How does the in-app ad revenue calculator work?

It estimates your daily active users (DAU) from your monthly downloads, multiplies DAU by the ad revenue each active user generates per day (ARPDAU), and scales to a month: gross ad revenue ≈ DAU × ARPDAU × 30. You can switch to the impressions × eCPM × fill-rate method, which describes the same number a different way. Fixed costs (development, AI/LLM) are then subtracted for net profit.

What is ARPDAU and how is it different from eCPM?

ARPDAU is average ad revenue per daily active user per day. eCPM is revenue per 1,000 ad impressions. They are linked: ARPDAU ≈ impressions per user per day × eCPM ÷ 1000 × fill rate. Pick one method — multiplying them together double-counts.

Where do the eCPM and ARPDAU benchmarks come from?

From published 2024–2026 industry data: Appodeal/maf.ad eCPM by format and platform, Juego Studio ARPDAU by game genre, and Playwire fill-rate benchmarks. Rewarded video and interstitial command the highest eCPMs; banners the lowest.

How accurate is it for non-gaming apps?

Less accurate. Most public ad-monetization data covers games. Non-gaming apps show far fewer ad impressions per session, and clean per-genre ARPDAU figures are scarce, so the non-gaming default is a conservative estimate. Adjust the ARPDAU or eCPM in the assumptions if you have your own data.

Does Apple or Google take a cut of ad revenue?

No. Apple and Google only take a 15–30% commission on in-app purchases and subscriptions, not on advertising revenue. Ad networks pay publishers directly (after their own mediation fee, which is already reflected in eCPM), so no store commission is applied here.

What about apps that use both ads and in-app purchases?

Many casual games are hybrid. Estimate the ad side here and the in-app purchase / subscription side in our Mobile App Revenue Calculator, then add the two. Just avoid counting the same users’ spend twice.

← All tools

Free tool

In-App Ad Revenue Calculator

Building a free, ad-supported app? Estimate the monthly revenue it could earn from in-app advertising — using real ARPDAU and eCPM benchmarks by app type and platform.

Your app

Platform

iOS eCPMs run higher; Android carries more ad volume.

App type

Balanced ad load, decent retention. ARPDAU ~$0.05–0.08 (Juego Studio / AppsFlyer 2025).

Expected monthly downloads

Most apps stay low:

≈ 30 daily active users at this app type's retention. Ad revenue is driven by DAU — override it in the assumptions if you have a better estimate.

Estimated monthly net profit

$63

$756/year · 100% margin

Gross ad revenue$63

Effective ARPDAU$0.070

Net profit$63

Every active user is profit — no fixed monthly costs to recover yet.

eCPM and ARPDAU benchmarks from Appodeal, Juego Studio & Playwire (2025). Non-gaming ad data is thin — treat it as a rough estimate. No store commission applies to ad revenue.

Selling subscriptions instead? Try the revenue calculator

How the estimate is built

1.Daily active users are estimated from your monthly downloads using each app type's retention and stickiness.
2.Revenue per user is your ARPDAU — or, in the detailed method, impressions per user × eCPM ÷ 1000 × fill rate.
3.Gross ad revenue = DAU × revenue per user per day × 30. No store commission applies to ad revenue.
4.Fixed costs (development, LLM credits) are subtracted to land on net profit.

How much do apps make from ads?

In-app advertising revenue is a daily-active-user game. Each active user is worth a small amount per day — measured as ARPDAU, average ad revenue per daily active user. For mobile games in 2025 that ranges from about $0.03 for hypercasual to $0.12 for midcore titles (Juego Studio). Multiply by your DAU and 30 days and you have a realistic monthly estimate.

What drives your ad revenue

Ad format. Rewarded video and interstitials earn the most — US eCPMs around $14–20 (Appodeal 2024) — while banners earn well under $1.
App type. Hypercasual apps show many ads to low-value users; midcore apps show fewer ads to higher-value, longer-retained users.
Platform & region. iOS eCPMs run higher than Android, and US/Tier-1 traffic earns 2–4× more than emerging markets at the same fill rate.
Retention. Ad revenue depends on keeping users active. Most apps lose 95%+ of installs within 30 days, so DAU — not downloads — is what pays.

How to use this calculator

Pick your app type and platform to load realistic ARPDAU and eCPM benchmarks, enter the monthly downloads you expect, and the tool estimates your DAU and monthly ad revenue. Open the assumptions to switch between the ARPDAU and impressions × eCPM methods, or to enter your own numbers. For apps that also sell subscriptions or in-app purchases, estimate that side in the Mobile App Revenue Calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How the estimate is built

1.Daily active users are estimated from your monthly downloads using each app type's retention and stickiness.

2.Revenue per user is your ARPDAU — or, in the detailed method, impressions per user × eCPM ÷ 1000 × fill rate.

3.Gross ad revenue = DAU × revenue per user per day × 30. No store commission applies to ad revenue.

4.Fixed costs (development, LLM credits) are subtracted to land on net profit.

How much do apps make from ads?

What drives your ad revenue

Ad format. Rewarded video and interstitials earn the most — US eCPMs around $14–20 (Appodeal 2024) — while banners earn well under $1.
App type. Hypercasual apps show many ads to low-value users; midcore apps show fewer ads to higher-value, longer-retained users.
Platform & region. iOS eCPMs run higher than Android, and US/Tier-1 traffic earns 2–4× more than emerging markets at the same fill rate.
Retention. Ad revenue depends on keeping users active. Most apps lose 95%+ of installs within 30 days, so DAU — not downloads — is what pays.

In-App Ad Revenue Calculator

Adjust assumptions (method, ARPDAU, eCPM, DAU, costs)

How the estimate is built

How much do apps make from ads?

What drives your ad revenue

How to use this calculator

Frequently asked questions

How does the in-app ad revenue calculator work?

What is ARPDAU and how is it different from eCPM?

Where do the eCPM and ARPDAU benchmarks come from?

How accurate is it for non-gaming apps?

Does Apple or Google take a cut of ad revenue?

What about apps that use both ads and in-app purchases?

In-App Ad Revenue Calculator

Adjust assumptions (method, ARPDAU, eCPM, DAU, costs)

How the estimate is built

How much do apps make from ads?

What drives your ad revenue

How to use this calculator

Frequently asked questions

How does the in-app ad revenue calculator work?

What is ARPDAU and how is it different from eCPM?

Where do the eCPM and ARPDAU benchmarks come from?

How accurate is it for non-gaming apps?

Does Apple or Google take a cut of ad revenue?

What about apps that use both ads and in-app purchases?