In-House Programmatic
Ad tech fee calculator: how much of your programmatic budget becomes working media
Published · Last updated
Next scheduled review:
This ad tech fee calculator follows a programmatic budget through every fee to the publisher and then to impressions that count. It shows working media in dollars and as a share of spend. Three presets load the ANA, ISBA/PwC and CMA study figures, so you can compare your own contract with the published ad tech tax figures.
Ad tech fee calculator
Calculations run in your browser. Share links keep inputs in the URL fragment.
- Working media
- 762000 USD · 76.2%
- Quality-adjusted media
- 390000 USD · 39.0%
- Non-working media
- 238000 USD
- Working media · 76.2%
- Quality-adjusted media · 39.0%
- Agency fee · 0.0%
- Trading desk fee · 0.0%
- DSP platform fee · 6.0%
- Other DSP charges · 2.3%
- Data fees · 2.7%
- Verification and ad serving · 0.0%
- Unknown delta · 0.0%
- SSP take rate · 12.8%
- Supply-side services · 0.0%
- Invalid traffic · 0.4%
- Other quality loss · 22.0%
- Non-viewable · 14.8%
Reference points: ANA Q2 2026 TrueAdSpend 45.1%; ANA Q3 2025 seller revenue 76.2%; ISBA publisher revenue 51%; CMA publisher revenue about 65%; ANA 2023 TrueAdSpend 36%.
Waterfall steps
- Agency fee · 0 USD · 0.0% (budget)
- Trading desk fee · 0 USD · 0.0% (budget)
- DSP platform fee · 60000 USD · 6.0% (budget)
- Other DSP charges · 23000 USD · 2.3% (budget)
- Data fees · 27000 USD · 2.7% (budget)
- Verification and ad serving · 0 USD · 0.0% (budget)
- Unknown delta · 0 USD · 0.0% (budget)
- SSP take rate · 128000 USD · 12.8% (budget)
- Supply-side services · 0 USD · 0.0% (budget)
- Invalid traffic · 4000 USD · 0.4% (budget)
- Other quality loss · 220000 USD · 22.0% (budget)
- Non-viewable · 148000 USD · 14.8% (budget)
The calculator runs in your browser and stores nothing. Every default carries its source and date, and every input can be changed.
Contents
Key facts
- A little under half of programmatic spend buys a quality impression. The ANA's Q2 2026 benchmark put TrueAdSpend at 45.1% and transaction costs at 27.2%, with non-viewable spend at 10.1% and invalid traffic at 0.1% (Fiducia on the ANA benchmark, 6 August 2026).
- The latest public line-item waterfall is from Q3 2025. Seller revenue was 76.2% of spend, after SSP costs of 12.8%, DSP platform costs of 6.0% and DSP data costs of 2.7%; TrueAdSpend was 39.0% (ANA, Q3 2025 benchmark report).
- Matched logs found a hole in 2020. ISBA and PwC traced 31 million impressions end to end: publishers received 51% of advertiser spend, and 15% was an "unknown delta" no party accounted for (ISBA, May 2020). The second study cut the delta to 3% (ISBA, 18 January 2023).
- The UK regulator's estimate is 35p in the pound. The CMA found publishers receive "around 65%" of advertiser spend on 2019 data, excluding trading desk, data and verification fees not billed through DSPs (CMA, Appendix R, 1 July 2020).
- The starting point was 36 cents. The ANA's December 2023 study found that 36 cents of each dollar entering a DSP reached consumers, with transaction costs taking 29% (ANA, December 2023).
How to use the calculator
- Enter your budget. Use the gross amount you pay, in any currency; the currency only changes labels.
- Pick a preset or start blank. The presets fill every fee with one study's figures and show the source next to each field.
- Replace defaults with your contract. Enter the agency, trading desk, DSP, data and verification fees you actually pay. Then set whether each is a share of the whole budget or of the money reaching that step.
- Add quality losses. Enter the share lost to invalid traffic, non-viewable impressions and other quality failures from your verification reports.
- Read the waterfall. The chart and table show each deduction, working media and quality-adjusted working media, with the study markers for comparison.
- Share or export. Copy a link that holds your inputs, or download the table as CSV.
The fee chain the calculator follows
Programmatic money passes through several hands before it buys an impression. Each takes a fee, a spread or both. The calculator models them in the order money moves, from the advertiser's budget to the publisher's revenue.
