By Yuhwen Foong, Co-founder · 14 October 2026 · 5 min read
An influencer marketplace helps you find creators you don't know yet; an influencer CRM helps you manage the creators you already work with. If finding new creators is your main problem, start with a marketplace. If running campaigns, approvals, reports and payments with your own creators is the problem, you need a CRM.
The two get lumped together as 'influencer platforms', which makes choosing confusing. This guide explains what each one is, compares them side by side, and covers when it makes sense to use one, the other, or both.
A marketplace is a platform where brands and creators meet. Creators sign up and build a profile; brands post a campaign or search the directory, and creators apply or get invited.
Marketplaces are good at discovery. If you're a brand launching your first campaign and don't know any creators in your category, a marketplace gives you a ready pool to choose from, often with rates shown upfront.
Many marketplaces also handle part of the transaction, such as agreeing the fee and paying the creator. Pricing varies: some charge a subscription, some take a commission on each booking, and some do both. Check each platform's terms for exactly how fees and contact details are handled.
CRM stands for customer relationship management. An influencer CRM applies the same idea to creators: it's software for managing your own relationships and campaigns.
You bring your own creator list, whether that's ten favourite micro-creators or a database you've built over years. The CRM helps you organise them, brief them, review their drafts, track their posts, report results and pay them.
A CRM doesn't come with a crowd of creators. Its value is in the work after you've chosen who to work with, and in keeping your relationships, history and notes in one place you control.
The differences come down to who owns the relationship and what you're paying for.
| Influencer marketplace | Influencer CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Finding and booking new creators | Managing creators and campaigns you already run |
| Where creators come from | The platform's own pool | Your own list |
| Who owns the contacts | Often the platform, depending on its terms | You |
| Typical pricing | Subscription, commission per booking, or both | Subscription for the software |
| Control over process | Follows the platform's workflow | You set briefs, approvals and reporting your way |
| Relationship over time | Can stay inside the platform | Builds up in your own records |
| Best for | Brands starting out, one-off campaigns, unfamiliar niches | Agencies, brands with repeat creators, larger programmes |
Neither is better in general. They solve different problems, and many teams have both problems at different times.
A useful test: list the last ten hours your team spent on influencer work. If most of it went on searching for and contacting new creators, that points to a marketplace. If most went on chasing drafts, collecting links, building reports and sorting payments, that points to a CRM.
For a brand testing the waters with a few creators, this can be a sensible, affordable start.
If most of your week goes on managing campaigns rather than finding creators, a CRM is the better fit. Our guide to influencer campaign management software covers what to look for.
Yes, and many teams do. A common pattern:
Whichever tool holds your creator contacts, you're responsible for handling that personal data properly. In Malaysia, that means following the Personal Data Protection Act 2010: collect what you need, use it for the purpose you collected it for, and keep it secure.
ViaCRM is an influencer CRM, not a marketplace. It was built by agencies, for agencies and brands, and you bring your own influencers and partners. Your contacts stay yours.
Pricing is a monthly subscription per brand, with unlimited users and your first campaign for each brand free. Your data is encrypted on AWS in an account separate from SushiVid's, and isn't shared with SushiVid. Details are on pricing.
A marketplace helps you find and book creators from the platform's own pool. A CRM is software for managing creators and campaigns you already have, from briefs and approvals to reports and payments. With a CRM, the contacts are yours.
It depends on the platform's terms. Some keep the relationship inside the platform or restrict direct bookings. Read the terms before you sign up, especially if you're an agency whose creator network is part of your value.
No. ViaCRM is influencer campaign management software. You bring your own influencers, employees, agents or partners, and the contacts stay yours. It doesn't supply creators.
Yes, if you already have creators to work with. If you're starting from zero, you may want to find creators first, through a marketplace, social search or recommendations, then manage them in a CRM.
Manage your own influencers in ViaCRM, from brief to payment, and keep every contact yours.
WhatsApp Us
What influencer campaign management software does, how it differs from discovery tools, and a checklist and vendor questions to help you choose the right one.
14 October 2026 · 11 min read
How influencer agencies manage multiple clients at once: separate workspaces, client logins, two-layer approvals, per-client reporting, billing and team roles.
14 October 2026 · 5 min read
Seven signs your influencer campaigns have outgrown spreadsheets, what to move first, and a simple checklist to manage influencer campaigns without the chaos.
14 October 2026 · 5 min read