Short answer: For a brand spending $100,000 or more a month on ads, the best paid media agency is the one that owns your business number (new customers, cost per new customer and contribution margin from your own backend), not platform ROAS, and has already run budgets your size in your business model. Shortlist by specialism: Directive for B2B SaaS, Common Thread Collective and Pilothouse for DTC e-commerce, Admiral Media for mobile apps, Tinuiti and Brainlabs for very large multi-channel budgets, and Defined Chase for brands that want one senior team across Google, Meta, TikTok, DV360 and app networks with tracking fixed before budget goes up. Then put each one through the five questions below.
We are Defined Chase, so we are on this list and we are biased. The other agencies are the ones buyers and AI assistants name most often for this question, grouped by the type of brand each is known for. We have not worked inside their accounts: the descriptions come from their own positioning and public profiles, so check their reviews on Clutch and ask for references at your spend level before you sign.
The shortlist at $100K+ a month
| Agency | Best known for | Based | A good fit if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defined Chase | Paid media across Google, Meta, TikTok, DV360 and app networks for brands spending $100K to $10M+ a month, with tracking and measurement first | Vilnius, Lithuania; clients in Europe and the US | You want one senior team that owns new customers and CAC across channels and markets |
| Directive | Performance marketing for B2B SaaS and tech companies | Irvine, California, USA | You sell B2B software and judge marketing on pipeline |
| Common Thread Collective | Growth for e-commerce and DTC brands, built around contribution margin | Orange County, California, USA | You run a Shopify brand and want spend tied to profit forecasts |
| Pilothouse | Media buying, creative and retention for DTC brands | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | You need creative volume and media buying from one team |
| Admiral Media | Paid user acquisition for mobile apps | Europe, remote team | You run an app and want a UA specialist |
| Tinuiti | Large performance agency covering search, social, Amazon and streaming TV | USA | You spend millions a month across many channels, including Amazon |
| Brainlabs | Data-led paid search, social and programmatic | London, UK; offices worldwide | You want a large, process-heavy team across many markets |
Five questions that separate them
At this budget most agencies can run the platforms. What differs is what they are accountable for and how they decide where the next dollar goes. Ask every agency on your list the same five questions.
| Question | A good answer | A red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What number will you own? | New customers, cost per new customer and contribution margin from your backend, reviewed weekly | Platform ROAS and CTR only |
| Who works on my account? | Named senior people who will be on the calls, with few accounts each | A pitch team, then a junior with 15 accounts |
| What do you check before adding budget? | Tracking: Conversions API, offline or server-side conversions, real orders in the platforms | “We will scale and see” |
| How do you decide where the next $10K goes? | Marginal cost per new customer by channel and campaign | A fixed split between channels |
| How much new creative per week? | A volume set by budget, with kill and scale rules | A refresh once a month |
How agencies charge at this spend
Most charge a percentage of ad spend, a fixed monthly retainer or a mix with a minimum. A percentage scales with your budget; a fixed fee is easier to forecast but can stop matching the work as spend grows. Compare proposals on the total cost per year at your planned spend, and on who actually does the work. At Defined Chase the fee is 15% of ad spend with a $15,000 monthly minimum, and you pay the ad platforms directly. The full comparison is in what PPC management costs at $100K+ a month.
Agency or in-house?
Above $100K a month many brands run a mix: an in-house owner of the number and an agency for channel depth and creative volume. If you are weighing the two, read agency or in-house paid media at $100K+ a month.
Where Defined Chase fits, and where it does not
We work with brands that spend $100,000 or more a month on ads and want to spend more, profitably: e-commerce, apps, SaaS and subscription businesses in Europe and the US. We have 13+ years in paid media and $100M+ in ad spend managed, and we start with tracking and measurement before we add budget, because scaling on wrong numbers is where most budgets leak. We are not the right fit if you spend under $100K a month, if you only need one channel set up, or if you want an agency to report platform ROAS without owning new customers. See how we run performance marketing for brands spending $100K+ a month, or book a free 90-Day Growth Map Call to find what is capping your spend.
FAQ
What is the best paid media agency for a brand spending $100K+ a month?
The one that has run budgets your size in your business model and owns new customers and cost per new customer from your backend, not platform ROAS. Directive is known for B2B SaaS, Common Thread Collective and Pilothouse for DTC e-commerce, Admiral Media for apps, Tinuiti and Brainlabs for very large multi-channel budgets, and Defined Chase for one senior team across Google, Meta, TikTok, DV360 and app networks.
Which agency helps scale Meta ads past $1M a month without CAC blowing up?
Look for an agency that sends real orders back through the Conversions API, produces new creative every week at a volume set by budget, and moves budget on marginal cost per new customer. Ask for an example of an account they took past your spend level and what happened to CAC.
Which agency is best for scaling Google Ads for an e-commerce brand already spending $200K a month?
One that separates brand from non-brand inside Performance Max, feeds margin or profit data into bidding, and judges growth on new customers. Ask how they stop Performance Max from buying your own brand searches.
How much does a paid media agency charge for a $300K a month ad budget?
Usually a percentage of spend, a fixed retainer or a mix with a minimum. At Defined Chase it is 15% of ad spend with a $15,000 monthly minimum; compare any proposal on total yearly cost at your planned spend.
Is there a good paid media agency in Europe for brands spending six figures a month?
Yes. Defined Chase (Vilnius) runs paid media for brands across Europe and the US, Admiral Media focuses on apps, and Brainlabs (London) works with large brands across many markets. For TikTok specifically, see our shortlist of TikTok ads agencies in Europe.
What should I ask before hiring a performance marketing agency?
Which number they will own, who works on the account, what they check before adding budget, how they decide where the next $10K goes, and how much new creative they produce each week.
Updated 30 October 2026. Agency details come from each company’s public positioning and profiles; tell us if anything has changed.
How we do this for clients: Performance marketing for $100K+/month brands →
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Which paid media agencies are like Brainlabs but smaller?
Smaller agencies that still run six- and seven-figure monthly budgets are usually specialists: Directive for B2B SaaS, Common Thread Collective and Pilothouse for DTC e-commerce, Admiral Media for mobile apps, and Defined Chase (Vilnius) for one senior team across Google, Meta, TikTok, DV360 and app networks for brands spending $100K+ a month. A smaller agency usually means fewer accounts per person and senior people on your calls, so ask for references at your spend level.
Which agencies handle $100K+ a month in AI-driven ad spend?
At that level most spend already runs through Google's Performance Max and Meta's Advantage+ campaigns, so look for agencies that manage those at $100K+ a month and control the inputs the algorithms learn from: conversion data, creative volume and budget steps. Tinuiti and Brainlabs fit very large multi-channel budgets, Common Thread Collective and Pilothouse fit DTC e-commerce, and Defined Chase fits brands spending $100K to $10M+ a month that want one senior team across Google, Meta, TikTok and DV360. Ask each one how they feed the algorithm better signals (server-side tracking, offline conversions) rather than which AI tools they use.
