What AdGlare does

AdGlare is a cloud-based independent ad server software platform serving publishers, advertisers, and agencies. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Manassas, Virginia, the company operates across 45+ countries with infrastructure spanning six data centers in the United States, Europe, and Asia, backed by a network of 220+ ad-serving nodes. Its product surface covers display, native, VAST video, Connected TV (CTV), and white-label ad serving, alongside complementary tools such as Catalog Ads (dynamic product-level creative), Data Shipping pipelines to BigQuery and Snowflake, and a proprietary UserDB for first-party audience data with MaxMind geo-IP integration.

The platform is differentiated by a privacy-first compliance posture — including GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27001 certification, and IAB TCF vendor registration (ID 1593) — and by features such as a creative optimization algorithm that rebalances delivery on a five-minute cycle, Smart Rotation anti-fatigue logic, an anomaly detection API, and GIVT/SIVT bot filtering. Payment processing is handled via Stripe (PCI-DSS), and the company explicitly markets a migration assistance pathway for organizations leaving Google Ad Manager.

Commercially, AdGlare is privately held and bootstrapped, with no disclosed external funding. Pricing is structured as a pay-as-you-go subscription across three tiers — Essential, Growth (up to 1 billion ad requests), and Enterprise (up to 10 billion) — with no published bandwidth charges, and includes a white-label OEM option for partners. Named customers include TraceParts (relationship since 2016), FX Empire, Quidco, PharmAdvertise, RXNT, and Shoop, spanning engineering parts publishing, financial media, cashback, healthcare advertising, and healthcare IT.

Name

AdGlare

Legal name

AdGlare

Website

https://adglare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

AdGlare is a bootstrapped, cloud-based independent ad server software platform serving publishers, advertisers, and agencies across 45+ countries with display, native, VAST video, CTV, and white-label ad serving capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ad Server Software / Ad Tech

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketing Automation Platforms & Services (BPAFAFAC)

Keywords

• Ad server software
• Display advertising platform
• Video ad serving
• CTV ad server
• White label ad server

Headquarters

HQ city

Manassas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription - Usage-Based SaaS Licensing: AdGlare sells subscription plans (Essential, Growth, Enterprise) priced by monthly ad request volume. Plans are month-to-month with no long-term contracts. All plans include bandwidth, creative transcoding, and core features. Higher tiers unlock advanced capabilities (Custom Dimensions, Data Shipping, Workspaces, White Label). Upgrades are pro-rated; downgrades take effect at next billing cycle. 15-day free trial with up to 10 million ad requests; converts to paid upon card entry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AdGlare is a cloud-based independent ad server software platform that lets publishers, advertisers, and ad agencies launch, manage, deliver, and optimize digital ad campaigns across Display, Native, VAST Video, CTV, and Catalog formats. The platform provides real-time reporting, geotargeting, bot filtering, creative optimization, conversion tracking, and frequency capping, with white-label deployment options. It is sold as a SaaS subscription priced by monthly ad request volume across Essential, Growth, and Enterprise tiers.

Product overview

AdGlare is a cloud-based independent ad server software platform for publishers, advertisers, and ad agencies. The product portfolio consists of five core ad server products: Display Ad Server (for traditional banner ads), Native Ad Server (for JSON-based custom ad units), VAST Video Ad Server (for in-stream video ads), CTV Video Ad Server (for connected TV platforms), and White Label Ad Server (for serving ads from custom subdomains). These share a unified Management API and Reporting API infrastructure. Core platform features include Real-Time Reporting, Bot Filtering, Conversion Tracking, Creative Optimization, Frequency Capping, and Lazy Loading. Enterprise-tier add-ons include Catalog Ads, Custom Metrics, Custom Dimensions, Data Shipping, and Workspaces. The platform is designed for direct deals rather than programmatic header bidding, and operates with ISO 27001 compliance and privacy-by-design (no cookies, no PII collection).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Display Ad Server Cloud-based ad server for serving traditional inline display banner ads (PNG/JPG/WebP/AVIF images, HTML5 Zip, third-party ad tags). Provides ad trafficking, scheduling, dayparting, geotargeting, lazy loading, and delivery pacing for publishers and advertisers.
• Native Ad Server Native ad server that returns JSON format responses so publishers can build custom ad units matching their site content. Supports custom templates, key/value targeting, search query targeting, and server-side rendering for better page performance and SEO.
• VAST Video Ad Server VAST-compliant video ad server supporting versions 2.0 through 4.3 for pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll video ads. Includes automatic transcoding to HLS/DASH formats and multiple bit rates for cross-device delivery, with SSAI/DAI workflow support.
• CTV Video Ad Server Connected TV ad server for publishers, broadcasters, and CTV streaming apps running direct-sold campaigns. Supports VAST tags compatible with Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, and AWS MediaTailor, with ad podding, geo-aware ad breaks, and free CDN bandwidth.
• White Label Ad Server White-label ad server solution that allows customers to serve ads from their own subdomain (e.g., engine.mycompany.com) to bypass ad blockers. Includes custom PDF branding, SSL certificate provisioning, and enterprise-grade infrastructure as an Enterprise plan offering.
• Management API REST API providing full programmatic control over ad server operations including campaigns, creatives, zones, advertisers, workspaces, folders, and audit trails. Authentication via API key with Bearer token and configurable scoping, permissions, and IP whitelisting.
• Reporting API Real-time reporting API with direct database access and approximately 3-minute data delay. Supports multiple dimensions (day, campaign, creative, zone, geo, device, browser) and event types (impressions, clicks, conversions, viewability, VAST metrics).

