What is CPM Ad Network?
Ad networks work as mediators between publishers and advertisers. For example, a CPM ad network offers inventory based on a CPM model. CPM is an abbreviation for “Cost Per Mile,” or cost per thousand impressions, and it is the best metric to monitor ad performance. It refers to the cost of publishing an ad to get 1,000 views. The CPM network makes money each time an ad is displayed, even if it’s non-viewable or a viewer does not click on it. CPM is often used in ad campaigns that target many people and brand awareness campaigns, so the ads receive millions of views.
Do you need a CPM Ad Network?
The answer to this question depends on the audience’s scope. It will be perfect for sites with more than 1 million page views per month, for bloggers and websites that want to receive a high traffic volume, and for those focused on spreading brand recognition and delivering a brand message.
High CPM rates are relatively easy to achieve because there is no need for action (clicking or interacting with an ad). However, CPM model rates are pretty average compared to other models, so there is a need for high traffic to receive considerable profits.
The approval process for CPM ad networks is simple and achievable even for beginners; such ad networks require specific market or highly qualified traffic. Furthermore, it is easy to control your ad spending using the CPM formula:
The highest-paying CPM ad networks for publishers
You can find a list of the best CPM ad networks in 2024 that can help publishers significantly improve monetization efforts down below:
33across
33Across is a New York-based ad network famous for the high viewability of its online ads. It also supports standard ad formats, mobile ads, video, a variety of non-intrusive ad units, and header bidding technology. 33across stands out because of the quality of its partnering publishers and insightful and holistic metrics.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, video, and social formats are available on desktop and mobile platforms
- Deeper insights into content performance
- The chance to increase eCPMs without affecting direct sales
- Detailed reports
- Has no minimum traffic requirements
- Video header bidding integration prebid.js (client-side only)
CPM rates: From $0.50 to $15.00
Adform
Adform has been a reliable ad tech partner for media agencies, trading desks, and publishers, developing a solid reputation among publishers. It offers a string of solutions that increase yields. Established in 2002 in Denmark, Adform has been continuously improving its products and offering mobile and desktop, header bidding, rich media and video, premium formats, and much more.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, video, native, rich media ad formats for desktop and mobile platforms.
- Powerful automation
- Customer service support
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
Adsterra
Adsterra, with over 20 years of experience with account managers and a risk management and policy team, the company continues to be a reliable source for CPM revenues.
Specifications:
- Formats: pop-unders, slider ads, direct links, mobile display, videos, push notifications, and interstitial ads are available for desktop and mobile web platform
- Low minimum payout
- Anti Ad-block solution for display and video ads
- Referral program and CPA monetization options
CPM rates: From $0.50 to $1.50
Adtelligent
Adtelligent is a global monetization ad network that allows publishers to sell premium display, native, and video ad inventory, including trending OTT and CTV ads and programmatic audio ads. In addition, Adtelligent collaborates with leading programmatic solutions and advertising technology partners to provide the best monetization opportunities and support any ad campaign needs.
Adtelligent is compatible with server-to-server bidding, Google’s Open Bidding, and Amazon’s Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM).
Specifications:
- Formats: display, video, native, audio, rich-media ad formats for desktop, mobile, and OTT/CTV Platforms
- Multiple integration options for publishers, including header bidding.
- Additional safety measures for best-quality traffic
- Unified and detailed reporting
- Custom Video Player Builds
- Customer support service
- Requires 500,000 Pageviews or Monthly Active users for Apps per month
- Anti-Ad-block solution for display and video ads.
