Amazon DSP vs. DV360: Which DSP Offers More for Today’s Advertiser?
In the evolving landscape of programmatic advertising, brands and agencies are no longer just choosing any DSP—they’re choosing the one that aligns with their goals for data, inventory access, measurement, and scale.
Two of the most recognized platforms in the space are Amazon DSP and DV360 (Display & Video 360), Google’s enterprise-level demand-side platform. While both offer broad reach across channels, their capabilities, data access, and attribution models are very different.
If you’re considering which platform to invest in for your next campaign, this breakdown will help you understand the real differences—and when to use one over the other.
Amazon DSP gives advertisers access to both Amazon-owned media (including Fire TV, Twitch, Freevee, and Amazon.com) and premium third-party supply across the open web. It’s designed to combine Amazon’s proprietary first-party data with streaming TV inventory and closed-loop measurement that ties ad exposure directly to purchase behavior.
It’s particularly powerful for brands looking to influence shoppers at every stage of the funnel and track performance all the way to conversion—both on and off Amazon.
DV360 is Google’s programmatic platform, offering access to a massive open marketplace of video, display, native, audio, and CTV inventory through integrations with Google's Ad Exchange (AdX) and third-party SSPs. It allows buyers to reach users across YouTube, websites within the Google Display Network (GDN), and thousands of publishers.
DV360 is tightly integrated with the broader Google Marketing Platform, making it ideal for advertisers already working within the Google stack.
Amazon DSP uses Amazon’s first-party shopper and streaming data to build precise in-market audiences. That includes behavioral signals from product searches, cart activity, purchases, and streaming behavior across Prime Video and Fire TV.
DV360, meanwhile, draws on Google's data ecosystem—including audience insights from YouTube, Gmail, Google Search (anonymized), and Chrome. It also integrates with third-party data providers, giving buyers a variety of audience targeting options. However, DV360’s data is becoming more restricted in response to privacy regulations and cookie deprecation.
Bottom line:
Amazon offers commerce-based targeting based on real purchase intent. Google offers interest- and intent-based targeting at massive scale.
Amazon DSP provides exclusive access to high-impact placements across Fire TV, Twitch, IMDb, and Amazon Publisher Services. This includes streaming TV inventory and display placements on Amazon.com and affiliate sites that no other DSP can reach.
DV360 provides access to a broad spectrum of digital inventory, including YouTube, YouTube TV, and other Google properties. Its integration with AdX gives it scale across the open web, but the quality of that supply can vary without careful curation.
Key difference:
Amazon DSP owns and controls premium streaming and retail environments. DV360 buys from exchanges, with stronger reach on video platforms like YouTube.
Amazon DSP is a dominant player in streaming TV thanks to its integrations with Fire TV, Freevee, and Twitch. It also partners directly with Disney, Roku, and other streaming apps, allowing advertisers to run guaranteed CTV campaigns in brand-safe environments, often at more competitive CPMs than open exchange auctions.
DV360 also offers access to CTV through YouTube TV and partnerships with multiple SSPs. However, many of these buys go through auctions, which can lead to inflated CPMs and less control over placement.
Advantage:
Amazon DSP offers more premium, guaranteed streaming TV supply. DV360 provides broader CTV access but with less inventory exclusivity.
Amazon DSP offers closed-loop attribution by tracking user behavior after ad exposure—down to product detail page views, add-to-cart actions, and conversions on Amazon. This makes it one of the few DSPs that can connect media spend directly to purchase behavior without relying on cookies.
DV360 uses a combination of Google Analytics, Campaign Manager 360, and Floodlight tags to track performance. While robust, it relies more heavily on cookie-based tracking and can be less reliable as third-party signals fade.
Takeaway:
If you want deterministic attribution tied to real-world sales, Amazon DSP has a measurable edge.
DV360 is more accessible to media buyers thanks to self-service onboarding, real-time bidding controls, and integrations across Google’s ad tech stack. It’s designed for flexibility and works well for multi-channel media teams.
Amazon DSP, while powerful, requires experience or a partner to fully unlock. The UI is not as intuitive for new users, and campaign setup often benefits from expert support.
Use Amazon DSP if you:
Use DV360 if you:
Both Amazon DSP and DV360 are best-in-class platforms—but they serve different purposes.
Amazon DSP is ideal for outcome-driven advertisers who want full-funnel control, premium inventory, and commerce-first targeting. DV360 is best suited for broad-reach, multi-format campaigns across the Google ecosystem and the open web.
In a world where performance, transparency, and data privacy are becoming critical, the DSP you choose will determine more than just where your ads appear—it will determine whether you can truly measure their impact.
Choose the one that aligns not just with your media plan, but with your long-term goals for scale and accountability.
Two platforms that often come up in this conversation are Amazon DSP and StackAdapt. Both offer sophisticated tools for running campaigns across display, video, and connected TV—but their underlying strengths, data access, and inventory partnerships differ significantly.
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