{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "google-ads-api", "name": "Google Ads API", "vendor": "Google", "vendorUrl": "https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api", "kind": "http-api", "category": "advertising", "summary": "Google's API for managing Google Ads accounts, campaigns, budgets, audiences, ads and performance reports over gRPC or REST, with OAuth 2.0 access. Google also publishes an open-source, read-only MCP server that runs Google Ads Query Language reports.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-ads-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-ads-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-ads-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-ads-api.json", "repo": "https://github.com/googleads/google-ads-python", "license": "Proprietary service under the Google Ads API terms. The client libraries and the google-ads-mcp server are Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http", "stdio", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://googleads.googleapis.com", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "google-ads" } ], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "OAuth 2.0 access token as a Bearer header, with the single scope https://www.googleapis.com/auth/adwords, from a user flow or a service account added to the Google Ads account. The Google Cloud project that owns the credentials carries the access level. Test is granted on enabling the API, Explorer and Basic by application in the Cloud console (Basic after brand verification), and Standard by a manual audit of about 10 business days. Developer tokens were sunset on 9 September 2026. Calls through a manager account also need the `login-customer-id` header. New refresh tokens need 2-step verification.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "No charge for API calls was found. Advertising spend is billed to the Google Ads account, and the terms allow fees for policy non-compliance. A new Cloud project gets Test access on enabling the API, and test accounts have no billing and serve no ads, so development needs no contract or card. Daily operations are capped at 2,880 (Explorer) or 15,000 (Basic) on production accounts.", "priceSummary": "Free", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the developer documentation or the API terms (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 3, "popularity": { "githubStars": 753, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 3147170, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/get-started/introduction", "capabilities": [ "ads.reporting", "ads.campaigns", "ads.budgets", "ads.audiences", "ads.creatives" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "official", "free-tier", "mcp", "oauth", "python", "java", "enterprise", "status-page", "sandbox" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 76.4, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 33, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 87, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 40, "reliability": 82, "schema": 84, "security": 71, "transparency": 82 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Test accounts are free and need no approval, and `validate_only` checks a change without running it. Production access needs a Google Cloud project approved at Explorer level or above and a person to set up OAuth. One OAuth scope covers both reads and writes. The official MCP server is read-only, self-hosted and at version 0.0.4.", "bestFor": "It suits an agent that reports on or manages Google Ads accounts for an advertiser or agency that can get a Cloud project approved.", "strengths": [ "`validate_only` on mutate requests validates a change without executing it, and mutates are atomic unless `partial_failure` is set", "Test accounts serve no ads and have no billing, and a new Cloud project gets Test access when the API is enabled", "No incident on Google Ads or the Google Ads API in the Ads Status Dashboard feed from 24 October 2025 to 3 October 2026", "Published sunset timetable, with each major version live for about 12 months and at most two upgrades a year", "`change_event` reports who changed what, the client type and old and new values for the past 30 days" ], "weaknesses": [ "One OAuth scope, `adwords`, covers reading, editing, creating and deleting. Read-only access depends on the Google Ads user role", "Production accounts need Explorer access (2,880 operations a day) or higher. Basic needs brand verification and Standard a manual audit of about 10 business days", "The per-second rate limit has no published number, since it's a token bucket that varies with server load", "No idempotency keys were found in the reviewed documentation", "The official MCP server is read-only, self-hosted and at v0.0.4, and it isn't in the official MCP registry" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `validateOnly: true` on a mutate first. It returns errors without making the change. Batch jobs don't support it", "Create campaigns with status PAUSED and enable them in a separate step, since an enabled campaign with a budget can spend", "Send `login-customer-id` (digits only, no hyphens) when you reach a client account through a manager account", "A failed request still counts against the daily operation quota. Paging with a valid `next_page_token` doesn't", "Wait at least 12 hours between account budget changes on one account, and use the Data Manager API for new Customer Match or offline conversion work" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 76.