Glossary/Adtech & Programmatic/Fill Rate
Adtech & Programmatic
Fill Rate
The percentage of ad requests that are filled with an ad.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Appears in Lesson 4 of Programmatic 101
Short answer
Fill rate is the percentage of ad requests that are successfully filled with an ad, calculated as filled impressions divided by total ad requests. A low fill rate means available inventory is going unsold. Publishers raise fill rates by adding demand partners, adjusting floor prices, or using backfill sources such as ad networks.