Hard-Floor Price

Also known as: hard price floor

The absolute minimum price a publisher will accept for an ad impression. Unlike a soft floor — which can be negotiated or bypassed under certain auction mechanics — a hard-floor price is a strict cutoff: any bid that comes in below this threshold is automatically discarded and rejected, regardless of other factors.

Publishers set hard-floor prices to protect their inventory from being sold at rates they consider too low to be worthwhile. Because the rejection is automatic, buyers have no opportunity to negotiate once the floor is set — the bid either meets or exceeds the floor and enters the auction, or it doesn't and is dropped entirely.