Best marketing agencies for developer tools in 2026

developer-tool creator marketing agencies compared

Ordered by rubric score. Kiko is listed first and not scored.

Choosing an agency

Nine agencies show public creator work for developer tools. On our 100-point evidence rubric they score: DevTools Academy (90), Hackmamba (84), Infrasity (80), GrowthMatrix (75), Freeman & Forrest (50), Plug.dev (50), Clickstrike (48), Influencer Advisory (43) and ThoughtLeaders (37). The top three are developer marketing specialists with dated 2025–2026 cases. Freeman & Forrest names the most well-known developer clients (MongoDB, Postman) but publishes few figures. Use the scores to compare published experience, then choose by your campaign needs.

Kiko

Kiko is a creator marketing agency for developer tools: we run technical creator launches, paid amplification of the posts developers save, and time-to-first-value work on the product side, for seed to Series B teams. We don't score ourselves.

Agency profiles

DevTools Academy

90/100. Best for developer platforms, SDKs and AI infrastructure that can commit to at least a quarter of creator-led distribution. devtoolsacademy.com

DevTools Academy is a developer marketing agency founded by Ankur Tyagi (homepage).

• Published work: Five dated cases: Stream (SDKs and APIs, 6,600+ sign-ups in FY2025, dated 2025-12-31), Cline (80+ developer creators, 4.17M+ reach), Nebius (1,800 signups in the headline, "nearly 2,000" in the card), Oumi and Orchids (case studies)
• Services: Creator sourcing, vetting, briefing and management across YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and newsletters, plus Reddit, Hacker News and hackathons. No paid media buying described (homepage)
• Pricing and process: Monthly retainer, zero margin on creator payments, most clients budget about $100K a month all-in, quarter minimum, shortlist in 4–5 working days, first content in weeks 1–2. The homepage gives two FY-25 signup totals (20,000+ and 30,000+) (homepage)

Consider another option if: you want one-off sponsorships (it says it doesn't do them) or your budget is far below $100K a month.

Hackmamba

84/100. Best for teams that want creator work run inside a full developer marketing program (content, docs, DevRel, paid). hackmamba.io

Hackmamba is a US developer marketing agency founded in 2021 by William Imoh (homepage).

• Published work: Says it has paid $250K+ in champion fees for disclosed technical work. Actian VectorAI DB: 200K+ champion-led impressions within a launch that reached 300,000+ developers. Logos include CodeRabbit, Mintlify, Auth0, Replit and Databricks, with no described work (service page)
• Services: Creator programs on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, newsletters, TikTok, Twitch and podcasts, reported on clicks, sign-ups and activation. Content, docs, DevRel and paid media are separate services (service page, homepage)
• Pricing and process: Proposals separate creator fees from the management fee; fees and usage rights agreed first. Starting points: $5,000 for a focused engagement, $10,000 a month for marketing leadership, $15,000 a month for a connected program (service page, homepage)

Consider another option if: creators are your main channel. In the Actian case, search and paid were the largest developer acquisition channel and technical content the second.

Infrasity

80/100. Best for a small first test with technical creators before a larger budget. infrasity.com

Infrasity sells developer marketing, technical content and a B2B influencer service for pre-seed to Series B DevTool and AI infra teams (influencer service).

• Published work: Rocket (AI app builder): 90 placements, including 28 YouTube placements from 23 named creators totalling 457,830 views. Testimonials from Firefly.ai, Terrateam, DevZero, Cycloid and Amnic don't say which were creator work (Rocket, influencer service)
• Services: Discovery, vetting, rate negotiation, client approval, publishing and weekly reporting on YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Discord. No paid amplification described (influencer service)
• Pricing and process: Suited to $3K–$15K tests; an illustrative $4,200 budget for 4 creators on 2 channels; client approves roster and budget before briefing (influencer service)

Consider another option if: you need paid amplification. The Rocket case's 1.5M headline reach is the midpoint of a modelled 1.16M–1.90M range, and it labels X and Instagram reach "verified" while its text says most of it is modelled.

