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AppLovin Exchange (ALX) vs. AppLovin MAX vs. Basis DSP

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)

    Score6.9 out of 10
    N/AAppLovin is a mobile advertising optimization platform from the company of the same name headquartered in California.N/A

    AppLovin MAX

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AMoPub was a mobile ad server owned by Twitter since the September 2013 acquisition, acquired by AppLovin, and now part of the MAX mediation platform. MAX gives users a diverse set of auctions for supply.N/A

    Basis DSP

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ABasis from Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro) is a programmatic ad buying platform supporting digital advertising buying and placement across varying channels. Since the acquisition of SiteScout the platform also contains technology from the SiteScout AdServer.N/A
    Pricing
    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)AppLovin MAXBasis DSP
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)AppLovin MAXBasis DSP
    Free Trial
    NoNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)AppLovin MAXBasis DSP
    Considered Multiple Products
    AppLovin
    Chose AppLovin Exchange (ALX)
    Of all of the competitors above, AppLovin is the one that is more focused on gaming and that has a better pool of users in terms of conversion rate. While PubMatic and Magnate offer better solutions for CTV, AppLovin is better than InMobi and MoPub regarding in-app formats and …
    Incentivized
    Chose AppLovin Exchange (ALX)
    AppLovin has focused and put resources into the gaming vertical. They have found a niche space where they can dominate the marken and they have been investing in it to become the market leaders. Contrary to other ad tech players that want to be in every market, they have …
    Incentivized
    Chose AppLovin Exchange (ALX)
    AppLovin is more focused on high impact formats instead of other exchanges that are more focused on banners and standard sizes. Also, their fraud controls are much more strict, which is a great advantage.
    Incentivized
    AppLovin
    Chose AppLovin MAX
    MoPub is an SSP that can help you explain the benefits (and hurdles) of programmatic advertising to the client and that is a big help in markets that are not very developed. Other exchanges are too big and they don't put a lot of focus on customer service but MoPub is different …
    Incentivized
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    Chose Basis DSP
    Compared to these 3 alternatives, Basis DSP is the easiest to use. AppLovin is more complex but it is very messy and the learning curve is pretty steep. AppLovin is focused mostly on big clients and not suitable for agencies of any size. OpenX would be the closest competitor …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
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    100%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
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    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
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    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
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    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
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    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)AppLovin MAXBasis DSP
    Small Businesses
    Google AdMob
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Google AdMob
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Infillion DSP (MediaMath)
    Score7.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    StackAdapt
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Yahoo DSP
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)AppLovin MAXBasis DSP
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (14 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.8
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    AppLovin Exchange (ALX)AppLovin MAXBasis DSP
    Likelihood to Recommend
    AppLovin
    AppLovin is particularly well suited for gaming campaigns where it is really hard to reach users and you need formats like the rewarded video to keep users engaged with your ad. I would not recommend it for branding campaigns as their formats are more performance-focused and the inventory is expensive so unless you are trying to reach the desired CPA, it would not be worth it to pay that much for ad placement.
    Incentivized
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    AppLovin
    They have the lowest eCPM of any network. We're using them based on their team's advice, thus their eCPM isn't quite as high as their benchmarks. Since MoPub was retired, we have not seen the same eCPMs as previously, particularly in the US, which was their primary market.
    Read full review
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    I would recommend Basis [DSP] for specific clients. Boutique agencies that do not require very complex programmatic solutions are the best fit. It is not very well suited for very big clients that want to run multicountries campaigns with objectives that are very much performance focused. Their dashboard is very good and the platform is easy to use so new entrants to programmatic will find it very useful.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    AppLovin
    • ROI
    • Growth
    • Monetization
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    AppLovin
    • Easy to use platfrom. You can set up QPS management system on your own.
    • They have MoPub Analytics to get inventory stats.
    • Their AM team is very supportive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    • Basis DSP does a great job of keeping their clients informed of new and upcoming features on their platform. They regularly host webinars to help keep their clients informed of what's up and coming and how to use new features.
    • Client relations with Basis is incredible. They're available on a regular, consistent basis. In addition, they check in throughout the on boarding process and beyond to help their clients understand they system.
    • The analytics tracking capabilities built into Basis DSP is fantastic. They provide many different options on how to pull and organize reports for clients.
    • The additional training offered through Centro Institute is fantastic, especially for beginners. Going to Chicago and training at the headquarters for a couple of days has helped with my company's success in building a programmatic advertising clientele list and building successful campaigns.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    AppLovin