9 of 9 rows
1 | Agency | Agency fee, as a share of the budget |
2 | Trading desk | Trading desk or managed-service fee |
3 | Platform fee and any other DSP charges | |
4 | Data and verification vendors | Third-party data, ad serving and verification fees |
5 | Unknown | The unknown delta: spend recorded as paid but never recorded as received |
6 | The SSP's take rate | |
7 | Supply-side services | Open Bidding or similar fees on the sell side |
8 | Publisher | What is left: working media |
9 | Quality | Spend lost to invalid traffic, non-viewable and other low-quality impressions |
1
- Who takes it
Agency
- What the calculator asks for
Agency fee, as a share of the budget
2
- Who takes it
Trading desk
- What the calculator asks for
Trading desk or managed-service fee
3
- Who takes it
- What the calculator asks for
Platform fee and any other DSP charges
4
- Who takes it
Data and verification vendors
- What the calculator asks for
Third-party data, ad serving and verification fees
5
- Who takes it
Unknown
- What the calculator asks for
The unknown delta: spend recorded as paid but never recorded as received
6
- Who takes it
- What the calculator asks for
The SSP's take rate
7
- Who takes it
Supply-side services
- What the calculator asks for
Open Bidding or similar fees on the sell side
8
- Who takes it
Publisher
- What the calculator asks for
What is left: working media
9
- Who takes it
Quality
- What the calculator asks for
Spend lost to invalid traffic, non-viewable and other low-quality impressions
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
The calculator treats steps 1 to 7 as non-working media and step 8 as working media. Step 9 turns working media into quality-adjusted working media, which is what the ANA calls TrueAdSpend. The definitions behind those two terms, and why agencies sometimes use "working media" for any media line, are covered in working media vs non-working media.
Where each default comes from
No single study measures every hop, so the calculator offers three presets. Each one fills only the hops its study measured and sets the rest to zero, with a label saying why.
13 of 13 rows
Agency fee | 0% (excluded from the ANA waterfall) | 7% of budget | 5% of budget (weighted average; range 4% to 14%) |
Trading desk fee | 0% (excluded) | 0% (inside the agency fee) | 0% (partly inside DSP fees) |
DSP platform fee | 6.0% of budget | 8% of budget | 14% of DSP spend (range 5% to 42%) |
Other DSP charges | 2.3% of budget (residual, our calculation) | 0% | 0% |
Data fees | 2.7% of budget | 10% of budget (ad serving, verification and data combined) | 2% of DSP spend (fees DSPs charge for third parties) |
Verification and ad serving | 0% (excluded) | 0% (inside the 10%) | 0% (not covered) |
Unknown delta | 0% (not reported) | 15% of budget | 0% (not measured) |
SSP take rate | 12.8% of budget | 8% of budget | 16% of value sold (range 8% to 25%) |
Supply-side services | 0% | 1% of budget | 0% |
Invalid traffic | 0.4% of budget | 0% (not measured) | 0% (not measured) |
Other quality loss (non-measurable, MFA) | 22.0% of budget | 0% (not measured) | 0% (not measured) |
Non-viewable | 14.8% of budget | 0% (not measured) | 0% (not measured) |
Source |
Agency fee
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
0% (excluded from the ANA waterfall)
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
7% of budget
- CMA 2020 preset
5% of budget (weighted average; range 4% to 14%)
Trading desk fee
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
0% (excluded)
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
0% (inside the agency fee)
- CMA 2020 preset
0% (partly inside DSP fees)
DSP platform fee
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
6.0% of budget
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
8% of budget
- CMA 2020 preset
14% of DSP spend (range 5% to 42%)
Other DSP charges
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
2.3% of budget (residual, our calculation)
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
0%
- CMA 2020 preset
0%
Data fees
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
2.7% of budget
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
10% of budget (ad serving, verification and data combined)
- CMA 2020 preset
2% of DSP spend (fees DSPs charge for third parties)
Verification and ad serving
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
0% (excluded)
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
0% (inside the 10%)
- CMA 2020 preset
0% (not covered)
Unknown delta
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
0% (not reported)
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
15% of budget
- CMA 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
SSP take rate
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
12.8% of budget
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
8% of budget
- CMA 2020 preset
16% of value sold (range 8% to 25%)
Supply-side services
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
0%
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
1% of budget
- CMA 2020 preset
0%
Invalid traffic
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
0.4% of budget
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
- CMA 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
Other quality loss (non-measurable, MFA)
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
22.0% of budget
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
- CMA 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
Non-viewable
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
14.8% of budget
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
- CMA 2020 preset
0% (not measured)
Source
- ANA Q3 2025 preset
- ISBA/PwC 2020 preset
- CMA 2020 preset
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
Three choices need explaining. The ANA preset's "other DSP charges" of 2.3% is the gap between the published lines and seller revenue (100 minus 76.2, 12.8, 6.0 and 2.7); the ANA report calls this line DSP additional costs. The ISBA preset puts the study's 10% demand-side technology figure in the data field, because the study did not split ad serving, verification and data. The CMA preset uses "hop" bases, because the CMA expressed DSP fees as a share of DSP spend and SSP fees as a share of the value of ads sold, not of the advertiser's budget.
