AdSense is the most popular ad network but famously has strict rules concerning traffic and content type. Many publishers are unable to comply with these requirements and seek AdSense alternatives that will enable them to monetize their content effectively. You’ve arrived at the right place if you fall into this category; we’ve compiled a list of the best AdSense alternatives and their unique features.
What is Google Adsense, and how does it work?
Google AdSense is a platform that connects website publishers with advertisers. The advertisers bid for slots on the websites and pay to place advertisements on those slots. The website publishers get paid, and Google takes a commission for facilitating the transaction.
The amount Google AdSense pays to publishers depends on several factors, including content niche, location, and advertiser demand for a site. AdSense offers reasonable rates, which makes it a top choice for publishers trying to monetize their websites. Any type of website can use AdSense, including blogs, forums, and online tools (calculators, currency converters, file converters, etc.).
To Contents ↑6 reasons to choose an AdSense alternative
1. Eligibility criteria
AdSense has eligibility criteria that some website publishers may be unable to comply with. For one, you need significant traffic and content volume, which is challenging for new publishers. Your website must also be a few months old, barring some exceptions, which presents a challenge for new publishers.
Sometimes, website publishers get delisted from AdSense for unclear reasons and can hardly contact Google personnel for assistance. An AdSense alternative lets you avoid these issues, especially as a new publisher. Many AdSense alternatives don’t have minimum traffic requirements, enabling you to earn money while working to grow your audience.
To Contents ↑2. Revenue model
Google has announced a switch from paying publishers per click to paying per impression only. This may seem like a great deal from one side because publishers always look for the ad networks with the best CPM rates. However, payouts for clicks and conversions can be much higher than CPM payouts. Besides, some networks allow publishers to withdraw money in local currencies, while AdSense is limited to a few currencies.
3. Customization
Some AdSense alternatives let you customize the look of your ads to match your website’s theme. This way, ads will blend more naturally with your website’s content and look more professional.
4. Flexible payouts
AdSense has a $100 minimum payment threshold, and new publishers can take a long time to earn this amount. Meanwhile, some AdSense alternatives let you withdraw earnings from as low as $5.
5. Niche
AdSense is a generalized ad network designed for any type of website. Some AdSense alternatives are built for specific niches (finance, iGaming, electronics, etc.), which makes them more suitable for relevant publishers. Besides, some niches like iGaming, dating, and movie websites aren’t allowed on AdSense, so choosing an alternative is the only option.
27 alternatives to Google AdSense
1. Adsterra
With Adsterra, you can maximize your revenue as a publisher via a variety of ad formats and sizes. It’s a super-friendly advertising network for any type of publisher seeking a serious Adsense alternative. It’s also the most caring advertising network for publishers, offering 24/7 human customer support and some $87M+ yearly payouts.
Publishers can earn a lot here by putting Popunder, Social Bar, Native, and many other ad formats on websites and blogs.
Adsterra partners with 35K+ publishers who monetize mobile, desktop, and social media traffic using the following ad formats:
- Display banners
- Social Bar (Push Ads)
- Popunders
- Native Ads
- Interstitials
- Direct Links (if you don’t have a website)
Payment
Adsterra accepts a variety of payment methods, making it simple to use regardless of the payment processor you use.
Payout Minimums:
- Paxum: $5
- Wire Transfer: $1000
- Local Bank Transfer (payouts in local currencies): $50
Why you should try Adsterra as a passive income source
- 15,000+ high-quality advertisers across different niches, including iGaming, E-commerce, Finance, Software Subscriptions, and many more.
- High CPM rates and AI optimization to serve the most relevant ads on your website.
- A broad range of creative ad formats, including Social Bar, Popunder, Direct Link, and Display ads.
- An Anti-Adblock solution to help you earn higher revenue.
- A sophisticated system to block malware and viruses.
- Bi-weekly payouts and a reasonable $5 threshold for some pay systems.
- 5% extra income with a Referral Program.
- A unique Partner Care program to help publishers grow their businesses.
Here are some Adsterra reviews from third-party experts:
“Adsterra is legit, and I hope this Adsterra review helps better explain the platform. It’s a great company that offers tons of value to publishers and advertisers. This ad network is also a great place to start for new marketers and blog owners with very little traffic.”
