Native Ads in Apps: Design, Earnings and Labels

Six of the eight mobile networks in our tables support native: AdMob, AppLovin MAX, Meta Audience Network, ironSource LevelPlay, Vungle and InMobi. Unity Ads and Chartboost do not, so if they are your main partners you will need another source for native slots.

Estimated Native 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.

Meta Audience Network has the highest Tier 1 eCPM for this format in our tables at $4.20.

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).

How it earns

On price, native sits between banners and full-screen formats. Our Tier 1 Android estimates range from about $3.00 on ironSource and InMobi to about $4.20 on Meta Audience Network, whose audience targeting suits feed placements. It out-earns a banner because it takes up more of the screen and more of the user's attention, often with a large image or video.

Since you build the layout, you also shape much of the result. A unit with a clear image, a readable headline and an obvious button will usually do better than a cramped one, and where it falls in a scrolling list matters as much as how it looks.

What it does to the experience

Native ads blend in, which is both the appeal and the risk. Users accept an ad that matches the rhythm of a feed, but they feel misled if they tap what looked like content and land on a store page. Trust lost that way is slow to rebuild.

Every major network requires native ads to be clearly identified, typically with an 'Ad' or 'Sponsored' label and the network's attribution icon, and forbids editing the advertiser's text or image. Google's native policies also cover asset sizes and keeping the ad visibly separate from your content. Check each network's current guidelines while you design the template, not after.

Best practice

• Spread native units through a feed with generous gaps rather than clustering them together.
• Keep the ad label and attribution icon visible at every screen size.
• Use the advertiser's assets as supplied and crop images only within the ratios the network allows.
• Build one template per placement type so you can test layouts without shipping a new release.
• Track revenue per user as well as eCPM, because native placements change how far people scroll.

Common mistakes

• Styling the ad so closely to your content that users cannot tell them apart, which breaks policy and trust.
• Putting the call-to-action button where users habitually tap to open an item, inviting accidental clicks.
• Planning native slots before checking that your main network supports the format at all.

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.