Programmatic buying is changing fast.
Media agencies are navigating fragmented identity, surging CTV consumption, and tighter client ROAS expectations while AI rewrites how bids, audiences, and placements are optimized in real time.
The challenge? Choosing a demand side platform (DSP) that stays reliable, scalable, and transparent as signals disappear and spend shifts across screens.
This guide breaks down the most reliable DSPs for advertising agencies based on differentiators like AI bidding, addressable CTV reach, omnichannel automation, and emerging-market scale. Each section includes transparent pros, limitations, and FAQs, ideal for media teams comparing platforms for performance, transparency, and operational fit.
Keep reading to learn how top-performing DSPs like StackAdapt, The Trade Desk, Quantcast, and Basis help ad agencies optimize ROAS, unify workflows, and prepare for a cookieless future.
*These are the top-rated products in the demand-side software category, according to G2 Grid Reports.
Use this at-a-glance grid to match each DSP’s standout strengths and trade-offs to your advertising agency’s budget, geography, and identity strategy.
| DSP | Best for | Pros | Cons |
| StackAdapt | Mid-market agencies that want AI to squeeze every dollar |
|
|
| The Trade Desk | Agencies chasing global CTV at enterprise scale |
|
|
| Quantcast Platform | Agencies running cookieless campaigns for faster audience discovery |
|
|
| Viant Technology | Agencies conducting people-based CTV buys that require household-level attribution. |
|
|
| Basis | Agencies that want one hub for programmatic and search/social. |
|
|
| Simpli.fi | Ad agencies running hyper-local or franchise campaigns that need GPS/addressable data. |
|
|
| Eskimi | Agencies reaching emerging markets with rich media formats and local expertise. |
|
|
StackAdapt centres its DSP on outcome-based AI: 465 billion automated bid tweaks per second adjust price, placement, and creative for every impression in real time. Recent funding is fuelling global expansion across 19 markets. A 94% user-rated reliability score and native hooks to major analytics suites for live anomaly alerts reinforce its agency-grade readiness.
StackAdapt’s 465 B-signal AI, omnichannel seat, and cookieless “Page Context AI” make it a precision tool for agencies that want outcome-driven programmatic without walled-garden limits.
| Key strength | How StackAdapt delivers it |
|
Real-time, outcome-based AI |
The platform performs 465+ billion bid optimizations per second, continuously re-pricing inventory to favour placements with the highest predicted ROAS. |
| True omni-channel coverage | One login buys native, display, CTV, video, audio, in-game, digital out-of-home (DOOH), and email inventory, allowing unified pacing and frequency. |
| Built-in cookieless reach | “Page Context AI” uses NLP and first-party IDs to sustain targeting accuracy on Safari, Firefox, and Chrome Privacy Sandbox traffic. |
| Granular audience precision | Advertisers can layer first party data, contextual signals, and location data (geo-radius or polygon) within a single line item. |
| Enterprise-grade API access | A REST API exposes campaign management, reporting, and optimisation endpoints for in-house dashboards and martech stacks. |
For agency owners, The Trade Desk offers an independent DSP for advanced omnichannel campaign execution, particularly across premium CTV, audio, and digital out-of-home. Use its AI, Koa, for intelligent bid optimization and activate your first-party CRM data alongside sophisticated third-party segments for precise targeting.
The platform supports privacy-forward addressability through Unified ID 2.0. Its transparent reporting, granular controls, and enterprise APIs empower agencies to maximize client ROI and build custom solutions for superior performance and insights.
The Trade Desk gives agencies broadcast-scale CTV inventory, log-level transparency via OpenPath, and cookie-proof audience reach with UID 2.0.
| Key strength | How The Trade Desk delivers it |
| Transparent, low-latency supply | OpenPath connects your bids directly to publisher ad servers, stripping out SSP hops and exposing full auction logs. |
| Future-proof identity | UID 2.0 turns hashed emails/phone numbers into an open, interoperable ID; agencies can map their own CRM IDs server-side. |
| AI optimization everywhere | The Kokai platform spreads The Trade Desk’s AI from bid-pricing to pacing and creative rotation, lifting campaign ROAS and speeding trader workflow. |
| Log symmetry and measurement | Hourly REDS exports include win price, deal ID, UID 2, and device context and are ready for Snowflake or BigQuery. |
Q1. How does The Trade Desk's OpenPath improve transparency and efficiency for ad agencies buying CTV inventory?
