Top Ad Server Companies [Updated 2024]
The ad server is widely regarded as one of the first pieces of advertising technology, with roots going back to the 1990s. Despite the explosive growth of AdTech platforms since then, ad servers remain a foundational component of the programmatic advertising ecosystem.
Below is a roundup of the main ad server companies operating across the programmatic advertising and AdTech industries.
What Is an Ad Server?
An ad server is a piece of advertising technology used by publishers, advertisers, ad agencies, and ad networks to manage and run digital advertising campaigns.
How Do Ad Servers Work?
Ad servers are responsible for deciding which ads to display on a website or mobile app, then delivering those ads to users. They also collect and report data — impressions, clicks, and so on — so that advertisers and publishers can monitor campaign performance and draw meaningful insights.
The Criteria
While many AdTech platforms (SSPs and DSPs among them) include ad-serving functionality as part of a broader offering, the focus here is on companies that provide standalone ad servers.
The Top Ad Servers
Ad6 Media is an advertising network with a proprietary ad server that helps monetize external audiences, combining a network of premium publishers with the distribution of high-impact formats. Founded: 2010 | Headquarters: Paris, France
AdButler helps thousands of customers save time and maximize revenue across any channel, device, or platform with a unified direct ad server and programmatic RTB SSP. Founded: 1998 | Headquarters: Victoria, British Columbia
Adform provides an ad server that centralizes all user interactions across channels, delivering a premium level of data for data-driven targeting. Founded: 2002 | Headquarters: Denmark, Scandinavia
AdGlare powers the ad-serving stack of hundreds of publishers, helping them create, manage, and serve ads worldwide. Founded: 2013 | Headquarters: Eindhoven, Netherlands
Adhese provides a direct ad server with a broad feature set for managing digital advertising campaigns with full control and transparency. Founded: 2005 | Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
AdPlugg offers a fast and highly scalable ad server built to serve as a comprehensive blog and website advertising solution for publishers of any size. Founded: 2013 | Headquarters: San Diego, CA, US
Adserver.Online is a comprehensive ad serving and ad management solution. Whether you're running a white-label platform for an ad network, agency, or exchange — or managing inventory as a webmaster or affiliate — the platform is built to accommodate a wide range of use cases. Founded: 2015 | Headquarters: Riga, Latvia
The AdSpeed ad server combines modern ad-serving technology with advanced web analytics to maximize advertising revenue through a user-friendly interface. Founded: 2018 | Headquarters: New York, US
AdSpirit offers a holistic ad server solution for publishers, marketers, agencies, and advertisers looking to improve control over their online advertising, increase revenue, and gain transparency. Founded: 2002 | Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
ADvendio offers a scalable management solution with an integrated ad server designed to streamline advertising buying and selling. Founded: 2004 | Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
AVID provides an online display ad server for ad agencies and performance marketers, delivering a powerful, easy-to-use platform for ad control and delivery. Founded: 2015 | Headquarters: Strovolos, Cyprus
Broadstreet is positioned as a top-rated alternative to Google Ad Manager, specializing in helping local and B2B publishers make a lasting impression with their advertisers. Founded: 2012 | Headquarters: Red Bank, NJ
The Epom ad server is an ad management platform designed to make setting up an effective advertising operation straightforward — from individual website owners to large cross-channel networks. Founded: 2010 | Headquarters: Kyiv, Ukraine
Google Ad Manager is a complete platform for growing digital ad revenues and brand protection across the full range of environments where audiences watch, play, and engage. Google rebranded DoubleClick as Google Ad Manager in 2018. Founded: 2018 (rebranded from DoubleClick) | Headquarters: Mountain View, US
goTom provides an ad server that automatically creates campaigns and feeds delivery data back for ongoing supervision and reporting. Founded: 2015 | Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland
Kevel (previously Adzerk) helps brands drive online revenue through sponsored listings, internal promotions, native ads, and more. Its award-winning platform handles over three billion API requests each day. Founded: 2010 | Headquarters: Durham, North Carolina
MediaSmart is a self-serve mobile programmatic platform that provides advertisers, trading desks, and agencies with an integrated mobile advertising platform — including unique incremental impact measurement for proximity and app marketing campaigns. Founded: 2011 | Headquarters: Madrid, Spain
Muvi Ads helps companies manage, deliver, and monetize multi-format audio and video content across devices and platforms. Founded: 2013 | Headquarters: Halfmoon, New York, US
OpenX focuses on helping brands reach consumers at scale in a fragmented media environment, powering relevant advertising and delivering value to consumers, publishers, and marketers across all ad formats. Founded: 2007 | Headquarters: Pasadena, CA, US
OrbitSoft Ad Server manages online advertising operations, measures the success of individual campaigns, and helps maximize return on investment. Founded: 2001 | Headquarters: Buffalo, WY, US
Passendo is an ad server and native ad platform built specifically for email advertising — giving publishers tools to monetize their inventory with high-performing ad formats while connecting advertisers to audiences in a premium context. Founded: 2016 | Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
Revive Adserver is a free, open-source ad-serving system that enables publishers, ad networks, and advertisers to serve ads and manage campaigns through an accessible interface. Founded: 2013 | Headquarters: Jonkersvaart, Netherlands
REXRTB is an ad-serving system offering feature-rich tools across a range of ad formats — including display, mobile, video, native, and popunder/popup. Founded: 2018 | Headquarters: Hong Kong, China
The Sizmek Ad Suite provides advertisers and agencies with tools to create, distribute, customize, measure, and optimize campaigns across both brand and performance goals. Amazon acquired Sizmek's ad server in 2019. Founded: 1999 | Headquarters: New York City, NY, US
Smaato's Digital Ad Tech Platform offers a free ad server and monetization solution that connects quality publishers with premium marketers to reach audiences globally across every device. Founded: 2005 | Headquarters: San Francisco, CA, US
Smart is a fully transparent ad monetization platform built for premium publishers, combining an open ad server with a premium SSP and returning full control to publishers. Founded: 2001 | Headquarters: Paris, France
Sortable offers an ad server well-suited for publishers with small AdOps teams that want a self-hosted solution while maintaining and building their own demand relationships. Founded: 2009 | Headquarters: Kitchener, Canada
SpringServe provides a video ad server that gives companies direct control over their video and OTT advertising activities. Founded: 2005 | Headquarters: New York, NY, US
Sulvo provides an ad server aimed at improving the integrity of programmatic advertising by serving specialized formats and maximizing buyer participation in the auction. Founded: 2013 | Headquarters: Austin, TX, US
UpRival is a third-party ad server with an extensive feature set and advanced targeting options, designed to support a wide variety of use cases across its customer base. Founded: 2018 | Headquarters: Pleasant Grove, Utah, US
VMAX™ is an AdTech platform built to help enterprises meet their ad-revenue goals, achieve higher yields on ad sales, and deliver seamless ad experiences — all from a single, integrated environment. Founded: 2015 | Headquarters: Mumbai, India
Built for the programmatic world with openness and transparency at its core, Xandr's ad server (formerly AppNexus) helps publishers achieve superior yield optimization and holistic management of their business. Founded: 2018 | Headquarters: New York, NY, US
ZEDO is a platform offering high-impact formats along with ad serving and related publisher products and services. Founded: 1999 | Headquarters: San Francisco, CA, US