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Agency comparison · Updated August 14, 2026

Glean vs IMA: Which to Pick

One of these is affordable software a small team runs itself. The other is a global agency for the biggest brands. Glean is a self-serve platform with opt-in creators, published pricing and a 0% hiring fee. IMA is an enterprise influencer agency inside Media.Monks. An SMB platform against an enterprise agency.

Short answer: pick Glean if you want an affordable self-serve platform with published pricing. Pick IMA if you want an enterprise global agency with blue-chip pedigree. Or pick Flinque if you would rather search a far larger verified index at a lower entry price.
See Flinque pricing
4.9/5 across 2,000+ reviews10M+ verified creatorsUsed by Vodafone, Hyatt and Abbott
The 5-second answer

Which one is right for you

Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.

Choose Glean if

  • You are an SMB wanting to self-serve
  • You value published pricing and a 0% hiring fee
  • You want to run campaigns yourself, affordably

Choose IMA if

  • You are a large brand wanting it fully managed
  • You value global reach and blue-chip pedigree
  • Budget is less of a constraint than scale
Free, no card

Choose Flinque if

  • You want to find and vet creators yourself with no sales call
  • You want flat published pricing you can start free
  • You want to run discovery in-house, not hire an agency
Side by side

Glean vs IMA vs Flinque

Fourteen factors across all three, from an affordable self-serve platform to an enterprise agency. Flinque is the larger-index, lower-price option on the right.

FactorGleanIMABest valueFlinque
Best forAffordable SMB self-serveEnterprise global campaignsTeams running discovery in-house
TypeSelf-serve platformFull-service agencySelf-serve software
HeadquartersUnited States, reportedAmsterdam, NetherlandsRemote, serving 25+ countries
How you engageLog in and run itManaged by the agencyLog in and run it
OwnershipIndependentPart of Media.MonksIndependent
CreatorsReported 10,000+ opt-inGlobal network10M+ verified creators
Hiring feeReported 0% on hiresAgency termsNo middleman fee
Reported clientsReported 5,000+ brandsDiesel, Nivea and SamsungSelf-serve, no client gate
WorkflowBriefs to payments in-appHandled by the agencyDiscovery and vetting
Published pricingBuild, Scale, EnterpriseNoneFree $0, Starter $49, Enterprise $150
Free trial or tier14-day trialNoYes, free tier, no card
Self-serve searchYesNoYes
Entry priceReported from about $150 a monthEnterprise quoteFree, then $49 a month
Data per creatorNot publishedNot published200 data points reported

How we compared: Engagement models and minimums come from each agency's own site and public reporting and client reviews, cross-checked and dated June 2026. Where an agency hides its pricing we say undisclosed rather than guess a number. The verdicts are ours, not the agencies'.

The detail

What each agency actually does

What is Glean

Self-serveOpt-in creators0% hiring feePublished pricing

Glean is built to be reachable by a small team on a real budget. It is a self-serve platform where brands connect with opt-in, pre-vetted creators and run the whole campaign in one place, from briefs and approvals to contracts, payments and reporting. What sets it apart for a smaller brand is that the cost is knowable: it publishes tiers with a 14-day trial, reported from about $150 a month on Build up through Scale, while it reports charging 0 percent on hires, so the creator's fee is not marked up. There is no sales gate to learn the price.

The trade for that accessibility is scale and pedigree. Glean's opt-in pool, reported around 10,000 creators, is curated rather than vast. It remains software rather than a team that will run a global campaign for you. That is exactly right for an SMB that wants to move fast and cheaply, though a poor fit for a large brand needing managed reach across many markets. If you want to self-serve without a big budget or a procurement process, that is the case for Glean.

What Glean does well

  • Affordable, published pricing from about $150 a month
  • Reported 0% platform fee on hires
  • Self-serve, run the whole campaign in one app
  • Opt-in pre-vetted creators, no sales gate

Where it falls short

  • Reported pool near 10,000 is comparatively small
  • Software, not a managed global team
  • Best suited to SMB rather than enterprise
  • Not built for large multi-market campaigns

What is IMA

AmsterdamEnterpriseMedia.MonksGlobal

IMA plays at the other end of the market. Full name Influencer Marketing Agency, based in Amsterdam and part of Media.Monks within the wider Monks group, it runs global influencer campaigns for large brands, with reported clients including Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger, Nivea and Samsung. This is a managed agency with the resources of a global network behind it, so what you buy is scale, reach across markets and the pedigree that comes with a blue-chip client list, delivered by a team rather than through a login.

The trade against a self-serve platform is cost and immediacy. There is no published rate card and no tool to run yourself, since IMA scopes an enterprise engagement to your brief. That suits a large advertiser with the budget and the need for managed global reach. It is more than a small brand wanting a quick, cheap campaign should take on. Note too that IMA sits inside Media.Monks, so confirm how the agency is staffed within the group today and who owns your account before committing.