CPM rates: from $0.25 to $15 (CTV/OTT from $6.00 to $30.00)
Adyoulike / OpenWeb
Company with 99.5% ad inventory directly sourced and a European leader in native advertising technology, with 50 billion native ad impressions monthly. Adyoulike supports all forms of native ads: native display, native stories, native video, and native social. Using semantic context for targeting with keyword recognition and programmatic technologies, this ad network proves to be productive in terms of monetization efforts.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, native, video, and social ad formats for desktop and mobile platforms
- Integration via js DFP
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
Bidmatic
Bidmatic offers its monetization solutions that maximize revenue on every client’s device. The combination of ad tech technologies and AI allows a customer to get the ideal set of partners for each auction. Bidmatic is the perfect advertising stack tailored to the client’s requirements.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, video, native formats
- Comprehensive, easy-to-navigate AI-powered tools
- Unified dashboard with real-time metrics for easy reporting
- Prebid Client, Server & OpenRTB
- Customer support service
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
CPM rates: From $0.50 to $8.00
BuySellAds
The main advantage of this CPM network is no minimum requirements so that you can work with them despite the specifics of your brand. It makes BuySellAds into quite a democratic CPM network accessible to many publishers. The network enables direct deals with advertisers and monetizes traffic affected by ad blockers. Suitable for small publishers with a couple of thousands of views per page.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, native, podcast, and email ad formats are available on desktop and mobile platforms
- Supports apps monetization
- Sponsor opportunities for niche publishers
- Twice-a-month payout
CPM rates: From $0.25 to $3.50
Criteo
Criteo is lucrative and very popular, specifically due to the vast number of global advertisers. Criteo offers very good CPM rates that provide attractive opportunities for monetization boost, especially when paired with Google AdSense.
Specifications:
- A simple account approval process
- Formats: display, native, and social ad formats are available on desktop and mobile platforms
- 96% rate of returning advertisers
- Requires a minimum of 10 million ad impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side only)
CPM rates: From $1.00 to $4.00
Google Ad Manager (GAM) / Doubleclick for Publishers (DFP)
Google Ad Manager is an ad network that allows publishers to show ads from Google Ads and advertising partners. It is the most extensive and most popular ad network in the world. Google Ad Exchange offers relatively high CPM rates to publishers but is famous for the careful account approval process.
Specifications:
- Formats: Automated text, display, video, and rich media ads
- Optimization of the ad sizes to fit the user’s screen and website layout
- More than 90,000,000 impressions to start
- Open Bidding but no option to connect prebid.js for header bidding.
CPM rates: from $0.10 to $15.00
What is the difference between Google AdSense & Google Ad Manager?
Though both Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager are aimed at ad monetization, they also have different logic. Google Ad Manager (GAM) is a holistic ad platform that includes ad server functionalities and allows publishers to control third-party networks, direct and programmatic sales on all devices, and supports multiple ad exchanges and networks (Google AdSense included). The most significant difference between Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager is that the latter can perform as an ad server and have supply-side platform functionalities.
Index Exchange
Index Exchange’s digital advertising network allows publishers to access top partners around the globe. The network has very high security standards and thoroughly checks the inventory. Thus, the user experience and the relevance of the ads served are top-notch.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, video, native, and social formats for desktop and mobile platforms
- Detailed reporting
- Сustomer support service
- Requires 100 million ad impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
Magnite / SpotX / Rubicon
These brands came under one roof through acquisitions and mergers and provided some quality monetization tools. For example, they offer multi-currency reporting, optimal entrance policies, and high CPMs. However, SpotX’s main focus was on video ads.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, native, and video for desktop and mobile platforms
- Real-time insights available
- High-quality traffic required
- Prioritized PMP deals for boosting CPM levels
- CPM rates depend on the conditions
- Customer support service
- Requires a minimum of 40 million impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
CPM rates: from $0.10 to $20.00
Media.net
Media.net is among the biggest CPM advertising networks that are popular worldwide. It is helpful to long-tail publishers that strive to improve their CPMs. Media.net requires original content from its publishers that should be updated often and adhere to strict intellectual property laws.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, native, and video ad formats are available for desktop and mobile platforms
- Advanced reporting
- Ad customizations so they can fit the website’s layouts
- Customer support service
- Requires most of the traffic to be from tier-1 countries
- Requires a minimum of 50,000 impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
CPM rates: From $0.10 to $2.50
MGID
Founded in 2008, MGID is a native advertising platform that offers monetization tools and traffic growth opportunities. It is a perfect option for those who do not work with AdSense yet or want to supplement their profits by adding another ad network.
