Flat rate
A flat rate is a fixed price per click, install, or a specific placement, negotiated directly with a publisher or source ahead of time, as opposed to a price that floats in an auction. A flat price doesn't move with audience competition in the moment.
How a flat rate deal works
A buyer agrees with a specific source on a price per unit — a click, an impression, or a placement for a fixed period — without competing against other advertisers in an auction. That gives predictable spend, but the price won't self-correct if traffic turns out weak, unlike an auction, where an inefficient bid simply stops winning impressions.
Flat rates in PWA arbitrage
Flat deals are usually struck directly with a specific publisher or source, bypassing a network's self-serve dashboard, and typically only after that source has already shown a stable result through auction-based buying. Before committing to volume at a flat price, it's worth validating the creative-plus-prelander combo on a small budget first — APEX split-tests with sticky visitor bucketing give a clear read before the price locks in for the whole deal.
FAQ
- Is a flat rate better than auction-based buying?
- Not always — a flat rate pays off once a source's volume and quality are already proven stable, since the fixed price can end up below the average auction rate. On an unproven source, a flat deal is riskier because the price won't adjust on its own if results turn out weak.
- How do you vet a source before a flat rate deal?
- Buy traffic from it first through a normal auction or self-serve setup and check the real CPI and quality on a small budget. Only after that does it make sense to move to a fixed price and larger volume.
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