ironSource / LevelPlay Earnings for Entertainment App Apps

Typical ad setup for this category

These are the modelling defaults for the category, used in every table on this page.

Sessions per user per day

3.0

Typical session length

13 minutes

Retention day 1 / 7 / 30

30% / 11% / 5%

Typical iOS share

40%

Rewarded video

1 per user / day

Interstitial

2 per user / day

Banner

4 per session

Native

3 per user / day

App open

Not offered

Entertainment apps compete with their own content

Wallpaper and ringtone apps, streaming guides, meme collections, quiz apps, fan hubs and soundboards share one trait: the user came to consume something, and every ad competes with it for attention. Sessions can run long as people browse item after item, yet loyalty is often thin, and many of these apps are found through search and dropped once the novelty fades. Our estimates put the category just under par at 0.95, reflecting browsing that is casual and an audience that is rarely in a buying frame of mind.

The natural break in an entertainment app falls between items: after a wallpaper is set, after a quiz round, after a clip ends. Interstitials at those moments go down far better than mid-browse. Native cards fit grids and lists because the layout is already repetitive. Rewarded video can unlock premium or exclusive items, and plenty of wallpaper and sticker apps build their whole model around it. Take care with video ads inside a video-led app, since an ad with sound colliding with your own content is a frequent source of one-star reviews.

Policy risk here concerns the content more than the ads. Apps that host copyrighted images, music or clips can be pulled from the stores or lose network approval, and advertisers steer clear of placements beside material they regard as unsafe. Seasonal content, such as holiday wallpapers or event quizzes, can draw traffic peaks that line up with the strongest ad prices of the year, so read the Q4 preparation guide before autumn arrives.

Estimated monthly earnings by audience size

Monthly estimates for the typical setup above, balanced region split.

Where the money comes from

Split of the $6,261 estimate at 10,000 daily users (blended Android and iOS).

Interstitial carries 34% of the total, so its placement and frequency matter most for this category.

Region makes the biggest difference

The same app at 10,000 daily users with three audience splits:

Moving from an emerging-market audience to a Tier 1 audience multiplies the estimate by about 2.4.

Revenue per install

Using the category’s typical retention curve, one install produces about 3.7 active days in its first 30 days and 5.9 in 90 days.

Ad revenue per install, first 30 days

$0.08

Ad revenue per install, first 90 days

$0.12

Compare these figures with your cost per install before buying users. They exclude in-app purchases.

How ironSource / LevelPlay fits this category

For Rewarded video, the Tier 1 eCPM in our ironSource / LevelPlay table is $12.50, about 4% above the middle of the eight mobile networks. For Interstitial, the Tier 1 eCPM in our ironSource / LevelPlay table is $8.50, about 5% above the middle of the eight mobile networks. For Banner, the Tier 1 eCPM in our ironSource / LevelPlay table is $0.85, about 3% above the middle of the eight mobile networks. For Native, the Tier 1 eCPM in our ironSource / LevelPlay table is $3.00, about 10% below the middle of the eight mobile networks. ironSource / LevelPlay does not offer App open in our model. On networks that do, it carries about 10% of revenue for this category, so that share has to come from other formats here. Modelled fill is 86% for ironSource / LevelPlay against an average of 83% across the mobile networks, which adds a little to every format.

You open a LevelPlay account, add each app and receive an app key. The SDK goes into your build with adapters for the networks you choose, and each of those needs its own credentials entered in the LevelPlay dashboard. You then decide which instances bid and which sit in a waterfall with floors, which our guide to choosing floor prices covers. The integration test suite confirms adapters before release. Estimate first with the LevelPlay revenue calculator.

How ironSource / LevelPlay ranks for this category

All eight mobile networks, same category and audience (10,000 daily users, balanced).

ironSource / LevelPlay ranks 3 of 8 here, 39% behind AppLovin MAX.

Practical tips

• Trigger interstitials after a completed action, such as setting a wallpaper, rather than while the user is still browsing.
• Make sure every item is original or properly licensed, because a takedown ends ad income overnight.
• Mute video ads by default in apps where your own content plays sound.

About ironSource / LevelPlay

ironSource LevelPlay is Unity's mediation platform, pairing the ironSource network with access to other bidders and waterfall sources. Our estimates put it at about $12.50 for Tier 1 rewarded and $8.50 for interstitials on Android, with fill of around 86%.

All figures come from our benchmark tables: Android eCPMs by tier, category or niche multipliers, modelled fill and the iOS multiplier. They are estimates for planning, not quotes.