# Amazon Ads API vs Apple Ads Platform API

> Amazon Ads scores 59 (C) to Apple Ads Platform's 53.8 (D) for ad reporting. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-apple-ads
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-apple-ads.md (~2,400 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-apple-ads.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-apple-ads.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Amazon Ads API scores 59 (C) on agent readiness against Apple Ads Platform API's 53.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Apple Ads Platform API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do ad reporting.

- Amazon Ads API: grade C, 59/100, rank #563 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-ads-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-ads-api.json
- Apple Ads Platform API: grade D, 53.8/100, rank #699 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/apple-ads.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/apple-ads.json
- Best advertising platform APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/advertising/index.md
- All 28 advertising comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/advertising/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Amazon Ads API (C)

Good for: Agents managing sponsored ads and Amazon DSP for an advertiser or agency that already has API approval, and teams that want a vendor-run MCP server.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 45 against 35
- Schema & documentation, 76 against 69
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 65 against 48
- Transparency & trust, 73 against 66

Watch for: Access needs an approved application (review may take up to one business day) and an advertiser's consent in a browser

### Apple Ads Platform API (D)

Good for: An agent that manages or reports on App Store search campaigns, or Apple Maps campaigns, for an advertiser whose administrator can grant an API role.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 69 against 62
- Security & auth, 68 against 60

Watch for: The Platform API was first released in August 2026 and its changelog has one entry. The Campaign Management API 5 it replaces is sunset on 26 January 2027


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Amazon Ads API | Apple Ads Platform API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 35 | Amazon Ads API +10 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 69 | Amazon Ads API +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 69 | Apple Ads Platform API +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 68 | Apple Ads Platform API +8 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | Amazon Ads API +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 48 | Amazon Ads API +17 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 66 | Amazon Ads API +7 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **59 · C** | **53.8 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Amazon Ads API | Apple Ads Platform API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Amazon | Apple |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://advertising-api.amazon.com` | `https://api.ads.apple.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Amazon Advertising API Licence Agreement. The Postman collections and samples in amzn/ads-advanced-tools-docs are MIT-0 | Proprietary service under the Apple Advertising Services Terms of Service. The client libraries are MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-08-14 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-06-30 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |

## Verdicts

**Amazon Ads API.** Public OpenAPI specifications, test accounts that serve no ads and a six-month shutoff notice policy support agent use. Access needs an approved application and an advertiser's OAuth consent, rate limits are dynamic with no published numbers, and the status feed shows three reporting disruptions since July 2026. The MCP server is in open beta.

**Apple Ads Platform API.** Every response carries `RateLimit-*` headers and a 429 carries `Retry-After`, Apple maintains MIT client libraries in four languages, and read-only API roles exist. The API was first released in August 2026. No status page, SLA, published OpenAPI file, idempotency key or test account was found, and a person must create the credentials in the Apple Ads interface.

## Before you call either

### Amazon Ads API

1. Send Amazon-Advertising-API-ClientId and a Bearer access token on every call, and Amazon-Advertising-API-Scope with a profile ID from GET /v2/profiles on most
2. Call the host for the advertiser's region. advertising-api.amazon.com is North America, advertising-api-eu Europe and advertising-api-fe Far East
3. Refresh the access token every 60 minutes. Refresh tokens issued from 30 July 2026 expire 365 days after consent
4. On 429, wait the Retry-After seconds and back off exponentially. Request an export instead of listing every entity
5. Rehearse writes in a test account, or create campaigns in the PAUSED state, before anything can spend
6. For MCP, prefer https://advertising-ai.amazon.com/mcp/lite and disable delete tools in the client configuration

### Apple Ads Platform API

1. Send `Authorization: Bearer {access_token}` and `X-AP-Context: adAccountId={adAccountId}` on every ad account call. Get the account id from `GET /v1/acls`
2. Request a new access token every 3,600 seconds from `https://appleid.apple.com/auth/oauth2/token` with scope `searchadsorg`. The signed client secret lasts at most 180 days
3. Read `RateLimit-Remaining` on each response. On a 429 wait the `Retry-After` seconds, then double the wait up to 16 seconds
4. List and filter with POST to a `/query` endpoint, not GET with query parameters. Deleted entities return only when a filter asks for them
5. On PUT send only the fields to change, and send the complete desired array for any array field. Create campaigns with `"status": "PAUSED"` before review

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Amazon Ads API or Apple Ads Platform API?

Amazon Ads API scores 59 (C) on agent readiness against Apple Ads Platform API's 53.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Apple Ads Platform API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth.

### Do Amazon Ads API and Apple Ads Platform API need an API key?

Both use an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Amazon Ads API and Apple Ads Platform API without installing anything?

Yes. Amazon Ads API has a hosted endpoint at https://advertising-api.amazon.com and Apple Ads Platform API at https://api.ads.apple.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-apple-ads.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-apple-ads.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "amazon-ads-api", "b": "apple-ads"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare amazon-ads-api apple-ads`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-ads-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/apple-ads.json

## Other comparisons with Amazon Ads API or Apple Ads Platform API

- [Amazon Ads API vs Google Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-google-ads-api.md)
- [Amazon Ads API vs LinkedIn Marketing APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-linkedin-marketing-api.md)
- [Amazon Ads API vs Meta Marketing API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-meta-marketing-api.md)
- [Amazon Ads API vs Microsoft Advertising API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-microsoft-advertising-api.md)
- [Amazon Ads API vs Snapchat Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-snapchat-ads.md)
- [Amazon Ads API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-x-ads.md)
- [Apple Ads Platform API vs Google Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-google-ads-api.md)
- [Apple Ads Platform API vs LinkedIn Marketing APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-linkedin-marketing-api.md)
- [Apple Ads Platform API vs Meta Marketing API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-meta-marketing-api.md)
- [Apple Ads Platform API vs Microsoft Advertising API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-microsoft-advertising-api.md)
- [Apple Ads Platform API vs Snapchat Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-snapchat-ads.md)
- [Apple Ads Platform API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-x-ads.md)