Top App Monetization Platforms (2024)

Updated: March 19, 2024

App monetization platforms help businesses to monetize their apps by offering a wide range of services.

These platforms specialize in helping app developers generate revenue from their apps and provide support for integrating multiple monetization services. We’ve put together a guide of the top app monetization platforms to help you choose the best one for your needs.

As the competition in the mobile app industry continues to grow, businesses face the challenge of monetizing their apps effectively.

In fact, a recent report found that almost three-quarters of app developers make less than $1,000 a month. The need for app monetization services to help businesses generate revenue and maximize their profits is all too real.

The solution is to partner with the top app monetization platforms. These companies offer a range of services, including in-app advertising, subscription models, and in-app purchases. They help businesses to monetize their apps effectively and generate a steady stream of revenue.

In this guide, we take you through the best practices and strategies of app monetization and let you in on the top app monetization platforms to ensure your app becomes the most profitable on the market.

What is app monetization?

App monetization is a process in which you convert your free app installs into revenue. It refers to how app developers take advantage of their user base to make money, and comes in varied formats of monetization, such as:

  • Paid apps
  • In-app purchases
  • Advertising

While these are common practices within the mobile monetization realm, they do come with risks, including third parties not protecting user data adequately, overpopulating your app with adverts, or making pop up banners distracting for users, especially when browsing on a smaller mobile screen.

Other options for app monetization include developing a free app that offers its basic services, with the possibility to download a premium version so that users can get more value out of your services.

In-app purchases are also a common way to monetize your app. For example, if you develop a gaming app, you may provide users the option to upgrade their account by purchasing currency or additional characters.

Featured App Monetization Platforms

Free trials have become another popular method in the app world, giving users the option to pay for your services after using it for a certain period in order to familiarize themselves with your app.

You may also want to look into sponsors for your app after your product has been successfully received by your target market. These sponsors will pay you to display their brand on the app, generating a smooth cash flow without having to charge users to download your app in the first place.

The good news is that there are many ways to monetize mobile apps without impacting the user experience. App monetization platforms specialize in these models, making them a strong choice for app developers in need of such services.

But first, let us look into how you can monetize your app, getting into greater detail of the methods mentioned above.

The best app monetization platforms

App monetization platforms provide services to app developers to help them generate revenue from their mobile apps.

These platforms offer a variety of strategies and tools for app monetization, including in-app advertising, in-app purchases, and subscription-based models.

We’ve listed the best app monetization platforms below.

1. PubMatic

PubMatic provides a platform for app publishers to monetize their content and for advertisers to reach their target audience.

They offer a leading programmatic mobile advertising platform where both publishers and app developers can leverage the open exchange as well as make use of advanced models to maximize their monetization.

Overview

PubMatic was founded in 2006 by Rajeev Goel and Amar Goel. The two brothers, who are Indian-American entrepreneurs, saw an opportunity to improve the online ad industry and created a platform that would allow publishers to maximize their revenue while giving advertisers access to a wider audience.

Since then, PubMatic has grown to become a leading global advertising technology company with offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Services

PubMatic provides its customers with the following services:

  • Leading programmatic technology and parallel auctions that support multiple integration types
  • A variety of integration options, including SDK and non-SDK varieties that are compatible with the leading mobile ad stack setups, as well as custom in-house varieties
  • Quick turnaround and the full support of a dedicated account team

2. InMobi

InMobi is a global mobile advertising platform that offers a suite of solutions to help businesses reach target audiences. They offer several solutions for app monetization, including a programmatic ad exchange that enables app developers to monetize their apps by serving ads from multiple sources.

Their InMobi rewarded video is an ad format that app developers can use to offer users rewards, such as in-app currency or premium content, in exchange for watching video ads.

Overview

InMobi was founded in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, Abhay Singhal, Amit Gupta, and Mohit Saxena. The company was initially called “mKhoj” and focused on providing SMS-based search services in India.

In 2008, the company shifted its focus to mobile advertising and changed its name to InMobi. InMobi has grown into a global mobile advertising and discovery platform with offices in countries right across the world.

Services

InMobi provides its customers with the following services:

  • Publishers can maximize their engagement and revenues with HD video and ads built on native technology
  • Buffer-free and HD videos offer better completion rates and higher engagement
  • Non-intrusive ads for a user experience that blends seamlessly with an app’s design and layout

3. AdMaven

AdMaven is an online advertising network that offers a variety of solutions for publishers and advertisers. For publishers, they offer a range of monetization solutions, including display ads, pop-ups, push notifications, and native ads, among others.

