comparison
AdBuyMCP vs The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk is built for people who trade media full time. AdBuyMCP is built for a founder who wants to choose how often their market should see them each week, at a price they know up front.
Free, with no card. We read your homepage, draft who buys from you and show your monthly price before you join the waitlist. Nothing is bought until you've approved the plan and the ads.
By James Rooney Updated
- where The Trade Desk is ahead
- 5 strengths
- where AdBuyMCP fits
- 4 reasons
- stage
- Launch phase
- published sources cited
- 2
their promise
What The Trade Desk offers
Enterprise omnichannel buying with deep supply, identity, data and optimisation.
side by side
How the two compare on price, minimums and channels
The facts about The Trade Desk are desk research, and each figure taken from a published page carries that page and the date we checked it.
| Compared on | The Trade Desk | AdBuyMCP |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | The Trade DeskA platform fee of about 20.3% of spend in 2024 on published analysis, with discounts negotiated at volume.Source: AdExchanger, analysis of The Trade Desk's take rate, checked 3 August 2026 | AdBuyMCP£100 a month for every 1,000 people in your market, for each time a week they should see you. All-in: the media, the ads we make for each channel from your website, the planning, buying and balancing across the four channels, and your weekly report, with no fee on top. Prices are shown before VAT. |
| Published minimum | The Trade DeskNot stated in the sources we cite. | AdBuyMCPFrom £3,000 a month, at 3 times a week. Plans are priced on a market of at least 10,000 people, so all four channels get enough to run. |
| Channels | The Trade DeskOmnichannel programmatic, including streaming TV, audio and digital out-of-home. | AdBuyMCPFour channels in one plan: out-of-home, streaming TV, podcasts and ChatGPT ads, with the budget balanced between them by us. |
| How it reaches B2B buyers | The Trade DeskIdentity, data partners and programmatic audiences, including Spotify's podcast categories such as Business.Source: Spotify Advertising, Podcast ads automated buying, checked 20 October 2026 | AdBuyMCPEach channel is aimed at your market with the targeting its seller offers: places and times of day for out-of-home, business data such as company size and industry for streaming TV where the seller offers it, shows and categories for podcasts, and the topic of the conversation for ChatGPT ads. None of them targets people by job title in the UK. |
| Where it runs | The Trade DeskGlobal, run by trading desks in-house or at agencies. | AdBuyMCPPlans run in the UK, and every price is in pounds. |
| What it reports | The Trade DeskReporting, verification and brand safety tools inside the platform. | AdBuyMCPFrequency is planned: each week we buy enough ads aimed at your market for it to see you that many times on average. Some of every channel's audience sits outside your market, and the weekly report shows what each channel delivered against the plan. |
| How you buy it | The Trade DeskThrough a sales process, for a trading desk in-house or at an agency. | AdBuyMCPYou type your website or work email, see your plan and its price, then join the waitlist in five questions with no card. ChatGPT ads run in your own OpenAI ad account, which we set up with you. Nothing is bought until the plan, the ads and the start date are confirmed with you. No media has been bought through AdBuyMCP yet, so your campaign would be among the first. |
A cell with no source under it is our own summary. “Not stated” means the sources we cite give no figure. AdBuyMCP’s prices are explained on the pricing page.
both columns
Where each one is stronger
What they do better today
- 01Far more inventory and supply relationships than AdBuyMCP has
- 02Identity resolution, data and optimisation built over more than a decade
- 03Spotify's podcast inventory by category, including Business, through Spotify's Ad Exchange
- 04A trading interface built for people who trade media full time
- 05Verification, brand safety and fraud controls
What AdBuyMCP does for you
- 01A price you can see before you talk to anyone, set by the size of your market
- 02No trader needed: you choose how often your market should see you, and we balance the budget
- 03Classic billboards and ChatGPT ads in the same plan as streaming TV and podcasts
- 04A weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan
If the first list holds what your plan depends on, The Trade Desk is the better buy. If you're not sure, ask the founder on a 30-minute call.
before you decide
Ask which one fits your market.
Bring your market and the plan you're weighing. If the alternative fits you better, that's the answer you'll get on the call.
Free, with no card.
Talk your market and your plan through with James Rooney, who built AdBuyMCP and wrote its code.
the decision
Each one suits a different buyer
Choose The Trade Desk when
You have a trading desk, or an agency running one for you, and the volume to negotiate. At that scale its capability is in a different class, and the fee buys something real.
Choose AdBuyMCP when
You have no trader, you want to choose how often your market should see you each week, and you want the price before you talk to anyone.
The Trade Desk is the most capable buying platform here, and it pays off for a team with a trader and volume. AdBuyMCP is for a founder who wants a priced plan.
If neither block describes your situation, book a 30-minute call with the founder and talk your market through.
where to check this
These sources back the facts about The Trade Desk
Each fact about The Trade Desk that rests on a published page links it below, with the date we checked it. The supply status page grades each of AdBuyMCP’s connectors on what it has done with a real seller so far.
Sources
Our trust page sets out how each channel is bought, what your weekly report shows and how we handle your data.
Trust and limitsSee what your market costs at 3, 5 or 12 times a week, for all four channels, before you join the waitlist.
Free, with no card.
the other comparisons
You may be weighing these alternatives too
All 16 comparisons are on the comparison hub, with their prices, minimums and channels in one table.
vs DV360
DV360 is the stronger choice for a team that runs its media inside Google's stack. AdBuyMCP is for a founder who wants a priced plan across four channels.
Platformvs StackAdapt
StackAdapt is the closest like-for-like and the stronger platform today. AdBuyMCP suits a founder who wants one monthly price for the frequency they choose, with the budget balanced across the channels for them.
Platformvs Amazon DSP
If Amazon's audiences and Prime Video are the plan, go direct. AdBuyMCP is for B2B awareness across several channels, at a frequency you choose.
Platformvs an agency
An agency brings more judgement and a team you can call. AdBuyMCP gives you a price before you talk to anyone, with the media and your ads included, and balances the budget across the channels for you.
Agency or in-house
What buyers ask when they weigh The Trade Desk against AdBuyMCP
Is The Trade Desk a better choice than AdBuyMCP for me?
Yes, if you have a trading desk, or an agency running one for you, and the volume to negotiate. At that scale its capability is in a different class, and the fee buys something real.
When is AdBuyMCP a better choice than The Trade Desk?
Choose AdBuyMCP when you have no trader, you want to choose how often your market should see you each week, and you want the price before you talk to anyone.
What is The Trade Desk better at than AdBuyMCP?
Far more inventory and supply relationships than AdBuyMCP has; identity resolution, data and optimisation built over more than a decade; Spotify's podcast inventory by category, including Business, through Spotify's Ad Exchange; a trading interface built for people who trade media full time; verification, brand safety and fraud controls.
Where does AdBuyMCP fit better than The Trade Desk?
A price you can see before you talk to anyone, set by the size of your market; no trader needed: you choose how often your market should see you, and we balance the budget; classic billboards and ChatGPT ads in the same plan as streaming TV and podcasts; a weekly report showing what each channel delivered against the plan.