10 Best AI Ad Generators in 2026, Free Plans Compared

Pick the generator by the ad you need

Free and on brand: Canva gives 20 AI uses a month on its free plan, and Google Pomelli is free while it is an experiment.
Already running Meta ads: use the generative tools in Ads Manager before you pay for anything.
Video with AI actors: Creatify has a free plan with a watermark; Arcads has a 3-day trial.
Text, image and video ads plus launch to seven ad channels: Pencil.
Finished static ads rebuilt from ads that win right now, new every day: Selzee.

Not sure? Answer 3 questions and get a pick

AI ad generators compared

Prices checked 13 Oct 2026, Canva 15 Sep 2026

The table puts 10 AI ad generators side by side on price, free access and what each one makes. Selzee is our own product, so it sits first and highlighted. One column goes against it: Selzee makes static image ads only, no video. We cover how to judge what these tools make in ad creative testing.

Tool	Price	Free plan or trial	Makes	Best for
Selzee	From $19/week or $75/month, credit-based	Start free, no card	Static image ads, recreated from ads winning now	Finished static ads for one or many brands
Canva	$144/year Pro, $250/year per person Business	Free plan with up to 20 AI uses a month	Designs, images and video; ads through Canva Grow	Laying out ads yourself with AI help
AdCreative.ai	From $39/mo	7-day free trial, 10 credits	Ads, banners, videos and UGC videos	Many banner sizes from one brand kit
Creatify	From $15/mo	Free plan, 10 credits a month, watermarked	Video ads with AI actors, image ads	Product video ads on a small budget
Pencil	From $14/mo	6 free ads through a guided signup	Text, image and video ads	Teams that also launch from the tool
Predis.ai	From $24/mo billed yearly	3 days free, card required	Ads, videos and social posts	Posts and ads with scheduling in one tool
Arcads	No public price	3-day free trial, card required	Video ads with AI actors	UGC-style video ads
Zeely	From $29.95 the first month	None stated on its pricing page	Video ads, static ads, ad campaigns	Running Meta ads from one app
Google Pomelli	Free while it is an experiment	Free, several hundred generations	On-brand images and video	Free on-brand assets from your website
Meta Advantage+ creative	No separate price listed	Inside Ads Manager	Variations of the ads you upload	Advertisers already running Meta ads

Prices read on each vendor's own pricing or help page on 13 Oct 2026, except Canva: canva.com showed our browser euro prices that day, so its US prices are the ones read on 15 Sep 2026. Arcads publishes no price outside its app. Verified 2026-09-15.

Which AI ad generators are free?

Four of the ten cost nothing to use, with limits. The same answer holds if you searched for the best AI ad generator free of charge.

Free with limits

Canva's free plan includes "Ad insights and AI ad creation" and up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses a month. Pomelli's help page says you can use it at no charge, for several hundred image and video generations, in supported countries. Creatify gives 10 credits a month on its free plan, enough for up to 2 video ads or 20 image ads, and every export carries a watermark. Meta's Advantage+ creative page lists no separate price for its generative tools; you use them in Ads Manager while you set up an ad.

Free to try, then paid

Selzee starts free with no card. Pencil lets you make 6 ads through a guided signup. AdCreative.ai runs a 7-day trial with 10 credits. Predis.ai and Arcads each run a 3-day trial that needs a card, and Arcads charges for its Starter plan when the 72 hours end unless you cancel.

Free plans and trials compared

Checked 13 Oct 2026

Free means four different things across these tools: a free plan, a free allowance inside a paid product, a trial that ends on its own, and a trial that turns into a charge. The last column is the one to read before you sign up.

Tool	Free allowance	Watermark or limits	Card needed	What happens at the end
Selzee	Start free	Static image ads only	No	You choose a paid plan or stop
Canva	Up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses a month	1 Brand Kit with 3 colours	Not stated	AI use in a trial is the same as on the free plan, per Canva
Creatify	10 credits a month	Watermark on every export	Not stated	Free credits do not carry over to a paid plan
Pencil	6 free ads	Guided signup only	Not stated	Full access needs a paid plan
AdCreative.ai	10 credits over 7 days	Trial only	Not stated on the homepage	It reminds you before the trial ends, per its homepage
Predis.ai	3 days	Trial only	Yes	The card is charged when day 3 ends
Arcads	1,000 credits over 72 hours	Trial only	Yes, held, not charged	The Starter plan is charged unless you cancel
Google Pomelli	Several hundred generations	Supported countries only	No, a Google account	Google says the help page will show future caps

Read on each vendor's own page on 13 Oct 2026, Canva's plan list included. Zeely and Meta are left out: Zeely states no free plan or trial on its pricing page, and Meta lists no separate price for its tools.