“I have been working with Adsterra for more than 2 years, I can say that it is one of the best affiliates for streaming traffic, they always make concessions, and min payout $5 and every 2 weeks. Just recently appeared the ads format “Social Bar” which does not annoy users and gives me the main revenue!”
“Launched in 2013, Adsterra is one of the fastest growing CPM advertising networks in the world. Not only it offers a wide range of ad formats but it also gives you the highest CPM rates to help you earn more money from your visitors. If you are looking for the easiest and effective publishing platform to show ads on your site, blog or Facebook pages, Adsterra is the right choice for you.”
- Blog With Ben
A comprehensive review of Adsterra from Blog With Ben, a popular blogging YouTube channel. Ben dives into the world of Adsterra and shares tips to help you monetize traffic effectively.
To Contents ↑2. Media.net
Yahoo and Bing’s Media.net is a direct AdSense competitor. It is one of the largest contextual ad networks globally, and it is used by well-known brands all over the world.
Media.net is one of the highest-paying contextual ad networks. They are always working with high-end publishers, and they only accept highly reputable websites. If you need to make more money quickly with a newly created or low-traffic blog, Media.net is unlikely to help you.
The contextual ad network has many rules that publishers must follow to be accepted into the program. They also allow websites that only have premium content. Here’s a checklist to help you determine whether or not your website is suitable for Media.net ads:
- The Media.net program is only open to websites with native English content and receives the majority of their traffic from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
- Website content must be updated regularly with original content.
- Have a large number of website traffic.
- It does not infringe on other intellectual property rights.
- Have a substantial amount of content and a user-friendly design.
Media.net pays more than AdSense for contextual ads. But AdSense offers a broader range of ad formats.
To Contents ↑3. Native Shopping Ads on Amazon
For a long time, bloggers and other website owners have relied on Amazon’s affiliate program to supplement their income, but Amazon Native Shopping Ads are a new lucrative means of monetizing your site.
Amazon Native Shopping Ads, like AdSense ads, are contextual, meaning they show relevant products based on the page’s content and keywords.
When a visitor clicks on one of these ads and buys anything on Amazon, you get a commission. Your visitors are more likely to buy from Amazon than from its competitors due to Amazon’s e-commerce reputation.
Amazon pays 60 days after the end of each month, and the minimum payout is low at $10 via direct deposit.
Amazon Native Shopping Ads pay more than Google AdSense, but conversions are significantly harder.
To Contents ↑4. Adversal
Adversal is a self-serve ad network that lets you place ads on your website in minutes. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to start, stop, and pause campaigns. To be eligible for Adversal ads, your website must have its domain name, at least 50,000 monthly pageviews, and not be password-protected.
Adversal’s CPM payout rates are calculated in real-time and dependent on the source of your traffic, the type of content, and the bounce rate on your site. It also depends on how much an advertiser is willing to pay for your niche.
Adversal offers a variety of other ad types, such as; Medium Rectangle, Ministitial, Popunder, Skyscraper, Wide Skyscrapers, Banner, and Leaderboard.
Adversal has a low payout threshold. If you reach the minimum payment threshold of $20, you will be paid on a NET35 basis. This means that if your account reaches the minimum payout amount in August, you’ll have to wait 35 days starting September 1st to receive your payout, which would be on October 5th. All unpaid balances are rolled over each month until you reach the minimum payment amount paid via PayPal, Bank Wire, or check.
Adversal’s contextual ads pay similar rates as Google’s.
To Contents ↑5. RichAds
RichAds is a well-known advertising network that serves 5 billion+ ad impressions daily. It focuses on three ad formats: Direct Links, Pop ads, and Push ads. The best niches for this network include iGaming, Finance, and Utilities.
RichAds offers high-paying ads with fill rates of up to 100%. This network welcomes publishers with Tier-1 traffic. If qualified, you can access ads that pay significantly higher than AdSense.
To Contents ↑6. HilltopAds
HilltopAds supports different ad formats, including Popunders, Video, Direct Link, and Display Ads. It provides advanced anti-adblocking software to help publishers maximize their revenue. Over 1,500 publishers use this ad network, attracted by its high-paying CPM rates. The minimum payout is $20, and HilltopAds offers weekly payouts to publishers.
