7 Best AdRoll Alternatives for Retargeting and Ad Campaigns

Why look beyond AdRoll

AdRoll provides a platform for retargeting, brand awareness, and cross-channel advertising, primarily serving small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and e-commerce operations. Its core offering focuses on automating ad placements across various channels, including display, social, and email, with compliance for GDPR and CCPA. However, advertisers may seek alternatives for several reasons.

Some users may require more granular control over programmatic ad buying and optimization, which specialized demand-side platforms (DSPs) like DV360 offer. Others might prioritize deeper integration with specific social media ecosystems, making Meta Ads a more direct fit. Businesses with extensive customer relationship management (CRM) needs or a preference for an all-in-one marketing suite might find platforms like HubSpot more suitable. Additionally, while AdRoll offers retargeting, competitors like Criteo and RTB House specialize in performance-based retargeting with proprietary bidding algorithms that may offer different efficiency profiles for certain campaign types. Evaluating alternatives allows businesses to align their advertising technology stack more closely with specific strategic goals, budget constraints, and technical requirements.

Top alternatives ranked

1. 1. Google Ads — Comprehensive advertising for search, display, and video

   Google Ads is a widely adopted advertising platform that enables businesses to display ads across Google's extensive network, including Search, Display Network, YouTube, and mobile apps. It offers diverse campaign types suited for driving website traffic, generating leads, increasing online sales, and building brand awareness. Advertisers can target users based on keywords, demographics, interests, and remarketing lists. The platform provides extensive tools for campaign management, bidding strategies, and performance reporting. While AdRoll specializes in cross-channel retargeting, Google Ads offers a broader reach across various ad formats and a strong emphasis on search intent, making it a foundational platform for many digital advertising strategies. Developers can integrate with Google Ads through its client libraries for languages like Java, PHP, and Python.

   Best for: Driving website traffic, generating leads, increasing online sales, brand awareness campaigns across Google's ecosystem.

   View Google Ads profile

2. 2. Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram) — Social media advertising for broad audience reach

   Meta Ads, encompassing Facebook and Instagram, provides a robust platform for social media advertising. It allows businesses to create highly targeted campaigns using detailed demographic, interest, and behavior-based targeting options. The platform supports various ad formats, including image, video, carousel, and collection ads, suitable for objectives like brand awareness, lead generation, website traffic, and e-commerce sales. For businesses focused on engaging users within social environments and leveraging extensive audience data, Meta Ads offers deep integration into these channels. While AdRoll offers social retargeting, Meta Ads provides native tools for comprehensive campaign management directly within the Facebook and Instagram ecosystems. Developers can utilize the Marketing API SDKs for PHP, Python, and Node.js to build custom integrations.

   Best for: Social media advertising, broad audience reach, e-commerce promotion, detailed audience targeting, brand awareness campaigns on Facebook and Instagram.

   View Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram) profile

3. 3. Criteo — Performance-driven retargeting and commerce media

   Criteo specializes in performance marketing, particularly retargeting and commerce media solutions for e-commerce businesses. It uses proprietary AI and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized ad recommendations to users across various publisher networks. Criteo's strength lies in its ability to drive sales and conversions by showing highly relevant products to users who have previously interacted with a brand's website or app. This focus on post-click performance and dynamic creative optimization differentiates it from more general advertising platforms. For businesses with a strong e-commerce focus looking to maximize return on ad spend through personalized retargeting, Criteo offers a specialized and often more granular approach than AdRoll's broader retargeting capabilities. Criteo also offers developer resources for integration.

   Best for: E-commerce retargeting, personalized product recommendations, performance-driven commerce media, maximizing sales conversions.

   View Criteo profile

4. 4. RTB House — Deep learning-powered retargeting for e-commerce

   RTB House is a global company that provides advanced retargeting technology powered by deep learning algorithms. Similar to Criteo, it focuses on delivering highly personalized ads to online shoppers, aiming to increase conversion rates and maximize return on ad spend. RTB House's deep learning approach allows for more sophisticated prediction of user behavior and optimization of ad delivery in real-time bidding environments. The platform is particularly effective for e-commerce businesses seeking to re-engage users with dynamic, relevant product ads across display networks. While AdRoll offers retargeting, RTB House's specialized deep learning technology can provide an alternative for businesses prioritizing advanced algorithmic optimization for their retargeting campaigns. Information on their technology and solutions is available on their site.

   Best for: E-commerce retargeting with deep learning, personalized dynamic ads, maximizing conversion rates through advanced algorithms.