Static, video or both: four kinds

AI ad generators split by what they make. Decide the format first, and half the list drops away. The fourth kind only changes ads you already have.

Static ad generators

Image ads for feeds and stories. Selzee, AdCreative.ai and Canva sit here. Selzee rebuilds ads that already win; see how Selzee generates ads.

Video and AI actor generators

Spoken video ads with an AI presenter. Creatify and Arcads sit here.

All-in-one generators

Text, image and video in one place. Pencil, Predis.ai and Zeely sit here, and Zeely can also run the campaign.

Variation tools

New versions of an ad you already made. Meta Advantage+ creative sits here.

Which AI ad generator fits you?

What ads do you need?

Video ads on no budget or under 100 dollars a month

Creatify

Video ads with AI actors, with a free plan to judge the output on.

free plan, then from $15/mo
Video ads on 100 dollars a month or more

Arcads

UGC-style video ads with AI actors.

3-day free trial, then priced in the app
Static ads, no budget, already on Meta

Meta Advantage+ creative

Variations of the ads you already run, inside Ads Manager.

no separate price listed
No budget yet, for both formats, or for static ads when you do not run Meta ads

Canva

A free plan with 20 AI uses a month and AI ad creation through Canva Grow.

free plan, Pro $144/year
Static and video, under 100 dollars a month

Pencil

Text, image and video ads, with launch to seven ad channels.

from $14/mo
Static and video, 100 dollars a month or more

AdCreative.ai

Ads, banners and videos from one brand kit, in many sizes.

from $39/mo
Static ads on a budget, as the free runner-up

Google Pomelli

Free on-brand images and video from your website.

free while it is an experiment
First for static ads on a budget. Second on every other answer, for static ads only.

Selzee

Finished static ads, recreated from ads winning in your market right now, new every day.

Start free, no card. Then from $19/week or $75/month, credit-based

See all 10 generators

The 10 AI ad generators, one by one

Each card gives what the tool makes, its catch, its price as read on its own page, who should pick it and our verdict. Selzee comes first because it is ours; the verdicts say where a rival is the better pick.

Selzee

Selzee is an AI ad generator that finds the ads printing money for other brands right now and recreates them for yours. It learns your logo, colours, fonts and products from your website, reads your competitors' ads, and hands back finished static ads you can edit by asking.

The catch: Static image ads only: no video, no UGC and no AI actors. It posts approved ads to Instagram and Facebook but does not run paid campaigns.

Pricing: Start free, no card. Then from $19/week or $75/month, credit-based. See pricing.

Best for: Brands and agencies that need more finished static ads than their team can design.

Not for: Teams that need video, UGC or AI presenters, or want one tool to run their campaigns.

Verdict: Our pick for static ads. Pick a tool below for video.

Canva (Canva AI and Canva Grow)

A design editor with AI tools. Canva Grow turns a website link and a prompt into ads you edit in Canva and publish to Meta, TikTok or LinkedIn.

The catch: You still lay out and judge every ad yourself, and the AI uses come from a monthly allowance shared by every AI tool.

Pricing: Free plan, then $144/year for Pro and $250/year per person for Business

Best for: People who want to design ads themselves, faster.

Not for: Teams that want finished ads without opening an editor, or more AI uses than the free allowance gives.

Verdict: The best free start. Our full Canva Magic Studio review covers each feature.

AdCreative.ai

Generates ads, banners, videos and UGC videos from your brand kit, and scores creatives with its Creative Insight AI.

The catch: The Starter plan has 20 credits a month and 1 brand, so more volume needs a higher plan.

Pricing: $39/mo Starter, $249/mo Professional, $999/mo Ultimate

Best for: Many banner sizes from one set of brand assets.

