Criteo
Swell
| Feature | Criteo | Swell |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Contact sales | Free / from $299/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce-retailers, d2c-brands, agencies, performance-marketers | developers, subscription-businesses, custom-ecommerce, b2b-commerce |
| Founded | 2005 | 2016 |
| Dynamic Retargeting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Product Recommendations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Retail Media | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audience Targeting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Commerce Insights | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Headless Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Subscriptions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Currency | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Models | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Admin Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Criteo Pros
- Excellent retargeting performance
- AI-powered product recommendations
- Large retail media network
- Strong ROAS for ecommerce
✗ Criteo Cons
- Primarily retargeting focused
- Complex reporting
- Minimum spend requirements
✓ Swell Pros
- Extremely flexible API
- Built-in subscription support
- Good for unique business models
- Developer-friendly
✗ Swell Cons
- Requires development resources
- Expensive for small stores
- Smaller ecosystem
The Verdict
Criteo is built for ecommerce retailers and d2c brands, with a focus on dynamic-retargeting and product-recommendations. Swell targets developers and subscription businesses and leads with headless-api and subscriptions.
Criteo uses custom enterprise pricing, while Swell starts at $299/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Swell has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Criteo requires a paid subscription from day one.
Bottom line: Swell has a slight overall edge — but if excellent retargeting performance matters most to you, Criteo may still be the right call.