Specifications:
- Formats: native, rich media display ads and sponsored feed ads on desktop and mobile platforms
- Low payout threshold
- Customer service support
- Monthly payouts
- Requires a minimum of 3000 impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
CPM rates: From $0.25 to $3.00
Microsoft Advertising (former Xandr / AppNexus)
Microsoft Advertising can be an ad exchange, allowing publishers to form their own ad networks. It offers publishers a high level of control over their inventory and access to global marketplaces. Microsoft Advertising is suitable for advanced publishers with deep knowledge of the programmatic market. It supports many video formats, such as Instream, Outstream, and video header bidding.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, video, native, and audio ads for desktop, mobile, and OTT/CTV platforms.
- Private Marketplaces / Deal IDs
- Advanced analytics
- Requires a minimum of 350 million ad impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
CPM rates: From $0.51 to $20.00
Onetag
Onetag is a company offering programmatic monetization solutions famous for its solid high level of Win rates. With 70,000+ live sites and apps and over 4 billion impressions monthly, Onetag provides multiple partners.
Specifications:
- Simple integration process
- High-performing placements targeting
- Formats: display and video formats are available on Desktop and Mobile platforms
OpenX
OpenX is a well-established company with considerable industry input. It runs a string of monetization tools, including display and video solutions for publishers and OpenX programmatic direct with private marketplaces. One of the biggest advantages of using OpenX is the absence of any percentage fees that need to be paid to a hosting service, so no one gets a cut of your profits. OpenX requires only an initial set-up fee, leaving you to manage everything else.
Specifications:
- Formats: display and video for desktop, mobile, and OTT/CTV platforms
- Great for video-oriented publishers
- Customer support service
- Requires a minimum of 100 million impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
PlayWire
Playwire’s target audience consists primarily of publishers and app developers. The company offers effective solutions for business growth by increasing advertising revenue and improving operational efficiency. Its use of cutting-edge machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies allows it to increase advertising revenue significantly.
Specifications:
- Unique display, video, and custom advertising formats can significantly increase advertising revenue
- Customized + IAB Audience Segments
- Wide range of options for a variety of settings
- Header bidding integration
CPM rates: From $0.33 to $12.50
Pubmatic
PubMatic operates 11 offices and six data centers worldwide. It focuses on transparency and eliminating low-quality ads, offering to publishers cooperating with hundreds of networks and dozens of biggest ad exchanges. The company strives to provide better tools to optimize yield using advanced RTB technologies. Multiple partners are available and adaptable to a wide range of screen sizes.
Specifications:
- Manages over one trillion ad impressions per month
- Formats: display, video, native, and social formats for desktop and mobile platforms
- Requires a minimum of 100 million impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
Revcontent
Revcontent ad network serves over 250 billion monthly content recommendations and is famous for its quality service. Revcontent has quite a complicated approval process as it works only with premium partners. However, it supports various ad formats and promises 100% fill rates.
Specifications:
- Formats: display, native, and sponsored feeds are available on desktop and mobile web platforms.
- $100 minimum payment threshold
- Customer service team
- Referral program
- High traffic requirements
- Small publishers will not benefit from this ad network
- Requires a minimum of 50,000 impressions per month
CPM rates: From $0.10 to $3.00
Sovrn
Sovrn is popular among programmatic publishers, providing traditional banners, onScroll InView ads, and VAST video. It also has its own advertisers. Sovrn is compatible with server-to-server bidding, Google’s Open Bidding, and Amazon’s Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM).
Specifications:
- Formats: display and video ad formats for desktop and mobile platforms
- No minimum traffic required for account approval
- Low eCPM for traffic outside of the US
- Requires a minimum of 1 million impressions per month
- Header bidding integration using prebid.js (client-side and server-side)
- Anti-Ad-block solution for display and video ads.
Conclusion
There are several advertising networks available, each with its own set of requirements, benefits, and CPM rates. It’s best to experiment with different formats, placements, traffic sources, and integration types to determine the most suitable for your needs. Try out different combinations, pair the ad networks with Google AdSense, and monitor the results. Testing, measuring, and optimizing is the key to success. By practically applying these methods, you can get accurate results for your audience, enabling you to choose the best CPM network for your company.