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 87, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 40, "reliability": 82, "schema": 84, "security": 71, "transparency": 67 }, "provenanceScore": 96 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install google-ads", "http": "curl -i -X POST \\\n https://googleads.googleapis.com/v25/customers/CUSTOMER_ID/googleAds:searchStream \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN\" \\\n -H \"login-customer-id: LOGIN_CUSTOMER_ID\" \\\n --data-binary \"@query.json\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "google-ads-mcp": { "args": [ "run", "--spec", "git+https://github.com/googleads/google-ads-mcp.git", "google-ads-mcp" ], "command": "pipx", "env": { "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS": "/path/to/credentials.json", "GOOGLE_PROJECT_ID": "YOUR_PROJECT_ID" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/ads.reporting", "tool": "https://letme.dev/google-ads-api" }, "sameCompany": [ "gemini-api", "gemini-embedding", "vertex-ai-tuning", "google-model-armor", "google-imagen", "google-veo", "google-lyria", "google-speech-to-text", "gemini-live", "google-adk", "google-secret-manager", "google-cloud-document-ai", "google-weather-api", "chrome-devtools-mcp", "google-maps-platform", "google-cloud-translation", "google-calendar-api", "firebase-cloud-messaging", "google-drive-api", "gemini-cli", "google-search-console", "google-forms", "google-sheets-api", "gmail-api" ], "area": "communication", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Google LLC", "domain": "google.com", "domainRegistered": "1997-09-15", "domainNote": "The endpoint is on googleapis.com, Google's API domain. google.com was registered in 1997.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/terms", "privacy": "https://policies.google.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://ads.google.com/status/publisher/", "changelog": "https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Google Ads API terms name Google LLC for most countries, Google Ireland Limited for EMEA and Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. for APAC.", "The terms page says it was last updated on 21 February 2019 and still defines the developer token, which Google sunset on 9 September 2026.", "RDAP for google.com gives a registration date of 1997-09-15.", "www.google.com/.well-known/security.txt expires on 1 April 2030 and names g.co/vulnz, security@google.com and the vulnerability reward programme.", "Google publishes a discovery document for the REST interface and protocol buffer definitions for gRPC, not an OpenAPI spec." ], "score": 96 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-ads-api.json", "live": { "slug": "google-ads-api", "probe": { "target": "https://googleads.googleapis.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:52.807891392Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 44, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 48, "p95ms24h": 123, "samples24h": 250, "samples30d": 360, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 93, "ok": 93 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 17, "ok": 17 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://ads.google.com/status/publisher", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T00:50:37.821323489Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "googleads/google-ads-python", "version": "33.0.0", "released": "2026-09-23", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:55:23.161552916Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "google-ads", "version": "33.0.0", "released": "2026-09-23", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:55:22.973534278Z" } ], "githubStars": 753, "pypiWeekly": 3140805, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://google.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2030-04-01T00:00:00z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:39:28.443612679Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:35:46.935439122Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "dc6ee6118a62" }, { "url": "https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:35:49.322469601Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "b2c89bed13ba" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:52.807891392Z" } }, "answer": "Google Ads API scores 76.4 (BB) on agent readiness against X Ads API's 57.3 (C), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "x-ads", "name": "X Ads API", "vendor": "X Corp.", "vendorUrl": "https://docs.x.com/x-ads-api/introduction", "kind": "http-api", "category": "advertising", "summary": "X's Ads API creates and manages campaigns, line items, targeting, creatives and audiences on X and returns performance analytics. Agents call versioned REST endpoints at ads-api.x.com with OAuth 1.0a, or use the X Ads MCP server with OAuth 2.0.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/x-ads", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/x-ads.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/x-ads.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/x-ads.json", "license": "Proprietary service under the X Developer Agreement and its incorporated Developer Policy", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://ads-api.x.com/mcp", "packages": [], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "Access needs approval. A person creates an app in the X Developer Console and requests Ads API access with the Ads API Access Form, which the docs say is reviewed within three business days, at the Conversion Only or Standard Access tier. The MCP page instead says selecting Ads Project under Project Access enables Ads API access for the app. REST calls are signed with OAuth 1.0a using the app key and a user access token from the three-legged or PIN flow. The docs say these tokens do not expire and the user can revoke them. The X Ads MCP server uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE and the scopes `ads.read`, `ads.write`, `media.write` and `offline.access`. Calls act with the user's ad account role.