Video ad testing services for small teams: PickFu, Loops, Swayable, System1, Zappi and HoldFast

Six services, six different questions. What each one is, who it is for, how you buy it, and a plain note on which ones publish a price.

Six services will put your video in front of people and tell you something. They answer six different questions and are bought six different ways. Here is what each one is, in its own words where possible, and how to choose.

PickFu

A polling service. Respondents pick their favorite of two options and explain the choice, in hours, from a dollar a response. Polls run from 15 to 500 respondents; a monthly plan is $99, annual from $999. Targeting uses 90+ traits on a panel PickFu describes as over 15 million consumers. Formats include head-to-head, ranked, click tests, star ratings and five-second tests; video is one option type. For: a quick opinion with written reasons. Bought: on the site.

Loops

Swayable

Randomized controlled trials on tens of thousands of verified human respondents, brand lift results in 24 hours, impact metrics, emotional responses and qualitative feedback. For: measuring a campaign at scale. Bought: Basic, Pro and Enterprise plans, each behind a Contact Sales button, no public price.

System1 Test Your Ad

Measures real consumer emotion to predict short-term sales potential and long-term brand growth, through Star, Spike and Fluency ratings and an emotion method called FaceTrace, benchmarked against a database System1 describes as 120,000+ ads. TV, digital, social, outdoor, audio and print. Results from 24 hours. For: a market prediction before a media spend. Bought: six named tiers, Essential through Competitive Edge; you contact them.

Zappi

Enterprise ad development research, storyboards through TV and digital ads, described as powered by AI and grounded in real market outcomes. For: enterprise ad teams developing work through stages. Bought: by talking to them.

HoldFast

A monadic test: two versions, two fresh groups, each person sees exactly one on a plain confidential grey page, one watch with no skipping or rewatching, then a short survey. Only people who finished count. The verdict question is frozen at launch; 21 question sets by funnel stage, plus a brand lift study with a control group; video, image and audio. The report is a written document: The Bottom Line, In Their Words, By the Numbers. It says outperformed only when every version hit its committed size with balanced drop-off, otherwise directional advantage or too close to call. For: two versions of one piece before the client sees it. Bought: in the wizard, about 4 credits per person on a short recruited test, one credit being one dollar, floor 25 credits, nothing charged until you approve. Free on your own list through a share link.

Screenshot: testing-credits-1
HoldFast shows the exact price in the wizard before launch.

How to choose, by the question

• A quick opinion on a thumbnail, a title, a line, or a clip: PickFu.
• Whole campaigns, many assets, several markets a month: Loops.
• A campaign-scale lift study with a control group and a team: Swayable.
• A prediction of market effect against a very large norm base: System1.
• Enterprise ad development from storyboard to finished spot: Zappi.
• Two finished versions of one piece, before the client meeting: HoldFast.

Price transparency

PickFu publishes from $1 per response. Loops publishes per respondent and per month. HoldFast publishes about 4 credits per person, 24 people around 100 credits, 200 around 800, exact figure in the wizard. Swayable, System1 and Zappi ask you to talk to sales. That is not a judgement; enterprise research is designed in a conversation. It does decide who can find out what a test costs on a Tuesday afternoon.