Publishers can also access AdMaven’s optimization tools to help them maximize their ad revenue.

Overview

AdMaven was founded in 2015 by Itai Efrati, Mickey Fine, Nivo Arvili, and Noam Cohen and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The company has since grown into a major player in the online ad industry, with offices in several countries across the world.

Services

AdMaven provides its customers with the following services:

  • Full-screen ads that can be customized to appear as interstitials or as standalone ads
  • In-page push notifications that appear within the website or app content and provide a way of monetizing the platform without disrupting the user experience
  • Banner ads that can be customized to appear in different sizes and formats, such as leaderboards or rectangles

4. Smartlink (ClickDealer)

Smartlink is a feature offered by ClickDealer, an affiliate marketing network. Smartlink is an automated tool that allows publishers to monetize their traffic effectively by automatically optimizing their traffic sources with the highest converting offers.

The Smartlink feature uses algorithms to analyze traffic sources and automatically redirects the traffic to the best-converting offers available in ClickDealer’s portfolio. This means, in a nutshell, that publishers no longer need to manually search for and select individual offers.

Overview

ClickDealer, the affiliate marketing network that offers the Smartlink feature, was founded in 2012 by Max Polyakov, Tetiana Serediuk, and Dmytro Atamaniuk.

The company has grown to become one of the leading affiliate networks in the industry, with a focus on providing advanced technology solutions for publishers and advertisers.

Services

ClickDealer’s Smartlink provides its customers with the following services:

  • Optimizes your campaign down to an individual pre-lander’s performance and supplies working creatives
  • ClickDealer has worked in the dating vertical for almost seven years and has partnerships with competitive rates
  • Smartlink payouts are not fixed, and the monthly payment threshold can be switched to a weekly payout after traffic quality approval

How does app monetization work?

So you’ve accomplished developing ‘the’ mobile app your target users will need like no other app. They will be able to interact with your business in the best way possible, finally seeing the true value your services have to offer.

But what about conversions?

Surely, you want to make money with your app in this competitive market. So how do you make a bargain out of a free-to-download app and still stand out in the crowd of endless free apps?

Yes, the answer is app monetization. However, you will need to find a mobile app monetization model that works for you and your unique business.

Based on the kind of users you target, their user journey and how they interact with your app, you can understand which method makes the most sense to successfully monetize your app.

App monetization methods can be broken down into multiple categories. So let us walk you through your options, transforming it into a money making machine.

Mobile app monetization platform models

In-app adverts

Implementing in-app advertising is one of the most popular methods amongst app owners, proving how successfully advertisers target consumers, with people spending more time on their smartphones, creating a greater opportunity for monetization.

Advertisers are therefore investing in these innovative strategies to leverage this new monetization format and maximize profit, with which you as an app owner definitely want to get in on.

Amongst these innovative concepts, in-app advertising includes a diversity of ad formats, and because this is of course no simple one size fits all approach your app will integrate advertising differently.

Types of in-app advertising formats

Source: Buildfire

So let us take a look at the different in-app adverts types to see which best suits your app:

Banner ads

Banner ads is the most simple and original ad format there is. They are usually implemented at the top or bottom of the screen, and can include static or animated content within your app.

Remember to focus on producing quality graphics and strong advertiser calls to action (CTAs) here.

Full screen ads

This ad format avoids the potential blindness of common banners and presents ad content in full-screen, occurring in between users’ natural pause points, maintaining a smooth browse as much as possible.

Get to know how your users interact with your app to avoid interrupting their experience, giving them time to understand the ad minus the frustration.

Native ads

These ads are more naturally integrated within your app content, making them blend in with the rest of the page with the matching designs and layout. They are the least disruptive of most ad formats, causing higher engagement with its natural and seamless appearance.

Reward ads

This ad format is particularly popular in apps that are used over a longer time period, for example, in a gaming app. In essence, you reward users for watching a video ad, which is say 30 seconds, with a discount or extra assets to a game.

Remember to keep the ad content relevant and make sure it is presented at the right moment, without disrupting your users’ experience.

Although in-app advertising has been around for quite some time now, there are still some factors app advertisers need to consider to really ace the consumer journey and ensure the survival of the app as well.

Here is a list of the pros & cons of in-app ads to keep in mind if you choose to implement this method of app monetization:

Pros & cons of in-app ads

ProsCons
Increase in profitPotential disruptive effect on UX
Diverse selection of ad formatsDanger of producing irrelevant ad content that is unappealing to users
Quick & simple implementationMay interrupt app design
Efficient monetization process; e.g. quick winsIf users don't interact with it, potential risk of poor ROI

Paid downloads

Apart from leveraging the free option for your app, another popular monetization method is to offer a paid version. This approach entails requiring a one-time fee from users that is paid upfront and upon download to get full access to all features and services of the app.

