App Open Ads: How They Work and When to Use Them
App open ads fill the moment between tapping your icon and seeing the first usable screen. They sit over a loading or splash screen, either when the app starts or when someone returns to it from the background, and the user closes them to carry on.
Updated · Every figure on this page is an estimate from our benchmark tables, not a quote from any network.
Of the networks in our tables, only Google AdMob and AppLovin MAX offer the format. That narrows your choice of partner, but it also means apps with no natural breaks for interstitials still have a full-screen option.
Estimated App open eCPM by network
Android baseline, USD per 1,000 impressions, before category and platform multipliers. Networks that do not offer the format are left out.
| Network | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | iOS Tier 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google AdMob | $5.50 | $2.20 | $0.60 | $7.15 |
| AppLovin MAX | $6.00 | $2.40 | $0.65 | $7.80 |
AppLovin MAX has the highest Tier 1 eCPM for this format in our tables at $6.00.
Share of revenue by app category
How much of a category’s estimated revenue this format carries with the typical setup (Google AdMob, balanced audience).
| Category | Share | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Hypercasual Game | 5% | $587 |
| Casual Game | Off in the typical setup | - |
| Mid-core / Strategy | Off in the typical setup | - |
| Puzzle Game | 4% | $377 |
| Utility App | 20% | $660 |
| Social / Lifestyle | 12% | $764 |
| Finance App | 25% | $1,239 |
| Entertainment App | 10% | $716 |
| Education App | Off in the typical setup | - |
How it earns
Our Tier 1 Android estimates put app open at about $5.50 on AdMob and about $6.00 on AppLovin MAX. That is below interstitials on the same networks but far above banners, because the ad fills the screen at a moment when the user is looking straight at it.
Earnings are capped by how often people open or return to your app. Our calculator defaults to one per user per day and stops the slider at six, since showing more than a handful soon becomes intrusive. Utility apps that people check several times a day tend to get the most from it.
What it does to the experience
The format feels natural when it covers a load the user was waiting through anyway. It feels hostile when it delays someone who wanted to check something quickly, or when it is the very first thing a brand-new user sees. An advert is a poor opening to onboarding.
Google's guidance for the format has been consistent for some time: show it during a loading screen, hold it back until a user has opened the app a few times, and do not pair it with another full-screen ad. A loaded app open ad also expires after a while, so confirm it is still fresh before showing it. Check the current AdMob or MAX documentation for the exact rules.
Best practice
- Display the ad only while a real loading screen is up, and dismiss it straight into the content.
- Skip it for new users until they have come back to the app several times.
- Use a cooldown so someone who switches away briefly is not shown another ad on return.
- Load the next ad in the background after each display, and throw away any that have expired.
Common mistakes
- Showing an app open ad and then an interstitial within seconds of each other.
- Adding an artificial delay at launch purely to make room for the ad.
- Firing it every time the app returns to the foreground, including after a permission prompt or payment sheet.
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.
Questions people ask
Is an app open ad the same as an interstitial?
Both fill the screen, but app open ads are built around launch and return, with a layout that keeps your app's name and icon in view. Interstitials appear at breaks inside the app.
Are app open ads a good fit for games?
They can be, though many games already load behind a splash screen and show interstitials later. Test whether the extra impression is worth a slower start, particularly when sessions are short.
Why can't I find app open ads on my network?
Support is limited. In our data only AdMob and AppLovin MAX offer the format, so if your main partner is another network you would need to add one of those two. See the comparison pages for how they differ.