A MagHub / Ad Orbit alternative for magazine publishers
If you use MagHub or are evaluating Ad Orbit, start with the sale your team handles every week. How does an advertiser's request become an agreed campaign, an issue booking and an invoice? RunMags is a publishing software alternative to evaluate through that complete workflow. There is no useful reason to move platforms merely because both products list CRM and billing. The question is whether your team can complete its actual work with clearer ownership and an acceptable total cost.
RunMags connects your magazine business from proposal to paid invoice, with Maggie built in. Plans scale by brands, users and legal entities. Explore the publishing software comparison hub.
What Ad Orbit says about its product
Ad Orbit's vendor-claimed offering includes publisher CRM, product and inventory management, proposal workflows with e-signature, an advertiser portal, finance and billing, and reporting. Its product overview describes advertising inventory across print, digital, newsletter and podcast formats. Source: official Ad Orbit homepage, browser snapshot retrieved 2026-09-12; indexed homepage text reviewed 2026-10-01. Direct automated retrieval returned HTTP 403 during this review. These are vendor claims, not independently tested results.
For buyers searching under the older MagHub name, Ad Orbit also retains MagHub-branded material on its official website, recorded in the source review dated 2026-09-12. Confirm the product edition and commercial offer with the vendor when discussing an existing installation. A familiar brand name alone does not identify your current modules, integrations or contract.
Test one multi-issue advertising agreement
Choose a realistic advertiser: an organisation buying placements in two issues, with an agency contact and a separate billing contact. Prepare an example discount, artwork deadline and payment schedule. Ask both vendors to show the full sequence from first contact to proposal, contract and e-signature, booking, production handoff and invoice. Add one ordinary change, such as moving a placement to a later issue. Observe who can make the change and whether the downstream records remain clear.
In a RunMags evaluation, explore advertising sales, contract management and fulfilment, and flatplanning together. Contract management and e-signature are part of RunMags' product scope. Confirm the selected plan and demonstrate the exact agreement you use rather than treating a product description as confirmation of every signature policy or document format. Let someone from production review the booking as well as someone from sales.
Look closely at the exception, not just the happy path
The most useful demonstration often begins after the original order is agreed. Ask how your proposed process handles replacement artwork, a changed issue date, a disputed invoice or a renewal for a different title. Identify which record is authoritative and who receives the next task. Count the information that must be entered again and note where staff need another application. These observations tell you more about fit than an unsupported promise that one platform will save a fixed percentage of time.
RunMags' general integrations list includes Stripe, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Fortnox and WordPress. Use your existing accounting workflow to check the relevant connector and its plan entitlement. Specify whether your accounting system or publishing system should issue invoices, how customer identities are matched and where corrections are made. Do not assume that a connector name means every historical field or unusual billing arrangement is supported.
When keeping Ad Orbit may be the right choice
If your team already uses its configured order workflows, advertiser portal and reports successfully, include that operational knowledge in the decision. A replacement has training and transition costs even when the software subscription is attractive. Stay with your current setup if a RunMags evaluation does not resolve the specific problem you documented, or if a critical integration or control cannot be demonstrated. Capabilities not verified in this comparison should be discussed with each vendor; absence from a cited page is not evidence that a feature is missing.
Plan a bounded transition
Begin by reviewing exports of advertiser organisations and contacts. If subscriptions are in scope, include subscribers and subscription records. Agree field mapping, duplicate handling and a small validation sample before a wider import. Historical advertising orders, contract files, artwork and payment records require a separate scope decision. Retain necessary archives and check obligations under your existing agreement; there is no blanket promise that every item of MagHub or Ad Orbit history can move unchanged.
Compare current RunMags plans using your titles, users and legal entities, then request a quotation for any additional requirements. Onboarding includes four hours, with further assistance billed hourly at an agreed rate. Ask how to allocate those hours between setup, training and import review. Keep the evaluation focused on a complete campaign your team can recognise.
See the advertising workflow before deciding
Bring an example agreement, your number of titles and the accounting handoff you want to improve. Start a trial or arrange a guided demonstration.