To Contents ↑7. Revcontent
Revcontent offers Native ads designed to match the look and feel of your website’s content. They also offer ads in other formats, including display, mobile, and video.
They collaborate with publishers who are likely to generate a high volume of ad clicks, thus attracting advertisers willing to pay higher commissions.
Unfortunately, Revcontent is even more selective than Google AdSense in terms of eligibility. To be considered, your site must have at least 50,000 monthly visitors and produce valuable content regularly. There’s a chance you’ll be rejected, but for Revcontent’s promise of higher engagement rates, it’s worth a shot. Publishers are paid every month, with a $50 minimum payout. RevContent’s native ads pay significantly higher than AdSense, but this network has stricter eligibility requirements.
To Contents ↑8. Mediavine
Mediavine is comparable to AdThrive in terms of revenue share with bloggers and highly-tailored ad placements. However, it only requires half the number of monthly page views (50,000). This ad network works with many lifestyle advertisers, so it’s geared toward lifestyle bloggers.
It was founded by bloggers who recognize the importance of fast-loading, high-quality ads, and transparency. For PayPal and direct deposit, Mediavine’s minimum payout is $25 (or $200 for international direct deposit). Mediavine generally pays more than AdSense.
To Contents ↑9. InfoLinks
InfoLinks offers an excellent alternative to display ads because they specialize in in-text ad placement. They associate ads with relevant text snippets by searching for keywords in the body of the text. So a relevant ad appears next to this special text when a visitor hovers over it.
In-text ads work better on blog pages with a lot of words because there are more opportunities for relevant ads.
You can monetize any old or new article with InfoLinks. There is no setup fee, and there are no minimum page view requirements. You can quickly implement in-text ads (or targeted display ads, if you prefer) and gain insights from the reporting dashboard once everything is set up.
InfoLinks pays every 45 days via PayPal, Western Union, and Payoneer (minimum payout is $50). This network’s payout rates are similar to AdSense.
To Contents ↑10. Raptive
Raptive is a premium ad network that helps website publishers earn significant revenue. This network gives you access to high-paying ads and provides first-rate support to help publishers monetize their websites. It’s a self-serve platform that puts you in control of the ads on your website.
This network requires at least 100,000 monthly page views, and most of your traffic must come from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. If you meet these stringent requirements, Raptive pays significantly higher than AdSense.
To Contents ↑11. Monetag
Monetag is a reliable audience monetization platform. It incorporates artificial intelligence to match your website with ads that deliver high conversions. Its supported formats include Push Ads, Interstitials, Popunders, Banner Ads, and In-Page Push.
Monetag has no minimum traffic requirements, and payouts start from as low as $5. This network is suitable for small publishers, and after joining, you can focus on scaling your traffic.
To Contents ↑12. Adcash
Adcash serves more than 200 million active users and 850,000 app installs each month. It supports nearly all ad formats, from standard display ads to more premium units like pop-unders and instream video ads. It’s easy to place and customize any ad unit, and you can view real-time reports of your ad performance via the admin panel.
Like RevenueHits, Adcash also follows a pay-per-action model. It offers payouts through PayPal, cryptocurrencies, Skrill, Capitalist.net, and bank transfers. As an added perk, the $5 minimum payout is very low. Adcash pays higher rates than AdSense if you have considerable traffic.
To Contents ↑13. BuySellAds
If your blog generates consistently high traffic, consider BuySellAds, a self-serve ad portal for publishers. BuySellAds is highly exclusive — you’ll need at least 100,000 page views per month to join, and it only accepts English-language websites with excellent content and design.
If you can reach this high bar, you’ll enjoy a 75% commission per click. This is very competitive for the industry and significantly higher than Google’s commission rate of 62% per click. And, the minimum payout is just $20 with PayPal.
Ad formats include banners, text ads, native ads, RSS feed ads, email ads, and content sponsorships. Unlike other solutions, BuySellAds does not display automated or targeted ads. Instead, publishers sell the ad space available on their site to advertisers via a marketplace. BuySellAds pays better than AdSense for publishers with large traffic.