This is the oldest and most straight-forward app monetization strategy, and while this model can generate revenue almost instantly, it is not necessarily the best model out there.

Users may be unwilling to pay for something they haven’t tried yet and may rather seek free alternatives instead, causing a barrier for growth.

However, this does not mean you should not consider paid downloads at all. You may just want to focus on nailing other aspects surrounding this feature to ensure you convert as many searchers into users as possible.

Here is a list of other features to focus on to successfully implement paid downloads:

  • Exceptional app listings (key info about your app, e.g. best features, category, screenshots, preview video etc.)
  • Great press and social media marketing
  • Good reviews and ratings
  • Free trials

In-app purchases

Now coming back to our free download option, another great way to monetize your app is to include app purchases. When app downloads are free it will convince users to tap the ‘Get’ button, as there is no instant commitment, which will allow them to familiarize themselves with your features first.

For example, there are great opportunities to make money by integrating the ‘freemium’ concept, in which users access your app for free but pay for locked features, such as buying extra lives or currency in gaming apps.

Remember, that this monetization method can work well for highly interactive apps, such as games and health and fitness apps, as it creates an urgency for users to want to get the most out of your services as possible to get the full experience.

Make sure that this model will make sense for your particular app, as not all users are willing to pay for random items. And when done right, in-app purchases will allow you to convey the true quality of your app to your users, which is a win-win on both ends.

Subscriptions

A similar method to the ‘freemium’ model is incorporating subscriptions as part of monetizing your app. However, this method focuses more on gating access to services rather than selective items, and usually includes a certain level of commitment over an extended period.

In order to make the most of subscriptions and persuade users to participate in this model, it is best to include a free trial to give users an idea of what they can expect when paying for a subscription.

When developing a free trial, it can be difficult to determine how much content and features a user should be able to access, just enough to convince them to subscribe. So make sure to reveal just the right amount of your best features, for example, a limited number of exclusive news content to give your users a good teaser.

Subscription models are best suited for news and entertainment apps, as you can easily play around with how much media content you want to provide users with, with each subscription they opt for.

Sponsorships

The sponsorship model, which also ties well with the concept of influencer marketing, is another effective way to monetize your app.

In particular, if you have managed to significantly grow your user base over time and have created a well established business, brands may be interested in establishing a sponsorship deal with you.

The way it works is that brands will use your mobile app to reach their target audiences, and vice versa, creating a win-win situation for the sponsor and your business.

So not only will you be able to effectively monetize your app, but also increase brand awareness, attracting new users via another industry-related brand partner at the same time.

Why do I need mobile app monetization platforms?

Other than the fact that you can make more money in clever ways than simply launching a costly app, app monetization is a valuable strategy to remain competitive in the app world that is primarily dominated by free apps.

In fact, 1.85 million apps are available in the iOS App Store, with the Google Play Store offering up to 2.56 million apps in recent times.

With mobile apps growing in popularity, along with the extensive use of smartphone devices, it is crucial to integrate app monetization when launching your product. It will promise a consistent and healthy ROI, making the growth and success of your app more sustainable in the long run.

And while paid apps are still prevalent in app stores, with several app developers still using this model as a primary revenue-making concept, the growth of in-app advertising, purchases and subscriptions as part of app monetization is seemingly turning out to be more appealing to the new age of the app developing world.

So there are genuine reasons as to why it is important to see this strategy as the best app revenue model your free app needs to excel.

Elevated user experience

A benefit to integrating app monetization and another reason why this concept should be important to your business is the fact that the methods we mentioned earlier will create a better user experience, driving more profitable action from your users.

For example, app developers can personalize their in-app ads, especially when using native ads, to target users naturally by matching the banners and ad copy to the overall layout and design of the app.

This, in turn, attracts the relevant content to the user and encourages them to engage with the ad, whilst still maintaining a natural browse flow.

Moreover, personalized ads as well as other interactive features will make the user feel recognized and valued, convincing them to continue using the app for guaranteed satisfactory services.

App monetization naturally promotes the elevation of better user experience, greatly increasing user acquisition and retention, making the monetization strategies extremely important and valuable to the long term success of your mobile app.

What are the best mobile app monetization strategies?

We have already discussed how you monetize your app, but there are more complex app monetization strategies that can take your ROI to the next dimension when the following techniques are carefully selected and implemented.

