SmartSites vs August United: Which to Pick
One of these does influencer on the side of a web and search practice. The other does influencer as the whole job, end to end. SmartSites offers creator work as an add-on. August United is a dedicated influencer agency for major brands, now part of McKinney. A side service against a full agency.
Which one is right for you
Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.
Choose SmartSites if
- You mainly need SEO, PPC and web work
- Influencer is a side service for you
- One digital vendor matters more than creator depth
Choose August United if
- You want influencer strategy and activation end to end
- You are a larger brand wanting a dedicated agency
- Creator depth matters more than a digital bundle
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
SmartSites vs August United vs Flinque
Fourteen factors across all three, from a web shop's add-on to a dedicated influencer agency. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.
| Factor | SmartSites | August United | Best valueFlinque |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | SEO and web with add-on influencer | End-to-end influencer campaigns | Teams running discovery in-house |
| Type | Digital marketing firm | Influencer-only agency | Self-serve software |
| Headquarters | Paramus, New Jersey | Tempe, Arizona | Remote, serving 25+ countries |
| Influencer role | A side service | The whole job, end to end | The whole product |
| Core focus | SEO, PPC and web design | Influencer strategy and activation | Discovery and vetting |
| Ownership | Independent | Acquired by McKinney, 2023 | Independent |
| Reported clients | Minimal public data | Microsoft, Samsung and Nestle | Self-serve, no client gate |
| Depth in creators | Shallow, an add-on | Deep, its entire business | You run discovery |
| Creator pool | Not its focus | Managed for campaigns | 10M+ verified creators |
| Scale | SMB digital | Major brands | 10M+ verified creators |
| Published pricing | None | None | Free $0, Starter $49, Enterprise $150 |
| Self-serve search | No | No | Yes |
| Free tier | No | No | Yes, no card |
| Data per creator | Not published | Not published | 200 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'.
What each agency actually does
What is SmartSites
SmartSites offers influencer only as a side service. Its real business is SEO, paid search and website design from Paramus, New Jersey, with creator outreach sitting at the edge of that as one add-on rather than a practice it is known for. For a brand whose main project is a website, search visibility and paid media, that makes SmartSites a single digital vendor with a bit of influencer available, which is useful when creator work is a minor part of a broader digital brief.
The limit follows directly: this is not a place to run a serious, end-to-end influencer program. SmartSites is a digital-marketing shop, so the depth, tooling and relationships that a dedicated influencer agency brings are not its strengths. That is fine when influencer is a footnote to a digital project and a poor fit when it is the campaign itself. It publishes little beyond its digital positioning, so confirm exactly what the add-on covers and who runs it before relying on it for creator work.
What SmartSites does well
- One vendor for SEO, PPC and web
- Influencer available as an add-on
- Suits a broad SMB digital brief
- Digital fundamentals in one place
Where it falls short
- Influencer is a side service, not a focus
- No end-to-end creator depth
- Shallow versus a dedicated agency
- No published pricing and no self-serve search
What is August United
August United does influencer as the whole job. A Tempe, Arizona agency, it runs end-to-end influencer strategy and activation, meaning it takes a creator campaign from planning through to execution rather than bolting outreach onto something else. Reported clients like Microsoft, Samsung, Nestle, Sam's Club, PetSmart and P.F. Chang's mark it as an agency trusted with major-brand work. In 2023 it was acquired by McKinney, so it now sits inside a larger advertising group, which is worth noting when scoping it.
The strength of a dedicated agency is depth: strategy, creators and activation handled by a team that only does influencer, for brands that expect a certain standard. The trade against a digital shop is that August United does not build your website or run your search campaigns, since creator work is its focus rather than a broader digital offer. That suits a brand whose main event is influencer. Confirm too how the McKinney ownership shapes the account, since a just-acquired agency's structure can still be settling.
What August United does well
- End-to-end influencer strategy and activation
- Reported clients are major brands
- Depth a web shop's add-on cannot match
- Dedicated influencer team
Where it falls short
- No web, SEO or paid-search offer
- Now inside McKinney, confirm the structure
- Not a one-stop digital vendor
- No published pricing and no self-serve search
SmartSites vs August United head to head
The choice is a side service against a full agency. SmartSites offers influencer as an add-on to a web-and-search practice, which suits an SMB whose main need is digital fundamentals with a little creator work attached. August United runs end-to-end influencer campaigns for major brands, which suits a company whose main event is creators and wants real depth. If influencer is a footnote to a digital project, the web shop fits. If it is the campaign, the dedicated agency does, since its depth is not something a bolt-on can match.
There is a way to handle the creator part yourself, whichever describes you. 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 can run discovery and vetting in-house and add a digital shop or a dedicated influencer agency only when the work genuinely calls for one.
Which should you actually pick
Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.
You want digital first
You mainly need SEO, PPC and web, with a little creator outreach. That is SmartSites.
→ Pick SmartSitesInfluencer is the campaign
You want end-to-end creator strategy and activation for a major brand. That is August United.
→ Pick August UnitedYou want to run creators yourself
At any scale, on data. Flinque reports 200 data points per creator, free to start with no card.
→ Pick FlinqueYou want a knowable price
Neither publishes pricing. Flinque is $0 to start and $49 a month, so you can begin without a sales call.
→ 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.
Influencer Discovery Platforms That We Made Easy and Affordable
Find Influencers for $49 a Month: Flinque vs Modash and HypeAuditor (2026)
Common questions about SmartSites and August United
What is the difference between SmartSites and August United?
Does SmartSites run full influencer campaigns?
What does end-to-end influencer mean for August United?
Which suits a brand whose main need is influencer?
Which suits an SMB wanting digital work?
What did the McKinney acquisition change for August United?
How much do they cost?
Is there a software alternative to both?
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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