Not for: A store that runs a handful of ads a month: the Starter plan covers 1 brand and 20 credits.

Verdict: Strong when you need many display sizes. We compare its rivals in AdCreative.ai alternatives.

Creatify

Video ads with AI actors, plus image ads, ad templates and an Ad Clone feature that remakes an ad from a URL.

The catch: Free exports carry a watermark, and each regeneration of a video spends credits.

Pricing: Free plan with 10 credits a month and watermarked exports, then $15/mo Standard, $55/mo Pro, $95/mo Max and $195/mo Business month to month ($12, $44, $76 and $156 a month billed yearly)

Best for: Product video ads on a small budget.

Not for: Brands whose best ads are static images, or teams that rely on fast support: Trustpilot's summary calls its customer service mixed.

Verdict: Our video pick under 100 dollars. Read the Creatify review for what users say.

Pencil

AI agents that write text and make image and video ads, then launch and track them on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360 and LinkedIn.

The catch: Generations do not roll over, and Core has 1 workspace.

Pricing: 6 free ads through a guided signup, then $14/mo Core and $55/mo Growth month to month ($11 and $44 a month billed yearly), Pro on custom pricing

Best for: Teams that want to make and launch ads in one tool.

Not for: A small store that will not build a brand library of images and videos first.

Verdict: The widest channel list here. See our Pencil AI review.

Predis.ai

Makes ads, videos and social posts, and can publish to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Business Profile and X.

The catch: The trial is 3 days and needs a card up front.

Pricing: $24/mo Core, $55/mo Rise, $212/mo Enterprise+ billed yearly ($32, $79 and $249 month to month), 3 days free but it takes a card up front

Best for: Social posts and ads with scheduling in one tool.

Not for: Advertisers who only want ads and no posting schedule.

Verdict: Pick it for posting volume. Its rivals are in Predis.ai alternatives.

Arcads

Arcads says it gives you everything to create, refine and launch video ads with AI, with AI actors in a UGC style.

The catch: No public price: the trial needs a card and charges for the Starter plan after 72 hours unless you cancel.

Pricing: No public rate card; a 3-day free trial with 1,000 credits, card required, then the Starter plan is charged

Best for: UGC-style video ads without hiring creators.

Not for: Anyone who wants to see a price before entering a card.

Verdict: Our video pick when budget is not the limit.

Zeely

Makes video and static ads and can run your Facebook and Instagram campaigns from its app.

The catch: Its pricing page says Zeely may charge up to 12% when you run ads through it, and the first-month price renews higher.

Pricing: First cycle $29.95 Starter, $49.95 Plus or $79.95 Growth, renewing at $49.95, $89.95 and $149.95, plus up to 12% of ad spend when you run campaigns through it

Best for: Small sellers who want one app to make and run Meta ads.

Not for: Sellers who would rather keep control of their campaigns and not pay a fee on ad spend.

Verdict: Check month two before you buy. Our Zeely review does the math.

Google Pomelli

A Google Labs experiment that reads your website and generates on-brand images and video you can download for any social platform.

The catch: Google warns that AI can change fine product details such as colours, logos or textures, and Pomelli works only in supported countries.

Pricing: Free while it is an experiment, several hundred image and video generations at no charge

Best for: Free on-brand assets from your own site.

Not for: Brands outside its supported countries, or products where an exact colour or logo is a must.

Verdict: The best free option outside Canva. See Pomelli alternatives for what it lacks.

Meta Advantage+ creative

Meta lists text generation, image generation, image expansion, background generation for catalog ads, video expansion and image animation, in Ads Manager.

The catch: It varies an ad you already made; it does not decide what the ad should say.

Pricing: No separate price listed; the generative tools sit inside Ads Manager

Best for: Advertisers already running Meta ads.

Not for: New brands with no Meta ads running yet.

Verdict: Turn it on before you pay for a tool, then judge what it adds.

What each AI ad generator needs from you

The input decides the output. A tool that reads your store starts from your products; a tool that waits for a prompt starts from whatever you type. This table lists what each one asks for and returns, in the vendors' own words.

