AppLovin MAX vs Google AdMob

AppLovin MAX helps mobile games earn revenue from ad impressions by running a real-time auction among ad networks; the highest bid wins. Supported formats include rewarded video, app open, interstitial, MREC, banner, and native ads. Publishers can review user-level and impression-level data in built-in reports or through an API, and use A/B testing to compare networks, price points, and regional setups. Ad Review offers control over which ads users see and flags problematic or competitor ads. The SDK is described as lightweight, with tools for SDK validation and pre-launch ad testing through Mediation Debugger. The product supports Android and iOS apps and lists integrations for Unity, React Native, Flutter, Cordova, Adobe AIR, Unreal, Godot, and Defold. MAX is free for publishers; bidding networks pay AppLovin a fee on generated ad revenue. A mediated network requires its own account, app and ad unit registration, and approval to serve ads. Custom networks cannot use in-app bidding or Auto-CPM. Publishers must obtain consent where applicable and pass consent flags to AppLovin.

Google AdMob helps mobile app developers monetize apps by matching ads according to publisher-set criteria and handling billing between advertisers and networks. Publishers can use mediation to work with multiple ad networks; participating sources bid on each impression in real time, and the highest-paying bid wins. Available formats include native, rewarded, banner, video and interstitial ads. AdMob integrates with Google Analytics for Firebase to provide insights into ad revenue and user engagement. Publishers can review individual ads and block them by advertiser URL, category, network or sensitive topic. Google provides Mobile Ads SDK integration guides for Android and iOS, while listed supported platforms also include Unity and Flutter. Signup requires a Google account and phone number, and monetization setup requires payment details. Before fully serving ads, a published app must be linked to a supported store and pass an app readiness review. Apps created after January 2025 that are not verified with app-ads.txt face limited ad serving. For USD accounts, the payment threshold is $100; identity and address verification are required to receive payment. Some features are in beta and not available to all publishers.