Sponsored Display vs Amazon DSP: what is the difference?
Sponsored Display is Amazon's self-service display ad for products it sells; Amazon DSP buys display, video, Streaming TV and audio programmatically.
Sponsored Display, now called "Display", is Amazon's self-service display ad for products sold on Amazon: a campaign in a few clicks, an ad Amazon can build for you, paid per click or per 1,000 viewable impressions. Amazon DSP is its programmatic platform: banners, online video, Streaming TV and audio, bought per thousand impressions with goals, KPIs, frequency caps and publisher deals, self-service or managed by Amazon. Display suits sellers who want to retarget and win product pages; DSP suits brands and agencies buying reach across formats.
Amazon's newest help pages call DSP "Amazon Ads Agent (formerly known as Amazon DSP)" and its campaigns "Display, Video, and Audio campaigns". Checked in October 2026.
Side by side
| Sponsored Display | Amazon DSP | |
|---|---|---|
| Formats | Image or video | Banners, video, Streaming TV, audio |
| The ad | Amazon builds it, or yours | Yours, or built by DVA+ (beta) |
| Buying | Per click or per 1,000 views | Per 1,000 impressions, deals |
| Steering | One strategy | Goal, KPI, frequency, placements |
| Service | Self-service | Self-service or managed (fee) |
| For | Brands selling on Amazon, and others | Any brand or agency |
When Sponsored Display is enough
- You sell on Amazon and want to bring back shoppers who viewed your products. How retargeting works.
- You want your ad on chosen product pages, competitors' or your own.
- You start small: a daily budget from $1 in the US, and no creative to design. What Sponsored Display is.
When to use Amazon DSP
- You need video, Streaming TV or audio: Prime Video, Twitch, Fire TV, Amazon Music, podcasts, and third-party publishers.
- You need control over delivery: frequency caps, a KPI target (ROAS, cost per action, video completion…), placements per ad group, and deals with publishers.
- You track conversions off Amazon, or use your own ad server and audiences.
Using both
Amazon's set-up guide gives one tip for advertisers who already use DSP: start Display with the reach strategy (paid per 1,000 viewable impressions). And DVA+, still in beta in the US, lets Amazon build and run a whole DSP campaign from a goal, a budget and your products.
Sources
- Understand Display, Amazon Ads
- Display set-up, Amazon Ads
- Understand Display, Video, and Audio campaigns, Amazon Ads
- Get to know Display, Video, and Audio campaigns, Amazon Ads
- Create an Amazon DSP campaign, Amazon Ads
- Understand bidding in Display, Video, and Audio campaigns, Amazon Ads
- Understand DVA+, Amazon Ads
- Limits (Amazon Ads API) (Display budgets), Amazon Ads
Gloriads is an Amazon Ads automation platform that creates, monitors and optimizes Sponsored Products campaigns for sellers, brands, authors and agencies, by rules you control. See how it works.