TrafficGuard vs Lunio vs ClickPatrol: Which Fake Click Tool is Best for Your PPC Campaigns?
Abisola Tanzako | Feb 24, 2025

Fake clicks significantly threaten digital advertisers, draining billions in ad spending and distorting campaign data. Businesses investing $10,000 monthly in Google Ads can lose up to $15,000 yearly to fake clicks. 90% of PPC campaigns on Google and Bing are targeted, leading to an estimated $62 million wasted for every $407 million spent in the U.S.
Fake clicks waste ad budgets, with 36% of display ad clicks invalid and losses projected at $35 billion. The solution? A fake click protection tool. This article covers the use of three fake click protection tools; TrafficGuard vs Lunio vs ClickPatrol, to safeguard your ad spend and maximize ROI.
What is a fake click, and how does it impact campaigns?
Fake clicks generally involve clicking on ads for which the system has been infiltrated by fraudsters carrying out various invalid activities. Fake clicks involve bots and automated scripts that repeatedly click ads to our advertising budget. Of course, competitors may support this, aiming to exhaust advertising funds and reduce campaigns.
It also involves entities manipulating ad metrics or inflating costs for financial gain. This fraud wastes ad spending and distorts performance data, thus hindering the practical assessment of the effectiveness of your campaigns and further actions.
The consequences of fake clicks.
The consequences of fake clicks include:
- Drains ad budgets: Every fake click means money that could have been spent on real traffic.
- Skews analytics: Fake clicks make accurate assessment of campaign performance difficult, thus leading to the wrong decisions.
- Low return on investment: Campaign efficiency goes down as the budgets get depleted without returns.
- Increases cost-per-acquisition: Fake clicks inflate the number of engagements and fail to drive conversions, increasing the cost of acquiring genuine customers.
- Competitive advantage: Fake clicks consume the money a business should have in high-competition verticals, where the game is about competing by outbidding.
Like on-demand services, fake click percentages can reach 60% in high-risk verticals. This makes campaigns unsustainable unless some prevention is implemented. The attention given here can unlock paid advertising to its full potential.
Comparing TrafficGuard vs Lunio vs ClickPatrol.
1. ClickPatrol: Features, Pricing, and Best use cases.
ClickPatrol is a game-changing solution for advertisers who are used to creating and managing ads on Google Ads, Facebook, and Bing. This powerhouse software uses advanced, AI-driven technology to deliver the most comprehensive fraud detection available for your ad investment, which is precise and efficient. Due to its settings, ClickPatrol can easily be tailored per campaign, depending on a specific campaign’s demands. As a professional digital marketer or part of an advertising team, ClickPatrol puts you ahead in the game to outsmart invalid activity while making confident, data-driven decisions. Unlock the next level in campaign protection and efficiency with ClickPatrol.
Key features
- AI detection: Uses deep machine learning to detect and control invalid activities.
- Multi-platform support: Protects campaigns on more than one ad network.
- Customizable rules: Users can set thresholds and customize their detection rules according to unique campaigns.
- Collaboration with a team: This option allows multi-user access to the software, making it ideal for agencies or teams operating several campaigns.
Performance and pricing
- Protection coverage: The system currently tracks over 42,000 ad campaigns.
- Click tracking: Screens millions of clicks a month for abnormalities.
- Pricing: Flexible pricing model, with a 7-day free trial.
Best for
- Advertisers seeking a multi-platform solution with state-of-the-art fraud prevention and strong collaboration within their team.
2. TrafficGuard: Features, Pricing, and Best use cases.
TrafficGuard is expertly positioned in advanced fraud detection. It enables advertisers to block fake clicks instantly when they occur. That speed is crucial for keeping their tracking accurate and ensuring that ad budgets are not spent on clicks that should be invalidated.
Key features
- Swift protection: Blocks invalid activities at the exact time they happen.
- Aggregated reporting: Very granular information about traffic pattern insights and fake click trends.
- Cross-platform coverage includes support for several advertising networks and performance and pricing trusted by thousands globally.
Pricing:
- It is scalable and costs $65/m. It is best for advertisers who want advanced protection and deep insight into data to optimize ad campaigns further.
3. Lunio: Features, Pricing, and Best use cases.
Lunio is an intuitive, data-driven solution for businesses of all sizes. It simplifies ad protection with easy navigation and powerful analytics. It helps optimize campaigns and secure ad investments, making it ideal for startups and enterprises.
Key features
- Behavioral analytics: Analyses user interactions to separate real traffic from bots.
- Custom rules: Allows advertisers to set up the criteria for detection based on particular needs.
