Prebid.js vs Google's Open Bidding: which header-bidding path

Prebid.js vs Google's Open Bidding: which header-bidding path

What it does — both add demand competition to your ad slots. Client-side Prebid runs the auction in the browser; Open Bidding runs it server-side inside Google's stack.

Setup effort (1-5) — Prebid: 4 (wrapper config, timeouts, consent plumbing). Open Bidding: 2 (toggle partners in Ad Manager).

RPM lift seen — Prebid: +18-30% on a clean stack with 6-8 bidders. Open Bidding: +8-12%, but zero latency cost.

Pros / Cons —
Prebid: max yield, full transparency, but adds 150-300ms and you eat the auction latency.
Open Bidding: fast, hands-off, but Google takes a cut and hides bid-level data.

Verdict — Run Prebid if you have dev hours and traffic above ~500k/mo to justify tuning. Below that, Open Bidding earns more per hour of your time.

Lift: ★★★★☆ — Risk: ★★☆☆☆
Best for: sites that have outgrown a single AdSense tag. Skip Prebid if you can't babysit timeouts.