customer data into ad angles—you'll hit Foreplay's ceiling pretty quickly. 

Superads: excellent reporting, limited scope

What Superads does well:

• Advanced dashboard customization that goes beyond standardized reporting

• AI co-pilot feature lets you chat with your ad data directly in the app

• Multi-client support with sophisticated organizational features

• Free tier for small teams (up to 3 reports, 30 days of data) makes it accessible for testing

Where Superads falls short:

• Reporting-only focus means no competitor research, creative production, or actionable iteration insights

• Steep pricing jump to $799/month for larger teams ($500K+ ad spend)

• Limited platform coverage compared to comprehensive alternatives

• No creative workflow integration - you'll need separate tools for everything beyond analytics

Superads is a strong choice if you love diving deep into data and want the ability to customize your analytics, but the price is still pretty steep once you get past the free tier—especially when you consider you’re not getting competitive intelligence or a curated ad library with boards that other players offer.

Smartly: enterprise powerhouse with enterprise complexity

What Smartly does exceptionally well:

• Massive platform coverage across 10+ channels including Google Ads, Meta, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, X, and Amazon DSP

• Sophisticated campaign automation that handles execution at enterprise scale

• Advanced targeting capabilities with international campaign management

• Enterprise-grade personalization that major brands like Footlocker and Nike rely on

• Campaign management features that go far beyond analytics into actual execution

Where Smartly creates challenges:

• Enterprise complexity that overwhelms smaller teams with unnecessary features

• Pricing opacity (contact-only pricing) signals enterprise-only focus

• Steep learning curve requiring dedicated training and onboarding

• Overkill for most teams who need agile creative strategy rather than Fortune 500 operations management

Smartly makes sense for large enterprises who operate at scale across multiple social platforms with an international presence. Extreme feature depth and centralized management capabilities make this platform more difficult to use and implement, not to mention cost-prohibitive.

Let’s stack rank: here’s how Motion compares to Atria, Foreplay, Superads and Smartly

When to choose each platform:

Choose Atria when: You want a comprehensive ad creative platform that combines analytics, competitor research, and creative production in one platform, especially if budget efficiency and team adoption matters.

Choose Motion when: Visual reporting is your primary need, budget isn't a constraint, and you're comfortable using multiple tools for different workflow stages.

Choose Foreplay when: You aren’t managing multiple clients, you prioritize creative inspiration and discovery, want a simple mobile-friendly experience, and can handle basic analytics without iteration guidance.

Choose Superads when: You have minimal needs (free tier) or want maximum dashboard customization and are fine with analytics-only functionality.

Choose Smartly when: You're managing enterprise-scale campaigns across many platforms and need sophisticated automation more than creative intelligence.

The deep dive: How Atria compares to Motion—from price to feature set

Those testimonials give you the real-world perspective, but if you're making a platform decision, you probably want to see the hard numbers. Here's exactly how the platforms compare across pricing tiers and core capabilities:

The bottom line: Motion isn’t your only option

That's the most important thing to remember. Yes, switching platforms feels risky when you're in the middle of managing campaigns. But the teams who made the jump consistently tell us the same thing: they wish they'd done it sooner. Whether you choose Atria for its end-to-end creative workflow, stick with Motion and supplement it with other tools, or explore Foreplay or Superads—the point is making an intentional choice based on what your team actually needs to win. Take the free trials, test with real campaigns, and pick the platform that actually makes your job easier.

Frequently asked questions

What are some popular alternatives to Motion?

The most commonly discussed Motion alternatives include Atria, Foreplay, Smartly, and Superads. Each platform takes a different approach—some focus purely on analytics like Motion, others emphasize creative production, and platforms like Atria aim to bridge both worlds. Based on customer migrations and industry discussions, Atria has emerged as the top choice for teams wanting Motion's analytics capabilities plus the creative intelligence and production tools that Motion lacks.

What is the difference between Motion and Foreplay?

Motion excels at visual analytics and reporting, while Foreplay built the best creative discovery experience in the industry. Foreplay feels like Pinterest for ads—intuitive, mobile-friendly, and perfect for inspiration. However, Foreplay doesn't provide performance optimization insights or help you understand why ads work. Motion gives you beautiful analytics but limited creative guidance. Teams often find they need both, which is why many are moving to comprehensive platforms like Atria.