Tool	What you give it	What you get back	Where it can publish
Selzee	Your website URL; it reads your products, logo, colours, fonts and reviews	Finished static image ads, new every day	Instagram and Facebook, once you approve
Canva Grow	A website URL, a business description, product photos or your own assets	Three ad concepts, then image ads or video avatar ads you edit with Magic Layers	Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn, through Launch
AdCreative.ai	Your logo, colours, fonts and style, imported from your brand	Ads, banners, videos and UGC videos for each format and platform	Ad platform integrations, per its plan list
Creatify	A product page link, or a script you write	Video ads with AI avatars, static ads and product shots	Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snap and Amazon, per Creatify
Pencil	A brand kit plus 3 to 5 product images and 3 to 5 videos	Text, image and video ads, resized to 1:1, 9:16, 4:5, 16:9 or 1.91:1	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Display, DV360, LinkedIn
Predis.ai	Your brand and products	Ads, videos and posts; up to 3 posts a day per brand on Enterprise+	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, X
Arcads	An AI actor from a library of 1,000+, or your own AI avatar	Video ads, plus tools to translate, extend, subtitle and remix them	Not stated on its homepage
Zeely	Your online store and the products you pick	Video ads, batch static ads, talking reels	Facebook and Instagram campaigns it runs for you
Google Pomelli	Your website	On-brand images and video	Download, then post anywhere
Meta Advantage+ creative	An ad you already set up in Ads Manager	Text variations, expanded and generated images, animated images	Meta only

Cost per ad: the pricing math

Checked 13 Oct 2026

The sticker price says little until you divide it by what the plan makes. This is the price on each pricing page divided by the monthly allowance on the same page. A credit is not an ad: Creatify says the cost of each video depends on the model you pick, and AdCreative.ai does not state what one credit buys.

Tool	Plan and price	What it includes a month	Cost per unit
Selzee	Pro, $75/month	50 posts ready for approval, 1 brand	$1.50 per post
Pencil	Core, $14/mo	50 generations	$0.28 per generation
Pencil	Growth, $55/mo	250 generations	$0.22 per generation
Predis.ai	Core, $24/mo billed yearly	1,300 credits, about 325 images or 33 videos	$0.07 per image, $0.73 per video
Predis.ai	Rise, $55/mo billed yearly	3,200 credits, about 800 images or 80 videos	$0.07 per image, $0.69 per video
Creatify	Standard, $15/mo	55 credits	$0.27 per credit
Creatify	Pro, $55/mo	280 credits	$0.20 per credit
AdCreative.ai	Starter, $39/mo	20 credits, 1 brand	$1.95 per credit
AdCreative.ai	Professional, $249/mo	300 credits	$0.83 per credit

Prices and allowances read on each pricing page on 13 Oct 2026. Selzee lists posts per brand on its Pro plan card; the other tools list generations or credits.

Cost per usable ad

Divide again by how many of those outputs you would actually run. Our rule of thumb: if 1 in 4 generations is good enough to ship, the real cost per usable ad is 4 times the figure in the table. Count your own rate in the 30-minute test below before you trust any per-unit price, including ours.

Two numbers decide the real cost: the price per unit and the share you would run. A tool that costs a twentieth as much per image but gives 1 usable ad in 20 ends up costing the same per usable ad as one where every output ships. Edit time counts too: an ad that needs 20 minutes in an editor costs your time on top of the credits.

How to test an AI ad generator in 30 minutes

You can judge an AI ad generator in 30 minutes, on its free plan or trial, before you pay. Use the same product and the same brief in every tool so the results compare.

Pick one product and one ad you already run

Choose a product with real reviews and an ad whose results you know. That ad is your baseline.
Give each tool the same input

Paste the same URL or brief. Note how much setup each tool needs before the first ad.
Make 5 ads per tool

Five is enough to see the range. On a tight free plan, such as Creatify's 2 free videos, make as many as it allows.
Score each ad on 3 questions

Is the product shown right? Would a buyer stop on it? Could you run it today without edits?
Count the ads you would run

That count, divided by 5, is your usable rate. Use it with the cost table above.
Run the best 2 against your baseline

Test them against the ad you already run, as ad creative testing describes.

Six things to check before you choose

Price is the last thing to compare. These six decide whether the ads come out usable at all.

What it reads first

A tool that reads your store starts from your real products and reviews. A prompt-first tool starts from what you type.

The format you run

Static and video tools rarely overlap well. Check the format your best current ad uses, then pick for that.

