Rewarded vs Interstitial vs Banner Ads in Mobile Games: Which Earns More?

How do the main ad formats compare?

Rewarded video is a value exchange the player chooses: watch, get a reward. Viewers are attentive and complete the view, so it usually commands the highest eCPM of the common formats — and it creates the least resentment when the reward matters.

Interstitials are full-screen ads at natural breaks. They are the volume engine of ad-funded casual games, and the format most likely to cost retention if frequency or timing is wrong.

Banners refresh on a timer while visible, so they earn little per impression but accumulate with session length. They take screen space and can affect perceived quality.

Other formats — app-open ads, native ads, rewarded interstitials, playables — fill specific niches.

Which format earns the most?

Per impression, typically rewarded video. Per user per day, it depends on how many impressions each format gets: ad ARPDAU for each format is impressions per DAU × eCPM ÷ 1,000. The Ad Revenue Calculator breaks revenue down by format and shows which lever is carrying it.

Which format should my game prioritise?

IAP-heavy games: rewarded video at meaningful moments; minimal or no interstitials, especially for payers, because forced ads can erode the value of what they paid for.
Ad-funded casual games: interstitials plus rewarded video, with protected early sessions, frequency caps, and no ads at moments of loss.
Long-session games: banners can add meaningful revenue where they do not crowd gameplay.

How do you test a format change?

Treat every increase in ad exposure as a trade: define the revenue metric you expect to move, the metric you are protecting (retention, payer conversion, session depth), the acceptable deterioration, and the rollback point — before the test starts. The same rewarded offer can be a continuation mechanic in one context and an escape from friction in another, so test the moment, not just the format.