Marketing Skills Directory Google Ads API
No fee listed
Quota-based. The docs list no charge. Ad spend is billed by Google Ads.
Daily limits by access level (see docs)
OAuth 2.0
OAuth 2.0 bearer token (user or service account flow). Add a login-customer-id header when calling through a manager account. Developer tokens were sunset on 9 Sep 2026.
Campaigns, ad groups and ads
Keyword and search term performance
Spend, clicks, impressions, conversions
Budgets and bidding settings
Account and billing structure
Pricing checked on 23 Oct 2026 · Pricing page · Docs · Sign up
Description
The Google Ads API lets code read and change Google Ads accounts: campaigns, ad groups, ads, keywords, budgets and performance reports. It is the route for custom reporting, bulk edits and automated bid or budget rules.
It is useful in marketing agents that pull spend and conversion data into a report, flag wasted spend, or apply changes after a human approves them. Reporting uses a query language (GAQL), so you ask for exactly the fields you need.
Use it if you manage Google Ads accounts at volume or build reporting tools. If you only need a few numbers a week, the Google Ads UI or a scheduled export is simpler. Access is gated by access levels, so plan for an application step.
Key endpoints
GET /v26/customers:listAccessibleCustomers: accounts the token can reachPOST /v26/customers/{customerId}/googleAds:search: GAQL query for reportsPOST /v26/customers/{customerId}/googleAds:searchStream: streamed GAQL resultsPOST /v26/customers/{customerId}/campaigns:mutate: create or edit campaigns
Example request
curl -i \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
"https://googleads.googleapis.com/v26/customers:listAccessibleCustomers"
Tech details
- API style
- REST
- Base URL
- https://googleads.googleapis.com
- Rate limits
- Daily operations per project by access level: Test 15,000 (test accounts), Explorer 2,880 production, Basic 15,000, Standard unlimited. Hourly system limits apply to all.
- Official SDKs
- Java, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Perl
Use Cases
Campaigns, ad groups and ads
Keyword and search term performance
Spend, clicks, impressions, conversions
Budgets and bidding settings
Account and billing structure
Editor’s note What our review found
Editorial research, reviewed 23 Oct 2026. We read Google's access levels and authorization pages. We did not run live calls. This listing is not an endorsement.
Cost: Google's docs list no fee for any access level. Ad spend is billed in your Google Ads account as usual. Access levels (Test, Explorer, Basic, Standard) are set per Google Cloud project. Explorer needs an application with mostly automated review, Basic needs brand verification first, and Standard involves a manual audit by Google.
Credentials and data: you use OAuth 2.0 (scope adwords) with a client ID, client secret and refresh token. Keep them in environment variables or a secret manager, never in code or a plain-text file. These credentials can read and change ad accounts and spend money, so give an agent the narrowest access you can. Campaign, cost and conversion data moves between Google and your system.
Good to know: the access levels page says developer tokens were sunset on 9 Sep 2026 and access is now managed per Cloud project. The authorization page now lists OAuth 2.0 credentials, plus a login-customer-id header when you call through a manager account, and no developer-token header. Older guides and SDK samples may still show a developer token, so follow the current Google pages. Explorer access cannot create accounts, manage users, do keyword planning or use billing services. Explorer is limited to 2,880 production operations per day. Versions change often (the docs examples use v26).