How you edit

Canva gives a full editor, Selzee edits by asking, Creatify has a node-based editor. Pick the one your team will use.

Where it publishes

Pencil lists seven channels, Canva Grow three, Selzee Instagram and Facebook. Exporting by hand costs a few minutes per ad.

How it counts usage

Credits, generations, AI uses and posts are not the same unit. Compare tools by the cost table above, not by plan price.

Who owns the output

Creatify says you own your creatives even after your plan ends; Pencil lists full IP ownership and a no-train policy. Read the terms of any tool you shortlist.

Which AI ad generator fits your business

The right tool depends on what you sell and who makes the ads. Seven common cases, and the tools that fit each.

DTC skincare

Reviews sell skincare. Selzee uses quotes from your reviews as proof inside the ad and as the tone of its copy, per how Selzee generates ads. For a presenter talking about the routine, add Creatify.

Apparel with many products

Many products need many sizes. AdCreative.ai makes banners in every format, and Pencil Pro generates in bulk from product feeds. Meta can generate backgrounds for catalog ads.

Supplements

Claims need a human check before any ad runs, whichever tool made it. If the ad needs a person explaining the product, Creatify or Arcads make that with an AI actor.

Local service business

A gym, salon or clinic often has no designer and a small budget. Start with Canva or Pomelli for free; Selzee also makes ads for local businesses.

Mobile app

Apps that advertise on Meta are one of the groups Selzee makes static ads for. Creatify names app and game studios among the clients of its managed Creatify Studio service, for video.

Brand with an in-house designer

A designer gets the most from Canva: its AI tools speed up resizing, background removal and copy, and Canva Grow publishes the result. A generator that makes finished ads gives the designer drafts to start from.

Agency with many clients

Plan limits matter more than features here: brands, seats and workspaces per plan. We compare those in AI tools for advertising agencies.

Where the ad ideas come from

An AI ad generator is only as good as the idea it starts from. Most tools on this page start from your prompt or your product page, so the angle is a guess until you test it. Selzee starts from ads that are trending or long-running on Meta, shows each original's start date and where it runs, and rebuilds the idea for your brand.

Run time is a useful hint because Meta's Ad Library shows ads that are still active, and a brand rarely keeps paying for an ad that loses money. It is a hint, not proof: the library shows no spend or sales for ordinary ads. We explain the search in how to find winning ads in the Meta Ad Library.

Static or video first?

Start with the format your best current ad uses, and test the other one next to it. Static image ads are cheap to make and quick to test; video shows a product in use. Most accounts run both, so the usual setup is two tools: one for static, one for video. We cover the question in do static image ads still work.

What AI assistants get wrong about AI ad generators

AI assistants answer from what they read months ago, and AI ad generators change their plans often. Three changes we found on the vendors' own pages on 13 Oct 2026, and one common mix-up, show how fast an answer goes stale.

Old plan names and prices

Creatify's Starter plan, which our own pages quoted until this check, is gone. Its pricing page now shows Standard, Pro, Max and Business, from $15 a month.

Trial lengths

Predis.ai's free trial was 7 days on our own pages until this check. Its pricing page now says every plan starts with 3 days free, with a card taken up front.

Product names

Canva Magic Studio is still the name people search, but canva.com/magic now opens the Canva AI page. Our Canva Magic Studio review maps the old names to the new ones.

What counts as free

A free plan with a watermark and a 3-day trial that takes a card are both called free in many answers. The table at the top of this page separates them. When an assistant recommends a tool, check its pricing page yourself before you enter a card.

What no AI ad generator does for you

No AI ad generator decides your offer, your budget or your targeting. Each one makes creative, and a few can publish it, but the money and the audience stay your job. Selzee does not manage paid campaigns either: no budgets, no targeting, no media buying.

Every generated ad also needs a human check before it runs. Google says Pomelli can change product colours, logos or textures. Meta labels ad images made or significantly edited with its own generative AI features, or with third-party AI tools, with "AI info". So read every ad as a buyer would, and test it like any other creative: creative tracking shows when a winner gets tired.