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "No fee for Ads API access was found in the pages read, and the X API pricing page does not mention the Ads API. Ad spend is billed to the ad account's funding instrument, and advertising prices were not read. The sandbox host creates test accounts and funding instruments and never serves ads, so an approved app can start without spend. Whether a developer account needs a payment card was not established (checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Free", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the Ads API documentation, the X API pricing page or the Developer Agreement (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.x.com/x-ads-api/introduction", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.x.com/x-ads-api/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "ads.reporting", "ads.campaigns", "ads.budgets", "ads.audiences", "ads.creatives" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "free", "oauth", "mcp", "llms-txt", "sandbox", "approval-required", "closed-source" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-17", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 57.3, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 616, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 62, "maintenance": 63, "payments": 20, "reliability": 75, "schema": 64, "security": 48, "transparency": 62 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Rate limits are published per endpoint type, a sandbox host never serves ads, and the X Ads MCP server has separate read and write scopes and creates campaigns paused. The REST API needs OAuth 1.0a signing and an approved app, no OpenAPI file covers it, and the official Python and Ruby SDKs were last released in May 2022.", "bestFor": "An agent that manages or reports on X campaigns for an advertiser with an approved developer app, especially through the MCP server, where scopes separate reads from writes and writes start paused.", "strengths": [ "Rate limits are published by endpoint type, such as 450 writes a minute and 250 synchronous analytics requests per 15 minutes, with remaining quota in `x-rate-limit-*` headers", "The sandbox host `ads-api-sandbox.x.com` creates test ad accounts and funding instruments, and campaigns made there are not served", "The X Ads MCP server at `https://ads-api.x.com/mcp` lists 74 tools, with `ads.read`, `ads.write` and `media.write` as separate OAuth 2.0 scopes", "The MCP docs say campaigns and line items are always created paused, and spending starts only after `activate_campaign` or `activate_line_item`", "Every docs page has a Markdown twin, and https://docs.x.com/x-ads-api/llms.txt indexes the Ads API pages" ], "weaknesses": [ "No OpenAPI file covers the Ads API. The published file (version 2.170, 178 paths) describes api.x.com only", "REST calls need an OAuth 1.0a signature on each request, and the docs say user access tokens do not expire", "The official Python and Ruby SDKs were last released on 27 May 2022 at v11.0.0, while the current API version is 12", "No idempotency key, audit log endpoint or SLA was found in the reviewed documentation", "The Developer Agreement treats statistics on the X API's performance and responsiveness as Confidential Information for internal, non-commercial use, which matters before any probe is run", "The `video_total_views` metric was redefined in place on 13 August 2026 with no version change" ], "agentNotes": [ "Build against `https://ads-api-sandbox.x.com/12/` first. Create a test account with `POST accounts` and a funding instrument there before touching a live account", "On HTTP 429 wait until the time in `x-rate-limit-reset`. On 503 wait for `retry-after`. The docs say apps that ignore these can be throttled or lose access without notice", "Read the account-level limit from `x-account-rate-limit-*` when present and use `x-rate-limit-*` only when it is absent", "For a read-only MCP session request `ads.read offline.access` only. Without `offline.access` the token expires in about two hours with no refresh", "Page with `count` (1 to 1,000, default 200) and `cursor` until `next_cursor` is null. Analytics endpoints page by time range instead, and `with_total_count` cannot be combined with `cursor`" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 57.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 62, "maintenance": 63, "payments": 20, "reliability": 75, "schema": 64, "security": 48, "transparency": 40 }, "provenanceScore": 84 }, "connect": { "http": "twurl -H ads-api.x.com \"/11/accounts\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add x-ads https://ads-api.x.com/mcp \\\n --transport http \\\n --client-id YOUR_OAUTH2_CLIENT_ID \\\n --callback-port 8080" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/ads.reporting", "tool": "https://letme.dev/x-ads" }, "sameCompany": [ "x-mcp" ], "area": "communication", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "X Corp.", "domain": "x.com", "domainRegistered": "1993-04-02", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://docs.x.com/developer-terms/agreement", "privacy": "https://x.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://developer.x.com/status", "changelog": "https://docs.x.