AdSense alternatives: ad networks vs sponsors
Nishant · Updated 10 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
Short answer
Choose an AdSense alternative by your audience, entry requirements and willingness to sell. Managed networks suit qualifying broad traffic; Carbon Ads and EthicalAds focus on technical readers; BuySellAds sells for accepted publishers. Direct sponsorships let you set a monthly price at any traffic level, but you must find buyers and unsold months earn nothing. Check exclusivity before combining options.
On this page
The short list
| Option | Type | Entry requirement | How you're paid | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google AdSense | Auction network | Approval, no traffic minimum | 80% of revenue after the advertiser platform's fee | Any site starting out |
| Ezoic | Managed network | 250,000 monthly users for new sites since 18 February 2026 | Revenue share | Large general sites |
| Mediavine | Managed network | About $5,000 a year in ad revenue; Journey from 1,000 tier-1 sessions in 30 days | Revenue share | Lifestyle, food, travel blogs |
| Carbon Ads | Single-ad network | Invitation only | Per impression, typically $1.20 to $2.30 CPM | Design and dev sites |
| EthicalAds | Single-ad network | Developer sites, about 50,000 pageviews a month | 70% to the publisher, around $2.50 per 1,000 pageviews | Developer docs and blogs |
| BuySellAds | Sales team and network | Application and review | Split not published | Established tech sites |
| Direct sponsorships | You sell | None | A fixed price, paid by the sponsor | Any site with a focused audience |
Entry rules change often. Check each network's own page, linked above, before you apply.
Google AdSense: the baseline
AdSense accepts small sites, needs no selling and fills every slot through an auction. Google says publishers receive 80% of revenue after the advertiser platform's fee. For AdSense beside a spot you sell yourself, see AdSense vs a monthly sponsor spot.
- Pros: no traffic minimum, no selling, demand from many advertisers.
- Cons: earnings per page are usually low on small sites, you don't pick the ads, and the extra scripts slow pages down.
- Stay with it if: your traffic is broad and general, and you don't want to sell anything.
Managed ad networks
Ezoic
Ezoic tests ad placements with machine learning and handles the ad stack for you. Its Incubator page says sites applying since 18 February 2026 need at least 250,000 monthly users; sites already on Ezoic before that date are exempt.
- Pros: automated placement testing, many demand partners.
- Cons: heavier pages, a learning period with lower earnings, and a high bar for new sites.
Mediavine
Mediavine focuses on lifestyle content. Its requirements page asks for at least $5,000 a year in ad revenue for the main network. Smaller sites can start in Journey, which needs 1,000 sessions from tier-1 countries (such as the US, Canada, UK and Australia) in 30 days.
- Pros: strong rates for lifestyle niches, publisher support, a lower-bar entry program in Journey.
- Cons: many ads per page, best results only for food, travel and home content.
Raptive
Raptive (formerly AdThrive) reviews each site before it accepts it. Its entry requirements are in its publisher FAQ; read them before you apply.
- Pros: high rates for qualifying sites.
- Cons: an entry review, and it favors food, home and parenting niches.
Networks for technical audiences
Carbon Ads
Carbon shows one small text-and-image ad per page, aimed at designers and developers. It is run by BuySellAds and, per its FAQ, accepts publishers by invitation only. It quotes a typical $1.20 to $2.30 CPM with no rate guaranteed, and it is exclusive: no other ad networks on your site. Read the full comparison in Carbon Ads alternatives.
- Pros: one quiet ad, fits developer and design sites, no work after setup.
- Cons: hard to get into, exclusive, little control over which brand shows.
EthicalAds
EthicalAds, from Read the Docs, serves one ad per page without tracking cookies. Its publisher FAQ says it looks for developer sites with about 50,000 monthly pageviews, pays publishers 70%, and that most earn around $2.50 per 1,000 pageviews. Its publisher policy bans other ads on the same page at the same time. See EthicalAds alternatives.
- Pros: privacy-friendly, no contract, one ad, no selling.
- Cons: earnings scale with pageviews, so small sites earn little.
Managed sales
BuySellAds
BuySellAds today runs two programs for publishers: Carbon Direct, a sales team that sells your inventory to sponsors, and the Carbon network. Sites apply and are reviewed. It does not publish its revenue split.
- Pros: someone else finds and negotiates with advertisers, which saves you the hardest part of direct sales.
- Cons: the review, an unpublished split, and less say over price. See BuySellAds alternatives.
Direct sponsorships
You sell a spot on your own pages to one brand for a set time, at a fixed price, and the sponsor pays you directly. No traffic minimum applies; the question is whether a brand wants your readers.
Across 25 published websites with monthly USD prices, the median cheapest offer is $125; the middle half ask $50 to $300. These are asking prices, not confirmed sales.
Currently published directory: 43 unique domains. Source observations: 2026-10-08 to 2026-10-09. Asking prices, not confirmed sales. USD monthly website offers; each domain contributes its cheapest offer. A format cohort includes sites offering that format, not the individual placement price. Traffic bands describe stated visitors or pageviews; they are not CPM estimates. Groups need at least 10 unique domains.
- Pros: a fixed price per month, one clean ad, you choose the brands, can work at low traffic.
- Cons: you have to find and talk to sponsors, and an unsold month earns nothing.
You can run it by email and an invoice, through a marketplace, or with a booking tool. Sponsor.st is one such tool: one script tag, a monthly price per spot, and sponsors pay your own Stripe or Dodo account. The full process is in how to sell ad space on your website.
A worked example
Take a developer blog with 20,000 pageviews a month.
The network figures depend on traffic and ad demand; the direct figures are asking prices, earned only when a spot sells. Add a direct spot alongside a network only where its rules allow it.
Which one to pick
Most readers in the US and UK earn the highest display rates.
It takes general traffic, if you meet its bar.
One passive ad. Carbon is exclusive; EthicalAds allows other ads only on other pages or as a fallback.
It finds the buyers and handles the selling for a cut.
They work below the networks' bars, if a brand wants your readers.
Stay with it until your traffic qualifies for a network.
Many sites run an auction network on article pages and one direct sponsor spot elsewhere. Check each network's exclusivity rules first.
Common mistakes
- Applying before you qualify. A rejection can mean a wait before you reapply. Read the entry page first.
- Ignoring exclusivity. Carbon allows no other ad networks; EthicalAds bans other ads on the same page.
- Judging a network on its first month. Ezoic, for one, has a learning period with lower earnings.
- Comparing CPM to a flat price without doing the math. Convert both to dollars per month at your real pageviews.
- Pricing a direct spot like a network CPM. Sponsors pay for a specific audience, not raw views; use banner ad pricing as the benchmark.
Sources (checked 10 October 2026)
- Google AdSense revenue share: support.google.com/adsense/answer/180195
- Ezoic minimum: ezoic.com/incubator
- Mediavine requirements: mediavine.com/mediavine-requirements
- Raptive FAQ: help.raptive.com
- Carbon Ads FAQ: carbonads.net/faq
- EthicalAds: publisher FAQ, publisher policy
- BuySellAds publishers: buysellads.com/publishers
- Website prices: Sponsor.st listings data, see banner ad pricing