Creative testing
You mark ads from connected advertising accounts as test groups and compare their performance data, while audience allocation and controlled delivery continue to take place in the advertising system.
Pencil: support for A/B tests
Editorial selectionPencil
Pencil: creative testing and video ad variations for faster learning in paid advertising. In practice, its value centers on creative testing, video ad variations and performance insights.
GDPR: conditionalMCP: noFree plan: no
Editorial review: Jul 5, 2026
Facts checked: Oct 18, 2026
Translated: Oct 18, 2026
SME score82/100
Practical value, usability and value for money, equally weighted.
- Practical value
- 84/100
- Usability
- 80/100
- Value for money
- 83/100
Best suited for
Pencil is particularly suited to a workflow built around creative testing: gather source material, condense it with video ad variants, and turn the result into a usable asset through performance learnings.
The reason to choose Pencil is its specific combination of creative testing, video ad variations and performance insights; this combination distinguishes it within the 'Social Media & Ads' category from purely all-purpose or specialized solutions.
Limitations
Without a paid media learning loop involving tests, budget, and clear KPIs, Pencil is too strongly oriented toward performance iteration.
Strengths
Video ad variations
Video generation can be connected to structured product inputs through feed formulas, allowing you to prepare different short ad drafts for several offers from one template.
Pencil: feed formulasPerformance insights
The Media Performance Score uses historical data from similar ads in connected Meta accounts, allowing existing campaigns to inform the initial selection of new creatives.
Pencil: Media Performance ScoreUse cases
Typical outputs with Pencil: creative testing, video ad variants, performance learnings; for small businesses, also a short briefing, a checklist, and a next action for the responsible team.
Using it in your business
Language
DE ❌EN ✅Details ↓
Facts checked: Oct 18, 2026
MCP
noDetails ↓
Client: no · Server: no
No official MCP server found; Pencil.dev is a different product. No source
Facts checked: Sep 30, 2026
GDPR
conditionalDetails ↓
We found a data processing agreement from the vendor. Check the contract for your use case to see which plan it covers and which international data transfers are provided for.
DPA: We found a DPA from the vendor. Check the contract to confirm that it covers your plan and use case.
Data storage: The sources reviewed did not provide clear confirmation of exclusively European data storage and processing.
Facts checked: Oct 5, 2026
Pricing
14 USDDetails ↓
Free plan: no
A time-limited trial is available; it does not count as a free plan.
Facts checked: Oct 5, 2026
A practical first project
Build a creative learning system for paid ads: feed in existing ads, generate new video variants and sort learnings by hook, visual idea and CTA.
Break this asset into five channel variants and assess each by hook, audience and expected contribution to creative testing.
Two ideas for your working day
Prepare ad variations in a table
Open Feed Variations in a creative. Create columns for product, audience, headline, image and call to action, and map them to design elements. Start with only a few rows. This lets you track which benefit argument actually changed in each visual version.
Pencil: Feed VariationsControl language versions using fixed fields
Add market and language to the variant table for an existing offer. Keep the product and image the same and change the headline and call to action deliberately. Have the language reviewed and check line breaks in the creative before generating a larger series from the rows.
Pencil: Feed Variations
Sources: Oct 18, 2026
What other sources report
Lyka Pet Food calls Pencil an important driver of particularly high-performing Facebook creatives; the provider’s case study should not be read as a guaranteed campaign effect.
James HardingPencil is a great tool with plenty of potential for many brands. It has also brought us considerable efficiency and time savings in creating advertising assets, a truly remarkable benefit.
Susie O’DonoghueFrequently asked questions
What is Pencil useful for?
Pencil is particularly suited to a workflow built around creative testing: gather source material, condense it with video ad variants, and turn the result into a usable asset through performance learnings.
When is Pencil less suitable?
Without a paid media learning loop involving tests, budget, and clear KPIs, Pencil is too strongly oriented toward performance iteration.
What features does Pencil offer?
Creative testing; video ad variants; performance learnings
How do I get started with Pencil?
Build a creative learning system for paid ads: feed in existing ads, generate new video variants and sort learnings by hook, visual idea and CTA.
How much does Pencil cost?
Paid · from 14 USD/month. You can find pricing details and the documented date in the pricing section of this page.