AdButler comes out on top with 9.0/10. AdGlare (8.1) and Broadstreet (8.1) complete the top three. Here is every ad server we score, with the cost and the verdict for each.
Pick it if: you want to know the price up front, launch in days and get real help, across web, app and newsletter inventory.
AdButler is a hosted ad server with published monthly plans, a white-label portal for advertisers and support that includes help moving off your old system. It can serve display, native, video, in-app, sponsored listings and email newsletter ads from one account.
Cost: Published plans from $179/month for 1M ad requests.
Pick it if: you want a light, low-fuss hosted ad server and can see the price before you sign up.
AdGlare is a lean, hosted ad server with prices on its website. Display and VAST video come on the main plans, and rich media, native and CTV are added on its upper plans.
Cost: Published plans.
Pick it if: you are a local or B2B publisher with a small team selling direct to advertisers.
Broadstreet is an ad server for local and B2B publishers that sell direct to advertisers. Prices are published from $299 a month, and it comes with creative templates and newsletter ad support.
Cost: Published plans from $299/month.
Pick it if: you run an ad network or agency and want an ad server you can put your own brand on.
Epom is an ad server that ad networks, agencies and publishers can rebrand as their own (branding is a paid add-on). Three tiers are priced on its website from $250 a month, and it covers display, video, mobile, native and rich media.
Cost: Published tiers from $250/month; Enterprise is quoted.
Pick it if: you are a small publisher that wants dependable direct-sold ad serving at a very low starting price.
AdSpeed is a hosted ad server for small and mid-size publishers that need dependable direct-sold ad serving. Entry pricing is published at $9.95 a month, and larger volumes are priced by tier or quote.
Cost: Entry pricing published (from $9.95/month); higher volumes by tier or quote.
Pick it if: Google programmatic demand is your priority and you have experienced ad ops staff.
Google Ad Manager combines an ad server with Google's ad exchange. The standard version is free up to an impression threshold and then billed, and Ad Manager 360 serves large organisations.
Cost: Free until you pass an impression threshold, then billed; Ad Manager 360 is priced separately.
Pick it if: you want small and mid-size advertisers to book and pay for ads online, on top of your current ad server.
DanAds lets publishers sell ads directly to advertisers through a self-serve portal, automating the sales, operations and creative steps. It sits on top of a publisher's existing ad server rather than replacing it.
Cost: Pricing on request.
Pick it if: you have technical staff and want a free ad server you control, or a very cheap hosted one.
Revive Adserver is free, open-source software you can run on your own server. A paid Hosted edition starts at $10 a month for teams that do not want to run it themselves.
Cost: Free open-source download; Hosted edition from $10/month.
Pick it if: you are a European news publisher that wants an ad server with self-serve booking built in.
Adnuntius is a European ad server that includes a self-serve booking portal for advertisers and audience data tools. It is popular with news publishers in the Nordics and across Europe.
Cost: Usage-based, no revenue share; quotes on request.
Pick it if: you are a large publisher that wants the ad server and SSP from one vendor.
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer) puts a publisher ad server and a supply-side platform in one stack. It also offers retail media following its 2024 acquisition of Kamino Retail.
Cost: Pricing on request.
Pick it if: you have engineers and want to build a custom ad product or sponsored listings on APIs.
Kevel (formerly Adzerk) provides ad serving as a set of APIs that engineering teams use to build their own ad platforms and retail media networks. It is very flexible, but you need developers to get started.
Cost: Pricing on request.
Pick it if: you are a broadcaster or premium video publisher selling streaming and TV ad breaks.
FreeWheel is an enterprise platform for premium video, connected TV and live streaming, used by broadcasters and large media companies. It is owned by Comcast.
Cost: Enterprise pricing on request.
Pick it if: you are a video or CTV publisher that works closely with Magnite demand.
SpringServe is Magnite's streaming ad platform. Since 2025 it has combined a video and CTV ad server with Magnite's streaming SSP.
Cost: Pricing on request.
Pick it if: you are a retailer or grocer launching sponsored product ads, not a publisher.
CitrusAd powers sponsored product ads on retailer websites and apps. Publicis Groupe bought it in 2021, and it is now part of Epsilon Retail Media.
Cost: Pricing on request.
Pick it if: you are a retailer that wants access to Criteo's brand advertisers along with the technology.
Criteo helps retailers sell onsite and offsite retail media and connects them to its large network of brand advertisers. The same company runs the technology and a major demand network.
Cost: Pricing on request.
| Ad server | Cost clarity (20%) | Time to launch (15%) | Support (15%) | Formats (15%) | Publisher fit (15%) | Integrations & API (10%) | Independence (10%) | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdButler | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9.0 |
| AdGlare | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8.1 |
| Broadstreet | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8.1 |
| Epom | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7.6 |
| AdSpeed | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7.3 |
| Google Ad Manager | 7 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 6.9 |
| DanAds | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6.8 |
| Revive Adserver | 9 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 6.7 |
| Adnuntius | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6.6 |
| Equativ | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6.6 |
| Kevel | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 6.1 |
| FreeWheel | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5.7 |
| Magnite SpringServe | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 5.5 |
| CitrusAd | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 5.4 |
| Criteo | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 5.2 |
Scores checked November 3, 2026. Each number follows a written rule on our How we score page.
Send us your monthly impressions, the formats you sell and your budget. We will reply with the two or three ad servers worth a demo.