{"page":"/blog/bidder-as-a-service-vs-white-label-dsp-vs-self-hosted","modified":"2026-10-18","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","columns":["Dimension","Bidder-as-a-service","White-label DSP","Self-hosted DSP"],"rows":[["Who owns the bidder","Vendor. Customer attaches a \"bidding agent\" that must answer in 10 ms and run in the vendor's AWS region (FreeWheel docs, 12 August 2026).","Vendor. Customer configures campaigns; core bidder is shared code (TeqBlaze, accessed 17 October 2026).","Customer, or customer under license."],["Who owns the data (logs, audiences)","Customer gets log-level access as a product feature; data sits in vendor cloud (Beeswax product page lists \"extensible APIs\"; log access per third-party listings, Beeswax, accessed 17 October 2026).","Varies by vendor. TeqBlaze: \"separate databases and resources\" per client (TeqBlaze, accessed 17 October 2026); AdKernel: \"log-level reporting and action logs\" (AdKernel, accessed 17 October 2026). Contract decides ownership.","Customer. Data never leaves customer infrastructure."],["Who owns the code","Vendor.","Vendor. Source-code acquisition is a separate, custom-quoted license, \"typically tens to hundreds of thousands upfront\" (TeqBlaze, 27 September 2026).","Customer (built or licensed with source), or community (open source)."],["Who runs the infrastructure","Vendor (single-tenant deployment, Beeswax, accessed 17 October 2026).","Vendor (\"hosted infrastructure\", AdKernel, accessed 17 October 2026).","Customer, on-premise or in its own cloud account."],["Pricing model","SaaS subscription (FreeWheel, 17 December 2020); current price list not published.","Flat monthly fee, percent of spend, or the higher of the two: Epom $250/month or 5% (Light), $2,000/month or 5% (Pro), $500 set-up (Epom, accessed 17 October 2026); typical $2,000–$15,000/month (TeqBlaze, 27 September 2026).","Capex plus run cost. Build $150K–$400K (MVP) to $500K–$1.5M+ (full) plus $20K–$80K/month (BidsCube, 17 July 2026); or a license fee plus your infrastructure."],["Time to launch","Weeks (custom bidding agent is the long pole); vendor does not publish a figure.","48 hours (AdKernel) to 2–8 weeks (TeqBlaze, 27 September 2026); company claims.","6–12 months to MVP, 12–24 months to full (BidsCube, 17 July 2026); 6–9 months to a production baseline (Geomotiv, 5 May 2026)."],["Customization","Deep on bidding logic; shallow on everything else.","Branding, campaign features, integrations \"on request\" (Epom comparison, accessed 17 October 2026).","Unlimited, at your cost."],["Exit cost","Re-platform the bidding agent; export logs. Vendor can close the product (precedent: Microsoft Invest, 28 February 2026, PPC Land, 22 June 2025).","Re-platform everything the vendor ran; export what the contract allows. In the EU, switching charges end 12 January 2027 (Data Act, Art. 29).","Low on data, high on staff: you keep the code and the logs, and you keep the team that runs them."],["Typical buyer","Ad tech companies and media owners with engineers and a proprietary model (Beeswax customers named at acquisition: Uber, DraftKings, Nexstar, FreeWheel, 17 December 2020).","Agencies, ad networks, publishers reselling demand; \"starters\" and high-risk verticals, per Epom's own segmentation (Epom comparison, accessed 17 October 2026).","Enterprises with data residency or exit requirements, large advertisers, retail media and commerce media owners."]],"sourceUrls":[["https://api-docs.freewheel.tv/advertiser/docs/bidding-agent","https://teqblaze.com/white-label-dsp"],["https://www.beeswax.com/products/","https://teqblaze.com/white-label-dsp","https://adkernel.com/dsp-suite/"],["https://teqblaze.com/blog/wls-development-cost"],["https://www.beeswax.com/products/","https://adkernel.com/dsp-suite/"],["https://www.freewheel.com/news/freewheel-to-acquire-ad-tech-leader-beeswax","https://epom.com/pricing/dsp","https://teqblaze.com/blog/wls-development-cost","https://bidscube.com/blog/how-to-build-a-dsp/"],["https://adkernel.com/dsp-suite/","https://teqblaze.com/blog/wls-development-cost","https://bidscube.com/blog/how-to-build-a-dsp/","https://geomotiv.com/blog/how-to-build-your-own-dsp-step-by-step-guide-to-building-a-custom-demand-side-platform/"],["https://epom.com/demand-side-platform-comparison"],["https://ppc.land/microsofts-xandr-dsp-closure-opens-doors-for-independent-players/","https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R2854"],["https://www.freewheel.com/news/freewheel-to-acquire-ad-tech-leader-beeswax","https://epom.com/demand-side-platform-comparison"]]}