Top Supply-Side Platform (SSP) and Ad Exchange Companies [2024 Reference Guide]
Since the first digital ad appeared in 1994, the programmatic ecosystem has generated a steady stream of new technology to help publishers monetize their properties. Ad networks came first. Supply-side platforms (SSPs) followed. Then ad exchanges and real-time bidding (RTB) reshaped how inventory was priced and sold.
Today, publishers and app developers have access to a broad range of platforms — from pure-play SSPs and standalone ad exchanges to integrated stacks that combine both functions. Below is a structured reference of the major SSPs and ad exchanges active in the market.
What Is a Supply-Side Platform (SSP)?
A supply-side platform (SSP) is an advertising technology platform that helps publishers monetize their websites and mobile apps by managing, selling, and optimizing their available ad inventory. SSPs are a central component of real-time bidding (RTB) media transactions, enabling publishers to sell display, video, and native ad space to advertisers on an impression-by-impression basis.
While SSPs were originally focused on web and in-app inventory, they now extend into additional channels — including DOOH (digital out-of-home) and CTV (connected TV) — giving publishers a unified way to monetize across formats.
What Is an Ad Exchange?
An ad exchange is a marketplace where buyers and sellers come together to trade digital media. Buyers — advertisers and agencies — use demand-side platforms (DSPs) to bid on individual impressions. Those impressions are put up for sale by publishers via SSPs. The buying and selling process is handled by real-time bidding (RTB).
Ad exchanges were once standalone platforms, and many still are, but over the past several years many AdTech companies have incorporated ad exchange functionality directly into their SSPs, and vice versa. This consolidation allows publishers to manage their inventory and sell it via RTB from a single platform.
The Main Components of a Supply-Side Platform (SSP)
The main components of an SSP.
Criteria for This List
An SSP, for the purposes of this guide, is a platform that helps publishers monetize and manage their inventory. An ad exchange is a platform that allows publishers and app developers to sell inventory on an impression-by-impression basis through RTB auctions. Many entries below combine both functions within a single platform.
The Top SSP and Ad Exchange Companies
AdColony is one of the largest mobile advertising platforms in the world, with a reach of more than 1.5 billion users globally.
Type: SSP Founded: 2011 HQ: Los Angeles, California Public or private: Public
Adform is an independent, fully integrated advertising platform built for modern marketing. Its enterprise technology — Adform FLOW — combines user experience with a scalable, modular, and open architecture to enable management of the full campaign life cycle.
Type: SSP Founded: 2012 HQ: Copenhagen, Denmark Public or private: Private
Admix enables game developers to monetize content through interactive, programmatic brand placements that prioritize player experience, targeting higher revenue and retention.
Type: SSP Founded: 2017 HQ: London, UK Public or private: Private
admixer
Admixer is an independent AdTech company that develops a full-stack programmatic ecosystem with customizable technology and in-depth expertise, helping businesses build programmatic advertising into a scalable revenue channel.
Type: SSP Founded: 2008 HQ: London, UK Public or private: Private
AdSpruce
AdSpruce has developed technology and platform infrastructure to make video advertising work across all mobile devices, enabling publishers to monetize their video ad inventory through rich media video campaigns on a wider range of mobile devices.
Type: SSP Founded: 2011 HQ: West Glamorgan, UK Public or private: Private
Adthink addresses the B2C market with a global digital and physical distribution platform and serves the B2B market by providing advertisers with a trading desk and affiliate platform for customer acquisition.
Type: SSP Founded: 2001 HQ: Tassin La Demi Lun, France Public or private: Public
Axonix is a Telefónica-owned mobile-first data specialist and ad exchange that specializes in audience trading and mobile advertising, delivering first-party telco-verified data sets.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2014 HQ: London, UK Public or private: Private
Bidstack enables brands to place advertising naturally within video games — through trackside banners, cityscape billboards, pitchside LED boards, and other native spaces within virtual environments — ensuring contextual relevance while protecting the gaming experience.
Type: SSP Founded: 2015 HQ: London, UK Public or private: Public
Cedato
Cedato is a programmatic operating system for modern video, offering publishers and advertisers a comprehensive SaaS-based video technology stack designed to enhance value and viewing experience.
Type: Video player with header bidding capabilities Founded: 2015 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Chocolate is a global programmatic digital video advertising platform. Chocolate Premium is a video SSP built on 100% server-side auctions, connecting premium brands with publishers across 7,700+ websites and apps at more than 20 billion impressions per month.