Whether you choose to go with in-app advertising, app purchases, a subscription plan or paid version, you need to choose the app monetization strategy that suits your individual app.

Understanding the way you should go about monetizing your app is key to successfully making money in a sustainable manner.

User experience

Yes, we are saying it again. In order to really improve the performance and success rate of your app, you should prioritize user experience at all times. When your app does not appeal to users, in terms of design and architecture, even your best features and services will not be able to shine through.

In other words, poor user experience equals poor monetization of your app.

Make sure to optimize your experience and adapt it to any in-app advertising you implement so that the impact is kept to a minimum. Not only will you promote user acquisition and retention this way, but also actively increase engagement.

Use more than one app monetization method

The more app monetization methods, the better.

When you are developing a monetization strategy, you now know to focus on optimizing your users’ experience making sure there are no disruptions when browsing. But you also want to include multiple monetization methods in your strategy.

For example, take advantage of implementing native ads as well as offering in-app purchases and subscription packages will continue to generate cash flow on a diversity of levels.

Implementing hybrid app monetization is highly recommended to leverage the opportunities the different monetization methods have to offer. This way you can secure increase in revenue, knowing that you have more sources to count on.

Tracking & measuring

Another important app monetization strategy is to keep tracking, measuring and analyzing your monetization efforts. This will allow you to optimize, improve and adapt accordingly, and where appropriate.

Make sure that your tracking tools provide several insights so that you have access to key metrics, such as revenue, users, sessions, clicks and overall traffic.

Staying up to date with your current metrics will allow you to effectively fine-tune your app monetization strategy with the help of these useful and valuable data.

How do I choose the best app monetization platform?

Monetizing your app requires a lot of planning and strategic thinking before you can actually start making money with your efforts. From selecting the right model and identifying your business objectives to developing an effective monetization strategy, you want to choose a platform that suits the goals of your unique app.

The good news is that there are several app monetization companies that specialize in these monetization models, making them a valuable support to app developers in need of such services.

So let’s lay out everything you need to know on how to choose the right monetization platforms for your mobile app.

App monetization companies and platforms help app developers to monetize their apps effectively. Specific benefits of using app monetization companies include the following:

  • They provide a variety of monetization solutions for publishers and app developers
  • Monetize mobile traffic from around the world
  • Increased customer lifetime value (CLV)
  • Facilitate app processes, profiting from the most suitable ads
  • Enable exclusive access to programmatic buyers representing top brands

Know your app

Before you start thinking about your monetization strategy, you need to start with your app itself.

A helpful way of understanding which ad monetization platform is the right fit for your business is knowing the ins and outs of your individual app. Having a thorough understanding of your overall business objectives will dictate your strategy and approach in monetizing your app.

Ask yourself these questions to become a mastermind of your own app:

  • What does your app do?
  • What problems does it solve?
  • How does it solve these?
  • What are its best features?
  • What does it serve?

More than anything, it is extremely important to know your app in order to understand which model and strategy will lend themselves better to the type of app yours is.

Know your competitors

Once you know the objectives and characteristics of your app, defining who you are competing with is a must. Conducting thorough competitor research and analysis will help you set standards for the model and development scheme you choose to go with.

Ask yourself these questions when looking into your competitors:

  • How are they monetizing their apps?
  • How are their models and strategies working? How successful are they?
  • How similar or different is their approach in product development?
  • What are they lacking and how can I compensate for this with my strategy?

Identify areas of improvement amongst your competitors to see what you can do differently to effectively boost your own revenue generation.

Know your users

Lastly, you want to look at your target users to help choose which monetization platform is best suited for your app.

Determine the demographics and characteristics of your potential customers by creating personas and categorizing them. Users need to feel valued and want to resonate with your app before they make any purchases, so make sure you prioritize this step.

Ask yourself these questions when doing user research as a base line:

  • Who are my target users?
  • What do they want? What are they looking for?
  • What is their budget?

Not only will these steps make you the genius and know-it-all of your own product, but they will help you carefully select the companies you want to work with, as you know what is best for your app.

The last thing you want is to invest in a monetization platform that is of no valuable use to your app’s revenue in the long term.

Monetize your mobile app with the best platforms

By now you are certainly a pro when it comes to making money with your free-downloadable app. Team up with the best app monetization companies and platforms out there with your new found knowledge in the field.

We have put a list together of only the top app monetization companies for you below. Choose the one that will take your app revenue generation to new heights and watch those figures skyrocket.

List of mobile app monetization platforms and networks

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