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "unknown", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The Developer Agreement (last updated 27 April 2026) governs use of the X API and incorporates the Developer Policy and the API Restricted Use Rules. The contracting entity is X Corp. (Bastrop, Texas), or X Internet Unlimited Company (Dublin) for a developer in the EU, EFTA or the United Kingdom.", "The privacy link is the one the Developer Policy cites. x.com's robots.txt disallows every path for unnamed agents, so the policy was not read.", "No advertiser agreement or data processing agreement was found in the pages read. business.x.com was not read.", "API calls go to https://ads-api.x.com and https://ads-api-sandbox.x.com, and OAuth 2.0 tokens come from api.x.com. The documentation is at docs.x.com.", "x.com/.well-known/security.txt is closed to us by robots.txt. developer.x.com and docs.x.com return 404 for the file.", "The status page at developer.x.com/status is script-drawn and its components were not read. The incident history is at https://docs.x.com/incidents.", "RDAP gives a registration date of 1993-04-02 for x.com." ], "score": 84 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/x-ads.json", "live": { "slug": "x-ads", "probe": { "target": "https://ads-api.x.com/mcp", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T01:38:14.093941587Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 134, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 136, "p95ms24h": 286, "samples24h": 102, "samples30d": 102, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 85, "ok": 85 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 17, "ok": 17 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://developer.x.com/status", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T00:51:26.152185931Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.x.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:38:47.238452338Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "d1064f68558e" }, { "url": "https://x.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 0, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:56:08.988834251Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "blockedByRobots": true }, { "url": "https://docs.x.com/developer-terms/agreement", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:38:49.524865418Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "69ecb268f31a" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T01:38:14.093941587Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Google", "b": "X Corp.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://googleads.googleapis.com", "b": "https://ads-api.x.com/mcp", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, stdio, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth", "b": "OAuth", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under the Google Ads API terms. The client libraries and the google-ads-mcp server are Apache-2.0", "b": "Proprietary service under the X Developer Agreement and its incorporated Developer Policy", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "3", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-23", "b": "2026-09-17", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2019-02-21", "b": "2026-04-27", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "753 stars, 3.1M PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Google Ads API scores 76.4 (BB) on agent readiness against X Ads API's 57.3 (C), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Google Ads API or X Ads API?" }, { "answer": "Both use an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Google Ads API and X Ads API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Google Ads API has a hosted endpoint at https://googleads.googleapis.com and X Ads API at https://ads-api.x.com/mcp.", "question": "Can an agent call Google Ads API and X Ads API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 82 against 75", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 84 against 64", "Agent ergonomics, 87 against 62", "Security \u0026 auth, 71 against 48", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 87 against 63", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 82 against 62" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "Runs on your own machine" ], "goodFor": "It suits an agent that reports on or manages Google Ads accounts for an advertiser or agency that can get a Cloud project approved.", "slug": "google-ads-api", "watchFor": "One OAuth scope, `adwords`, covers reading, editing, creating and deleting. Read-only access depends on the Google Ads user role" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "An agent that manages or reports on X campaigns for an advertiser with an approved developer app, especially through the MCP server, where scopes separate reads from writes and writes start paused.", "slug": "x-ads", "watchFor": "No OpenAPI file covers the Ads API. The published file (version 2.170, 178 paths) describes api.x.com only" } ], "job": { "capability": "ads.reporting", "name": "Ad reporting" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-google-ads-api.json", "title": "Amazon Ads API vs Google Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-google-ads-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-x-ads.json", "title": "Amazon Ads API vs X Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-x-ads" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-google-ads-api.json", "title": "Apple Ads Platform API vs Google Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-google-ads-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-x-ads.json", "title": "Apple Ads Platform API vs X Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-x-ads" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-linkedin-marketing-api.json", "title": "Google Ads API vs LinkedIn Marketing APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-linkedin-marketing-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-meta-marketing-api.json", "title": "Google Ads API vs Meta Marketing API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-meta-marketing-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-microsoft-advertising-api.json", "title": "Google