OpenPath provides agencies with more direct access to publisher inventory, reducing intermediaries and associated fees. This can lead to better cost efficiency and more clarity on where CTV ads are running, enhancing overall campaign transparency.
Q2. What are the benefits of using UID 2.0 through The Trade Desk for audience targeting in a cookieless environment?
UID 2.0 allows agencies to create and target audiences using authenticated user data like hashed emails in a privacy-conscious way. For agencies, this means continued ability to reach relevant CTV and online audiences effectively as third-party cookies phase out.
Q3. How extensive is The Trade Desk's CTV inventory for reaching niche or localized audiences at scale for agency clients?
The Trade Desk has one of the broadest CTV inventory footprints, partnering with numerous premium publishers and streaming services. While broad scale is a strength, agencies can also apply granular targeting to reach specific niches or localized demographics.
Quantcast's platform uses its Ara AI engine on vast real-time datasets to uncover incremental audiences and predict consumer intent, which is necessary for effective omnichannel campaigns.
It provides robust, proven cookieless targeting and measurement solutions, ensuring your agency can deliver performance across the entire open internet, including CTV, as third-party cookies phase out. This unified system simplifies planning, activation, and analytics, driving efficiency and optimal client outcomes.
Quantcast Platform helps agencies find and convert cookieless audiences by rebuilding intent models every 30 minutes, tapping signals from 100M+ sites, and launching omnichannel (including CTV) campaigns in under five minutes within a single, data-transparent UI.
| Key strength | How the Quantcast Platform delivers it |
| 30-minute intent refresh | Ara AI rebuilds predictive audience models every 30 minutes, ingesting live web events to keep segments fresh. |
| Massive first-party signal | Quantcast Measure tags 100M+ web destinations, supplying real-time behavioural data no other DSP can access. |
| Cookieless reach out-of-the-box | Page-level NLP and first-party IDs create a topic map of the internet, letting campaigns scale on Safari, Firefox, and Chrome Privacy Sandbox traffic. |
| Launch campaigns in less than 5 minutes | The Ads Manager wizard lets traders choose an objective, budget, schedule, upload creatives, and go live in under five minutes. |
Q1. How does Quantcast's Ara AI rebuild intent models every 30 minutes?
Ara AI continuously analyzes live browsing behavior, search data, and contextual signals. This rapid refresh of intent models (every 30 minutes) allows agencies to adapt campaigns quickly to emerging trends and shifting consumer interests, improving relevance and conversion rates.
Q2. What specific types of cookieless audiences can agencies uncover with Quantcast?
Quantcast uses contextual analysis, first-party data integrations, and its live audience insights to build cookieless audiences based on real-time interests and behaviors. Agencies report that these can be highly effective, sometimes outperforming cookie-based segments for specific campaign goals.
Q3. How does Quantcast ensure the quality and relevance of the data fueling Ara AI's intent models?
Quantcast uses a combination of direct publisher integrations (Quantcast Measure), contextual analysis of web content, and other consented data signals. Their focus is on observing real-time online behavior to ensure data freshness and relevance for AI-driven predictions.
Viant Technology offers agencies powerful control through its Adelphic DSP, centered on its patented Household ID technology for durable, privacy-compliant targeting. This allows for precise, deterministic cross-device reach and frequency capping across all channels, including a strong foothold in CTV, without reliance on third-party cookies.
For agencies, this means superior audience addressability and the ability to link digital ad exposure directly to both online and offline conversions, such as in-store visits. The platform's integrated measurement suite and advanced reporting provide transparent, actionable insights to optimize campaign performance and prove tangible client ROI.
Viant’s Adelphic DSP gives agencies deterministic, household-level CTV reach (95 % of U.S. adults), funnels nearly half of platform spend into premium streaming via Direct Access, and ships log data straight into Snowflake clean rooms for privacy-safe measurement.
| Key strength | How Viant Technology delivers it |
| Deterministic household graph | Viant’s TransUnion-enriched Household ID now matches 95 % of U.S. adults (18+), giving cookie-free reach across devices and CTV screens. |
| Direct Access supply-path optimization | The Direct Access SPO program connects buyers to premium CTV owners, who together represent more than 75 % of the U.S. addressable CTV market, eliminating intermediary fees. |
| Clean-room-ready measurement |
Household ID data pipes directly into Snowflake and other clean rooms for secure log-level attribution and audience overlap analysis. |
Q1. How does Viant's deterministic Household ID tie CTV ads to real households, and how does this differ from probabilistic CTV targeting?
