Which ad format actually pays
Rewarded video is the highest-eCPM, lowest-retention-damage format and should be the foundation of any mid-core or RPG monetization. Interstitials pay well but cost retention if shown more than once every 2–3 sessions. Banners pay almost nothing relative to the screen real estate they consume.
- • Rewarded video: $8–$20 eCPM, opt-in, lowest retention cost.
- • Interstitial: $3–$8 eCPM, frequency-capped, watch D1 retention.
- • Banner: $0.50–$2 eCPM, set-and-forget but tiny.
Why fill rate matters as much as eCPM
An app calling 10M ad requests a month with a 50% fill rate is leaving 5M paid impressions on the table. AdMob mediation (with AppLovin MAX, Unity LevelPlay, etc.) typically lifts fill from ~80% to 95%+ and lifts eCPM 20–40% via competition.
AdMob's reported eCPMs swing 5–10× based on geography, ad format, and fill rate. The number that actually matters for revenue planning is ARPDAU (average revenue per daily active user), since it captures both impressions per user and fill quality. This calculator translates DAU + format mix into realistic monthly AdMob income.
What each input means
Get these inputs right and the output is reliable. Get them wrong and the calculator just multiplies bad assumptions.
Daily active users (DAU)
Unique users opening the app per day.
Typical range: 5–15% of MAU for casual apps; 20–40% for utility/productivity.
Ad impressions per DAU
Total impressions ÷ DAU.
Typical range: 3–8 for casual games; 1–3 for utility; 10–30 for hyper-casual.
Format mix (banner / interstitial / rewarded)
Share of impressions by format.
Typical range: Hyper-casual: 60% interstitial, 30% rewarded, 10% banner. Utility: 80% banner, 20% interstitial.
eCPM by format
Effective CPM after fill.
Typical range: Banner $0.30–1.50; Interstitial $4–12; Rewarded $10–25. US/UK/JP/AU 3–5× tier-3 geos.
Worked examples
Real scenarios with the math walked through line by line.
Hyper-casual game, US-heavy
Scenario: 50,000 DAU, 12 impressions/DAU (10 interstitial @ $7 eCPM, 2 rewarded @ $14 eCPM).
Math: Interstitial revenue/day = 50k × 10 × $7/1000 = $3,500. Rewarded = 50k × 2 × $14/1000 = $1,400. Daily = $4,900. Monthly ≈ $147,000.
Outcome: ARPDAU $0.098 — strong for hyper-casual. Most lifetime revenue arrives in days 1–14; budget UA accordingly.
Utility app, global mix
Scenario: 200,000 DAU, 2 impressions/DAU (1.6 banner @ $0.50 eCPM, 0.4 interstitial @ $3 eCPM).
Math: Banner = 200k × 1.6 × $0.50/1000 = $160/day. Interstitial = 200k × 0.4 × $3/1000 = $240/day. Total ~$400/day, ~$12k/mo.
Outcome: ARPDAU $0.002 — typical utility. Monetization optimization usually has 3–5× headroom; add a smart interstitial trigger.
Common mistakes
Where this calculation usually goes wrong in the real world.
- Modeling US eCPM globally. A US DAU is worth 4–8× a tier-3 geo DAU.
- Quoting eCPM without fill rate. Effective revenue = eCPM × fill rate.
- Showing too many interstitials. Above 1 interstitial per 90 seconds, retention drops faster than revenue rises.
- Skipping rewarded ads. Often the highest eCPM format and the only one users opt into.
- Counting house ads / cross-promo as revenue. They're zero-dollar impressions.
When to use this calculator
- Forecasting revenue for a new app launch.
- Comparing AdMob to Unity Ads, ironSource, AppLovin.
- Deciding whether to add a paid subscription tier.
- Setting UA bid caps (must be < projected LTV).
Glossary
ARPDAU
Average revenue per daily active user. The single best ad-revenue normalization metric across apps.
Fill rate
Share of ad requests that returned a paid impression. AdMob averages 90–98%; lower means lost revenue.
Mediation
Using multiple ad networks competing per-impression. Lifts eCPM 15–40% vs. AdMob solo.
More questions answered
Should I add mediation (AppLovin MAX, ironSource LevelPlay)?
Once DAU clears ~10,000, yes — mediation typically lifts eCPM 20–35% by running networks in waterfall or bidding. Below 10k DAU, the integration overhead and reporting complexity outweigh the modest lift, since most networks weight bids toward higher-volume publishers.
What's a good ARPDAU benchmark?
Hyper-casual: $0.05–0.15. Casual mid-core: $0.15–0.40. Utility: $0.001–0.01. Subscription apps with ads: $0.20–0.80 blended. Top quartile in any category runs 2–3× median. ARPDAU below the 25th percentile usually signals either too few impressions per session or a geo mix dominated by low-RPM markets.
Why is my eCPM lower than what AdMob's promo materials show?
Promo numbers are top-decile US-only rewarded video. Your blended eCPM is averaged across formats, geos, and fill failures. The realistic target is 40–60% of the headline rate. To raise it: add mediation, ship rewarded placements, increase the share of US/UK/AU/JP/DE traffic via targeted UA.
Related guides
Long-form playbooks on the same topic, written by the RevenueLab editorial team.
AdMob eCPM Benchmarks 2026: Rewarded, Interstitial, Banner — by Format, Geo, and OS
The 200× spread between US rewarded video and tier-3 banner, banner sizes that actually pay, why mediation is non-optional, and the GDPR/ATT consent problem.
Read the guideYouTube RPM by Niche in 2026: What Creators Actually Earn per 1,000 Views
A breakdown of typical YouTube RPM ranges across 12 niches — from finance and B2B SaaS at the top to gaming and entertainment at the bottom — and the levers that move them.
Read the guideThe Google Ads ROAS Playbook: Modeling Spend Before You Burn It
A structured approach to modeling ROAS before scaling Google Ads — break-even CPA, gross-margin-adjusted ROAS, and the assumptions most spreadsheets get wrong.
Read the guideMethodology last reviewed: 2026-05 by the RevenueLab editorial team.
FAQ
What's a good eCPM on AdMob?
Depends on format and geo. US/UK/CA tier-1 eCPMs: $4–$8 interstitial, $8–$20 rewarded video, $1–$2 banner. Tier-3 geos run 1/5 to 1/10 of that.
Does AdMob pay per click or per impression?
Both, depending on the ad. Most modern campaigns are CPM-based (per 1,000 impressions). Reported eCPM blends CPM and CPC into a single $/1k impressions number.
How accurate is this calculator?
Directional. Real AdMob revenue swings 30–50% week-to-week with advertiser demand seasonality (Q4 is 1.5–2× Q1). Use this for planning, not as a guarantee.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last reviewed
June 2026. We re-check every figure on the platform on a rolling quarterly cycle.
Editorial standards
See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.