Ads API vs Microsoft Advertising API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-microsoft-advertising-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-snapchat-ads.json", "title": "Google Ads API vs Snapchat Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-snapchat-ads" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkedin-marketing-api-vs-x-ads.json", "title": "LinkedIn Marketing APIs vs X Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkedin-marketing-api-vs-x-ads" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-marketing-api-vs-x-ads.json", "title": "Meta Marketing API vs X Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-marketing-api-vs-x-ads" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-advertising-api-vs-x-ads.json", "title": "Microsoft Advertising API vs X Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-advertising-api-vs-x-ads" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/snapchat-ads-vs-x-ads.json", "title": "Snapchat Ads API vs X Ads API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/snapchat-ads-vs-x-ads" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 7, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 82, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16, "x-ads": 75 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 84, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13, "x-ads": 64 }, { "by": 25, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 87, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13, "x-ads": 62 }, { "by": 23, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 71, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14, "x-ads": 48 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10, "x-ads": 20 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 24, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 87, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7, "x-ads": 63 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "google-ads-api", "google-ads-api": 82, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7, "x-ads": 62 } ], "summary": "Google Ads API scores 76.4 (BB) on agent readiness against X Ads API's 57.3 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do ad reporting.", "verdicts": { "google-ads-api": "Test accounts are free and need no approval, and `validate_only` checks a change without running it. Production access needs a Google Cloud project approved at Explorer level or above and a person to set up OAuth. One OAuth scope covers both reads and writes. The official MCP server is read-only, self-hosted and at version 0.0.4.", "x-ads": "Rate limits are published per endpoint type, a sandbox host never serves ads, and the X Ads MCP server has separate read and write scopes and creates campaigns paused. The REST API needs OAuth 1.0a signing and an approved app, no OpenAPI file covers it, and the official Python and Ruby SDKs were last released in May 2022." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads.min.md" }, "markdown": "Google Ads API scores 76.4 (BB) on agent readiness against X Ads API's 57.3 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do ad reporting.\n\n- Google Ads API: grade BB, 76.4/100, rank #33 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-ads-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-ads-api.json\n- X Ads API: grade C, 57.3/100, rank #616 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/x-ads.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/x-ads.json\n- Best advertising platform APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/advertising/index.md\n- All 28 advertising comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/advertising/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Google Ads API (BB)\n\nGood for: It suits an agent that reports on or manages Google Ads accounts for an advertiser or agency that can get a Cloud project approved.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 82 against 75\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 84 against 64\n- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 62\n- Security \u0026 auth, 71 against 48\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 87 against 63\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 82 against 62\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- Runs on your own machine\n\nWatch for: One OAuth scope, `adwords`, covers reading, editing, creating and deleting. Read-only access depends on the Google Ads user role\n\n### X Ads API (C)\n\nGood for: An agent that manages or reports on X campaigns for an advertiser with an approved developer app, especially through the MCP server, where scopes separate reads from writes and writes start paused.\n\nWatch for: No OpenAPI file covers the Ads API. The published file (version 2.170, 178 paths) describes api.x.com only\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Google Ads API | X Ads API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 82 | 75 | Google Ads API +7 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 64 | Google Ads API +20 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 62 | Google Ads API +25 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 48 | Google Ads API +23 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | Google Ads API +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 63 | Google Ads API +24 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 62 | Google Ads API +20 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **76.4 · BB** | **57.3 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Google Ads API | X Ads API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Google | X Corp. