Taboola vs Outbrain: Key Differences Explained (Which Should You Start With?)

If you’re searching for Taboola vs Outbrain, you’re probably evaluating which native advertising platform makes more sense for your performance strategy.

Both Taboola and Outbrain are established players in native advertising. They help advertisers distribute ads across large publisher networks, placing sponsored content directly inside editorial environments.

At first glance, they look similar.

But once you go deeper, there are meaningful differences in inventory, product scope, creative formats, and how each platform fits into a modern performance funnel.

Let’s break it down.

What Taboola and Outbrain Have in Common

Both platforms connect advertisers with publishers and display ads in content feeds across the open web.

Your ads appear next to real articles on major media sites, blending into the surrounding editorial context instead of interrupting users like traditional banners.

For advertisers, this means:

• Access to audiences outside Meta and Google

• Discovery-style traffic instead of intent-only traffic

• CPC-based buying (you pay per click, not per impression)

• Strong top- and mid-funnel impact that often spills over into Search and Social performance

  
  

In practice, many brands turn to native advertising once Meta or Google starts to plateau and they need new scalable traffic sources.

The Biggest Difference: Publisher Networks and Inventory

The most important difference between Taboola and Outbrain is simple:

They work with different publisher partners.

That means even with identical creatives and targeting, you’ll often see different results, because your ads appear on different media properties, reaching different audiences.

This is also why experienced advertisers frequently run both platforms in parallel.

Not because one replaces the other, but because each unlocks additional reach.

Think of it like Meta and Google: overlapping purpose, different ecosystems.

Outbrain + Teads: Strong Video Distribution

Outbrain has expanded its offering significantly through its merger with Teads.

This gives Outbrain access to large-scale outstream video placements, embedded directly into premium publisher content. For brands with strong video assets, this opens up additional upper-funnel reach via editorial video environments.

So today, Outbrain is no longer just classic native widgets. It also includes:

• Outstream video ads via Teads

• High-impact in-article video placements

• Brand-focused video distribution at scale

  
  

If video is central to your strategy, this Teads integration can be a meaningful advantage.

Taboola Today: Much More Than Just Native Ads

Historically, Taboola was best known for Native Ads below articles.

That’s still a core strength.

But since launching the Realize Ads Manager, Taboola has evolved into a much broader performance advertising platform.

Today, advertisers can run CPC-based campaigns across:

• Classic Native placements

• Vertical Display formats

• High-impact display units

• Inbox placements (including integrations with partners like Yahoo)

• Mobile surfaces such as lockscreen environments

  
  

All managed inside a single platform.

This is a major shift.

Taboola is no longer “just a native channel”. It has become a full performance ecosystem, capable of supporting:

• Prospecting

• Retargeting

• Mid-funnel education via advertorials

• Lower-funnel conversion campaigns

• Display-style reach as an alternative to traditional GDN setups

  
  

Still CPC-based. Still performance-driven.

For many advertisers, this means Taboola can now replace or complement multiple traffic sources at once, not just Native.

Taboola vs Outbrain in Real Campaigns

In practice, here’s how many performance teams use both platforms:

• Start with Taboola to validate funnels, creatives, and economics across broader inventory

• Use those learnings to expand into Outbrain + Teads video

• Run both simultaneously to maximize publisher coverage

• Shift budget dynamically based on CPA and scale

  
  

There’s no technical barrier to duplicating setups across platforms. Headlines, images, advertorials, and tracking frameworks can usually be reused with minimal changes.

That’s why seasoned media buyers rarely debate Taboola or Outbrain.

They run Taboola first, then Outbrain, once the model works.

Which Should You Start With?

If you’re new to native advertising, starting with Taboola often makes practical sense:

• Broader placement variety from day one

• Strong native foundation plus Display and Inbox options

• Easier transition into full-funnel performance setups

• CPC-based buying across multiple formats

• Straightforward expansion into Outbrain later using the same assets

Outbrain becomes especially interesting once:

• You already have winning creatives

• You want to add video distribution via Teads

• You’re ready to extend reach beyond your initial native setup

  
  

This is not about “better” or “worse”.

It’s about sequence.

What About Other Native Networks?

Besides Taboola and Outbrain, platforms like MGID or Revcontent also exist.

They can be useful for incremental reach, but most advertisers treat Taboola and Outbrain as the primary foundation, then layer others on top.

Final Take: Taboola First, Then Expand

There is no universal winner.

But from a performance-first perspective:

• Taboola offers the broadest CPC-based ecosystem today (Native + Display + Inbox)

• Outbrain adds strong video distribution via Teads

• Using both is common once campaigns are validated

  
  

Personally, I lean toward a Taboola-first strategy when entering native advertising.

Full transparency: I previously worked at Taboola, so I naturally have deeper insight into their internal product development, platform capabilities, and support structures.

That said, the recommendation is practical, not ideological.

Start where you can test fastest and widest. Then expand.