The best AdSense alternative is the best network that will accept your site today. For low-traffic sites, that means Journey by Mediavine (from 1,000 monthly sessions out of the US, Canada, UK and Australia) and Monumetric (from 10,000 page views), with open networks like Adsterra as a last resort. For higher-traffic sites, the alternatives that usually pay more than AdSense are Raptive (25,000+ page views), Mediavine ($5,000+ a year in ad revenue) and Ezoic (250,000+ monthly users).
Below is every option with its real minimum as of October 2026, what each one pays out, which to pick at your traffic level, and how long a switch takes before you can judge it.
Key takeaways
- Under 1,000 tier 1 sessions a month, no premium network will take you. Keep AdSense and add affiliate links or direct sponsorships.
- Journey by Mediavine is the best low-traffic AdSense alternative: 1,000 sessions from the US, Canada, UK or Australia in 30 days, 70% revenue share.
- Raptive lowered its minimum to 25,000 monthly page views in October 2025, so mid-size sites can skip straight past several tiers.
- Ezoic is no longer a small-site option. It has required 250,000 monthly active users since February 2026.
- Judge any switch over at least a month, ideally a quarter. Mediavine's own contract starts with a 90-day term because ad partners need time to learn a new site.
AdSense alternatives compared (October 2026)
AdSense alternatives and their entry requirements
| Mediavine | $5,000 annual ad revenue plus quality review | — | 75% to 90% | Net 65, $100 minimum | Established content sites |
| Media.net | Application review, no published minimum | — | Not published | Not published | English-language content sites |
| Carbon by BuySellAds | Manual review of tech and design publications | — | Not published | Not published | Developer and design audiences |
| SHE Media | Curated partner network, no published minimum | — | Not published | Not published | Women's lifestyle, parenting and beauty |
| Google AdSense (baseline) | Original content, policy compliance, 18+ | 0 | 80% after buyer fee (about 68% of Google Ads spend) | Monthly, $100 minimum | Any site starting out |
| Adsterra | Advertises 100% approval | 0 | Not published | Not published | A stopgap when nothing else approves you |
| Journey by Mediavine | 1,000 tier 1 sessions in 30 days, Grow running 30+ days | 1,000 | 70% | Net 65 | Low-traffic sites with US, UK, Canada or Australia readers |
| Monumetric Propel | 10,000 to 80,000 page views; $99 setup fee | 10,000 | Not published | Not published | Small sites that want ads set up for them |
| Raptive | 25,000 page views, majority tier 1 traffic, original content | 25,000 | Not published | Not published | Lifestyle, food, home and DIY sites |
| Ezoic | 250,000 monthly active users, or Incubator (20 a month) | 250,000 | Not on requirements page | Net 30, $20 minimum | Large sites, web apps and games |
Click a column header to sort.
The best AdSense alternatives for low traffic
This is the question most people searching for alternatives are really asking. The honest answer: below a few thousand sessions a month, display ads of any kind pay very little. At a $2.50 page RPM, 5,000 page views earn $12.50 a month on AdSense, and no alternative turns that into rent money. What a better network can do is raise your RPM and give you a path up.
1. Journey by Mediavine (from 1,000 tier 1 sessions)
Journey is the strongest option for small sites with an English-speaking audience. You need 1,000 sessions from tier 1 countries (including the US, Canada, the UK and Australia) within 30 days, original content, and Mediavine's free Grow plugin running for at least 30 days before ads start. Mediavine also notes that its ad partners need about four months of domain history. Journey pays a 70% revenue share on Net 65 terms and moves you toward full Mediavine as you grow. Details in our Mediavine requirements guide.
2. Monumetric Propel (from 10,000 page views)
Monumetric's Propel program covers sites with 10,000 to 80,000 monthly page views. It charges a $99 setup fee, requires at least six ad slots, and its team installs the ad code for about 95% of publishers. A good fit if you want someone else to handle the setup.
3. Media.net and other contextual networks
Media.net is best known for contextual ads matched to the words on the page and now sells itself mainly as a managed header-bidding partner. It does not publish a traffic minimum on its publisher page; you apply and wait for its review. Contextual ads usually perform best on English-language content with US and UK readers.
4. Adsterra and open networks (last resort)
Adsterra's publisher page advertises "100% approval." The trade-off is the ad formats: popunders, push-style and redirect-style units earn most of the money and annoy readers. If you use an open network, stick to standard banners and native units, and don't run pop-ups next to AdSense, which Google's policies restrict.
5. The alternatives that are not ad networks
At low traffic, one affiliate sale or one direct sponsor often beats a month of display ads. If your posts recommend products, affiliate links are the first thing to add. If you have a tight niche audience, our guide to selling ad space on your website shows how to price and sell placements directly. For the full menu, see website monetization platforms.
Ezoic used to be the standard answer here. Its Access Now program let sites under 10,000 page views join with no minimum. Since February 2026, new sites need 250,000 monthly active users, and the Incubator for smaller sites accepts only 20 a month.
The highest-paying AdSense alternatives
For sites with real traffic, the networks that usually beat AdSense are the managed ones that run header bidding, bringing Google Ad Exchange and other exchanges into one auction for every impression.
