Google Ad Manager vs. Kevel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.N/A
Kevel
Score 7.6 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Kevel's (formerly Adzerk) APIs is designed to make it easy for engineers and PMs to build their own server-side, fully-customized ad server. E-retailers and user communities can use Kevel to build ad servers to promote anything from native ads to internal content to sponsored listings (where vendors and sellers pay for their organic listing to be promoted in search and browsing results). According to the vendor, engineers reliably see a significant reduction in dev time using Kevel’s APIs…N/A
Pricing
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPricing is customized based on feature needs, support needs, and monthly request volume.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Considered Both Products
Google Ad Manager
Chose Google Ad Manager
As I've said in prior comments, I like how the Google Ad Manager makes better use of the Google data and results compared to the others. Yes, I've tried them - I used to evaluate software for a former company. They will all do the job I didn't like their usage as much as I …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager is one of the only free to use ad management services out there. While there are several alternatives such as OpenX and Adzerk, Google Ad Manager provides the best bang for your buck (considering you don't spend any money on the actual product itself). …
Chose Google Ad Manager
We've used a few other way less robust ad servers, and Google Ad Manager is definitely the top tier ad server you can have as a publisher. There isn't much competition in this space for a large publisher that would make us feel comfortable switching to another ad server. We've …
Chose Google Ad Manager
In my current position at this company, we've only ever used Ad Manager due to management's comfort with Google's application suite. I've used other software such as Adzerk, AOL's One, and OpenX in previous roles. I like Ad Manager because it's incredibly intuitive if you've …
Kevel
Chose Kevel
Kevel was an easier initial implementation for header bidding with prebid. The team worked alongside us to make sure everything was operating as intended. We ultimately switched to Ads Manager to access AdX demand and other features that were not possible with Kevel (for …
Features
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Ad Network Integration
Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Product A and Product B
Google Ad Manager
7.8
28 Ratings
6% above category average
Kevel
10.0
1 Ratings
31% above category average
Data Transfer7.528 Ratings00 Ratings
DSP integration8.022 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Google Ad Manager
7.4
40 Ratings
6% below category average
Kevel
10.0
1 Ratings
24% above category average
Ad campaign creation7.840 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad deployment7.140 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Display advertising7.639 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation7.238 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Sequence targeting7.328 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Ad Manager
6.7
39 Ratings
15% below category average
Kevel
9.2
1 Ratings
17% above category average
Ad dashboards6.437 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Ad performance reports7.439 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking6.638 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting6.834 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Cross-channel ad management7.029 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization5.934 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Small Businesses
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 9.0 out of 10
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(36 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Ad ManagerKevel
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
I like that I can see several clients in one place, which can be convenient. However, the UX could be a lot better as outlined previously. In other words, the benefits of combining clients into the Ad Manager don't seem to be much more beneficial than logging into each client's ad account separately
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Kevel
For ad serving, implementing client-side header bidding with prebid was actually easier with Kevel than it is with Google Ad Manager in most cases, particularly for display advertising. I found though that with more complex integrations (like video), there were more solutions and code snippets available with other larger ad servers (Google).
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • The obvious is the data - Google Ads Manager gives me essential and even critical data about which jobs and industries are hot right now and what is driving the most response.
  • Google Ad Manager gives us more control over the search engine results page as we get more visibility and real estate on our branded search terms and job/industry-specific search terms.
  • Google Ad Manager gives us the chance to compete with major national players in job recruitment, Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.
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Kevel
  • More personable team that can address customizations needed to the product.
  • Easy to use interface.
  • Frequent product updates with notifications via email.
  • Well documented API.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Support. Not that they don't call or offer help, it's that our account people are bullies. I tell them I don't have time, so I am insulted and told that I need to get in front of the laptop otherwise I have "failed the company." I have never had a situation where I wasn't bullied by our Ad reps. They don't respect or value our time, which can make their calls frustrating.
  • Too quick on support. They don't take the time to understand the product. We are a preschool which shares a name with a popular motorcycle. An Ad rep insisted he knew the company so well that he could help me within five minutes. After being interrupted frequently, I just let him continue to tell me how I "could increase awareness of our aerodynamic seat design by creating ads with those keywords..."
  • Better management of trademark keywords and program awareness. We switched over to a new site, the domain changed for about ten seconds. All of our ads were unapproved and put on pause. The email stated it would be fixed very quickly, but I had to go in for the last 3 days to reactivate each one individually.
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Kevel
  • User interface could be faster to load.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Google
I think it's useful for our team and we rely on it to improve our business. It is within our budget also. Although we still will need an approval from the upper-level management team, I don't see any problem with that
Read full review
Kevel
No answers on this topic
Usability
Google
While most of Google Ad Manager is user-friendly, certain parts of the ad creation process could use some improvements. Specifically, the way you insert keywords can be clunky and time-consuming, and I would like to see better and more keyword suggestions when designing a campaign.
Read full review
Kevel
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Google
I could say a lot about this topic. As an agency, we get a new [representative] to talk to almost every quarter to go over select accounts and the campaigns within. Most of the time, these [educated representatives], don't provide any new feedback, or I just simply [disagree] with their approach. This is not all the time however. I have learned a lot from a rare few, [individuals] that have given me new strategies and access to betas early on. The other side of support, is the [overseas support platform]. [It] is usually not very helpful, but you can [emphasize] issues and they can research [them]. The Google Tag Implementation team is pristine though. When you need them, you need to set an appointment, which is usually 2 weeks out; they are so over-my-head intelligent, I've never had a bad experience with them and whenever I needed them for a fix, they solved it [within] the first call.
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Kevel
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Google
As I've said in prior comments, I like how the Google Ad Manager makes better use of the Google data and results compared to the others. Yes, I've tried them - I used to evaluate software for a former company. They will all do the job I didn't like their usage as much as I preferred the Google information - and I said even that had flaws - so you have to realize that nothing is completely perfect so far.
Read full review
Kevel
Kevel was an easier initial implementation for header bidding with prebid. The team worked alongside us to make sure everything was operating as intended. We ultimately switched to Ads Manager to access AdX demand and other features that were not possible with Kevel (for instance, EBDA). There are benefits to both but I appreciated the attention we got from Kevel support when we were first working through the implementation. We are still using Kevel for many things, just not as our primary display advertising ad server.
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Return on Investment
Google
  • I was able to work well with my budgets - mainly because of the reports.
  • I saw a great spike in the way my ad traffic increased.
  • It was a very easy way to work with Google Ad Manager than connecting other platforms with less compatibility - Less investment.
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Kevel
  • Kevel enabled us to get up and running with client side header bidding when our team was still small and the technology was still new. This improved our ability to monetize our inventory.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Kevel Screenshots

Screenshot of Adzerk homepageScreenshot of Decision API JSON exampleScreenshot of Management API example