- Seamless integrations: Integrates easily with significant ad platforms for smooth operations.
Performance and pricing
- Global reach: Covers protection in more than 95 countries.
- Pricing: Starting from $50/month, it goes up depending on your needs.
Best for
- Marketers who are in search of an easy-to-use solution with actionable insights to help them fight against fake clicks effectively.
TrafficGuard vs Lunio vs ClickPatrol: A side-by-side comparison.
Choosing the right fake click protection tool is crucial for safeguarding your ad budget. Below is a feature-by-feature comparison of three top solutions: TrafficGuard, Lunio, and ClickPatrol.
1. Advanced blocking
- All three tools, TrafficGuard, Lunio, and ClickPatrol, offer advanced click fraud blocking, ensuring your campaigns remain protected from fake traffic.
2. Multi-platform support
- TrafficGuard and Lunio provide limited platform coverage, while ClickPatrol supports Google, Facebook, and Bing, making it a more versatile option.
3. AI-powered detection
- Each platform utilizes AI-powered detection to identify and prevent fraudulent clicks in real-time, enhancing campaign efficiency.
4. Custom rules
- Advertisers can set custom rules across all three platforms to fine-tune ad protection strategies based on specific business needs.
5. Team collaboration
- ClickPatrol stands out with team collaboration features, while TrafficGuard and Lunio do not offer this functionality.
6. Pricing
- TrafficGuard: Starts at $65/month
- Lunio: Starts at €50/month
- ClickPatrol: Offers flexible pricing with a 7-day free trial
- How to choose between TrafficGuard, Lunio, and ClickPatrol.
When choosing between TrafficGuard vs Lunio vs ClickPatrol, one has to consider ad objectives, platform usage, and what teams may need. One way or another, all three of them can be great for fraud protection, and ClickPatrol is the most universal solution. Here’s why:
- Single-platform campaigns: If your campaigns focus solely on Google Ads, TrafficGuard or Lunio will suffice for your needs with its real-time detection and actionable insights.
- Data-centric analytics: Lunio’s heart is a clean UI for marketers who want ease of use. This, combined with very granular behavioral analytics and custom rules, positions it powerfully against its competition in the niche.
- Multi-platform excellence: For campaigns spanning Google Ads, Facebook, Bing, and many others, ClickPatrol stands alone. AI-driven fraud detection, user-configurable fraud rules, and multi-user collaboration capabilities ensure businesses get robust protection and keep their teaming environment super-friendly.
This makes ClickPatrol the best for any advertiser seeking to increase their return on investment and simplify their campaign management through ease of adaptability with different advertising platforms and seamless team collaboration.
The benefits of fake click prevention.
The benefits of fake click prevention include:
- Salvage advertising budgets: Businesses can cut back a good fraction of money spent on advertising campaigns by eliminating fake clicks, with industry estimates of even up to 30%.
- Increase data accuracy: Cleaner, fraud-free metrics enable informed decisions from actual performance data by advertisers.
- Improved campaign ROI: Reinvesting wasted click budgets in high-return strategies increases returns on campaigns.
- Better engagement: This keeps the bot traffic away and presents the ad in front of real users, hence assuring better interaction and conversions.
- Improvement in brand trust: Reduced invalid activity goes a long way in safeguarding your brand reputation and helping to reassure stakeholders of the integrity of your campaigns.
Effectively kicking fake clicks off ad investment.
Fake clicks are here to stay in digital advertising, but they do not have to stand in your way. Solutions like TrafficGuard, Lunio, and ClickPatrol exist to ensure your ad investments are better protected and aligned for better ROAS.
- ClickPatrol works best for multi-platform advertisers that need advanced detection and team collaboration.
- TrafficGuard offers unparalleled fraud detection, perfect for advertisers requiring immediate intervention.
- Lunio is a user-friendly interface with deep analytics suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Assess your campaign needs, advertising platforms, and budget to choose the best tool for your goals. With the right solution, you can confidently protect your campaigns, ensure maximum returns, and conquer the challenges of fake clicks.
FAQs
Q. 1 Which tool supports multi-platform campaigns?
ClickPatrol supports campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook, and Bing, making it well-suited for the multi-platform advertiser industry.
Q. 2 Can fake click prevention tools eliminate invalid activities?
No tool can, but they reduce the effect of fake clicks by filtering out most of them.
Q. 3 How do fake click prevention tools improve ROI?
They save budgets by eliminating ad spend waste, giving actionable insights, and ensuring ads reach real users.
Q. 4 What makes ClickPatrol different?
Its range of AI-powered detection, support across multiple formats, and teams assure the highest protection against fake clicks.