Broadstreet vs Revive Adserver Comparison 2026
Broadstreet and Revive Adserver solve the same problem for a publisher who already sells directly to advertisers: neither takes a cut of the sale, and both exist to manage and report on ad inventory you filled yourself. Revive is free, open source software you install on your own server, a real afternoon of setup and ongoing maintenance afterward. Broadstreet is a managed subscription at $299 a month, formats and reporting built in, for a publisher who would rather pay than maintain a PHP application. Revive's own listing says as much: if the server side is the objection, Broadstreet does the same job as a subscription.
An ad manager built for small local publishers
Ad server you download and run yourself
At a glance
- Only Revive Adserver has a free tier.
Side by side
Broadstreet | Revive Adserver | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $299 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
Broadstreet
An ad manager built for small local publishers
Broadstreet sells to the publisher who has a few local advertisers and no ad operations person. The formats are the point: it leans on units that a small site can actually sell, and the reporting is built to be forwarded to the advertiser at the end of the month. Pricing is a flat subscription rather than a share of what the ads make, so a good month is entirely yours. A site with no direct advertisers is buying a tool with nothing to put in it.
Our note
The comparison worth making is against the cut a network would take, not against the other software. If your ads bring in a few hundred a month, a flat fee eats most of it; past a couple of thousand, keeping the whole sale is the entire argument and the subscription stops mattering.
Revive Adserver
Ad server you download and run yourself
Revive Adserver is software you install on your own hosting, so it does the counting rather than the selling. Campaigns, zones, targeting and delivery reports all live on a server you control, which means nothing sits between you and the advertiser and nothing takes a share of what you invoice. Setting it up is a PHP application and a database, and that is a real afternoon of work. Publishers who have already sold the slot are who this is for.
Why people weigh these two
- Revive Adserver instead of Broadstreet
- Revive Adserver covers the ad serving job as free software you download and run yourself, trading Broadstreet's subscription for your own hosting work.
- Broadstreet instead of Revive Adserver
- Broadstreet is built and hosted specifically for small local publishers, without the server maintenance Revive Adserver asks its users to take on.
Which one should you pick
Pick Revive Adserver if somebody is comfortable maintaining a PHP application and a database, and keeping the software cost at zero matters more than time spent on upkeep. There is no licence fee at all, and a hosted edition exists from $10 a month for anyone who wants the software without running the server themselves.
Pick Broadstreet if the publisher would rather pay a flat $299 a month and have formats, reporting and support ready to use, with nobody on staff who wants server maintenance as part of the job. Both keep the whole sale rather than sharing it with a network, so the real choice is between spending time or spending $299 a month for the same underlying job.
Common questions
- Do these two take a cut of ad revenue the way a network does?
- No, neither does. Revive Adserver counts impressions on a server you control with nothing sitting between you and the advertiser. Broadstreet is a flat monthly subscription rather than a revenue share, so a good month is entirely yours on either tool.
- Which one is cheaper?
- Revive Adserver, by far, if you count only the licence: the software is free and a hosted edition exists from $10 a month. Broadstreet is $299 a month flat. Revive's own listing is honest that the real cost is maintenance time, not the software price, which Broadstreet's subscription is built to avoid.
- Do I need technical skill to run either one?
- Revive Adserver needs somebody comfortable installing and maintaining a PHP application and a database, described as a real afternoon of setup. Broadstreet is a hosted subscription with nothing to install, aimed at a publisher with no ad operations person on staff.
- Which one is better for a site running ads continuously versus occasionally?
- Revive Adserver's own listing says it pays off for a site running ads continuously and rarely for one selling a sponsorship a quarter, since the ongoing maintenance is the real cost. Broadstreet's flat subscription carries the same logic in reverse: it is a fixed monthly cost regardless of how often ads run.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.