ScaleyScaley vs DIY + Freelancers
If you're running Google Ads yourself or with a freelancer, here's where Scaley helps and where it doesn't.
Plenty of operators run their own Google Ads with a part-time freelancer. It's cheaper than an agency. It's also the setup most likely to hit a ceiling, because one human can only watch the account so many hours a day.
| Feature | DIY + freelancers | Scaley AI |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 2-4 weeks | Under 5 minutes |
| Monthly cost | €1-4k + your time | From $199/mo |
| Scales with spend | Stuck until you hire someone | Handles any account size |
| Transparency | You build it | Every change logged + explained |
| Lock-in | You depend on one person | Cancel anytime, pay your final invoice |
| Speed of iteration | When someone has time | 24/7 continuous |
| Account ownership | You own it | Yours, always. Revoke access in one click. |
Day One to Day Seven, Exactly What Happens
No promise. Just the calendar. Here's the whole first week from the minute you connect.
- Day 1
You connect. Nothing changes.
One-click Google OAuth, about two minutes. The first audit is read-only. Scaley scans 90 days of your account and doesn't touch a single setting.
- Day 2
You read the audit and pick what goes live.
Wasted spend and scaling angles, named per campaign, each one with the evidence attached. Scaley can't write a change until you approve it, so you approve them one at a time. Every change is logged and reversible.
- Day 7
You decide. Either way you keep everything.
Cancel from the dashboard in one click. No call, no kill fee, no email chain. Revoke our access from Google's security panel in seconds. Every campaign, label, and structure Scaley built stays in your account.
7 days free. We take your card upfront, but billing doesn't start until day 8.
Worried About the Price? You Pay the Floor
The fee is 4% of the ad spend Scaley manages, and it never drops below $199 a month. If your account is small, that floor is your whole bill. At €3K a month in spend you pay $199 flat. You keep running the account exactly how you run it, and you switch on one module at a time. Most DIY operators start with the Labelizer, because it stops you bidding the same on a 60%-margin bestseller and a 12%-margin filler.
4% of ad spend · $199/mo minimum
- Labelizer tags every SKU by margin and velocity
- Daily sync to your Merchant Center custom labels
- 24/7 AI media buyer chat
- Scaling engine - every move logged with a reason
- Smart exclusions surfaced daily, not quarterly
- CSS network (20% CPC savings on Shopping)
- Unified analytics dashboard
- Priority support
Pick Scaley If
- You or your freelancer are spending more than 10 hours a week on exclusions, budget tweaks, or reporting
- You have a catalog of 500+ SKUs that aren't tiered by margin
- You're at €10K+/month in spend and scaling is getting harder, not easier
- You want daily negative keyword mining instead of monthly
- You want the labelizer: automatic margin/velocity tagging synced to Merchant Center
Pick DIY + Freelancers If
- You have the hours this week. And next week. And the week after that
- Your catalog is small (under 100 SKUs) and doesn't need tiering yet
- You like being in the account and you don't want to hand it over
- You have a freelancer you trust and they have room in their week
DIY works until the account needs more hours than you have. Most operators hit that wall around €10K/month in spend or 500+ SKUs. Scaley takes over the repetitive work (setup, scaling, exclusions, labels, reporting) without taking over the strategy. You stay the operator, the software does the grunt. And you only turn on the modules you want, so the first step can be as small as the Labelizer.
From Operators Who Stopped Doing It by Hand
Scaley found €4K/month of wasted spend in our first audit. The auto-scaling rules have been better than our old agency. Honestly wild.
We stopped hiring junior buyers. Scaley handles the account and our lead just reviews the suggestions. Saves us like 15 hours a week.
Hire Your AI Media Buyer. Live in 5 Minutes
Connect Google Ads in 5 minutes. Your AI media buyer starts the first audit before you finish your coffee. Still kicking the tires? Take the free 2-minute Scaley Score. No signup, no Google Ads connection.
7 days free · cancel anytime