Viant's Household ID uses persistent, opt-in data signals (like IP addresses combined with other non-cookie identifiers) to create a stable household profile. This is more deterministic than probabilistic methods that infer household connections, aiming for higher accuracy in CTV and cross-device targeting.
Q2. What are the privacy implications of Viant's Household ID, and how does Viant ensure compliance with regulations like CCPA/CPRA for agencies?
Viant emphasizes that its identity solutions are built on a foundation of consented data and privacy-enhancing technologies. They provide tools and processes to help agencies manage consumer opt-outs and adhere to relevant privacy regulations.
Q3. How user-friendly is the Adelphic DSP interface for setting up complex CTV campaigns using the Household ID?
Adelphic is generally considered a robust DSP. G2 reviews often indicate it's powerful but may have a learning curve. Agencies find Adelphic’s CTV capabilities and household targeting valuable once teams are proficient with the platform's workflow.
Basis stands out by integrating a powerful DSP with comprehensive workflow automation to tackle operational inefficiency. The platform unifies programmatic, direct, search, and social campaign management into a single interface, drastically reducing the time spent toggling between disparate systems.
Basis’ AI engine powers bid optimization and forecasting, while also benchmarking performance against proprietary data from billions in ad spend. This allows your agency to move from planning to activation faster, automate tedious reporting and financial reconciliation, and dedicate more resources to high-value strategy and client service.
Basis guarantees 99.5 % uptime, uses SmartBid AI to deliver up to five times performance gains, unifies programmatic and search/social in a 180-metric dashboard, and hooks into 170+ APIs for fully automated media operations.
| Key strength | How Basis delivers it |
| Contracted platform availability | Public Service Level Agreement commits to 99.5 % uptime per calendar quarter for bidding, login, and reporting functions. |
|
SmartBi AI performance lift |
2024 infrastructure upgrade drove up to 5× stronger results on conversion, click, viewability, and video-goal campaigns, measured across six months of agency data. |
| Unified cross-channel dashboard | A single interface connects programmatic, direct, search, social, CTV, and more, surfacing 180 + business-intelligence metrics for real-time optimisation. |
| Deep integration fabric | Buyers can plug into 170 + industry API integrations, spanning ad servers, billing, analytics, and walled-garden channels, to automate end-to-end campaign workflows. |
Q1. How does Basis's platform eliminate the need for spreadsheets in cross-channel media buying for agencies?
Basis centralizes planning, buying, execution, and reporting across various channels into a single interface. This unification, coupled with workflow automation tools, aims to reduce manual data entry and reconciliation typically done in spreadsheets. G2 reviews often praise its unified workflow.
Q2. What specific AI algorithms or data inputs does Basis's SmartBid AI use, and how customizable is it for different agency client KPIs?
SmartBid AI likely uses historical performance data, contextual signals, and real-time bidding dynamics. Agencies can typically set KPIs (CPA, CPC, CTR), and the AI optimizes bids towards those goals, with varying levels of customizable parameters like pacing and budget allocation.
Simpli.fi excels at precision targeting through its distinctive use of unstructured, element-level data, bypassing pre-packaged audience segments. This allows for highly customized and localized campaigns based on granular data points like keywords searched, contextual content, and detailed geo-location.
Simpli.fi’s core strength lies in addressable geo-fencing, which uses platline data to target individual households with unparalleled accuracy for CTV, video, and display ads. This technology enables agencies to execute powerful local-level strategies, build custom addressable audiences in real time, and accurately attribute online ad exposure to offline actions like in-store visits.
Simpli.fi gives agencies 126 million household addressable reach, bids on raw unstructured data for pinpoint targeting, and now layers Autopilot AI to spin up full-funnel campaigns in just a few minutes, all without mandatory spend floors.
| Key strength | How Simpli.fi delivers it |
| Precise household-level reach | Addressable Targeting puts 126 million U.S. households within reach at an over 90% match rate, combining GPS + plat-line geo-fencing for address-level precision. |
| AI-driven campaign automation | Autopilot AI lets advertisers plan, launch, and optimise omnichannel campaigns in minutes, with pay-as-you-go billing and no minimum spend. |
| Proprietary unstructured-data DMP | Ingests, bids, and optimizes on time-stamped, unstructured audience data rather than pre-backed segments. |
Q1. How granular can agencies get with Simpli.fi's geo-fencing using unstructured GPS data?