    • Their support is very slow.
    • Inventory prices can be a bit high.
    • They need better anti-fraud controls.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    AppLovin
    • Not a lot of inventory in the EMEA region.
    • Not a lot of high impact formats. Mainly banners and not a lot of interstitials and videos.
    • Reporting tools not very advanced. You can't get a lot of granular details from the tool.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    • More detail on how and when the exchanges review submitted ad tags would help us set better expectations for our clients and client success teams during launch. Often a delay in ad approvals can result in lagging campaign metrics that must be made up later, often at the cost of performance.
    • More predictive tools / the ability to stop a campaign from bidding when a certain impression threshold is reached (in addition to the dayparting and budget rules that are currently in place and used for every campaign).
    • For some reports, such a geolocation reports, being able to visualize it on a map of some kind would make the data export more meaningful and less manual for our operations and client success teams seeking to explain to clients where their campaign was exposed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    AppLovin
    AppLovin has been a great partner for us. We have used them through our DSP and gotten great results with them. Their focus is on monetizing publishers' inventory and they could put more resources into their standalone service as an SSP to make sure DSPs can consider them strategic partners for the long term.
    Incentivized
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    AppLovin
    MoPub is a great SSP. It is a trusted partner that can help you scale campaigns as well as educate the client about the benefits of programmatic advertising. They have a lot of inventory and a great support team. I wouldn't say they are perfect because reporting is not very good and some billing issues are not as transparent as they should be.
    Incentivized
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    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    It's pretty basic, nothing is hidden and nothing ever moves so you can count on finding what you are looking for each day
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    AppLovin
    AppLovin's support team is their weakest point. They are not very responsive and they tend to provide solutions that do not fix the problem. It seems like they will only be proactive if you are a very big client and by doing that they are preventing the rest of the client base from increasing spend on their platform and growing their accounts
    Incentivized
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    AppLovin
    MoPub's support is really good. Their team is knowledgeable on their product and the programmatic ecosystem in general and they are very helpful. The only 2 things that I would point out would be that their response times are not very fast and that there is a lot of rotation on the account management team.
    Incentivized
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    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    We have a dedicated account rep. She makes it seem like we are her only client, she is very responsive, helps each time we have a question and understands our campaign goals. Anytime we need support, our rep is available either email or call and if she is not going to be available, she will let us know ahead of time to provide back up and inform them of our current campaigns so they can better assist us.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    AppLovin
    No answers on this topic
    AppLovin
    No answers on this topic
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    There are a ton of tactics and strategy to implement in the DSP platform. There isn't really a selection of the different types of campaigns or tactics to choose from, you just have to learn as you go. Once you figure out the strategy and goal of the campaign it is very easy to implement the tactic and to achieve its goals.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    AppLovin
    Of all of the competitors above, AppLovin is the one that is more focused on gaming and that has a better pool of users in terms of conversion rate. While PubMatic and Magnate offer better solutions for CTV, AppLovin is better than InMobi and MoPub regarding in-app formats and inventory.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    AppLovin
    We've been attempting to make AppLovin Max perform the same way as MoPub had for us. The value we get from AppLovin Max differs from the ROI we get from other mediation platforms. We keep convincing ourselves that AppLovin Max will eventually function similarly to MoPub.
    Read full review
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    Advangelist, StackAdapt, Simplifi, Trade Desk, Media Math - overall most of the other platforms we reviewed were perfectly fine and can get the job done quite well. We have mostly stuck with basis because of the relationship that we have, the fact that they have continued to provide stellar support, and have a platform that delivers on everything they promise.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    AppLovin
    • It has had a positive impact on my business objectives
    • It has helped me grow exponentially
    • It has provided a way for me to expand my business
    Incentivized
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    AppLovin
    • CPMs are very low compared to other mediation partners which has caused a negative impact on our revenue
    Read full review
    Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro)
    • Affordable display option - The SiteScout platform runs comparable to other self-serve display platforms, and offers a very large network from which to choose.
    • More visibility for our brand - We've used SiteScout as an awareness tactic, and received millions of impressions at a reasonable cost.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    AppLovin MAX Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Main ScreenScreenshot of Waterfall PreviewScreenshot of the MAX A/B Test feature, used to test real-time data to test and measure the impact of any change to the waterfall configuration.Screenshot of the Ad ReviewScreenshot of the Network Comparison report.Screenshot of the MAX Cohort Report.