To Contents ↑14. SHE Media
SHE Media is another alternative to Google Adsense. This network was established to generate income from blogs and websites targeting women. This network boasts 50+ million monthly individual visitors, supplying publishers with a broad reach.
In comparison to other Google Adsense alternatives, SHE Media has a comparatively low traffic requirement of 20,000 viewers per month. However, they may make exceptions for sites with lower traffic if they have interesting content that is consistently and frequently published and show potential for growth.
Additionally, sites must be brand safe and around 90 days old with a higher concentration of US-based traffic and no more than 5% invalid traffic. As for the payment, the minimum payout is set at $20. This network pays similar rates as AdSense.
To Contents ↑15. TrafficStars
TrafficStars is a popular contextual advertising alternative to Google AdSense. It’s a self-serve ad network with 4 billion impressions daily. The platform works with almost all the top verticals, like Dating, Gambling, Gaming, E-commerce, Finance, and Sweepstakes.
It gives advertisers and publishers access to high-quality, exclusive traffic sources. It also generates detailed, real-time statistics, providing insights to optimize campaigns. Payments are based on the CPC and CPM models. TrafficStars pays publishers similarly to AdSense.
Tired of searches and comparisons? You can always opt for Adsterra and start earning right away!
To Contents ↑16. Snigel
Snigel is a full-stack website monetization platform that connects publishers with premium ads. It pays substantially higher than AdSense, but there is a catch: you need existing revenue of at least $50 daily. However, this platform makes some exceptions for websites with high growth potential.
To Contents ↑17. SetupAd
SetupAd is another great and profitable alternative to Google Adsense. This is a contextual advertising network that allows content creators to increase their revenue by displaying programmatic ads. It uses header bidding technology, connecting publishers’ ad inventory to over 15 supply-side platforms.
Publishers will only receive payment when they meet the €100 minimum threshold, and the first payment will happen 60 days after, with subsequent payments every 30 days. If the minimum threshold is not met, Setupad will carry the earnings to the next month. This network pays slightly more than AdSense, thanks to programmatic bidding from advertisers.
To Contents ↑18. AdMaven
AdMaven is an AdSense alternative network that sells over 5 billion impressions daily across multiple platforms. More than 25 000 publishers are using AdMaven.
The ad formats include Banners, traditional Popups, lightbox ads, and interstitial ads. This solution allows you to show ads even when your visitors are using ad blockers. There is also a selection of different payment methods, including PayPal, Payoneer, bank wire transfer, and Paxum. AdMaven pays more than AdSense for Popups and Interstitials.
To Contents ↑19. AdPushUp
AdPushUp is an ad network that heavily markets itself as an AdSense alternative. It gives users access to ad inventory from over 30 networks, including Google AdSense, Amazon, and Xander, which means more opportunities to make money.
AdPushUp has a minimum requirement of $1,000 monthly ad revenue (with proof), which rules out small publishers. However, it is a reasonable AdSense alternative if you meet this requirement.
To Contents ↑20. Publift
Publift is a programmatic advertising network that empowers publishers to maximize their revenue. This network outshines rivals with its customization options: you can significantly tweak ads to match your website’s look and feel. It offers higher payouts than AdSense and approachable support to help you monetize your website. However, Publift requires at least $2,000 in existing monthly revenue to join its network.
To Contents ↑21. PubMatic
Pubmatic was created in 2006 and now produces 100 billion ad impressions every day and 15 trillion bidders requests each month. Furthermore, it can be used to create private marketplaces, so publishers have control over their advertisement space. PubMatic offers higher CPM rates than AdSense.
To Contents ↑22. Taboola
Taboola is one more alternative to Google AdSense that specializes in native advertising. This network can be used in conjunction with other advertising tactics, meaning it can increase your current earnings without having to replace any of your strategies.
To get access, publishers must have a minimum of 500,000 visitors per month. The minimum payout for Taboola is $50. This network generally pays less than AdSense, but you can combine it with AdSense to broaden your monetization strategy.
To Contents ↑23. Ezoic
Ezoic is a company based in California that is a Partner of Google Publishing. It is known for its AI monetization system — Ad Tester — which boosts income from a website’s ads.
