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Outbrain vs Google Ads: Which is a better fit?

Updated on February 11th, 2025
Capterra offers objective, independent research and verified user reviews. We may earn a referral fee when you visit a vendor through our links.
Summary
Key features rated by users
Features selected based on 2,826 reviews from Campaign Management users.
% Fit
Missing features
Not enough reviews
Feature ratings
Email Management
NA
Contact Management
1.0
Contact Database
--
Data Import/Export
2.5
Campaign Analytics
--
% Fit
Missing features
Feature ratings
Email Management
NA
Contact Management
NA
Contact Database
NA
Data Import/Export
NA
Campaign Analytics
4.5
User satisfaction
3.8
User reviews31
Ease of use
3.9
Functionality
3.8
Value for money
3.5
Customer support
3.7
4.4
User reviews980
Ease of use
4.1
Functionality
4.4
Value for money
4.3
Customer support
3.9
Price starts from
One-time payment
Free version
Free trial
--
Not provided by vendor
Free version
Free trial
Best for

Online marketer

Businesses of any size & type who are looking to advertise online.

User reviews
pros & cons
1 / 4
View Reviews
1 / 4
View Reviews
Video reviews
video-640f0592-84fa-42a8-40bf-08d9fd71ef25
John C
Business Owner
5.0

John C.: Hi, my name's John. I run a digital marketing agency and I give Outbrain five stars out of five. For more reviews like this, please click below. Before we used Outbrain, we looked at a whole suite of different advertising systems, mainly the Google display advertising and Bing display advertising. Both of those systems are great, but we decided to have a look at Outbrain. Outbrain gave us more opportunities to do native marketing. So it would allow us to put our adverts onto content that people are really interested in, not just being triggered by keywords. It's really simple and quick and easy to onboard with Outbrain. You just set up an online account. You don't need any special software or any specialist help. We set up an account, we set up a budget, and we could get going straight away. If you're currently considering Outbrain, I would look very strongly at their advertising platform and have a think about what sort of content you could write that's going to be really attractive and have some really good headlines to attract that right audience.

How Capterra sources reviews
View all video reviews
video-f2969d18-be02-4bc7-3e9b-08d9f5964e3b
Aaron E
Digital Marketing Specialist
4.0

Jennifer D.: Hi, I'm Jennifer. I'm a controller. I give Lightspeed a value of two out of five. For more reviews, hit click below. I'm the financial controller at a power motorsports dealership. I use it every day being the controller, so my method of payments, all the cash and checks that come into the account, making payments out to vendors and invoices, tracking deals, doing major unit inventory, parts and accessories. Lightspeed is really good for the everyday users that don't have an accounting background or a bookkeeping background. My sales staff and service staff just click on icons that are easy to use, on how to add parts to a sale or a major unit inventory. It's easy because it can connect one unit to everything throughout the whole process of the sale. So I can look up a unit or a deal and see what's going on with it and see where everybody stands with it. Lightspeed, on its ongoing maintenance, is expensive. It's a monthly fee, which is not the best thing going, but it does keep you updated with Price Books. The other downside to Lightspeed is getting any help. Yesterday, I spent an hour and 20 minutes on hold. Today, I spent three hours on hold, waiting for one person to ask a question to solve the problem. If you don't get to the right department, they'll transfer you over but you're starting from scratch again, being on hold.

How Capterra sources reviews
View all video reviews
User interface
140446 video thumbnail}
1 Video
213339 video thumbnail}
1 Video
140446
5 screenshots
213339
5 screenshots

Outbrain

Top Features
32/50
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Autoresponders
  • Campaign Planning
  • Campaign Scheduling
  • CRM
  • Customizable Fields
  • Customizable Forms
  • Customizable Templates
  • Drag & Drop
  • Drip Campaigns
  • Email Management
  • Email Templates
  • Event Marketing
  • Event Triggered Actions
  • Social Media Integration
  • Template Management
  • Third-Party Integrations
  • Web Forms
  • A/B Testing
  • Activity Dashboard
  • Activity Tracking
  • API
  • Campaign Analytics
  • Campaign Management
  • Campaign Segmentation
  • Channel Management
  • Click Tracking
  • Contact Database
  • Contact Management
  • Content Management
  • Conversion Rate Optimization
  • Conversion Tracking
  • Customer Segmentation
  • Customizable Branding
  • Customizable Reports
  • Data Import/Export
  • Email Marketing
  • Engagement Tracking
  • Lead Capture
  • Lead Generation
  • Lead Management
  • Monitoring
  • Multi-Campaign
  • Multi-Channel Marketing
  • Real-Time Analytics
  • Real-Time Data
  • Real-Time Reporting
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Social Promotion
  • Visual Analytics
See All features
Hide Campaign Management Software Features -

Google Ads

11/50
Show Campaign Management Software Features +

Outbrain

--

Google Ads

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Outbrain
Deployment
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
  • Desktop - Mac
  • Desktop - Windows
  • Desktop - Linux
  • Desktop - Chromebook
  • On-Premise - Windows
  • On-Premise - Linux
  • Mobile - Android
  • Mobile - iPhone
  • Mobile - iPad
Support
  • Email/Help Desk
  • FAQs/Forum
  • Knowledge Base
  • Phone Support
  • 24/7 (Live rep)
  • Chat
Training
  • In Person
  • Live Online
  • Webinars
  • Documentation
  • Videos
Google Ads
Deployment
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
  • Desktop - Mac
  • Desktop - Windows
  • Desktop - Linux
  • Desktop - Chromebook
  • On-Premise - Windows
  • On-Premise - Linux
  • Mobile - Android
  • Mobile - iPhone
  • Mobile - iPad
Support
  • Email/Help Desk
  • FAQs/Forum
  • Knowledge Base
  • Phone Support
  • 24/7 (Live rep)
  • Chat
Training
  • In Person
  • Live Online
  • Webinars
  • Documentation
  • Videos
Outbrain
  • By Outbrain
  • Located in United States
  • Founded in 2006
Google Ads
  • By Google
  • Located in United States
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