GrowthMatrix

75/100. Best for API, model and open-source launches that need developer creators posting demos within hours of launch. growthmatrix.agency

GrowthMatrix is a creator agency for AI and tech brands with a developer-tools launch service on X and LinkedIn (developer page).

• Published work: Cartesia (voice API): founder launch post at 7.1M views; Sonic-3.6 launch 1.9M. webAI's first open-source release: 97.5K views. Figures are post views, not sign-ups (developer page)
• Services: Creator demos on builders' own projects, founder amplification, open-source and API launch pushes, LinkedIn for engineering leaders. No paid media buying (developer page)
• Pricing and process: Six-step launch process, client approval of every post, an impressions floor on X topped up at no cost if missed, same-day quote. No prices (developer page)

Consider another option if: you want always-on YouTube programs or sign-up reporting.

Freeman & Forrest

50/100. Best for established developer brands that want technical creators placed where engineers gather, on outcome-based terms. freemanandforrest.com

Freeman & Forrest sells "influencers as a service" for technical audiences. Co-founder Emily Freeman led developer relations and product marketing at AWS and Microsoft; co-founder Forrest Brazeal was Google Cloud's Head of Developer Media (homepage).

• Published work: Named developer clients in testimonials: MongoDB, Postman, Sonar, Typesense and Augment Code. Archera reports 10x the qualified leads of equal Google and LinkedIn spend. Case studies for Sonar, Postman and Typesense are listed by title (homepage)
• Services: Goal setting, messaging, creator vetting for technical credibility, placement in public and private groups, and UTM reporting, paid through one invoice (homepage)
• Pricing and process: An outcomes-based guarantee: monthly objectives, and the client doesn't pay until missed objectives are caught up. No prices (homepage)

Consider another option if: you want published sign-up figures before you sign.

Plug.dev

50/100. Best for teams that want creator software plus an embedded program team from a lower monthly starting price. plug.dev

Plug.dev combines a creator platform, a network of developer creators and managed program managers (homepage).

• Published work: Its page metadata says it is trusted by Vercel, Supabase, Databricks and OpenRouter; testimonials from people at GitHub, Dub, Neon and Descope. No case results (homepage)
• Services: YouTube partner programs, video production, distribution on Reddit and daily.dev, creator-led AEO content and quarterly reporting (homepage)
• Pricing and process: "From $5,000/month" for its creator-led growth program, with inclusions listed. No term or process (homepage)

Consider another option if: you want published results first.

Clickstrike

48/100. Best for developer launches that want a coordinated push from X creators plus a launch video. clickstrike.com

Clickstrike is a NYC-built tech marketing agency that works only with AI, SaaS and deep-tech companies (tech page).

• Published work: Nutrient (developer tools, AI models and CLI): X creator campaigns for three launches, 900K+ views, 100K+ on each top post (case studies)
• Services: Technical creator content on YouTube, X, LinkedIn and TikTok, X amplification, launch video production, UGC and PR (tech page)
• Pricing and process: Influencer campaigns live in 3–5 weeks; reach guaranteed on larger X campaigns; no prices (tech page)

Consider another option if: you need sign-up or activation results.

Influencer Advisory

43/100. Best for developer tools with $10M+ in revenue and a free tier that want coding creators rebooked on sign-up results. influenceradvisory.com

Influencer Advisory lists offices in Toronto, Dubai and San Francisco and has a developer-tools page (developer page).

• Published work: Its developer example is Willow Voice, a voice AI app rather than a developer tool: 10 creators, 1,000 sign-ups in 14 days, 17% click-to-sign-up. No developer-tool client is named (developer page)
• Services: Finds coding creators by stack, has them build on camera unscripted, tracks sign-ups per creator, rebooks the best; whitelisting and partnership ads offered (developer page)
• Pricing and process: A three-step process and explicit fit rules ($10M+ a year, free tier or trial, ready to sponsor creators). No prices. The page's title tag mentions commission-only TikTok Shop work that the body doesn't describe (developer page)

Consider another option if: you are under $10M in revenue; it says it refers those teams elsewhere.