This isn’t a typical ad network as the ads that are tested come from a variety of sources. Publishers can include their current ad networks to Ezoic and with the help of the AI they can compete against all other providers. Ezoic typically pays more than AdSense.
To Contents ↑24. AdRecover by AdPushUp
AdRecover is an ad network that differentiates itself from competitors with sophisticated ad-blocking tools. The platform optimizes ads to minimally affect a website’s user experience and displays advertisements a blocker would otherwise prevent.
AdRecover provides handy analytics tools for publishers. You can see the amount of revenue recovered from ad blockers, how many visitors use these ad blockers, and the top countries the ad blockers come from. This way, you can further optimize your ads to recover as much revenue as possible from ad-blocking tools.
To Contents ↑25. Playwire
Playwire is a premium ad network trusted by 700+ high-traffic publishers. It links you to high-paying ads in several niches, mainly gaming, entertainment, and real estate. Expect higher payouts than AdSense if you join this network. Eligibility requirements include 50,000 monthly page views verified by Google Analytics.
To Contents ↑26. EvaDav
EvaDav provides high-quality ads for publishers, including Push Ads, Popups, In-Page, and Native ads. This network has 50,000+ publishers across many niches and pays similar rates as AdSense. It has no minimum traffic requirements, making it suitable for both small and large publishers.
To Contents ↑27. PopAds
PopAds is a good alternative to AdSense. The requirement for publishers to monetize content isn’t strict, so you can sign up with any traffic level. PopAds offers high-paying ads, and publishers can choose the minimal bid of an ad they can accept. But note that this network only works with Pop-ups and Popunders. It doesn’t serve Banners, Direct links, videos, or other ad formats, limiting the revenue you can make.
To maximize revenue, it’s advisable to combine PopAds with multiple ad networks. Because PopAds is a high-paying network and offers fast payouts. However, some publishers find this network’s customer support lacking.
To Contents ↑Choosing an ad network similar to Adsense FAQs
You should check how many advertisers work with an ad company before choosing them. Adsterra has over 15,000 advertisers in different niches and over 20K campaigns on the platform simultaneously.
Some ad networks take so much too long to verify your website is eligible. Google Adsense activation process can take between a few days to four weeks. Meanwhile, Adsterra has a 2-to-10 minute approval. Note that some parts of the verification process require actions on your end, and your account can only be activated after you complete them.
Seamless communication between a publisher and their ad network is critical. A good alternative to AdSense should provide an easy way for you to contact them in case of any problems.
There are over a dozen ad formats and some are better suited to different niches. Here’s a guide on choosing a suitable ad format for your website and niche.
Banners are the most common type of display ads, and users often get tired of them. A good alternative to AdSense should provide other innovative ad formats to avoid “banner blindness” from your users.
Malware is a major problem on the Internet, wherein malicious actors abuse ads to install harmful code on users’ devices. Any good AdSense alternative should have sophisticated features to protect publishers from serving malware and harming their reputation.
Many Internet users install ad-blocking software and inadvertently reduce revenues for publishers. Your chosen ad network should have methods that help publishers bypass ad blockers and get more revenue. Adsterra offers a Request Anti-AdBlock feature that saves up to 30% of the traffic you would otherwise have lost to ad blockers.
The last question is whether the ad network fulfills your general needs. It should have an intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate. There should be a statistics dashboard that lets you monitor your earnings in real-time. Ideally, you should be able to control your ad volumes, although not all networks grant this privilege. Before signing up for a network, ensure you understand their terms and conditions.
Referral programs let you earn additional income by spreading the word about your ad network. For example, if you refer a publisher to Adsterra, you’ll receive 5% of their lifetime advertising earnings. This program enhances your monetization strategy with relatively little effort.
Conclusion: Which AdSense alternatives are the best?
Many AdSense alternatives let you earn significant income from your website. The best choice should be what offers high-quality advertisers and high earning .
Adsterra offers a fast start in monetization. It offers an automated Self-Serve platform, sophisticated security, up-to-date ad formats, anti-adblock tools, and broad payment options. These benefits empower publishers to make the most of their website without affecting the user experience. Join the community of money makers!