Type: SSP Founded: 2007 HQ: San Francisco, US Public or private: Private
District M is a full-service advertising exchange that creates open, transparent marketplaces through which publishers and advertisers can connect to maximize digital advertising demand.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2013 HQ: Montreal, Canada Public or private: Private
Equativ company logo
Formerly known as Smart AdServer, Equativ is a French advertising technology company founded in 2001 as part of Aufeminin. It was acquired by private-equity fund Cathay Capital in 2015, and then by Capital Croissance in a secondary LBO in 2021.
Type: SSP Founded: 2001 HQ: Paris, France Public or private: Private
ExoClick's platform API supports more than 20 different ad formats, optimized and behavioural retargeting, big-data statistics, strategic analysis tools, 60-second data refresh, day parting, and 24/7 customer support.
Type: SSP Founded: 2006 HQ: Barcelona, Spain Public or private: Private
Fyber is a global technology company developing a next-generation monetization platform for mobile publishers, combining proprietary technologies across mediation, RTB, video, and audience segmentation into holistic solutions for the app economy.
Type: SSP Founded: 2009 HQ: San Francisco, US Public or private: Public
Genesis Media connects user behaviour, content analytics, and programmatic advertising in one platform, using data to create viewable video ad experiences tailored to each page and device.
Type: SSP Founded: 2010 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Geniee is a top-tier Japanese ad platform focused on revenue maximization, using large inventory pools to aggregate high-quality audiences at low cost for stable, revenue-optimized ad management.
Type: SSP Founded: 2010 HQ: Shinjuku, Tokyo Public or private: Public
Getintent
Getintent is an AdTech company offering a highly customizable, AI-powered programmatic suite for agencies, publishers, broadcasters, and content owners, designed to grow programmatic revenue.
Type: SSP Founded: 2013 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Glispa
Glispa is a mobile AdTech company offering sophisticated solutions that help agencies and brands connect with target audiences while helping publishers monetize their apps.
Type: SSP Founded: 2013 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Google Ad Manager is a complete platform for growing digital ad revenues and protecting brand integrity across the full range of places where audiences watch, play, and engage. It was rebranded from DoubleClick to Google Ad Manager in 2018.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2018 (rebranded from DoubleClick) HQ: Mountain View, US Public or private: Public
GumGum is a global technology and media company specializing in contextual intelligence — comprehending the meaning of text, images, and video — allowing marketers to place ads precisely where audiences are most engaged, without relying solely on user data.
Type: SSP Founded: 2007 HQ: Santa Monica, US Public or private: Private
Hivestack is a marketing technology company that helps marketers target consumers based on location and movement patterns. Its full AdTech stack includes an SSP for DOOH media owners, an ad exchange with APIs for monetizing unsold inventory, a geotemporal DOOH ad server, and a DSP for buying DOOH programmatically.
Type: SSP Founded: 2017 HQ: Montreal, Canada Public or private: Private
Improve Digital is a leading European programmatic advertising platform, providing solutions that help publishers optimize their programmatic advertising strategy and maximize revenue.
Type: SSP Founded: 2008 HQ: Schiphol-Rijk, Netherlands Public or private: Private
Index Exchange is a global advertising marketplace where premium digital media companies transact ad impressions with transparency and accountability.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2003 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Magnite is the world's largest independent sell-side advertising platform, formed from the merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria. It combines programmatic expertise across desktop, mobile, audio, and CTV formats.
Type: SSP Founded: 2007 HQ: Los Angeles, US Public or private: Public
Marfeel
Marfeel is an AdTech platform for mobile web publishers that analyzes audience behaviour — user habits, usage patterns, and engagement signals — to dynamically adjust mobile site layout, load times, and ad revenue performance.
Type: SSP Founded: 2011 HQ: Barcelona, Spain Public or private: Private
Mintegral is a global mobile advertising platform powered by AI and full-stack programmatic products, providing user acquisition, monetization, and creative solutions for mobile app publishers worldwide.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2016 HQ: Beijing, China Public or private: Private
MoPub, a Twitter company, is a leading ad server and programmatic exchange for smartphones. Its comprehensive monetization platform for mobile app publishers combines real-time bidding, ad serving, cross-promotional capabilities, and ad network mediation into a single platform.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2010 HQ: San Francisco, US Public or private: Public
Netric provides sell-side solutions for premium publishers through a leading ad exchange that maximizes the value of every impression via service, analysis, and advisory support.
Type: SSP Founded: 2008 HQ: Stockholm, Sweden Public or private: Private
OpenX helps brands reach consumers at scale in a fragmented media environment, powering relevant advertising across all ad formats and delivering value to publishers and marketers globally.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2007 HQ: Pasadena, US Public or private: Private
PowerLinks is a relevance automation platform for advertising, distributing contextually relevant advertising to audiences on behalf of major global brands.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2013 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
PubMatic's platform empowers independent app developers and publishers to control and maximize their digital advertising businesses, enabling advertisers to reach target audiences in brand-safe, premium environments across ad formats and devices.
