Mobile App Advertising Medium
Rewarded video, interstitials and banners inside an app, auctioned across networks by a mediation layer.
- Typical earnings
- $5-20 per 1,000 sessions, rewarded video up to $30 eCPM in the US
- Per 1,000 visitors
- $5-20 (US, general niche)
- Traffic needed
- From 5.0k/mo
- Cost to start
- $0
- First payout
- 1-2 months
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Effort
- Mostly passive
- Family
- Advertising revenue
- Metrics
- ARPDAU, eCPM by format and country, Fill rate, Ad impressions per DAU
Estimate mobile app advertising earnings for your traffic →
Who pays for mobile app advertising
Networks and programs that send the money, platforms you run it on, and marketplaces where you sell it directly.
Mobile app advertising: networks with no traffic minimum
Every minimum compared →Accept new sites from day one; terms improve as you grow
Google AdMob 📡 NetworkFree
Google's mobile ad network and mediation platform; the default SDK for iOS and Android apps.
AppLovin MAX 📡 NetworkFree
In-app bidding mediation with AppLovin's own demand; the leading alternative to AdMob mediation for games.
Unity LevelPlay (ironSource) 📡 NetworkFree
Unity's mediation and ad network, native to Unity-built games, with rewarded video demand.
Meta Audience Network 📡 NetworkFree
Facebook and Instagram advertiser demand inside apps, used through mediation.
Pangle 📡 NetworkFree
TikTok for Business' in-app ad network, strong in Asia and for rewarded video.
Mintegral 📡 NetworkFree
Programmatic mobile ad network with strong game and APAC demand, in most mediation stacks.
What is Mobile app advertising?
What it is
Apps monetize with ad units rendered by an SDK: banners at the edge of the screen, interstitials between screens or levels, rewarded video the user chooses to watch for an in-app reward, native units inside feeds, and app-open ads. A mediation platform (Google AdMob mediation, Unity LevelPlay, AppLovin MAX) asks several networks for a bid on each impression and serves the highest, which is how a single app reaches Meta Audience Network, Unity, ironSource, Vungle, Pangle, Mintegral and the rest.
How the money flows
Advertisers, mostly other apps buying installs, pay per thousand impressions or per completed view. Each network reports an eCPM, the mediation layer picks the winner, and each network pays you separately, usually monthly on NET-30 to NET-60 with a $100 threshold (AdMob) or lower. The metric that matters is ARPDAU: ad revenue per daily active user, which combines eCPM with how many ads a user sees.
What it pays
Rewarded video pays best: $10-30 eCPM in the US, $2-6 in tier-2 countries, and users watch it willingly because they get something. Interstitials run $5-15 US, banners $0.20-1.50. A casual game showing three rewarded videos and two interstitials per session can earn $5-20 per 1,000 sessions from US users; a utility app with banners only earns a fraction. Geography dominates: a user in India is worth roughly a tenth of one in the US.
Requirements and who pays
AdMob accepts any published app; most networks need a few thousand daily users before their bids matter. Mediation is not optional: a single network leaves 20-40% of revenue unearned because no one buyer wants every impression. Apple's App Tracking Transparency and Google's Privacy Sandbox limit targeting, so contextual and first-party signals matter more each year.
Pitfalls
The temptation is to show more ads; the discipline is to show them at moments that do not break the session. An interstitial before the user has enjoyed anything kills day-one retention, and retention is what makes the app worth anything. Pair ads with an in-app purchase that removes them: the users who hate ads most are often the ones who will pay.
Properties Mobile app advertising suits
Pros
- Rewarded video is the highest-paying and least-resented ad unit in existence
- Mediation (AdMob, LevelPlay, AppLovin MAX) auctions every impression across 10+ networks
- Pays the moment you have users; no sales funnel needed
Cons
- Interstitials at the wrong moment cut retention, which costs more than the ads earn
- Store policies and privacy changes (ATT, Privacy Sandbox) keep lowering targeting and eCPMs
- Needs SDK integration and constant tuning, not a script tag
Mobile app advertising: frequently asked questions
How much does Mobile app advertising pay?
Typical earnings from mobile app advertising are $5-20 per 1,000 sessions, rewarded video up to $30 eCPM in the US (about $5-20 per 1,000 visitors for a US-heavy audience in a general niche). Finance, insurance, software and B2B audiences earn several times more than entertainment or gaming; a mostly non-US audience earns a quarter to a half of these figures. Use the calculator on this site for your own traffic and niche.
How much traffic do I need for Mobile app advertising?
It starts to be worth doing at around 5.0k visitors a month. Cost to start: $0.
How long until the first payout from Mobile app advertising?
Expect the first money in 1-2 months. Difficulty: medium. Mostly passive.
What kind of property does Mobile app advertising work for?
It suits mobile app.
Which metrics should I track for Mobile app advertising?
ARPDAU, eCPM by format and country, Fill rate, Ad impressions per DAU, Retention after ad changes.
Who pays me for Mobile app advertising?
This directory lists 9 networks and programs that pay for it, 6 platforms to run it on and 2 marketplaces where you sell it directly. Start with a network or platform that has no traffic minimum; move to the ones with minimums (and better terms) once you qualify.
Methods to combine with Mobile app advertising
All alternatives →
Newsletter Sponsorships Medium
Sell the primary slot, a secondary placement or a classified in each send, priced per thousand opens.
Display Advertising Easy
Banner and responsive ad units sold by the thousand impressions: the default first dollar for any content site.
Sponsored Content & Brand Deals Medium
Brands pay for a post, video, integration or review featuring their product, sold directly or through a creator marketplace.
Podcast Sponsorships & Host-Read Ads Medium
Pre-roll, mid-roll and host-read spots priced per thousand downloads, the highest CPMs in media.
Video Advertising (Instream, Outstream & CTV) Medium
Pre-roll, mid-roll and outstream ads inside a player on your pages or channel, at CPMs several times higher than display.
Direct Ad Sales Hard
Sell your own banner, takeover and sponsorship inventory straight to advertisers at fixed prices, keeping 100%.
Compare Mobile app advertising
Verdict
Mobile app advertising scores 7.8/10 in our advertising revenue ranking. Rewarded video is the highest-paying and least-resented ad unit in existence.
Mobile app advertising networks Mobile app advertising platforms Mobile app advertising marketplaces