Ad Income Questions, Answered Plainly

These are the questions that come up most often from people about to put ads in an app or on a site: what the money looks like, when it arrives, and what can go wrong. Each answer stands alone, so jump to the one you need.

Every figure here is an estimate drawn from the same benchmark ranges as our calculators, and network rules change, so confirm anything that affects a decision in your own account. For a specific term you do not recognise, the glossary has it.

Setting realistic expectations

How much can I expect to earn from ads?

Mostly it depends on audience size, location and format. Take 1,000 daily users who each see three rewarded and two interstitial ads. With AdMob-style Tier 1 eCPMs of $12 and $8, that is about $52 a day; with Tier 3 eCPMs of $1.40 and $0.90, about $6. Real audiences sit between the two, and our AdMob revenue calculator lets you set the mix.

For sites, 100,000 pageviews at a $7 AdSense-style Tier 1 RPM is about $700. Run your own inputs through the main calculator for a range.

Why does the same traffic pay so differently by country?

Advertisers bid more to reach people in countries where their customers spend more. In our benchmarks a Tier 1 pageview on AdSense earns an RPM near $7.00 against $0.80 in Tier 3, nearly nine times as much.

Category shifts the result too. Our model gives finance apps a 1.6 multiplier and education apps 0.85. Two apps with identical user counts can therefore earn very different amounts, as the mobile eCPM benchmarks show.

Do iOS apps earn more than Android apps?

Per impression, usually yes. Our model applies a 1.3 multiplier to iOS, so a $12.00 Android rewarded eCPM becomes $15.60. The gap comes from advertiser demand and the countries iOS users tend to live in.

Apple's tracking prompt narrowed the difference by limiting targeting for users who opt out, which is covered in how ATT changed iOS ad income. Your own platform split matters more than any rule of thumb.

Does ad revenue change through the year?

Yes. Advertiser budgets tend to swell in the last quarter of the year and shrink in January, so the same traffic often earns noticeably more per thousand views in November than in the following February. Some niches add their own swings, such as recipes before holidays or travel in spring.

Compare a month with the same month a year earlier, not with last month, before deciding something broke.

Payments and timing

How long until I get my first payment?

You wait twice: once to reach the minimum balance and once for the payment run. AdMob's threshold is $100 at the time of writing. At $5 a day you reach it in 20 days, and the money is then typically paid around the 21st to 26th of the following month.

Managed web networks pay later, with Mediavine roughly 65 days after month end and Raptive roughly 45. The AdMob payment guide covers the PIN step that can add delay.

Why is my payment lower than the dashboard said?

Dashboard figures are estimates until the month closes. Networks then remove invalid traffic, apply any adjustments and convert currency, so the final number can differ slightly from what you watched.

If the gap is large, check the finalised monthly report first, then your bank, since transfer fees and exchange rates can take a further cut.

In what currency will I be paid, and what does it cost?

That depends on the network and your payments profile, and many pay in US dollars. If your bank account holds another currency, the conversion margin is often a bigger cost than the transfer fee on a small payout.

A receiving account in dollars, such as one from Wise, can reduce this. The guide to receiving payouts abroad compares the options.

Picking networks and tools

Why does revenue differ between networks?

Each network has different advertisers, different bidding and a different fill rate, so one network can lead in one region and trail in another. In our benchmarks Tier 1 rewarded eCPM is $14.50 on AppLovin MAX against $9.00 on InMobi, yet Tier 3 is $1.60 against $1.50.

Reporting differs as well. Networks count impressions and clicks slightly differently, so compare on eCPM over the same dates, as described in eCPM in plain English.

Do I need mediation?

Not at the start. A new app with a few hundred daily users gets little from the extra SDKs, and one network is easier to debug. Mediation pays off when you have steady impressions across several regions, because competing bids raise both price and fill.

A rough rule is to add it once a single network's fill rate or eCPM is clearly limiting you. Mediation or a single network walks through the trade-off.

Should a blog use AdSense or a managed network?

AdSense has no traffic minimum, so it is the usual first step. Mediavine's main programme asks for $5,000 in annual ad revenue, with Journey by Mediavine taking sites from 1,000 Tier 1 sessions in 30 days, and Raptive asks for 25,000 monthly pageviews. Check current terms before you apply. In our benchmarks a Tier 1 RPM is about $7 on AdSense and $17 to $18 on those networks, which on 100,000 pageviews is $700 against roughly $1,700.

Managed networks also pay later and want more control of your layout. See AdSense or Mediavine, then try the AdSense calculator.

Ads and your audience

Do ads hurt retention?

Some do, depending on format and timing. An interstitial in a player's first session tends to cost more than an optional rewarded video. The only reliable way to know is an A/B test comparing day-1 and day-7 retention against the extra revenue.

Small dips add up. If a change costs two points of day-1 retention, 1,000 installs lose 20 returning players, and you must decide whether the ads repay what those players would have earned. See rewarded vs interstitial.

How often should I offer rewarded ads?

Keep them optional and tied to something players want, then let behaviour set the frequency. Our calculator defaults to three per user per day, a modest figure. Engaged players in games with a use for the reward may watch many more.

Opt-in is why this format is both well paid and well tolerated.

How many ads per page is too many?

Our web benchmarks assume four ads per page at 60% viewability. Past that, extra units usually earn less than the last one because they sit lower on the page and are seen less, while adding weight that can hurt layout stability and page speed.

Watch Cumulative Layout Shift and reader behaviour, not just RPM. Website ad formats compared covers sensible mixes.

Consent, compliance and sudden dips

Does GDPR consent affect revenue?

It can. Visitors who decline personalised ads in Europe and the UK are usually served non-personalised ads, which typically pay less. Revenue from those regions therefore depends partly on how many people accept.

You generally need a consent tool to serve ads there at all. Google's User Messaging Platform quick start covers Android. Keep the message honest and clear.

Do I need an ads.txt file?

For a website, in practice yes. The file lists who may sell your ad space, and buyers can skip inventory that does not appear in it. Your network gives you the lines to paste, and the file sits at the root of your domain.

Apps use app-ads.txt on the developer website named in the store listing. The IAB Tech Lab hosts the specification. Changes can take a day or more to be picked up.

What counts as invalid traffic, and how do I avoid it?

It includes bot visits, repeated clicks from one person, your own clicks and taps caused by ads placed too close to buttons. Networks strip it from earnings, and large amounts can lead to a suspended account.

Never click your own ads. Use test ad units while building, keep ads clear of controls, and avoid cheap traffic sources of unknown quality.

Why did my revenue drop overnight?

Work through it in order. First check traffic: users or pageviews. Then country mix, then ad requests, then fill rate, then eCPM by format. Whichever number moved first points to the cause.

If traffic held but eCPM fell, suspect season, a lost consent setup or a changed floor. If requests fell, an app update or broken ad unit is likely. The glossary defines each metric.