Simpli.fi is known for highly granular geo-fencing, allowing agencies to target very precise locations such as individual retail stores, competitor locations, event venues, or even specific parts of a building by drawing custom shapes based on GPS data.
Q2. What kind of unstructured keyword data does Simpli.fi use to enhance hyper-local campaigns?
Simpli.fi analyzes data from local search queries, site content, and app usage to identify intent at a granular, local level. This allows targeting based on what people are actively looking for or interested in within specific geographic areas, going beyond broader contextual categories.
Eskimi offers a full-stack programmatic platform with a distinct specialization in high-impact, custom creative. The DSP provides advanced, rich media and video ad formats, developed by an in-house creative studio, designed to capture attention and drive engagement in diverse markets, including Africa and Asia.
Eskimi combines this creative prowess with unique data layers, including telco data partnerships and socio-economic segmentation, to deliver precise audience targeting where traditional data is scarce. This empowers your agency to execute memorable, visually-driven campaigns that resonate with hard-to-reach audiences and deliver measurable performance.
Eskimi lets agencies reach 1.5 billion users in 30+ markets, slice audiences with 2.5K+ telco-powered segments, and boost results with rich-media formats that generate up to 15x higher engagement. All this is done through a single DSP seat backed by local experts and 60+ supply/verification partners.
| Key strength | How Eskimi delivers it |
| Massive emerging-market reach | Eskimi profiles 1.5 billion online users and activates them across Africa, Asia, the CIS, Europe, and MENA. |
| Granular, telco-level targeting | Buyers tap 2,500 + targeting combinations, including SIM-card socio-economic data, backed by direct telco partnerships. |
| On-ground expertise in growth markets | Ad-ops and strategy teams in 30+ countries and 10 global offices optimise campaigns in local languages and currencies. |
| Quality supply and integrations | Direct publisher deals plus connections to 60+ ad-exchanges and third-party brand-safety and reporting tools ensure scale and transparency. |
Q1. What specific 2,500+ local targeting combos does Eskimi offer?
These combos likely refer to combinations of device type, operator, location, demographics, interests, and potentially even telco data partnerships unique to specific emerging markets. They aim to capture local nuances like preferred mobile networks, popular local apps, or common content consumption patterns.
Q2. How do Eskimi's "on-ground experts" practically assist agencies in planning and executing campaigns in unfamiliar emerging markets?
On-ground experts can provide crucial local market intelligence, understand cultural sensitivities, advise on effective messaging, identify key local publishers or influencers, and help navigate regulatory landscapes, which is invaluable for agencies new to a region.
Yes, StackAdapt supports the integration of first-party data. This allows agencies to layer their clients' unique audience insights with the platform's AI capabilities for more precise targeting and personalized messaging, typically leading to improved ROAS.
Beyond its AI-driven bidding, StackAdapt employs advanced fraud detection, viewability optimization, and brand safety controls. These measures ensure that ads are served to genuine users in appropriate environments, reducing inefficiencies in ad spend.
StackAdapt is recognized for its user-friendly interface and robust AI capabilities tailored for performance marketing. While The Trade Desk offers extensive reach, StackAdapt's outcome-based AI is a key differentiator for mid-market clients focusing on direct response campaigns.
The Trade Desk offers comprehensive measurement tools, including reach and frequency reporting, conversion tracking (both online and offline), and integrations with third-party measurement partners. These tools assist agencies in demonstrating the impact of CTV campaigns on client business outcomes.
The Trade Desk is a powerful platform with many advanced features. G2 reviews suggest a moderate to steep learning curve. TTD offers certification programs and extensive support, which agencies often utilize to train their teams to use the platform effectively.
Koa AI analyzes campaign data across channels to provide optimization recommendations and automate bidding strategies. It aims to improve performance against set KPIs, whether for CTV completion rates, display click-throughs, or audio listen-through rates.
The Trade Desk has a significant global presence with extensive inventory and local support teams in many international markets. This makes it a strong choice for agencies running multi-region campaigns, offering more consolidated global buying compared to some US-centric DSPs.
Quantcast employs a multi-touch attribution model and utilizes various identifiers, including its own and probabilistic methods in cookieless contexts, to track user journeys and attribute conversions. This approach provides a holistic view of performance across different environments.
Quantcast provides insights into the signals and audience characteristics that Ara AI prioritizes. While the core algorithms remain proprietary, the platform offers reporting that helps agencies understand the rationale behind certain optimizations.
Viant facilitates connections with offline data providers. By matching its Household ID with offline purchase data or location signals (from consented sources), it aims to attribute in-store actions back to CTV campaigns run through its platform.
Viant's primary differentiator is often its strong emphasis on its proprietary, deterministic Household ID as a core element for people-based targeting and measurement, particularly in CTV and cross-device campaigns. This focus on a stable, privacy-compliant household identifier is key to their value proposition.
This service level agreement (SLA) refers to platform uptime and operational reliability for its core workflow tools. For an agency, this means a high degree of confidence that the system will be available and functioning correctly for critical tasks like campaign setup, billing, and reporting.
Basis provides robust APIs and integrations for managing and reporting on search (e.g., Google Ads) and social (e.g., Meta) campaigns alongside programmatic buys. Agencies look for the depth of these integrations, such as direct campaign launching or just data aggregation.
Basis's SmartBid AI focuses on optimizing across its integrated channel offerings. Agencies would compare their effectiveness based on their specific multi-channel needs versus the more specialized AI of platforms like StackAdapt (ROAS-focused) or Quantcast (audience discovery). Transparency levels can also vary.
Simpli.fi sources data from numerous providers and employs validation processes. Its "unstructured" nature means it constantly ingests and interprets new signals to maintain recency, which is crucial for timely hyper-local targeting.
Simpli.fi provides robust foot traffic attribution reporting, showing lift in visits to physical locations from users exposed to ads. They use conversion zones and other methodologies to track offline impact for clients with brick-and-mortar stores.
Eskimi employs strategies like lightweight ad formats, carrier billing integrations (where applicable), targeting based on device capabilities, and robust fraud detection tailored to the specific threats in emerging markets.
Eskimi uses telco data partnerships (with user consent), first-party data from its historical social network presence in some regions, contextual data, and declared data from users to build audience segments where standard data sources are limited.
Eskimi offers more flexible pricing or lower minimums for certain emerging markets compared to global DSPs, whose models are often geared towards larger, more developed markets. This can make them more accessible for targeted campaigns in these regions.
For small and mid-sized ad agencies, StackAdapt is one of the most reliable DSP platforms due to its outcome-based AI, flexible pricing, and intuitive interface. Unlike enterprise-grade platforms that require steep learning curves or large commitments, StackAdapt lets smaller teams optimize media spend across display, CTV, and native without the overhead of complex workflows. Its real-time ROAS optimization engine continuously adjusts bids to reduce wasted spend, ideal for agencies working with lean budgets and performance-focused clients.
For mobile-first campaigns, Eskimi is a top choice among DSPs thanks to its mobile-first architecture and access to telco-level targeting in emerging markets. It supports rich media formats, in-app placements, and lightweight creatives optimized for slower mobile networks. Agencies can use Eskimi to reach users across mobile web and apps with detailed segmentation, even where third-party data is limited. For U.S. and hyper-local mobile targeting, Simpli.fi also stands out with GPS-based geo-fencing and unstructured data targeting at the household level.
For advertising agencies, choosing a DSP is about reliability under pressure, visibility into spend, and the flexibility to serve diverse client goals.
Some platforms, like StackAdapt, excel at squeezing every dollar with outcome-based AI. Others, like The Trade Desk or Viant, offer massive CTV scale with deterministic IDs and log-level data access. If your edge is local precision, Simpli.fi offers GPS-driven reach. Need to go cookieless? Quantcast rebuilds intent models every 30 minutes.
The takeaway: there’s no single reliable DSP for advertising agencies. But there is a best-fit DSP for your agency’s client mix, geography, and workflow.
Whether you’re managing lean budgets or multi-million-dollar global plans, the platforms in this guide are built to help agencies:
Sudipto Paul is an SEO content manager at G2. He’s been in SaaS content marketing for over five years, focusing on growing organic traffic through smart, data-driven SEO strategies. He holds an MBA from Liverpool John Moores University. You can find him on LinkedIn and say hi!
Artificial intelligence (AI)is significantly transforming every industry today. However,...
by Kavya Ram Mohan
When it comes to online advertising, capturing and targeting the most relevant audience is a...
by Christiana Marouchos
Digital advertising run through ad networks and exchanges traditionally relied on third-party...
by Sagar Joshi
Artificial intelligence (AI)is significantly transforming every industry today. However,...
by Kavya Ram Mohan
When it comes to online advertising, capturing and targeting the most relevant audience is a...
by Christiana Marouchos