What is the difference between Motion and Superads?

Both Motion and Superads focus primarily on analytics and reporting, but with different strengths. Motion delivers more polished, stakeholder-friendly visual reports, while Superads offers deeper dashboard customization and an AI co-pilot for data exploration. Superads also provides a free tier for small teams. However, both platforms stop at showing you what happened—neither provides actionable recommendations for improving underperforming creative.

What is the difference between Motion and Adcreative.ai?

These platforms represent opposite philosophies. Motion analyzes existing ad performance with beautiful visual reporting, while Adcreative.ai uses AI to generate new creative concepts from scratch. Motion tells you what happened; Adcreative.ai tries to predict what might work next. Most teams find Motion more reliable for understanding proven performance, while Adcreative.ai remains experimental for actual campaign deployment.

What are the main differences between Atria's Pro, Growth and Enterprise plans?

Pro ($129/month) includes 5 ad accounts, 4,000 AI credits, and core features like Radar and competitor tracking. Growth ($479/month) scales to 15 accounts with 25,000 AI credits and unlimited ad spend analysis. Enterprise offers custom pricing with unlimited accounts and dedicated support. Most agencies start with Pro and upgrade when they outgrow the account limits, while larger teams often jump directly to Growth for the unlimited ad spend analysis.

Can I try all of Atria's features in the free trial?

Yes, the 7-day trial includes full access to all features including Radar, competitor intelligence, creative production tools, and analytics. You get fewer AI credits than paid users, but enough to properly evaluate whether the platform fits your workflow. No credit card required, and you can cancel anytime during the trial.

How does Atria's AI credits system work?

AI credits power features like ad analysis, script generation, image creation, and competitor research. Your monthly allocation resets automatically, and most teams never run out. The platform warns you when approaching your limit. Unlike pay-per-use models, the credit system provides predictable costs—you know exactly what you're spending each month regardless of how much you use the platform.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my Atria plan at any time?

You can upgrade immediately if you need more features or accounts. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing cycle—just cancel your current plan and select a new one when it expires. This flexibility lets you scale up during busy periods and optimize costs during slower months.

Are there any additional fees apart from the subscription cost?

No hidden fees or surprise charges. What you see is what you pay. Unlike platforms that scale pricing with your ad spend success, Atria's costs remain predictable whether you're spending $10K or $100K monthly on campaigns. Additional team members cost $20/month each beyond your plan limits.

Is it possible to cancel my Atria subscription?

Yes, cancel anytime through your account settings. No retention calls or complicated processes—standard subscription management. Your access continues until the end of your billing cycle, and you can reactivate whenever you're ready to return.

Can I import ads saved on other platforms?

Atria's team provides free migration assistance from Motion, Foreplay, and other platforms. Just email support with "Import request" and they'll help transfer your saved ads, boards, and organization. This makes switching platforms much less painful than starting from scratch.

Can I get equivalent analytics to Motion in Atria?

Yes—Atria provides the core visual reporting capabilities that make Motion appealing, plus the actionable intelligence that Motion lacks. You get clean dashboards and stakeholder-friendly reports with the added benefit of specific improvement recommendations.

What's the real difference in cost?

Motion's Growth plan starts at $850-1,150/month (with 3-month commitment), while Atria's comparable Business plan costs $479-599/month with no commitment required. Most agencies save 50-70% while gaining additional functionality.

How does the competitor research compare?

This is where the biggest difference lies. Motion provides basic competitor analysis. Atria offers real-time competitive intelligence where you can pull any competitor during a client call and analyze their complete strategy—ads, landing pages, spend patterns, and more—in minutes.

What about platform integrations?

Motion currently supports more third-party integrations, which matters if your workflow depends on specific attribution tools or analytics platforms. Atria focuses on Meta and TikTok with Google and LinkedIn coming soon.

Is the creative production actually useful?

Teams consistently highlight this as a major workflow improvement. Instead of screenshotting competitor ads and briefing designers, you can recreate winning creative concepts directly in the platform. The AI script generation and customer review mining provide messaging angles that competitors miss.

Can I try everything before committing?

Yes—the 7-day trial includes full access to all features. You get fewer AI credits than paid users, but enough to properly evaluate the platform's capabilities for your specific needs.