Top Mobile Ad Mediation Tools

With 81% of gaming apps and 49% of non-gaming apps using it, in-app ads are one of the most popular monetization strategies among app developers. And with global mobile ad spending hitting $240 billion ー double the 2020 consumer ad spendー it is a very lucrative revenue stream for app developers. Increasingly, app owners are turning to mobile ad mediation tools to optimize their ad performance and revenues. But what are mobile ad mediation tools, and which ones should you use?

The need for ad mediation tools comes from the great availability of choice when it comes to ad networks. Although there are tons of great mobile ad networks for developers to choose from, there is a huge difference in their performance across different ad formats, countries, and many other factors. If you’re looking to maximize your revenue, this makes relying on a single ad network to serve ads to your app a poor choice in most cases. On the other hand, as the number of ad network SDKs you integrate into your app increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to effectively manage them.

This is where mobile ad mediation tools step in to give you access to demand from a variety of ad networks and help you manage them from one SDK. This translates into better fill rates and higher eCPMs due to the diverse demand from ad networks and competition between them for your ad slots.

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AdMob

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AdMob is Google’s mobile ad network and unsurprisingly, one of the strongest players in the market. AdMob also offers a powerful ad mediation solution that integrates with 24 ad networks including many of the top mobile ad networks.

Admob mediation is commonly cited as one of the best ad mediation tools for beginners due to its ease of setup and access to a wide variety of demand sources.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity

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Appodeal

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Appodeal is one of the most powerful and feature-rich mobile ad mediation tools available on the market. They offer a hybrid in-app bidding technology that you can customize by giving a higher priority to your preferred ad networks from over 70 ad networks available on the platform.

Appodeal also offers A/B testing for ad placements, audiences, product updates, and more to help you optimize your setup, in addition to powerful reporting to help you understand how your app is performing.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity, React Native

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Mopub

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Mopub was acquired by Twitter back in 2013 and has since grown to be one of the most popular tools on the market. They are a strong ad network with access to Twitter’s audience and data and also offer ad mediation with 13 of the top ad networks, as well as direct deals and cross-promotion. Additionally, if you want to add a specific ad network that is not supported by Mopub, you can build your own “adapter” to integrate it with it.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity

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ironSource

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ironSource is another powerful and feature-rich mobile ad mediation tool and is one of the oldest players on the scene. They integrate with 14 of the top ad networks and feature a hybrid between real-time in-app bidding and the waterfall model so you can customize your preferred networks.

IronSource’s platform also boasts powerful reporting features to help you gauge how you are performing. You can then use their A/B testing feature to improve and optimize your monetization strategy.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity

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Fyber

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Fyber is another well-established mobile ad mediation tool with a focus on video ads and games. They support 12 of the top ad networks including all of the top video ad networks, which makes them especially useful for game developers. Fyber’s FairBid technology ensures an unbiased bidding process between all participating DSPs, but you can also opt for the waterfall model.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity

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Tapdaq

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Tapdaq is a lightweight mobile ad mediation tool that was acquired by the well-known ad network Tapjoy in 2018. They offer an unbiased in-app bidding process with 12 of the top ad networks however, they do not support a waterfall or hybrid model if you want to opt for that. Their reporting and analytics features are quite powerful and will help you understand how your monetization strategy is performing.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity, Cordova

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AdMost

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AdMost is a mobile ad mediation tool that was built by ex-publishers and does not have its own ad network. It integrates with more than 40 ad networks, including all of the top networks, and mediates between them through a dynamic waterfall model that automatically prioritizes the highest paying networks. Admost also offers a powerful analytics feature that makes use of their analytics tool to give you user-level data.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity, Cordova

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Epom Apps

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Epom Apps is another dedicated mobile ad mediation tool that does not have its own network which ensures unbiased ad placements. It integrates with more than 18 ad networks, including all of the top networks, and mediates between them through a dynamic waterfall model that automatically chooses the highest paying networks. Epom Apps also cooperates with direct and local advertisers to increase waterfall competition and reach fill rates as high as 98%.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android

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ConsoliAds

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ConsoliAds is one of the newer players in the field. They provide a lightweight mobile ad mediation tool that is focused on mobile games. It integrates with 14 ad networks, including all of the top ad networks, and automatically mediates between them to choose the highest paying network for each ad slot. ConsoliAds also supports cross-promotion so you can promote your app within your other app for free. Additionally, it has powerful analytics features to help you understand how your ad placements are performing.

Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Unity