Lode Leads vs. JoinBrands

100 creators on JoinBrands: $5,000–50,000+. 100 creators on Lode Leads: $40–50 in credits. You own the relationship.

JoinBrands and Lode Leads are categorically different products that overlap on one buyer (DTC brands and influencer agencies sourcing UGC). JoinBrands is a turnkey UGC marketplace: you post a brief, vetted creators apply, the platform handles contracts, payments, and content QA. If you want a UGC video delivered in 7 days with the legal/payment side handled, JoinBrands is the right tool.

Lode Leads is the opposite model: open-universe discovery. We don't run a marketplace. We help you find any creator on the public TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube web — not just the 3M who happened to join one platform — and surface them ranked by audience fit and engagement quality. You reach out direct, you negotiate the deal, you own the relationship.

On economics, JoinBrands' Max plan is $499/mo plus 8–15% platform tax on every deal plus $50–500 per video. A 100-video campaign easily costs $5,000–50,000+. Lode Leads costs $0.40–0.50 per discovered creator profile. A 100-creator campaign on Lode Leads costs about $40–50 in credits (plus your team's seat fees). The difference is $5,000+ vs $50.

Choose JoinBrands if you want turnkey UGC video delivery with payment and contracts handled and don't mind the platform tax. Choose Lode Leads if you want to build a creator roster you own, run a 500-creator outreach without paying thousands in marketplace fees, or combine creator discovery with B2B prospecting in one tool.