Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Criteo Commerce Max
Score 6.7 out of 10
N/A
Criteo Commerce Max (formerly Criteo Retail Media for Brands, or Criteo Sponsored Product) is presented by the vendor as an all-in-one self-service platform for buying retail media at scale. Alternately, Criteo Retail Media for Retailers supports growing ad revenue and enhancing relationships with brands.N/A
Equativ
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer) is a French ad server provider with a large international presence. Customers tend to be European media outlets.N/A
Kevel
Score 7.4 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
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Free Trial
NoNoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo 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
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Features
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Ad Network Integration
Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Product A and Product B
Criteo Commerce Max
-
Ratings
Equativ
8.0
1 Ratings
9% above category average
Kevel
10.0
1 Ratings
31% above category average
Data Transfer00 Ratings8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
DSP integration00 Ratings8.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Criteo Commerce Max
-
Ratings
Equativ
8.0
1 Ratings
3% above category average
Kevel
10.0
1 Ratings
25% above category average
Ad campaign creation00 Ratings8.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad deployment00 Ratings9.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Display advertising00 Ratings7.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation00 Ratings8.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Sequence targeting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Criteo Commerce Max
-
Ratings
Equativ
7.5
1 Ratings
3% below category average
Kevel
9.2
1 Ratings
18% above category average
Ad dashboards00 Ratings8.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Ad performance reports00 Ratings8.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking00 Ratings7.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Cross-channel ad management00 Ratings7.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization00 Ratings7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Small Businesses
Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products
Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products
Score 7.6 out of 10
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.3 out of 10
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products
Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products
Score 7.6 out of 10
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
Marin Software
Marin Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
Score 8.6 out of 10
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Likelihood to Recommend
6.4
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Criteo Commerce MaxEquativKevel
Likelihood to Recommend
Criteo
Well suited--customizable enough to go to market efficiently and quickly. Not well suited--Plug-in multiple demand sources, improved targeting integrations with first-party data.
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
Smart AdServer is great for a marketing department, to track stats and clicks of their audience. It's a great way to engage the client without actually engaging them. We use it all the time to monitor where they're going, what they're interested in, and how engaging our posts are. I would say it's probably not a good idea for a smaller organization, as one social media manager could work it all out
Read full review
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
Criteo
  • Intuitive dashboards and reporting
  • Custom templates for display media
  • Flexibility in terms of setting guardrails for targeting
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
  • It is easy to use, with functionality covering mobile, desktop and even tablet. I'm always on the go, so it's nice to be able to access my server from pretty much anywhere.
  • It has a wonderful intuitive user interface, every facet of this is designed and thought over, so it's easy to navigate around the program.
  • It offers a free trial so there's no real commitment if you just want to try it out, which is nice.
Read full review
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
Criteo
  • Exportable insights at a brand, page, and placement level
  • Segmentation API service to better manage first-party data
  • Opportunity for non-custom implementation to allow for scalable solutions, such as programmatic backfill
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
  • I would like a more in-depth look at my traffic stats. I can see clicks, where my audience is going, but I'd like maybe some kind of perspective into who my audience is (18-24, adult, etc).
  • Constant updates. It's nice that they're always looking to update program, but the update can kinda get in the way of my work sometimes.
  • I'd prefer it if were a little cheaper – the free trial is nice, but getting my superiors to sign off on the cost (they're a bit old school) is a bit tough sometimes.
Read full review
Kevel
  • User interface could be faster to load.
Read full review
Usability
Criteo
Intuitive and easy to use.
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
No answers on this topic
Kevel
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Criteo
Retail Media by Criteo's support at the start (with ERMS and Hooklogic) was pretty poor, with support SLAs exceeding 72 hours. This has changed over time to having a dedicated team--therefore the 7 rating and not 8.
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
No answers on this topic
Kevel
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Criteo
Cost of integration is low with Retail Media by Criteo, and Criteo's network of sponsored products is strong.
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
Honestly, you can use either/or. I'm all about AdServer right now because since Adobe has implemented their cloud service, they've gotten more expensive. Smart AdServer is just one cost, and it's cheaper than Adobe Cloud
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
Criteo
  • Increased net revenue
  • Increased profit
  • CTR is unchanged (but this can be improved with better opportunities for targeting)
Read full review
Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer)
  • It's helped my organization better manage our traffic flow.
  • It's reduced the amount of work on our social media manager.
  • It's helped my organization get a better perspective on our clientele - where they're going, what they're interested in, it's been a great asset to our business.
Read full review
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

Criteo Commerce Max Screenshots

Screenshot of Criteo Retail Media Platform
The all-in-one self-service platform for buying retail media at scale.
Execute campaigns across premium retailers and easily measure campaigns against commerce results.Screenshot of Sponsored Product Ads
Boost product visibility and sales with native product ads
Deliver the right product ad for each shopper with native ads that seamlessly blend in with organic content. Make sure your products are seen on relevant search results pages, category pages, and product detail pages.Screenshot of Offsite Ads
Target retailer audiences as they browse the open web.
Bring targeted audiences back to partner retailer sites with display and video campaigns on premium sites across the web. Build more product awareness and influence consideration among shoppers.Screenshot of Commerce Display Ads
Reach shoppers with highly engaging creatives. 
Link pure branding and performance on retailers’ websites. Combine your own brand assets with dynamic, retail-specific features, such as real-time pricing. Target consumers based on shopping and browsing behavior.

Kevel Screenshots

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