Google Ads API
Marketing & SEO Free tier (card may be required)
Documentation: developers.google.com ยท Checked Sep 13, 2026
About
Google's official Ads API manages campaigns, budgets, keywords, and reports for Google Ads. You do not need to spend a dollar to learn it: free test accounts let you build and experiment with the full API (they cannot serve real ads), and test access works before your developer token is approved. Production use needs an approved token; creating the underlying Google Ads account may ask for payment details.
Details
Free tier, but a card may be required to sign up.
Auth: Free tier (card may be required)
Rate limit: Test accounts are free with the same rate limits as production; production needs an approved developer token (Test, Basic, or Standard access).
Verified: 2026-09-13
Best for: ads marketing ppc reporting
Setup
- Create a Google Ads manager account
- Open Tools and Settings, then API Center, and apply for a developer token
- Create a free test manager account from the test-accounts page
- Set up OAuth credentials in Google Cloud
- Make your first call against the test account with a client library
POST https://googleads.googleapis.com/v18/customers/{customerId}/googleAds:search with developer-token, login-customer-id, and OAuth Authorization headersUse cases
- Build a custom ads dashboard beyond the Google Ads UI
- Automate budget and bid adjustments with your own rules
- Generate bulk keyword and campaign reports on a schedule