Quantifiable outcome

• Network latency below 50 milliseconds across global infrastructure
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature19 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MaxMindcoreTechnology or IntegrationAdGlare uses MaxMind's GeoLite2 IP-to-geolocation database for all geographic targeting capabilities. The database provides country, region, city, DMA, latitude/longitude, and continent data for ad targeting. AdGlare's Terms of Service acknowledge MaxMind's GeoLite2 data. This is a critical integration for geotargeting functionality.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe processes all credit card transactions for AdGlare subscriptions. Card data is transmitted, stored, and processed on Stripe's PCI-Compliant network. AdGlare never stores full credit card numbers; only transaction records with last 4 digits are retained for account history and invoicing.
• IAB EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdGlare is a registered IAB TCF (Transparency and Consent Framework) vendor with ID 1593. The company actively participates in IAB Europe's consent framework, processing TC Strings from CMPs, and adheres to TCF Policies and Technical Specifications for GDPR-compliant ad serving.

Scale indicators7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kevel: Kevel offers a custom ad serving API platform aimed at publishers and retailers who want to build their own ad server logic. It is comparable to AdGlare because both sell developer-friendly ad serving infrastructure (rather than DSP/SSP stacks) to publishers and brands seeking an independent alternative to Google Ad Manager.
• Zedo: Zedo provides ad serving and optimization technology for publishers, with focus on direct deals, header bidding, and analytics. It is comparable to AdGlare because both target publishers seeking independent, transparent ad serving outside of Google's stack, and both emphasize multi-format (display, video, native) capabilities.
• Equativ: Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer) is an independent ad server and SSP serving publishers and media buyers across multiple formats including display, video, and CTV. It is comparable to AdGlare because it competes for the same publisher-direct and agency-driven ad serving workload, with a similar multi-format product approach.
• Epom: Epom is an ad serving and ad exchange platform offering white-label solutions for publishers and advertisers. It is comparable to AdGlare because both sell white-label, multi-format ad serving to agencies and publishers seeking to operate independent, branded ad platforms.
• AdButler: AdButler is an independent ad server used by publishers and advertisers for direct-sold display, video, and native campaigns. It is comparable to AdGlare because both target mid-market and SMB publishers with self-serve, multi-format ad serving at usage-based pricing, and both position themselves as alternatives to Google Ad Manager.

Emerging players

• Revive AdServer: Revive AdServer is a free, open-source ad serving platform widely used by smaller publishers and non-profits. It is comparable to AdGlare because it serves the same direct-sold publisher-advertiser workflow, and represents a potential free-tier substitute for cost-sensitive buyers evaluating AdGlare's lower-tier plans.

Broad incumbents

• FreeWheel: FreeWheel provides ad serving and monetization solutions primarily for premium video publishers and broadcasters. It is comparable to AdGlare because both compete for video and CTV publishers needing VAST-compliant ad serving, though FreeWheel is much larger and more entrenched with major media owners.
• Google Ad Manager: Google Ad Manager is the dominant full-stack ad server for publishers of all sizes. It is comparable to AdGlare because both provide core ad serving, targeting, and reporting for direct-sold campaigns, but Google Ad Manager operates at vastly larger scale, includes programmatic pipes, and is offered at effectively zero marginal cost — making it the primary competitive threat.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adglareadserver

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AdGlare