The Q2 2026 benchmark is newer, but its public release gives only totals (Fiducia, 6 August 2026). The calculator shows it as a marker on the chart rather than as a preset.
Worked example: $1,000,000 through three studies
All three presets applied to the same $1,000,000 budget give the results below, computed with the formulas further down this page. The ANA and ISBA columns reproduce their studies' headline figures exactly, which is how we test that the formulas match the sources.
9 of 9 rows
Agency and trading desk | $0 | $70,000 | $50,000 |
DSP platform and other DSP charges | $83,000 | $80,000 | $133,000 |
Data, verification and ad serving | $27,000 | $100,000 | $19,000 |
Unknown delta | $0 | $150,000 | $0 |
SSP and supply-side services | $128,000 | $90,000 | $127,680 |
Working media (reaches the publisher) | $762,000 (76.2%) | $510,000 (51.0%) | $670,320 (67.0%) |
Invalid traffic, other quality loss, non-viewable | $372,000 | not measured | not measured |
Quality-adjusted working media | $390,000 (39.0%) | n/a | n/a |
Study's own headline | Seller revenue 76.2%, TrueAdSpend 39.0% | Publisher revenue 51% | Publishers "around 65%" |
Agency and trading desk
- ANA Q3 2025
$0
- ISBA/PwC 2020
$70,000
- CMA 2020
$50,000
DSP platform and other DSP charges
- ANA Q3 2025
$83,000
- ISBA/PwC 2020
$80,000
- CMA 2020
$133,000
Data, verification and ad serving
- ANA Q3 2025
$27,000
- ISBA/PwC 2020
$100,000
- CMA 2020
$19,000
Unknown delta
- ANA Q3 2025
$0
- ISBA/PwC 2020
$150,000
- CMA 2020
$0
SSP and supply-side services
- ANA Q3 2025
$128,000
- ISBA/PwC 2020
$90,000
- CMA 2020
$127,680
Working media (reaches the publisher)
- ANA Q3 2025
$762,000 (76.2%)
- ISBA/PwC 2020
$510,000 (51.0%)
- CMA 2020
$670,320 (67.0%)
Invalid traffic, other quality loss, non-viewable
- ANA Q3 2025
$372,000
- ISBA/PwC 2020
not measured
- CMA 2020
not measured
Quality-adjusted working media
- ANA Q3 2025
$390,000 (39.0%)
- ISBA/PwC 2020
n/a
- CMA 2020
n/a
Study's own headline
- ANA Q3 2025
Seller revenue 76.2%, TrueAdSpend 39.0%
- ISBA/PwC 2020
Publisher revenue 51%
- CMA 2020
Publishers "around 65%"
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
The CMA column lands at 67.0% rather than 65% because the preset uses the CMA's per-hop weighted averages for agencies, DSPs and SSPs. The CMA's aggregate is built from all the intermediary fee data it collected, including ad networks, which the preset leaves out.
The gap between the columns is not a trend. The ISBA study counted agency fees and an unknown delta; the ANA waterfall excludes agency fees and reconciles logs; the CMA collected fee data from intermediaries. The ad tech tax explainer walks through these method differences, and the working media benchmark tracks the ANA series quarter by quarter.
How the calculator works
The model is a chain of subtractions. Each fee is either a share of the original budget or a share of the money that reaches that step. The first basis matches how ISBA and the ANA report; the second matches how most contracts and the CMA express fees.
