Quantcast: DSP, Q+ and Measure explained, with pricing and alternatives

Quantcast started as a measurement company. Its about page says the 2006 product was "the world's first audience measurement tool to use machine learning". It adds that Quantcast later built "the first managed-service DSP" to use predictive models without third-party data (company claims, Quantcast). Measurement still feeds the buying side.

Today the main product is a performance DSP for independent agencies and brands. The May 2024 self-serve launch aimed to open the platform to "independent agencies and advertisers" of all sizes (Quantcast, 29 May 2024). The 2026 addition is Q+, which Quantcast calls an "autonomous performance engine for the open internet" (Quantcast Q+, accessed 9 November 2026).

The company has also narrowed. It sold its consent management platform, Quantcast Choice, to InMobi in August 2023, and InMobi said it would keep the product free for existing customers (Quantcast, 16 August 2023). That CMP now has its own profile at Quantcast Choice.

Publishers place the free Quantcast Measure tag on their sites. In return they see visitor age, gender, income, education, interests and shopping habits, built from behaviour "across the wider internet" (Quantcast Measure). Quantcast says the tag runs on 100 million web destinations (company claim, Quantcast).

Those signals feed the Audience Graph, which Quantcast describes as "proprietary AI built on two decades of intelligence". The graph tracks shifting interests, contexts and behaviours in real time, and the DSP uses it to find likely converters (Quantcast Q+).

Q+ changes how a buyer sets up a campaign. The advertiser supplies creative for display, video, CTV and native, then sets one goal: a CPA, a ROAS target or site engagement. Q+ moves budget across formats in real time, with "no channel silos" and "no fixed budgets" (Quantcast Q+). This is a form of outcome-based buying. Konrad Feldman says it "treats the entire open internet as a single, fluid inventory pool" (Mi-3, 16 July 2026).

Quantcast publishes no prices, fee structure or minimum spend. Its site routes buyers to a demo booking and a help centre, and its press releases give no fee terms. A buyer should ask whether Q+ carries a different fee from manual campaigns, since an autonomous engine that sets bids and channel mix also controls how media cost and margin split.

Use the comparison in DSP pricing explained to place any quote, and the DSP RFP template to ask for platform, data and service fees in writing.

Strengths

• Its own measurement data. The Measure tag gives Quantcast first-hand audience signals rather than relying only on bought segments.
• Built for small teams. Self-serve access and goal-based Q+ suit independent agencies without a large trading desk.
• Premium video access. The FreeWheel deal opened direct access to publishers' video and CTV supply (Quantcast, 11 May 2023).
• Focused product line. Selling the CMP leaves the company concentrated on buying and measurement.

Limits

• No public pricing or financials. As a private firm, Quantcast discloses no fees or revenue.
• Less manual control in Q+. A single ad set and pooled budget mean the engine, not the trader, decides channel mix.
• Few dated product facts. Quantcast's site gives no launch date for Q+ or the date of its recertifications.
• Consent tools now sit elsewhere. Publishers that used Quantcast for both measurement and consent now deal with InMobi for the CMP (Quantcast, 16 August 2023).

• Any Quantcast fee, minimum spend or contract term.
• The global launch date of Q+. Coverage dates only the APAC rollout, announced on 16 July 2026 (Mi-3).
• Quantcast's legal entity name, revenue and investors.
• The dates and scope of the TAG and IAB UK recertifications described on Quantcast's blog.

1. Quantcast, "About us" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.quantcast.com/about-us
2. Quantcast, "Introducing Q+" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.quantcast.com/platform/ai/q-plus
3. Quantcast, "Quantcast Measure" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.quantcast.com/publisher/measure
4. Quantcast, "Press" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.quantcast.com/press
5. Quantcast, "InMobi Acquires Quantcast Choice to Enhance Frictionless Consent Management for Publishers" (16 August 2023). https://www.quantcast.com/press-release/inmobi-acquires-quantcast-choice-to-enhance-frictionless-consent-management-for-publishers
6. Quantcast, "Quantcast Launches Innovative Advertising Platform" (29 May 2024). https://www.quantcast.com/press-release/quantcast-launches-innovative-advertising-platform
7. Quantcast, "Quantcast and FreeWheel Announce New Partnership" (11 May 2023). https://www.quantcast.com/press-release/quantcast-and-freewheel-announce-new-partnership-to-enable-better-more-direct-access-to-global-premium-video-publishers
8. Quantcast, "Dentsu's Merkury Scales Cookieless, Predictive Audiences with Quantcast" (5 August 2024). https://www.quantcast.com/press-release/dentsus-merkury-scales-cookieless-predictive-audiences-with-quantcast
9. Mi-3, "Quantcast appoints Paul Sigaloff as VP of APAC to drive AI-driven advertising solution launch" (16 July 2026). https://www.mi-3.com.au/16-07-2026/quantcast-appoints-paul-sigaloff-vp-apac-drive-ai-driven-advertising-solution-launch
10. IAB Europe, Global Vendor List v3, version 184 (last updated 5 November 2026). https://vendor-list.consensu.org/v3/vendor-list.json