Obviously vs Stargazer: Which to Pick in 2026
An enterprise managed agency against a performance platform-agency. One runs the largest brand campaigns with WPP behind it, the other treats influencer like paid acquisition, optimizing installs and CPAs on its own tech. Here is which fits, plus a software option.
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Which one is right for you
Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.
Choose Obviously if
- You run enterprise or Fortune 500 campaigns
- You need regulated-industry experience
- You want WPP-backed strategy and tech
Choose Stargazer if
- You run apps or ecommerce on performance
- You want low CPAs and tracked installs or sales
- You want influencer optimized like paid media
Choose Flinque if
- You want verified creators and fake-follower checks with no sales call
- You want flat published pricing you can start free
- You want to run discovery in-house, not hand it to an agency
Obviously vs Stargazer vs Flinque
Fourteen factors across all three, from agency type to real minimums. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.
| Factor | Obviously | Stargazer | Best valueFlinque |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Enterprise and Fortune 500 brands | Apps and ecommerce on performance | Teams running discovery in-house |
| Agency type | Enterprise influencer agency, WPP-owned | Performance direct-response platform-agency | Self-serve software, not an agency |
| Engagement model | Custom, large six-figure deals | Custom, performance-based | Flat monthly subscription |
| Typical minimum | Undisclosed, enterprise-scale | Undisclosed, CPA-focused | Free, then $49/mo |
| Published pricing | No | no:proprietary search platform | $0 to $150/mo, public |
| Creator network | Vast network, proprietary tech | 2M-5M+ creators, audience data | 10M+ verified, 200 data points each |
| Platforms covered | Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, global | YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snap | Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X |
| Services | Strategy, production, insights, experiential | Identification, logistics, tracking, reporting | Discovery, vetting and audience data |
| Campaign management | fully managed | fully managed | You run it, software assists |
| Content and usage rights | Repurposing for retail listings | Direct-response, install-driven | You negotiate directly with creators |
| Paid amplification | Part of large campaigns | Long-tail influencer activation | Run your own whitelisting |
| Measurement and reporting | Proprietary AI reporting platform | ROI-correlation tech, CPA tracking | Audience and fake-follower data built in |
| Team and locations | New York, founded 2014, WPP-owned | San Francisco, founded 2016 | Software with support included |
| Time to launch | After scoping and strategy | After a performance scope | Shortlist in minutes on the free plan |
How we compared: Engagement models and minimums come from each agency's own site plus 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'.
What each agency actually does
What is Obviously
Obviously is the agency big brands call when a campaign has to be global, complex and airtight. Mae Karwowski and Maxime Domain founded it in New York in 2014, later adding San Francisco and Paris. It earned its name handling enterprise creator campaigns for Fortune 500 clients, then WPP acquired it in 2023 and folded it into the group. The remit is unusually wide, covering strategy, talent management, creative production, business insights, research and even experiential support, all run on proprietary tech that reads rival spend and content trends. What truly sets it apart is compliance: it operates with ease in pharma, healthcare and finance, the regulated corners most agencies steer well clear of. Clients include Google, Ford, Ulta and Amazon, with a claimed five billion impressions. Against Stargazer's performance-acquisition model, Obviously is the enterprise heavyweight.
Quotes come custom and lean to large six-figure engagements, so budgeting opens with a scoping call. The value is scale plus rigor: a team of roughly 100 capable of a global, multi-market campaign, proprietary reporting and the compliance background regulated brands genuinely require. A Fortune 500 marketer feels exactly that depth. The catches are textbook enterprise. The deal sizes price out smaller brands and nothing is self-serve or built around tracked CPAs. After the WPP deal you are also working with a holding-company agency rather than the scrappy independent it used to be. For a brand that wants influencer run as a measurable acquisition channel for apps or ecommerce, Stargazer runs a different play.
What Obviously does well
- Handles enterprise and Fortune 500 work
- WPP-backed, in-house reporting technology
- Comfortable in regulated, high-compliance sectors
- Strategy, production and experiential in one
Where it falls short
- Built around large six-figure engagements
- No self-serve or CPA-tracked option
- A holding-group arm now, not independent
- Far too much for a small or mid-market brand
What is Stargazer
Stargazer treats influencer marketing the way a growth team treats paid ads. Founded in San Francisco in 2016 by Antoine Forest, who has called it the Facebook Ad Manager of influencer marketing, it is a performance and direct-response agency built on its own technology, working with apps and ecommerce brands to drive installs and sales while holding CPAs down. The differentiator is data: proprietary access to creator audience demographics, topics and engagement lets it correlate those signals with ROI and quickly narrow to the right influencer pool, with a search engine spanning a network it puts at 2 to 5 million creators across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Snap. It specializes in activating long-tail creators and runs everything from identification through logistics, tracking and reporting, claiming over 100 million dollars in driven sales and millions of app installs. Next to Obviously's enterprise machine, Stargazer is the performance-acquisition specialist.
Pricing is custom and unpublished, weighted to performance outcomes rather than a flat retainer, since the whole pitch is tracked results. What you are buying is acquisition discipline: influencer run like a paid channel, ROI-correlation tech that optimizes toward low CPAs and deep experience activating long-tail creators at scale. For a performance-focused app or ecommerce brand, that focus is the value. The tradeoffs follow. It is built for direct response, so a brand wanting brand-building, experiential or regulated-industry compliance is a weaker fit, the model assumes a performance goal like installs or sales. It also does not bring Obviously's enterprise scale or WPP backing. For a brand that wants a fully managed enterprise campaign with compliance depth, Obviously is the other route.
What Stargazer does well
- Influencer run like a paid acquisition channel
- ROI-correlation tech optimizing low CPAs
- Long-tail creator activation at scale
- Driven sales and app installs at volume
Where it falls short
- Built for direct response, not brand-building
- Assumes a performance goal like installs
- No enterprise scale or WPP backing
- Custom, performance-weighted pricing
Head to head
The split here is brand rigor versus acquisition discipline. Obviously runs global, complex campaigns for Fortune 500 brands with WPP behind it and rare regulated-industry experience. Stargazer treats influencer like paid media, optimizing installs and CPAs for apps and ecommerce on its own ROI tech. One sells managed enterprise scale and compliance. The other sells tracked performance.
Pick by whether you want enterprise-managed brand work or performance acquisition. Neither is the do-it-yourself middle: 10M verified creators across four platforms with a fake-follower score on each, at one published price, where you pick the creators yourself.
Which should you actually pick
Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.
You run enterprise-scale campaigns
You want a global, complex campaign managed end to end with regulated-industry experience and WPP-grade tech. Obviously is built for that.
→ Pick ObviouslyYou run apps or ecommerce on performance
You want influencer optimized like paid media, with tracked installs, low CPAs and long-tail creators. Stargazer fits.
→ Pick StargazerYou want to run discovery in-house
No retainer, no scoping call. You want to search 10M verified creators across four platforms with a fake-follower check on each. Start free on Flinque and upgrade at $49 only if you keep using it.
→ Pick FlinqueYou want verified creators without a retainer
Obviously prices for large deals and Stargazer scopes performance work. Flinque's free plan lets you find and vet verified creators with no card, then scales at a flat $49 a month.
→ Start with FlinqueFlinque: 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
See Flinque in action
Short walkthroughs on pricing, discovery and vetting from the Flinque team.
What Are Influencer Networks? Why Most Brands Pick the Wrong Creators
Influencer Discovery Platforms That We Made Easy and Affordable
Common questions about Obviously and Stargazer
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Which is more affordable, Obviously or Stargazer?
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What does Stargazer do that Obviously does not?
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Is there a software alternative to both?
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