DV360 vs Amazon DSP: Key Differences and When to Use Each

What is the main difference between DV360 and Amazon DSP?

The main difference is the data and the inventory each platform brings. DV360 is Google's DSP. It gives you YouTube, Google's audience signals and access to Indian OTT apps, news publishers and DOOH screens through guaranteed and private deals. Amazon DSP is built on what Amazon knows about how people shop, browse and stream, and it is the main route to Prime Video ads.

So this is rarely an either-or choice. A bank or a car brand will usually get more from DV360. A beauty or electronics brand that sells on Amazon.in may need both. If you want the basics of Google's platform first, read what DV360 is.

What changed with Amazon DSP in 2026?

At its unBoxed event in September 2026, Amazon announced that Amazon DSP has become part of Amazon Ads Agent, a single platform that brings its programmatic buying together with sponsored ads. It also introduced DVA+, a simpler campaign type that brings display, video and audio buying together, with advanced settings for buyers who want every DSP control.

Amazon says existing campaigns, audiences, deals and performance history carry over, and that its self-service and managed-service options continue. DVA+ started in closed beta in the US. Amazon plans wider international rollout from late 2026 into 2027 but hasn't named a date for India. Most buyers still say Amazon DSP, so we use that name here.

How do DV360 and Amazon DSP compare side by side?

Which inventory can each reach in India?

DV360 covers the widest spread of Indian inventory in one place. That includes YouTube, Programmatic Guaranteed deals on JioHotstar, ZEE5, SonyLIV, Sun NXT and aha, English and regional news publishers, DOOH screens and the open exchanges. Indicative CPMs for most OTT entertainment inventory run from about ₹200 to ₹500.

Amazon's strength is its own streaming. Prime Video has carried ads in India since 17 June 2025 for members who don't buy the ad-free add-on, and it is sold by Amazon, mainly through Amazon Ads and Amazon DSP. We haven't seen Prime Video India offered as a DV360 deal. Amazon lets self-service DSP advertisers in India set up guaranteed and preferred deals with its own media, including Prime Video, at indicative CPMs of about ₹300–750. Our page on Prime Video advertising explains the buying route.

MX Player, which Amazon has been folding into Prime Video during 2026, is also sold mainly through Amazon's channels. Sometimes a DV360 deal exists for specific dates, so it is worth checking. See our Amazon MX Player page for rates and audience.

How do audiences and data compare?

Amazon DSP's audiences come from real shopping and streaming behaviour on Amazon. You can reach people who have recently browsed a category, such as skincare or smartphones, on and off Amazon. You don't have to sell on Amazon to use it, though the closed-loop sales data only works for products sold there.

DV360 relies on Google's signals and your own data. You get affinity and in-market audiences, first-party lists, lookalike segments and remarketing from your Floodlight tags. In some markets, retail media networks also license shopper audiences inside DV360 as commerce audiences, but availability varies, so check before you plan around them.

For a D2C brand that sells on its own site and on Amazon.in, this splits neatly. Amazon knows who shops your category on Amazon. Your Floodlight and GA4 data know who visits your own site.

How does measurement differ?

Amazon's measurement is strongest when the sale happens on Amazon. For products sold there, you get purchase, return on ad spend and new-to-brand metrics, which show how many buyers had not bought from your brand on Amazon in the past year. Amazon Marketing Cloud, Amazon's clean room, lets you run deeper analysis on event-level data where it is available to you.

DV360 is stronger when the sale or lead happens on your own site or app. Floodlight tags, Campaign Manager 360 and Google Analytics 4 track conversions there. Active View measures viewability, DV360 reports unique reach and frequency across channels, and YouTube Brand Lift studies are available when campaigns meet the spend thresholds. Our guide on how DV360 works covers the reporting side.

The catch when you use both: neither platform sees the other's delivery. Frequency caps don't carry across, and each counts reach its own way. We plan frequency per platform and combine both sets of delivery data into one view for clients who run both.

What do they cost, and what are the minimums?

Both charge for media plus a platform cost, and neither publishes a full price list.

Google charges a DV360 platform fee as a percentage of media cost, at contract rates that are lower for YouTube and Programmatic Guaranteed than for exchange inventory. If a partner runs the account, there is a service fee as well, agreed upfront. Our post on the DV360 minimum budget covers realistic starting spends.

Amazon offers self-service and managed-service buying. Its own DSP guide says managed service typically requires a minimum spend of US$50,000 and that the minimum may vary by country, so confirm the Indian figure with Amazon. Amazon says existing pricing carries over into Amazon Ads Agent.

What could a combined plan look like?

Here is an illustrative ₹25 lakh festive plan for a D2C skincare brand that sells on its own website and on Amazon.in. The CPMs come from our planning ranges, not from quotes.

Impressions are budget divided by CPM, multiplied by 1,000. Amazon then reports sales and new-to-brand buyers on Amazon.in, while Floodlight and GA4 track orders on the brand's own site. Each platform gets its own frequency cap, and the combined report shows total reach.

Which should you choose?

Choose by where your customers buy and which screens you need.

• BFSI, auto, real estate and education brands that don't sell on Amazon should usually start with DV360.
• D2C, beauty and consumer electronics brands that sell on Amazon.in often need both: Amazon DSP for shoppers and Prime Video, DV360 for YouTube and Indian OTT.
• A national FMCG launch should anchor on DV360 for scale, then add Prime Video if premium metro households matter and the budget allows.
• Performance campaigns that convert on your own site work best in DV360, with Floodlight or GA4 feeding the bidding.

Our e-commerce industry page shows how a full-funnel DV360 plan works for online retail brands, from OTT reach to retargeting.

How do you run both without wasting budget?

1. Give each platform a clear job, such as Amazon for shoppers and Prime Video, DV360 for YouTube and other OTT.
2. Set a frequency goal for each platform so the total stays sensible.
3. Don't retarget the same visitor pool on both platforms at once.
4. Use the same creative versions and naming on both, so results are comparable.
5. Agree one combined report before launch, not after.

For the wider picture, see our comparison of the best programmatic advertising platforms and how DV360 stacks up against The Trade Desk.

Next step

Want to see how YouTube, Indian OTT and Prime Video could share your budget? Ask for a free media plan and tell us Prime Video is in the mix. We will plan the DV360 side and coordinate the Amazon buy in the same plan.