The Index Marketplaces platform is designed so your inventory transacts in a yield-safe environment, earning you the highest revenue possible on every transaction. Unless otherwise specified, bids in Index Marketplaces compete net of fees, where fees are removed from the bid price before the auction is conducted, and the net bid price competes against other open market, private market, and Inventory Packages demand.
For more information about what the Index Marketplaces platform is, see Accessing demand through Index Marketplaces.
Example: Percentage fee
For providing their unique media offering, Marketplace Partners earn a fee, known as the Marketplace Owner Fee. The following diagram illustrates a revenue share structure where the Marketplace Partner earns a percentage of media spend. In the example, a Marketplace has returned a gross bid of $10. The $10 gross bid (Marketplace Media Spend) minus a 5% Marketplace Owner Fee and a 15% Index revenue share with the Media Owner results in a net bid price of $8.08. The Marketplace competes in the Index auction using the net bid price of $8.08. If that Marketplace wins the auction and results in an impression, you are paid $8.08, the Partner earns $0.50, and Index earns $1.42.
Example: Fixed-rate CPM fee
The following diagram illustrates a revenue share structure where a Marketplace Partner earns a fixed CPM fee regardless of what the media spend is. In this example, a Marketplace has returned a gross bid of $10. The $10 gross bid (Marketplace Media Spend) minus a $1.00 CPM Marketplace Owner Fee and a 15% Index revenue share with the Media Owner results in a net bid price of $7.65. The Marketplace competes in the Index auction using the net bid price of $7.65. If that Marketplace wins the auction and results in an impression, you are paid $7.65, the Partner earns $1.00, and Index earns $1.35.
Marketplace types
Marketplace Partners can create either Standard or Custom Marketplaces.
| Marketplace type | Description |
|---|---|
| Standard Marketplaces |
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| Custom Marketplaces |
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Marketplace fee transparency models
Partners can choose the level of fee transparency that they disclose for reporting metrics. A Marketplace can operate using a disclosed fee model or undisclosed fee model. The following table lists how metrics are disclosed to Media Owners in each model.
| Metric | Disclosed model | Undisclosed model |
|---|---|---|
| Media Spend | Always disclosed | Undisclosed |
| Marketplace Media Spend | Always disclosed | Undisclosed |
| Marketplace Total Fee | Always disclosed | Undisclosed |
| Marketplace Owner Fee | Optionally disclosed | Undisclosed |
| Marketplace Publisher Spend | Always disclosed | Undisclosed |
| Marketplace Vendor Fee | Optionally disclosed | Undisclosed |
Marketplace reporting metrics
Publishers, buyers, DSPs, and Marketplace Partners can create reports in the Index UI, the Reporting API, or the CAL API that break down Marketplace spend and revenue shares and allow all parties involved in the transaction to reconcile their earnings. The following table lists all of the available Marketplace metrics:
| Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
Media Spend | The amount a buyer owes to Index for ad inventory purchased through the exchange. Note: This metric is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace Media Spend | The portion of the Media Spend a buyer transacts through a Marketplace on the exchange. Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace Total Fee | The total monetary fees taken within the Marketplace. Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace Index Fee | Index's portion of the Marketplace Total Fee. Note: As of April 24, 2025, the Marketplace Index Fee field has been deprecated. The feature to apply the fee at the level instead of the Media Owner level has never been used. We have deprecated this functionality while maintaining the fields in existing reports for backwards compatibility. |
Marketplace Owner Fee | Marketplace Owner's portion of the Marketplace Total Fee. Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace Publisher Spend | The portion of the Marketplace Media Spend designated for the seller prior to the deduction of any additional fees approved by sellers. Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace Owner Name | The Marketplace Owner account name. |
Marketplace Owner ID | Unique ID of the Marketplace Owner account. |
Marketplace Owner Fee (%) | The Marketplace Owner's portion of the Marketplace Total Fee as a percent (as a decimal from 0 to 1) of Marketplace Media Spend. The calculation is: Marketplace Owner Fee / Marketplace Media Spend Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace Index Fee (%) | Index's portion of the Marketplace Total Fee as a percent (as a decimal from 0 to 1) of Marketplace Media Spend. The calculation is: Marketplace Index Fee / Marketplace Media Spend Note: As of April 24, 2025, the Marketplace Index Fee (%) field has been deprecated. The feature to apply the fee at the level instead of the Media Owner level has never been used. We have deprecated this functionality while maintaining the fields in existing reports for backwards compatibility. |
Marketplace Total Fee % | The total monetary fees taken within the Marketplace as a percent (as a decimal from 0 to 1) of Marketplace Media Spend. The calculation is: Marketplace Total Fee / Marketplace Media Spend Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Marketplace CPM | Marketplace Media Spend per 1000 Marketplace impressions. The calculation is: (1000 x Marketplace Media Spend) / Marketplace Impressions Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Deal Media Spend | The amount a buyer owes to Index for private market (deal) ad inventory purchased through the exchange. Note: Marketplace data is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
Open Media Spend | The amount a buyer owes to Index for open market ad inventory purchased through the exchange. |
Marketplace Vendor Fee | The Marketplace Vendor's portion of the Marketplace Total Fee. Note: This metric only exists for impressions transacted through a Marketplace and is only available if the Marketplace Owner has opted to share this data. |
How does billing work?
For Standard Marketplaces, Index handles all payments within the Index Marketplaces platform, making it easy for all parties within the transaction to get paid. For Media Owners, net revenue before adjustments is still reported in the publisher_payment metric, like all other revenue.
For some Custom Marketplaces, it's possible that Index will handle payments, but that may not always be the case. More information will be provided to you about specific Custom Marketplaces, if those partners ask you to join their Marketplace.
To learn more about how payments work, see View your payments from Index and Reconcile your payments from Index by reviewing your performance metrics.
