AdRoll
The Trade Desk
| Feature | AdRoll | The Trade Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $36/mo | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce, dtc-brands, small-businesses, shopify-stores | media-buyers, agencies, enterprise-advertisers, programmatic-teams |
| Founded | 2007 | 2009 |
| Retargeting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Display Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Marketing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Bidding | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audience Segmentation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Programmatic Buying | ✗ | ✓ |
| Connected Tv | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audio Ads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
| Attribution | ✗ | ✓ |
| Identity Graph | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ AdRoll Pros
- Great retargeting
- Cross-channel campaigns
- AI optimization
- Easy Shopify integration
✗ AdRoll Cons
- Minimum spend required
- Learning curve
- Reporting could improve
✓ The Trade Desk Pros
- Best-in-class DSP technology
- Excellent CTV capabilities
- Strong data marketplace
- Transparent pricing
✗ The Trade Desk Cons
- Enterprise minimum spend
- Requires programmatic expertise
- Complex for beginners
The Verdict
AdRoll is built for ecommerce and dtc brands, with a focus on retargeting and display-ads. The Trade Desk targets media buyers and agencies and leads with programmatic-buying and connected-tv.
The Trade Desk uses custom enterprise pricing, while AdRoll starts at $36/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
The Trade Desk edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: The Trade Desk has a slight overall edge — but if great retargeting matters most to you, AdRoll may still be the right call.