What IMA does well

  • Enterprise global reach and managed delivery
  • Reported clients are major international brands
  • Backed by the Media.Monks network
  • Pedigree for large, multi-market campaigns

Where it falls short

  • No self-serve tool or published pricing
  • Enterprise scale, overkill for a small brand
  • Sits inside Media.Monks, confirm staffing
  • A managed engagement, not a login you drive

Glean vs IMA head to head

The split is size as much as model. Glean is affordable self-serve software for a small team, with opt-in creators, published pricing and a 0 percent hiring fee. IMA is an enterprise agency inside Media.Monks that runs global campaigns for major brands. If you are an SMB that wants to run a campaign yourself without a big budget or a sales process, the platform fits. If you are a large brand needing managed global reach and blue-chip delivery, the agency does. They are built for opposite ends of the market, so the deciding factor is really your size and budget.

There is a self-serve option that keeps the affordability while dwarfing either on pool size. Flinque indexes 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms, each with a fake-follower score and 200 reported data points, at $0 to start and $49 a month after, so you get platform-style discovery on a far larger verified index, below Glean's entry price and without an enterprise agency retainer.

By scenario

Which should you actually pick

Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.

You are a budget-conscious SMB

You want to self-serve with published pricing and no markup on hires. That is Glean.

→ Pick Glean

You are a large global brand

You want managed global reach and blue-chip pedigree. That is IMA, inside Media.Monks.

→ Pick IMA

You want scale and a lower price

A far larger verified pool below Glean's entry. Flinque reports 200 data points per creator at $0 to start and $49 a month.

→ Pick Flinque

You want to start free

Glean's entry is around $150 a month and IMA quotes enterprise. Flinque is free to start with no card.

→ Start with Flinque
A third option

Flinque: verified discovery at a flat price

If both feel like too much retainer and too little control, Flinque does one job and does it well. Find and vet real creators yourself, fast, then run the campaign in-house. No pitch deck, no monthly retainer, no discovery call to learn the price.

  • 10M+ verified creators
  • 4 platforms: IG, YouTube, TikTok, X
  • 200 data points per creator
  • 12 search filters
  • Fake-follower check on every profile
  • Free, $49, $150, published
Watch

See Flinque in action

Short walkthroughs on pricing, discovery and vetting from the Flinque team.

Influencer Discovery Platforms That We Made Easy and Affordable

Find Influencers for $49 a Month: Flinque vs Modash and HypeAuditor (2026)

FAQs

Common questions about Glean and IMA

What is the difference between Glean and IMA?
Glean is an affordable self-serve platform where brands run campaigns themselves with opt-in creators, published pricing and a reported 0 percent hiring fee. IMA is an enterprise global agency, part of Media.Monks, that runs managed campaigns for large brands. One is cheap software for a small team. The other is a managed agency for the biggest advertisers, so they sit at opposite ends of the market.
Which suits a small brand on a budget?
Glean. Its pricing is published, reported from about $150 a month with a 14-day trial and a 0 percent fee on hires, so a small team can start without a sales call or a big budget. IMA scopes enterprise engagements with no public pricing, which is more than a budget-conscious SMB usually needs or can justify.
Which suits a large global brand?
IMA. As an enterprise agency inside Media.Monks it runs managed global campaigns with reported clients like Diesel and Samsung, which is what a large advertiser needs for reach across markets. Glean is affordable self-serve software rather than a managed global team, so for enterprise scale the agency is the stronger fit.
What does the Media.Monks ownership mean for IMA?
IMA sits within Media.Monks, part of the wider Monks group, so its global campaigns draw on a larger network's resources. That adds scale and reach, while it also means you are engaging a team inside a bigger structure. Before committing, confirm how IMA is staffed within the group today and who will actually own your account, since integration can shift how the agency operates.
Does Glean really charge no hiring fee?
Glean reports charging 0 percent on hires, so the creator's fee is not marked up by the platform, which is part of what keeps it affordable for a small brand. IMA works on agency terms, so its cost is bundled into a managed engagement in the usual way. If avoiding a platform markup matters to a tight budget, that reported 0 percent fee is a point for Glean.
Which has more creators?
Neither publishes a figure that is straightforward to compare, with IMA's network size reported inconsistently, so it is best not to lean on a single number. Glean reports an opt-in pool of roughly 10,000 pre-vetted creators. The more useful distinction is model: Glean is a curated self-serve platform, while IMA brings a managed global network, rather than a like-for-like count.
How much do they cost?
Glean publishes tiers, reported from about $150 a month on Build up through Scale, with a 14-day trial. IMA does not publish pricing and quotes an enterprise engagement. So one cost is knowable up front and suited to a small budget, while the other is a bespoke managed quote aimed at large brands, which makes them hard to compare directly.
Is there a software alternative to both?
Yes. Flinque is self-serve software covering discovery and vetting, indexing 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms with 200 data points per creator reported on each profile. There is no demo and no annual lock-in. The Free Plan is $0, Starter is $49 a month and Enterprise is $150.

Written & reviewed by Flinque Research Team

Influencer Marketing Research · View team →

Our research team specialises in influencer marketing strategy, creator analytics and platform comparisons. Details on this page were verified against agency sites, public reporting and client review platforms in June 2026.

Disclaimer: Information here is collected from publicly available sources, third-party review sites and vendor pages. Pricing and features change, so confirm current details with each provider before buying. This content is for informational purposes only.

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