ThoughtLeaders

37/100. Best for developer-education or prosumer products that treat YouTube sponsorships as a performance channel. thoughtleaders.io

ThoughtLeaders is a YouTube sponsorship agency and campaign platform with 10,000+ creators and data on 1.3M channels (homepage).

• Published work: Boot.dev (backend learning platform): sponsorships tuned from lookalike channels; the founder cites a ROAS of "2 and some change". The research centred on PC gaming content, and the winning creator was a RuneScape channel, not a coding channel (Boot.dev)
• Services: Matching, proposals, briefs, contracts, revisions and dashboards for views, CPV and conversions. YouTube only; no paid amplification (homepage)
• Pricing and process: Proposals in under 72 hours (a 3-day average); a sponsorship calculator; no fees published (homepage)

Consider another option if: you sell to professional engineers and want coding-channel creators.

Other agencies to consider

These companies are left off because we found no public creator work for developer tools on their own sites, or because they are not a creator service, not because of their quality.

Which developer creators should you shortlist first?

Start with creators whose audience matches your buyer and whose format can demonstrate the product.

Full lists: developer tool creators and AI coding tool creators.

Questions to ask any agency before you sign

Use these with every agency on this page, Kiko included.

1. Which developer tools have you run creator programs for in the last 12 months? Can we see a dated case with the creator count and a sign-up or activation result?
2. How do you check that a creator writes code in our stack and will build something real with the product?
3. Do creators keep editorial control? What happens if a creator finds a bug or dislikes the product?
4. Are you paid a fee on top of creator fees, a markup on them, or both? Can we pay creators directly?
5. Which channels do you use for developers (YouTube, X, newsletters, LinkedIn, Reddit, Hacker News), and how do you follow each community's rules on promotion?
6. Do you measure sign-ups, or activation (first API call, first deploy)? See our guide to time to first value for developer tools.
7. How is every paid post disclosed? FTC guidance says influencers must disclose a material connection clearly, and in video, on screen and in audio (FTC).
8. What are the minimum budget and minimum term? Is any result guaranteed?
9. Do you work with a direct competitor of ours right now?

What else should you read?

• Creator marketing for developer tools: /creator-marketing/developer-tools/
• Developer-tool creators: /creators/developer-tools/ and AI coding tool creators
• Launch playbook: launching an AI coding tool with creators
• Sponsor data: AI and developer creator sponsorship tracker and creator rates for AI and developer tools
• The same rubric for AI startups, AI agents and fintech apps
• Agency, platform or in-house? Compare provider types

How we scored

Agencies are scored out of 100, with 25 points each for relevant client work, service scope, published process and pricing, and recency. The linked sources show the work behind each score. Kiko is the publisher and is not scored.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best creator marketing agencies for developer tools?

DevTools Academy, Hackmamba and Infrasity publish the most dated developer-tool creator work, and GrowthMatrix shows recent API launch days on X. Freeman & Forrest names well-known developer clients but few figures. Kiko is featured on this list, not scored.

How much does a developer-tool creator agency cost?

Infrasity says its service suits $3K–$15K tests, Plug.dev starts from $5,000 a month, Hackmamba lists $5,000 to $15,000 a month starting points, and DevTools Academy says most clients spend about $100K a month all-in. Ask whether creator fees sit inside or outside each number. Kiko starts with a 90-day growth sprint from $10,000 a month and bills creator fees and ad spend at cost, with no markup.

Is there an agency that guarantees results?

Two publish guarantees. Freeman & Forrest says clients don't pay until missed monthly objectives are caught up, and GrowthMatrix adds creators at no cost if an X campaign misses its impressions floor. Read what is being guaranteed: impressions are not sign-ups.

Is this list ranked?

The nine scored agencies are ordered by a published 100-point rubric that measures public evidence, not fit. Kiko is featured at the top and not scored, because it publishes the page. Price is not scored.

Can an agency pay to be listed or to change its score?

No. Inclusion needs public evidence on the agency's own site. Agencies can send corrections with a public source to [email protected]. We reply within one business day and re-score within five business days.