Type: SSP Founded: 2006 HQ: Redwood, US Public or private: Private
PubNative, now part of Verve Group, is a mobile publisher platform and programmatic ad exchange providing advanced monetization solutions for mobile app developers via flexible integrations including API, SDK, and JavaScript.
Type: SSP Founded: 2014 HQ: Berlin, Germany Public or private: Private
PulsePoint
PulsePoint is a data and technology company offering programmatic solutions for healthcare organizations, enabling personalized health information delivery to improve outcomes.
Type: SSP Founded: 2011 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Roxot
Roxot provides premium publishers with a full-service programmatic monetization solution focused on growing ad revenue and increasing impression value for advertisers.
Type: Monetization services Founded: 2016 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Setupad helps publishers enter the programmatic ecosystem without disrupting existing revenue streams, using header bidding technology to expand access to multiple demand sources and significantly increase revenue.
Type: Header bidding tech Founded: 2015 HQ: Riga, Latvia Public or private: Private
Sharethrough is an omnichannel supply-side platform built on advanced RTB technology and enhanced ad experiences, aiming to create a sustainable advertising ecosystem for journalists, content creators, and app developers.
Type: SSP Founded: 2008 HQ: Quebec, Canada Public or private: Private
Smart AdServer is a fully transparent ad monetization platform built for premium publishers, providing full inventory control and driving performance and value for publishers' audiences.
Type: SSP Founded: 2001 HQ: Paris, France Public or private: Private
SmartyAds is a global programmatic advertising company offering advertising and monetization solutions for digital advertisers and publishers across all channels, devices, and ad formats.
Type: SSP Founded: 2013 HQ: Kyiv, Ukraine Public or private: Private
Sonobi is an independent, consumer-focused technology company providing a fair media marketplace that connects advertisers directly with individuals, shifting from impression-based to individual-based advertising.
Type: SSP Founded: 2011 HQ: Winter Park, US Public or private: Private
Sovrn provides products and services to tens of thousands of online publishers, helping them grow their businesses, understand their readership, and manage consumer data. It offers both SSP and header bidding capabilities.
Type: SSP and header bidding Founded: 2014 HQ: Boulder, US Public or private: Private
SpotX
SpotX is a global video advertising platform that enables media owners and publishers to monetize premium content across desktop, mobile, and connected TV devices.
Type: SSP Founded: 2007 HQ: Denver, US Public or private: Private
Tappx is an AdTech company delivering digital advertising solutions across multiple platforms including mobile, OTT/CTV, and desktop.
Type: SSP Founded: 2014 HQ: Barcelona, Spain Public or private: Private
Teads is a seller-side platform well suited for publishers running outstream video ads. Trusted by publishers including BBC, CNN International, Mail Online, and Bloomberg, Teads provides a video monetization suite for premium publishers.
Type: SSP Founded: 2009 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
Unruly is a video ad platform offering self-service tools, global relationships with premium demand partners, user-friendly ad formats, and dedicated support for publishers monetizing across CTV, mobile, and desktop.
Type: SSP Founded: 2006 HQ: London, UK Public or private: Public
Yahoo's media and advertising group helps people stay informed and entertained while creating new ways for advertisers and partners to connect through technologies including AI, machine learning, and XR.
Type: SSP Founded: 2017 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Public
vistarmedia logo
Vistar Media offers a complete end-to-end programmatic ecosystem to help businesses maximize digital out-of-home media.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2012 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
TheViewPoint is an ad monetization platform that helps CTV publishers build, manage, and grow their own ad exchange to sell and earn more from their inventory.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 2019 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Private
WideOrbit helps media companies do more business by making it easier to buy and sell advertising in a rapidly evolving media landscape, reducing manual workflows and data re-entry.
Type: Ad exchange Founded: 1999 HQ: San Francisco, US Public or private: Private
Wider Planet provides targeting advertising solutions for mobile and online advertising markets, creating value across the global digital economy.
Type: SSP and ad exchange Founded: 2010 HQ: Seocho-gu, South Korea Public or private: Private
Xandr offers a premium option for advertisers and publishers looking to reach specific audiences at scale in brand-safe environments through a unified platform backed by one of the world's largest collections of digital, film, and TV properties.
Type: SSP Founded: 2018 HQ: New York, US Public or private: Public
Zelto (formerly AdPushup) is a full-stack programmatic solutions company for web publishers, helping them optimize and scale ad revenue through a product suite that includes AdPushup, AdRecover, and Glimpse.
Type: SSP Founded: 2014 HQ: Delaware, US Public or private: Private