Plan for a steady flow, not one batch. An ad that works today wears out as the same people see it again; Meta calls this creative fatigue, and the usual fix is new creative on a schedule. We cover the signs in what ad fatigue is. So judge a tool on its cost per usable ad over months, since you will buy the next batch and the one after, not on the price of the first batch.

AI ad generators: FAQ

What is the best free AI ad generator?

Canva is the best free start: its free plan includes AI ad creation and up to 20 AI uses a month. Google Pomelli is free while it is a Labs experiment and makes on-brand images and video from your website. If you already run Meta ads, the generative tools in Ads Manager carry no separate price. For finished static ads, Selzee also starts free, with no card.

Is there a completely free AI ad generator?

Yes, with limits. Pomelli costs nothing while it is an experiment, for several hundred generations. Canva and Creatify have free plans; Creatify's free exports carry a watermark. To see finished static ads on your brand, start free with your store URL.

Which AI ad generator is best for Facebook ads?

For static Facebook ads, Selzee: it rebuilds ads that already win on Meta for your brand and posts the ones you approve to Facebook and Instagram. For video, Creatify or Arcads. Zeely and Pencil can also launch the campaign. We cover more options in Facebook ad maker AI. Paste your store URL and see your first ads.

Can an AI ad generator make video ads?

Yes. Creatify and Arcads make video ads with AI actors, and Pencil, Predis.ai, Zeely, AdCreative.ai and Pomelli make video too. Selzee does not: it makes static image ads only. For static ads, start free with Selzee.

Are AI-generated ads allowed on Meta?

Yes. Meta's help page says it labels ad images created or significantly edited with its own generative AI features, or with third-party AI tools, with "AI info". The label shows in the "About this ad" screen and sometimes next to "Sponsored". To make the ads first, try Selzee free with your store URL.

What is the best AI ad generator for small businesses?

For a small business with no designer, start free with Canva or Google Pomelli to see what AI makes from your site. When you need more finished ads than you can design, Selzee makes static ads for ecommerce brands, apps and local businesses such as gyms, salons and clinics. Run the 30-minute test on two of them before you pay. If you sell online or locally, see your first ads free.

How much does an AI ad generator cost per ad?

On the pricing pages we read on 13 Oct 2026, from about $0.07 per image on Predis.ai Core to $0.28 per generation on Pencil Core and $1.50 per post on Selzee Pro. Divide by the share of outputs you would actually run to get the real cost per usable ad. To count your own usable rate, start free with Selzee.

Do I own the ads an AI ad generator makes?

It depends on each tool's terms. Creatify says you own all of your creatives, even after your plan ends, and Pencil lists full IP ownership of everything you create. Read the terms of any tool before you run its ads at scale. Before you sign up anywhere, see Selzee ads on your brand free.

Can an AI ad generator write the ad copy too?

Yes. Selzee writes the headline and body of each ad it makes. Canva Grow's Launch drafts primary text, headline and description, Pencil writes text with its agents, and Meta generates text variations in Ads Manager. For copy alone, see the ad copy generator. To see headline and body written for you, paste your store URL.

Which AI ad generator makes UGC ads?

Arcads has a UGC Studio and a library of 1,000+ AI actors, and Creatify lets you pick an authentic UGC or a polished cinematic style. AdCreative.ai lists UGC videos, and Zeely lists talking reels. Selzee makes no UGC: it makes static image ads only. For static ads instead of UGC, start free with Selzee.

What is the difference between an AI ad generator and Canva?

Canva is a design editor with AI tools: you lay out the ad and the AI speeds up each step. An AI ad generator makes the ad for you from a URL, a prompt or a proven ad, and you review the result. Canva Grow sits in between: it generates ad concepts, then you finish them in the Canva editor. To review finished ads instead of designing them, try Selzee free.

How much does Selzee cost?

Start free, no card. Paid plans from $19/week or $75/month for one brand, $50/week or $200/month for three, and Agencies $500/month for ten; Enterprise is custom. Credit-based, cancel anytime. If you find no new winner or don't like the full batch, you get a full refund. Start free with your store URL, no card needed.

Keep exploring

AI ad generator

How Selzee turns a store URL into finished ads.

Creatify review

What users say, what it costs, and 5 alternatives.

Canva Magic Studio review

Its AI features by plan, and Canva Grow for ads.

AI tools for agencies

Five tools for client work, by workflow stage.