Which ad surfaces yield the highest revenue per thousand impressions?
№ 078 · Ads RPM by surface
Definition
MetricPublisher revenue per thousand ad impressions (eCPM/RPM), by ad surface
Unit$ per 1,000 impressions, per placement format
Revenue per thousand ad impressions, broken down by ad surface (interstitial, banner, rewarded video). Build from ad network reports per surface per day. Rewarded usually wins; banner usually rounds to zero. Example: Rewarded video $42 RPM, Interstitial $18, Banner $4.
- RPM
- Revenue per mille. Ad revenue per thousand impressions or sessions.
Benchmarks
| Bottom 30% | Median | Top 30% |
|---|---|---|
| Banner: $0.45-0.68 in the US and under $0.10 in emerging markets | Interstitial US ~$12.65 blended; rewarded US blended ~$15.15; native ~$3.00-3.30; global blends run far below US rates | Rewarded video in Tier 1 geos: US iOS ~$19.60, US Android ~$16.50 (Q4 2024); offerwall placements in reward economies average ~$400 on Android, reaching four figures in top genres |
In-app ad placements, US-centric figures from Appodeal's Q4 2024 and 2025 eCPM datasets (network eCPM used as the RPM proxy), offerwall from Tapjoy. Geo mix dominates: the US leads every format and emerging markets sit at a fraction of these rates. · eCPM is measured network-side and RPM publisher-side after mediation; the numbers converge only if fill and mediation share are accounted for. Fill rates differ by format (banners 90%+, rewarded 60-80%), so per-mille rate and total revenue rank surfaces differently. Rewarded is opt-in and volume-limited; interstitial pays less per mille but reaches every user.
Category split omitted: Format-level eCPM data located live traces overwhelmingly to one proprietary dataset (Appodeal, relayed by multiple summaries), so no second independent Tier 1-2 source supports a further split by geo, platform or app category.
When it looks bad
Impression volume concentrated in the lowest-RPM surface while the highest-RPM surfaces sit under-trafficked, so the volume bars and the RPM bars are inverted.
Banners produce 55% of impressions at $0.50 RPM and 6% of ad revenue, while rewarded video runs one placement at $15 RPM and 20% fill headroom.
What to do about it
- Add rewarded placements at natural friction points (lives, retries, unlocks, streak savers); rewarded pays 20-30x banner per mille in the US with completion above 80% (Appodeal data, Yango).
- Keep banners as the revenue floor rather than the strategy; 90%+ fill vs 60-80% for rewarded means banners monetize every session, but they should not carry the impression mix (Yango).
- Cap interstitial frequency and restrict placement to session breaks; the retention cost of forced formats can exceed the per-mille gain, so read this card next to the retention curves (Appodeal commentary).
- If the app runs a points or currency economy, test an offerwall; Android offerwall eCPMs average ~$400 and reach four figures in the best-fit genres (Tapjoy via Mistplay).
Sources
- Appodeal Quarterly eCPM benchmarks across banner, interstitial and rewarded video by country and platform, evolved into a live benchmarks tool appodeal.com ↗
- Maf.ad (Appodeal Q4 2024 data) Rewarded US: iOS $19.63, Android $16.49; interstitial US: iOS $14.32, Android $14.08; banner US: Android $0.68, iOS $0.45 maf.ad ↗
- Mistplay (Appodeal 2025 data) Rewarded US average $15.15 across platforms; interstitial US $12.65; banner US $0.50; Tapjoy offerwall Android average ~$400, up to $1,500 in best genres business.mistplay.com ↗
- Zeely Rewarded video had the highest global eCPM across both platforms in 2025; interstitials strongest in North America and Europe; per-mille rate does not equal total revenue because rewarded reach is opt-in zeely.ai ↗
- Yango Ads Native ads $3.00-3.30 eCPM, ~20% above banners; banner fill 90%+ vs 60-80% for rewarded; rewarded completion above 80% yango-ads.com ↗