Mediavine asks for $5,000 in annual ad revenue and pays 75% under $100,000 a year, rising to 90% above $500,000. It requires programmatic exclusivity, so AdSense comes off the site.
Raptive asks for 25,000 monthly page views and a majority of traffic from the US, Canada, UK, Australia or New Zealand. It says its creators saw a 47% average revenue increase two weeks after switching, and for a limited time it offers a guaranteed RPM to sites with 100,000+ page views and $12,000+ in ad revenue over the past year (Raptive). Both are Raptive's own figures.
Ezoic is for large sites. In a case study Ezoic published, a history site with 1.1 million monthly visits went from a $5.81 to a $19.60 page RPM after moving from AdSense, partly thanks to video ads.
None of these publish average RPMs, and vendor case studies are not typical results. The reliable way to know is to get offers and compare them against your own AdSense page RPM over the same months.
Raptive vs AdSense
| Google AdSense | Raptive | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum traffic | None | 25,000 monthly page views |
| Audience requirement | None | Majority from the US, Canada, UK, Australia or New Zealand |
| Setup | Self-serve, Auto ads or manual units | Managed by Raptive's team |
| Revenue share | 80% after the buyer's fee (about 68% via Google Ads) | Not published |
| Support | Help center and community | Account support, levels by annual ad revenue |
| Best for | Any site, especially early | Sites past 25,000 page views with mostly US readers |
If you qualify for Raptive, it is worth getting an offer. Under 25,000 page views, AdSense plus a Journey application is the practical route.
AdSense alternatives for high-traffic websites
Above roughly 100,000 page views, every premium option is open except, possibly, Ezoic. Get offers from Mediavine and Raptive, and from Ezoic once you pass 250,000 monthly users. Monumetric also has programs for 80,000 to 500,000 page views (Ascend) and above. Ask each for the same thing: a projected RPM for your traffic, the revenue share, payment terms, the contract length, and whether they require exclusivity.
Using AdSense alternatives on Blogger or WordPress
On Blogger, AdSense is built in, and Mediavine publishes a guide to inserting its script wrapper in Blogger. On WordPress, each network has its own plugin or header script, and caching plugins can break ads if you don't exclude the right files. Our AdSense alternatives for WordPress guide walks through the setup for each network.
How long a switch takes before you can judge it
Expect lower earnings for the first weeks after any switch. Mediavine explains that launching new programmatic ads "hits the reset button" on your ad prices while buyers learn your site, and that ramp-up is faster for older domains, sites with more US traffic and launches in Q4. Its contracts start with a 90-day initial term for that reason. Ezoic says its WordPress setup typically learns within two to three weeks.
So compare the same calendar months, not January on the new network against December on AdSense. Ad rates fall every January regardless of network.
What moves ad revenue more than the network
A better network lifts RPM. Traffic multiplies everything. Moving from 5,000 to 50,000 page views changes your income tenfold on any network and opens the doors in the table above. The reliable way to get there is publishing many useful articles on searches you can win, consistently, for months.
That is the part Outrank automates: it finds low-difficulty keywords for your site, writes and publishes an SEO article every day to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify and other CMSs, and builds backlinks through its exchange. The median site in our data reached 2.04x its previous Google clicks after 7 months. Use our AdSense revenue calculator to see what that traffic would earn.
FAQ
What is the best AdSense alternative for low traffic?
Journey by Mediavine, if your readers are mainly in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia. It accepts sites with 1,000 sessions from those countries in 30 days, pays a 70% revenue share, and leads to full Mediavine. Below that level, keep AdSense and add affiliate links, since no premium network will accept you yet.
What is the highest-paying AdSense alternative?
For established sites with mostly US traffic, Mediavine and Raptive are generally the highest-paying networks open to independent publishers, and Ezoic is competitive for sites with 250,000+ monthly users. None publishes average RPMs, so get offers from each one you qualify for and compare them with your own AdSense page RPM.
Is Ezoic still a good AdSense alternative for small sites?
No. Since February 2026 Ezoic requires 250,000 monthly active users for new sites. Smaller sites can apply to its Incubator program, but it accepts only 20 publishers a month and a site that is turned down cannot reapply.
Can I use AdSense and another ad network at the same time?
It depends on the network. Mediavine requires programmatic exclusivity, so AdSense must come off, and Ezoic's checklist requires removing non-Ezoic ads, though AdSense can still compete inside Ezoic through mediation. Non-exclusive networks can run next to AdSense if they follow Google's policies.
Raptive vs AdSense: which pays more?
Raptive generally pays more for sites that qualify, because it runs managed header bidding with premium demand, and it says creators average a 47% revenue increase two weeks after switching. AdSense has no traffic minimum, while Raptive requires 25,000 monthly page views and a majority of tier 1 traffic.
What are the main competitors of Google AdSense?
For publishers, the main AdSense competitors are managed ad networks such as Mediavine, Raptive, Ezoic and Monumetric, contextual and native networks such as Media.net and Carbon, and open networks such as Adsterra. Which one fits depends on your traffic, audience location and niche.