A = budget × agency% (budget basis)
T = budget × desk%
M1 = budget − A − T money entering the DSP
D = M1 × dsp% or budget × dsp% platform fee
X = M1 × other% or budget × other% other DSP charges
DT = M1 × data% or budget × data%
V = M1 × verif% or budget × verif%
U = budget × delta% unknown delta (budget basis only)
M2 = M1 − D − X − DT − V − U money entering the SSP
S = M2 × ssp% or budget × ssp%
SS = (M2 − S) × sst% or budget × sst% supply-side services
WM = M2 − S − SS working media
Q = WM − budget × (ivt% + other_q% + nv%) budget basis
Q = WM × (1 − ivt%) × (1 − other_q%) × (1 − nv%) rate basisWorking media percent is WM divided by the budget; quality-adjusted percent is Q divided by the budget. Non-working media is the budget minus WM.
Two rules keep the result honest. The calculator refuses inputs that would make any step negative, and it refuses an unknown delta on a hop basis because ISBA defined the delta as a share of advertiser spend. Fees you pay outside the chain, such as a separate measurement contract, belong in the verification field; fees charged as a CPM can be converted first with the CPM calculator.
What the calculator does not know
It does not know your rebates, principal-based media margins or bid shading, which can sit inside the media price rather than appear as a fee. ISBA listed these as possible parts of the unknown delta, alongside fees invisible in the data, currency conversion and reselling between vendors (ISBA, May 2020). If your agency buys as principal, the programmatic agency audit guide explains what to ask for.
It also does not price DSPs. For published platform fee structures by vendor, see DSP pricing explained. And it does not tell you what share of invalid traffic or viewability loss is normal for your channel; your verification vendor's report is the right input.
The hub for in-house buying, fee audits and contract models is in-house programmatic.
FAQ
What is the ad tech tax?
How much of a programmatic budget is working media?
Why do the ANA, ISBA and CMA numbers differ?
What is the unknown delta?
Should I enter fees as a share of the budget or of each step?
Does the calculator include agency fees?
How this works on owned infrastructure
This calculator can only fill the fields a study measured; your own waterfall depends on contract terms and on logs you may not be able to obtain. On a rented stack, the DSP platform fee, data fees and the SSP take are percentages of every dollar, and the unknown delta hides between systems owned by different companies. AdSovereign is an on-premise RTB stack (DSP, SSP, exchange, DMP and clean room) designed to run inside your perimeter, so platform fees become licence and infrastructure costs rather than a share of spend. Bid, win and impression records sit in your own database, which lets finance reconcile every step. The TCO calculator compares rented and owned cost lines; the pilot page describes how an evaluation measures your own waterfall.
Sources
- Fiducia, "ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark: Q2 2026 Working-Media Efficiency Reaches a Record 45%" (ANA release of 6 August 2026). https://www.fiducia.eco/post/ana-programmatic-transparency-benchmark-q2-2026-working-media-efficiency-reaches-a-record-45
- ANA, Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, Q3 2025 Benchmark Findings (copy hosted by MediaPost; accessed 9 November 2026). https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.mediapost.com/uploads/Q32025ProgrammaticTransparencyBenchmark.pdf
- ISBA and PwC, "Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency Study" (May 2020). https://www.isba.org.uk/system/files/media/documents/2020-12/executive-summary-programmatic-supply-chain-transparency-study.pdf
- ISBA, "Second Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency Study" (18 January 2023). https://www.isba.org.uk/knowledge/second-programmatic-supply-chain-transparency-study
- UK Competition and Markets Authority, Online platforms and digital advertising market study, Appendix R: fees in the adtech stack (1 July 2020). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fe49625e90e071207e10eff/Appendix_R_-_fees_in_the_adtech_stack_WEB.pdf
- ANA, "Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study" (December 2023; copy hosted by Adslot). https://www.adslot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ana-programmatic-media-supply-chain-transparency-study.pdf
- ANA, press release on the Q1 2026 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark (27 May 2026). https://www.ana.net/content/show/id/pr-2026-05-programmatic
Changelog
- 9 November 2026. First edition: 13 inputs, three dated presets, budget and step bases, quality-adjusted working media, waterfall chart specification. Next review 9 February 2027.