Liftoff has long been on the radar of those buying in-app traffic, especially when it comes to mobile apps, e-commerce and gaming. The platform promises smart optimization, access to premium inventory, and a rich experience in performance verticals. But does Liftoff really live up to expectations and who should be looking at it in 2025? Let’s break it down with the AdKeys team.
What is Liftoff DSP?
Liftoff is a DSP platform with a focus on machine learning and creative optimization. The main focus is on attracting high LTV users through in-app traffic acquisition. Liftoff is known for its ability to customize campaigns to the desired outcome: install, signup, purchase, subscription.
As of today, Liftoff has:
- access to over 1 million apps worldwide
- audience selection technologies based on lookalike and behavioral models
- the ability to purchase premium in-app inventory through integration with top networks (Applovin, Unity, IronSource, etc.).
Liftoff in Figures
Source: Martech Zone (March 2024)
Liftoff is a global DSP that covers needs in both top Tier-1 and emerging geo.
Strong regions:
- US, Canada, Europe (Germany, France, UK)—here maximizing access to premium in-app inventory and a wide range of venues.
- APAC (South Korea, Japan, Singapore)—high quality traffic, strong competition, but also good ROI opportunities.
- Latin America—good balance of price and quality of installs, especially for e-commerce and fintech.
Who Should Take a Closer Look at Liftoff?
Liftoff is ideal for those who:
- works with apps and wants to focus on LTV, not just installs
- plans to buy on a large scale—the platform works well on spends from $10-15k per day
- wants precise targeting based on behavioral patterns,
Liftoff's Key Features
1. ML-optimization for actions, not just installs
Liftoff doesn’t just bring users to the app, it learns from data and optimizes for events: registration, purchase, subscription. The more data, the more accurate the algorithm.
«With Liftoff, you feel like the platform is working on quality, not quantity. The algorithms are really learning and starting to deliver audiences that pay, not just clicks».
2. Creative engine and tests
One of Liftoff’s strengths is automated testing of creatives. The platform itself selects the most effective combinations of images, texts and calls to action.
«Where Moloco needs to keep its own finger on the pulse on creatives, Liftoff takes care of that and allows you to find working bundles faster».
3. Premium in-app inventory
Liftoff buys traffic directly from top networks: Unity, Applovin, Vungle, IronSource and others. This gives a high level of traffic quality and access to exclusive playsets.
How Does Liftoff Work with Creatives?
Unlike platforms like Meta Ads or Google, Liftoff doesn’t offer built-in tools for creating banners, videos or playables- all of which have to be prepared in advance.
The thing about Liftoff is that it has a powerful system for automatically testing and optimizing creatives, which includes:
- Creative A/B Testing Engine—Liftoff itself analyzes which creatives (videos, banners, playables) give the best results and reallocates the budget in their favor. It is important to realize that this is not a classic manual A/B test with control groups, as in Meta. There is no possibility to set separate hypotheses and clearly isolate audiences—Liftoff learns from real-time data and disconnects weak bundles itself.
- Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)—the platform can automatically combine images, texts and CTAs in different variations if you upload separate elements. Therefore, the more creatives and the more diverse their approaches (messages, visuals, calls to action)—the faster the platform will find “working” combinations.
- Creative Insights—detailed analytics on the effectiveness of different visual and textual elements.
- Creative studio (on request)—Liftoff has an in-house creative team that can help with the production of advertising materials, but this is more often done as part of managed support, by agreement.
What to prepare for the startup:
- 3-5 video options
- 3-5 banner options
- It is desirable to add at least one playable, if the vertical allows it
- Message variations: offer-oriented, emotive, value-based
Tip: Liftoff likes to work with "raw" data—don't try to guess in advance what will work. It's better to give the system more options to test, and it will optimize itself
Cons of Liftoff
- Budgets needed. Like Moloco, Liftoff opens on volumes—with low traffic algorithms that do not show their strengths.
- More expensive at the start. Compared to Moloco, the first spin offs can be more expensive—the platform needs time to learn.
- Not always loyal moderation. Liftoff is quite demanding for creatives in gray and near-gray verticals. If you have gambling or betting—launching can be more difficult than on Moloco.
Checklist Before Launching on Liftoff
In order to get your Liftoff campaign off to the right start and not waste your budget, it’s worth preparing:
- First-party data
If possible, collect and upload IDFA / GAID from users with high LTV—this will give the algorithms a starting point for lookalikes and help them learn faster. - Quality creatives
Liftoff will not provide tools to generate creatives within the platform, so it is important to prepare videos, banners, playable ads in advance. We recommend 3-5 video and banner options per launch, and test different approaches in messaging and visuals. - Determine the event to be optimized
Not just an install—choose an event that has a real impact on ROI (signup, purchase, deposit, subscription). The more complex the event, the longer it will take to ramp up, but the more consistent the result in the long run. - Set a budget for training
Minimum $10-15k for tests—this will give the algorithm enough data to find mappings. budget - Set up analytics
Integration with MMP (AppsFlyer, Adjust, etc.) is a must. Push real-time revenue and event data—this is the main fuel for Liftoff algorithms.
If you want to test Liftoff with professional support and get the most out of your campaigns, the AdKeys team has the experience and is ready to help with setup, launch and optimization. Submit a request and we’ll help you squeeze the most out of it!
