The Trade Desk vs DV360: which DSP should you use?
The Trade Desk vs DV360 is the most common demand-side platform decision European advertisers face, and the honest answer is that it depends on where your audience and data already live. The Trade Desk is the largest independent DSP, strong on connected TV and the open internet. DV360 is Google’s enterprise DSP, strong inside the Google stack.
Both are excellent buying platforms. The difference is philosophy: The Trade Desk bets on an open internet independent of the walled gardens, while DV360 trades some independence for deep integration with YouTube, Google data and the wider Google Marketing Platform. This comparison breaks down where each one wins.
The Trade Desk vs DV360 at a glance
| Factor | The Trade Desk | DV360 | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory focus | Open internet, CTV, audio | Google stack, YouTube, open web | Tie, by channel |
| Connected TV | Ventura CTV OS, broad publishers | Strong, plus YouTube | The Trade Desk |
| Identity | UID2 (independent) | Google signals, PAIR | The Trade Desk for independence |
| Fees | ~20% take rate, loosening in 2025 | Total media cost, ~10–15% est. | DV360 on headline fee |
| Access | Via agencies and resellers | Google or certified partner | Tie |
| AI buying | Kokai | Google AI workflows | Tie |
The verdict column shows there is rarely a clean winner. Most of the decision comes down to two questions covered below.
How do the fees compare?
Fees are where the two diverge most visibly. The Trade Desk charges around a 20% take rate on media, a figure it has stated publicly. Under competitive pressure from Amazon DSP, it started loosening that in 2025, offering reductions of one to two percentage points tied to quarterly spend thresholds.
DV360 does not publish a rate. It bills on a “total media cost” that bundles media, data and platform fees, and practitioner estimates put the platform portion near 10 to 15% on open-auction buys. Lower headline fees do not automatically mean lower total cost, since data and inventory choices move the real number more than the platform rate does. Either way, what matters is working-media share, the topic at the centre of what programmatic advertising is.
Which has the better inventory and identity?
The Trade Desk’s advantage is independence. It buys across the open internet, leads on connected TV through its Ventura operating system, and pushes UID2 as an identity standard that does not depend on any single platform’s cookies. For advertisers who want reach outside the walled gardens, that is the draw, and it is why The Trade Desk joined the S&P 500 in July 2025 on the strength of that position.
DV360’s advantage is the Google stack. It has unmatched access to YouTube, integrates natively with Google Ads data and GA4, and fits teams already running Google Marketing Platform. If most of your measurement and audiences already sit in Google, DV360 removes friction that The Trade Desk cannot.
The verdict: which DSP should you choose?
Choose The Trade Desk if connected TV and open-internet reach are central, if you value identity independent of Google, and if you have the agency or reseller access to run it well. Its single biggest pro is CTV and open-web breadth; its biggest con is the roughly 20% take rate.
Choose DV360 if you buy heavily on YouTube, if your data and measurement live in the Google stack, and if you want one platform across Google’s inventory. Its biggest pro is Google integration; its biggest con is the loss of independence and opaque total-media-cost pricing.
Most mid-market advertisers do not need to run both. We help clients pick per campaign through our programmatic advertising service, and explain any unfamiliar term in the display advertising glossary.