AppLovin MAX vs. Smaato

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AppLovin MAX
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
MoPub 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
Smaato
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Smaato is a supply-side publisher platform (SSP) from the Verve Group since the 2021 acquisition.N/A
Pricing
AppLovin MAXSmaato
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AppLovin MAXSmaato
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AppLovin MAXSmaato
Considered Both Products
AppLovin MAX
Chose AppLovin MAX
MoPub is focused only on in app inventory and their stronghold is on the US. They created their own mediation platform which gives them advantages over smaller SSPs that do not have their own ad tech stack. However, in order to continue improving they should focus more on APAC …
Chose AppLovin MAX
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.
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 …
Smaato
Chose Smaato
Smaato has better anti-fraud controls than most exchanges. Even if the inventory ends up being a bit pricey, I am more comfortable running campaigns on Smaato because I know there won't be any issues with the clients claiming refunds for invalid traffic. I believe that as the …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
AppLovin MAXSmaato
Small Businesses
Google AdMob
Google AdMob
Score 8.6 out of 10
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Yahoo Native
Yahoo Native
Score 6.8 out of 10
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Marin Software
Marin Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AppLovin MAXSmaato
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(3 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
AppLovin MAXSmaato
Likelihood to Recommend
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
Verve Group
Smaato is very well suited for user acquisition and retargeting companies. Their overlap in terms of audiences and publishers with other exchanges is very limited, which makes it a great alternative when you need to scale a campaign and want to maintain your frequency cap. They work very well in branding campaigns as well as performance campaigns.
Read full review
Pros
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.
Read full review
Verve Group
  • Fill - the ad requests we send to Smaato have seen a great requests-to-impression ration.
  • Revenue - We've seen a lift in overall revenue thanks to the high CPM bids we get from Smaato.
  • Payments are always on time and they have a responsive financial team that is helpful in answering any questions.
  • Customer service - They are very fast to respond to any issues. The set up was streamlined thanks to their professional customer service.
Read full review
Cons
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.
Read full review
Verve Group
  • Inventory can be a bit pricey in competitive markets like the US.
  • Reporting dashboard is limited, needs work.
  • They don't offer a lof of transparency about margins over media cost.
Read full review
Usability
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.
Read full review
Verve Group
Smaato has a UI where you can control your line items on the traffic you want to receive. That is a key unique selling point that other SSPs don't offer. Most of the items that you will need like reporting can be done on a self serve manner and that is a big plus, specifically for changes that need to happen really fast and you don't need to deal with account managers that may take some time to answer emails.
Read full review
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
Verve Group
Smaato's account management team is very professional. They are quite fast in terms of customer support, which is very helpful. One item that stands out is that they are willing to understand what you need for each campaign and what is the best way to move forward. They don't just jump quickly into trying to upsell more of Smaato's products (audiences, data) like other SSPs do.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
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
Verve Group
With over 20 demand partners in our stack, Smaato is in the top 5
Read full review
Return on Investment
AppLovin
  • CPMs are very low compared to other mediation partners which has caused a negative impact on our revenue
Read full review
Verve Group
  • Increased overall revenue
  • Strong demand pool
  • Easy reporting
Read full review
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.