# Apple Ads Platform API vs Microsoft Advertising API

> Microsoft Advertising scores 60.3 (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/apple-ads-vs-microsoft-advertising-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-microsoft-advertising-api.md (~2,450 tokens)
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- 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

Microsoft Advertising API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Apple Ads Platform API's 53.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Apple Ads Platform API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do ad reporting.

- 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
- Microsoft Advertising API: grade C, 60.3/100, rank #522 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-advertising-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-advertising-api.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

### 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 63
- 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

### Microsoft Advertising API (C)

Good for: Agents that manage or report on Microsoft Advertising accounts, including Google Ads imports.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 60 against 35
- Schema & documentation, 79 against 69
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 61 against 48

Watch for: Call-rate limits carry no numbers. The docs describe a 60-second sliding window, and call the Bulk and Reporting limits internal and subject to change


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Apple Ads Platform API | Microsoft Advertising API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 35 | 60 | Microsoft Advertising API +25 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 79 | Microsoft Advertising API +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 63 | Apple Ads Platform API +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 68 | 60 | Apple Ads Platform API +8 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 30 | Microsoft Advertising API +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 61 | Microsoft Advertising API +13 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 66 | 64 | Apple Ads Platform API +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.8 · D** | **60.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Apple Ads Platform API | Microsoft Advertising API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Apple | Microsoft |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.ads.apple.com/v1` | `https://campaign.api.bingads.microsoft.com/CampaignManagement/v13` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Apple Advertising Services Terms of Service. The client libraries are MIT | Proprietary service. The .NET, Java, Python and PHP SDKs are MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 7 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-08-14 | 2026-09-29 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-09-01 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | none | 128 stars, 19k PyPI/wk |

## Verdicts

**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.

**Microsoft Advertising API.** Version 13 covers campaigns, budgets, audiences, ads and reports over REST with JSON, with a sandbox that needs no payment method and four official SDKs. Call-rate limits are unpublished, no public OpenAPI file or idempotency key was found, and one OAuth scope covers every operation. The SOAP interface retires on 31 January 2027.

## Before you call either

### 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

### Microsoft Advertising API

1. Build and test against the sandbox hosts (`*.api.sandbox.bingads.microsoft.com`) with developer token BBD37VB98. Sandbox and production credentials are separate
2. Send `Authorization: Bearer <token>`, `DeveloperToken`, `CustomerId` and `CustomerAccountId` on REST calls. Use the account ID, never the eight-character account number
3. Create campaigns with `Status` set to `Paused`, then read them back before activating. No validate-only mode was found
4. On error 117 (CallRateExceeded) wait 60 seconds. On Bulk error 4204 wait up to 15 minutes
5. Read `PartialErrors` on every add, update and delete. A call can succeed for some items and fail for others

## Questions

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

Microsoft Advertising API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Apple Ads Platform API's 53.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Apple Ads Platform API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth.

### Do Apple Ads Platform API and Microsoft Advertising API need an API key?

Both use an OAuth sign-in.

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

Yes. Apple Ads Platform API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.ads.apple.com/v1 and Microsoft Advertising API at https://campaign.api.bingads.microsoft.com/CampaignManagement/v13.


## For agents

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

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