   View RTB House profile

5. 5. DV360 (Display & Video 360) — Enterprise-grade programmatic advertising platform

   DV360 is Google's enterprise-level demand-side platform (DSP) designed for programmatic media buying. It provides comprehensive tools for planning, executing, and measuring display, video, audio, and out-of-home campaigns across various ad exchanges and publishers. DV360 offers advanced audience targeting, brand safety controls, and sophisticated bidding strategies, making it suitable for large advertisers and agencies managing complex, cross-channel campaigns. While AdRoll provides automated ad placement for SMBs, DV360 caters to a more sophisticated user base requiring granular control over programmatic inventory, extensive reporting, and integration with Google's broader advertising ecosystem. It is a powerful alternative for organizations needing robust, scalable programmatic capabilities. Technical documentation and support can be found on Google's Display & Video 360 help center.

   Best for: Large-scale programmatic media buying, cross-channel campaign management, advanced audience targeting, brand safety and verification for enterprises.

   View DV360 profile

6. 6. HubSpot — Integrated marketing, sales, and service platform

   HubSpot offers a comprehensive suite of tools for marketing, sales, customer service, content management, and operations, all integrated into a single platform. While not a direct ad platform like AdRoll, HubSpot includes advertising management features that allow businesses to connect their ad accounts (Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads) and manage campaigns alongside other marketing activities. Its strength lies in its ability to unify customer data across various touchpoints, enabling more personalized and contextually relevant advertising within a broader inbound marketing strategy. For businesses seeking an all-in-one solution that combines ad management with CRM, email marketing, landing pages, and analytics, HubSpot provides an integrated alternative to AdRoll's more focused ad tech offering. HubSpot's Ads tool documentation details its integration capabilities.

   Best for: SMBs seeking an integrated marketing and sales platform, unified customer data, content management, and inbound marketing strategies with ad management capabilities.

   View HubSpot profile

7. 7. Hotjar — User behavior analytics for website optimization

   Hotjar is a user behavior analytics and feedback tool that helps businesses understand how users interact with their websites. It offers features like heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, and feedback widgets to identify usability issues and optimize conversion funnels. While not an advertising platform itself, Hotjar complements advertising efforts by providing insights into post-click user experience. Marketers can use Hotjar data to optimize landing pages and website flows, thereby improving the effectiveness of traffic driven by platforms like AdRoll or its alternatives. For businesses focused on improving the on-site experience to maximize the value of their ad spend, Hotjar provides critical data that directly impacts conversion rates. Detailed information on its features is available on the Hotjar Help Center.

   Best for: Website behavior analysis, user experience optimization, collecting user feedback, identifying usability issues to improve conversion rates.

   View Hotjar profile

Side-by-side

How to pick

Selecting an AdRoll alternative requires evaluating your specific advertising goals, budget, technical resources, and the scale of your operations. Consider the following decision-tree approach:

• Are you primarily focused on broad reach and diverse ad formats across search, display, and video?
  • Google Ads: Offers unparalleled reach across Google's ecosystem and is essential for search engine marketing. It's suitable for almost any business size and objective, from brand awareness to direct response. Its broad feature set requires more manual management or advanced automation tools.
• Is social media engagement and detailed audience targeting within social platforms your priority?
  • Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram): Ideal for businesses looking to leverage the extensive user data and engagement opportunities on Facebook and Instagram. It excels for e-commerce, lead generation, and building brand presence within social communities.
• Do you run an e-commerce business and need highly personalized, performance-driven retargeting?
  • Criteo: Specializes in driving conversions through dynamic, personalized product recommendations across publisher networks. It's a strong choice if your primary goal is to maximize sales from existing website visitors.
  • RTB House: Similar to Criteo, it offers deep learning-powered retargeting for e-commerce, potentially providing an edge in algorithmic optimization for specific types of campaigns.
• Are you a large enterprise or agency requiring advanced programmatic media buying capabilities and granular control?
  • DV360: Google's enterprise DSP provides sophisticated tools for managing complex, cross-channel programmatic campaigns, offering extensive control over inventory, bidding, and audience targeting. It's designed for high-volume, high-budget advertisers.
• Are you looking for an all-in-one platform that integrates ad management with CRM, email, and other marketing functions?
  • HubSpot: While its ad management features are not as deep as dedicated ad platforms, HubSpot excels at unifying your marketing efforts. If you need a comprehensive platform to manage customer relationships alongside your ads, it's a strong contender.
• Do you need to understand user behavior on your website to optimize conversion rates and improve ad performance?
  • Hotjar: Not an ad platform, but a crucial complementary tool. If you're driving traffic with ads and need to understand why users aren't converting on your site, Hotjar provides the behavioral insights to optimize your landing pages and user experience.

Consider the learning curve, support resources, and integration capabilities with your existing tech stack for each alternative. Many platforms offer free trials or starter tiers, allowing for direct evaluation before committing to a long-term solution.