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://googleads.googleapis.com` | `https://ads-api.x.com/mcp` |\n| Transports | HTTP, stdio, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth | OAuth |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under the Google Ads API terms. The client libraries and the google-ads-mcp server are Apache-2.0 | Proprietary service under the X Developer Agreement and its incorporated Developer Policy |\n| Tools exposed | 3 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-23 | 2026-09-17 |\n| Terms last updated | 2019-02-21 | 2026-04-27 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-01 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |\n| Popularity | 753 stars, 3.1M PyPI/wk | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Google Ads API.** Test accounts are free and need no approval, and `validate_only` checks a change without running it. Production access needs a Google Cloud project approved at Explorer level or above and a person to set up OAuth. One OAuth scope covers both reads and writes. The official MCP server is read-only, self-hosted and at version 0.0.4.\n\n**X Ads API.** Rate limits are published per endpoint type, a sandbox host never serves ads, and the X Ads MCP server has separate read and write scopes and creates campaigns paused. The REST API needs OAuth 1.0a signing and an approved app, no OpenAPI file covers it, and the official Python and Ruby SDKs were last released in May 2022.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Google Ads API\n\n1. Send `validateOnly: true` on a mutate first. It returns errors without making the change. Batch jobs don't support it\n2. Create campaigns with status PAUSED and enable them in a separate step, since an enabled campaign with a budget can spend\n3. Send `login-customer-id` (digits only, no hyphens) when you reach a client account through a manager account\n4. A failed request still counts against the daily operation quota. Paging with a valid `next_page_token` doesn't\n5. Wait at least 12 hours between account budget changes on one account, and use the Data Manager API for new Customer Match or offline conversion work\n\n### X Ads API\n\n1. Build against `https://ads-api-sandbox.x.com/12/` first. Create a test account with `POST accounts` and a funding instrument there before touching a live account\n2. On HTTP 429 wait until the time in `x-rate-limit-reset`. On 503 wait for `retry-after`. The docs say apps that ignore these can be throttled or lose access without notice\n3. Read the account-level limit from `x-account-rate-limit-*` when present and use `x-rate-limit-*` only when it is absent\n4. For a read-only MCP session request `ads.read offline.access` only. Without `offline.access` the token expires in about two hours with no refresh\n5. Page with `count` (1 to 1,000, default 200) and `cursor` until `next_cursor` is null. Analytics endpoints page by time range instead, and `with_total_count` cannot be combined with `cursor`\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Google Ads API or X Ads API?\n\nGoogle Ads API scores 76.4 (BB) on agent readiness against X Ads API's 57.3 (C), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do Google Ads API and X Ads API need an API key?\n\nBoth use an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Google Ads API and X Ads API without installing anything?\n\nYes. Google Ads API has a hosted endpoint at https://googleads.googleapis.com and X Ads API at https://ads-api.x.com/mcp.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"google-ads-api\", \"b\": \"x-ads\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare google-ads-api x-ads`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-ads-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/x-ads.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Google Ads API or X Ads API\n\n- [Amazon Ads API vs Google Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-google-ads-api.md)\n- [Amazon Ads API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ads-api-vs-x-ads.md)\n- [Apple Ads Platform API vs Google Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-google-ads-api.md)\n- [Apple Ads Platform API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apple-ads-vs-x-ads.md)\n- [Google Ads API vs LinkedIn Marketing APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-linkedin-marketing-api.md)\n- [Google Ads API vs Meta Marketing API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-meta-marketing-api.md)\n- [Google Ads API vs Microsoft Advertising API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-microsoft-advertising-api.md)\n- [Google Ads API vs Snapchat Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-snapchat-ads.md)\n- [LinkedIn Marketing APIs vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkedin-marketing-api-vs-x-ads.md)\n- [Meta Marketing API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-marketing-api-vs-x-ads.md)\n- [Microsoft Advertising API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-advertising-api-vs-x-ads.md)\n- [Snapchat Ads API vs X Ads API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/snapchat-ads-vs-x-ads.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Google Ads API vs X Ads API", "url": "" } ], "description": "Google Ads scores 76.4 (BB) to X Ads's 57.3 (C) for ad reporting. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Google Ads API BB 76.4", "X Ads API C 57.3", "scores" ], "h1": "Google Ads API vs X Ads API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-google-ads-api-vs-x-ads.png", "path": "/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Google Ads vs X Ads for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-ads-api-vs-x-ads" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2300, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }