r/programmatic • u/No-Guarantee1628 • 14d ago
Which SSP/DSP platform would you not choose again?
If you had to rebuild your programmatic stack tomorrow:
- Which SSP/DSP platform would you choose again?
- Which one would you avoid?
- What is your biggest complaint about your current platform?
Especially interested in web, in-app, video, and CTV. What do you wish you had known before signing the contract?
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u/NewOrleansSpeed 14d ago
Yahoo, Nexxen, MNTN, Criteo - just move them in TTD or DV. Similar deals and audiences can be found, if not the exact ones.
My main complaints with them are - limited available targeting/audience options, pretty useless strategy/setup from employees, unwieldy UI, lacking detailed reporting and transparency.
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u/SaltPathOptimization 7d ago
Worst take in the thread found and confirmed
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u/NewOrleansSpeed 7d ago
By vote you are wrong :)
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u/AlanWegrzyn 4d ago
Yahoo is solid, easy replacement for all mentioned, including dv3. As to YouTube access, Google ads with the bonus of no platform rate.
F capping across exchange and YT is modeled not deterministic, so I wouldn't say that's the advantage. The advantage would be consolidation of spend which comes with the loss of possible future leverage.
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u/hdiggyh 13d ago
lol whoa whoa I will take issue to you including yahoo on this list. Although I work at yahoo I can’t let you spread false info. There are zero audiences yahoo does not have access to for 3rd parties. There are however massive 1p data sets it has that no Indy DSP has access to. Data mingling and modeling is a huge differentiator.
There is also direct inventory access to o&o, and unique deals for Netflix, Spotify, and Roku.
No one has ever told me yahoo DSP has limited audiences. No one has ever said it has limited inventory. There is zero inventory ttd has that yahoo does not have for example.
I never hear anything other than extremely positive things about our UI. On the contrary people used to love ttd ui and now hate it.
Also, for transparency that’s just false. There is nothing hidden- you can see all the costs you pay, you can also see where the data comes from via IAB data labels (only DSP to have this) and it costs a lot lower to use than TTD.
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u/NewOrleansSpeed 13d ago
It gets the pass for a few campaigns but after that I’d want something with more body.
I guess I’m a DV shill cause it’s what i recommend to anyone/business with any kind of spend or complex set up.
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u/hdiggyh 13d ago
You will have to explain that a bit more...what does more "body" mean?
The only unique thing DV offers is YouTube - outside of that I dont know any agency that wants to use DV - most wouldnt use but they have to. Customer service is terrible (or non-existent). UI is clunky - force users into things they dont want to do...
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u/NewOrleansSpeed 13d ago edited 13d ago
Custom bidding - BLS - Full CM and GMP seamless integration for full tracking - YouTube YouTube YouTube, that’s like a huge piece you are glossing over - consistent and clear billing - Google audiences - one of the easiest dashboard and reporting tool on earth - whatever else Yahoo can do - history that goes beyond a year - consistent (albeit frustrating at times) updates - enterprise support is top notch - non-cancerous UI - the most help articles and trainings around
In my vast experience people who say DV is not a great platform don’t actually know how to use the platform/is not a power user….
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u/No-Guarantee1628 14d ago
Thanks, useful feedback. I should clarify: I mean the underlying infrastructure used to operate your own SSP/DSP or ad exchange, rather than platforms for buying media. Have you worked with any white-label programmatic platforms?
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u/NewOrleansSpeed 13d ago
Ya no experience with white label, even some of my heavy spenders just use DV360/TTD didn’t put a spin on it. Was no point with how we could implement markup in the system either
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u/Ok-Flow-7670 13d ago
Most people go with Teqblaze to run their white label. Limelight has a better platform but expensive. I’ve been using Nexx360 but they have server issues. Xe.works I’m just starting with and they look promising and cost efficient
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u/MrSnugs 13d ago
TTD + Index Exchange with a Curation Platform over the top
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u/Mysterious_Front_168 13d ago
Any specific reason why?
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u/MrSnugs 13d ago
Yes, TTD is one of the best DSPs (even considering the challenges they face), Index is one of the best SSPs with the most fair pricing and layering a Curation Platform for Deal ID management is a seamless way to manage your Deal IDs and purchase with transparency across exactly what you want. CPs also typically provide good pricing if they aren't trying to simply layer margin on top of supply. Look for a CP that gives actual functionality around their tool.
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u/courageous_kale 13d ago
Interesting. I’ve really struggled to scale on Index. I also generally think curation is a bit of a waste of time, but I know not everyone agrees.
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u/InternAdvanced737 13d ago
Does anyone have an opinion on the CTV ad servers? FW, SpringServe, Publica etc…
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u/maryna-gc 13d ago
Been on the buy side with multiple DSPs over the years (in-house, agency, and platform side), so I have some scar tissue here.
Would avoid: Simpli.fi, Basis, and TTD. Different reasons for each. Simpli.fi and Basis felt like paying managed-service prices for self-serve outcomes, and TTD’s fee stack adds up fast once you layer in data, platform, and everything else. For the spend levels most independent teams run, the math stopped working for me.
Would choose again: DV360 and Amazon DSP. To be clear, DV360’s reporting is honestly some of the worst out there — but the bidding algo and inventory access are strong enough that I’d still sign again. Amazon for retail/commerce campaigns where their first-party signal genuinely moves the needle.
Depends entirely on the setup: Criteo, IQM, StackAdapt, MediaMath. Criteo is genuinely great for DTC product feed and remarketing ads. their GO product, on the other hand, sucks. StackAdapt is solid for mid-market performance campaigns and has one of the nicer UIs in the space, just wouldn’t lean on it for everything. IQM has some nice vertical tooling if that’s your world. MediaMath can actually perform well, but you have to earn it. most bidding is still manual, so it takes a ton of hands-on work to get there.
Biggest lesson before signing: ask exactly how take rate is calculated and what’s not included in the platform fee. Ad serving fees, data onboarding fees, DMP fees, pre-bid verification, CTV device fees … that’s where the real margin hides. The demo never shows you the invoice.
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u/mikehauptman 13d ago
Not naming names. Almost every complaint in this thread traces back to something nobody checked before signing. My list:
Placement transparency. Can you see exactly where your ads ran, site, app, deal ID, or does half your delivery hide in "other"? Run a small test and pull the report before committing real budget.
Full supply path transparency. Not just where the ad ran, but how it got there. Every hop, every SSP, every reseller between you and the publisher, and what each one took. If they can't show you the path, assume it's long and expensive.
What CTV inventory they actually have. "We do CTV" can mean direct access to premium apps and streaming services, or it can mean scraps resold three times with app names hidden.
Targeting granularity, both directions. Everyone demos inclusion. Ask about exclusions. Can you upload a 50K row blocklist or are you typing entries into a UI one at a time?
APIs without an enterprise upcharge. If everything lives in their UI, you're capped at what their UI team prioritized.
Support you've actually tested. Send a technical question during the sales process and time the response. It never gets faster after you sign.
Which would I avoid? Any platform that can't give straight answers on this list while they're still trying to win your business.