AdSense vs Raptive vs Ezoic vs Monumetric vs Mediavine — The Brutally Honest, Stage-by-Stage Guide
First thing you need to tattoo into your brain:
There is no “best” ad network forever.
There’s only “best for where your site is right now.”
If you chase the shiny “XYZ is the highest paying!” headlines without knowing your stage, you’ll either:
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Get rejected and cry into your analytics.
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Lose money for months while “optimizations” crawl along.
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Spend weeks migrating only to realize your old network was actually better for you.
Let’s cut the nonsense and go stage-by-stage — and I’ll give you the money expectations so you don’t fantasize about retiring at 10k sessions.
Quick Stage Map (burn this into your skull)
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Stage 1 (0–10k sessions/mo): AdSense or Ezoic
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Stage 2 (10k–50k): Ezoic, Monumetric Propel, Mediavine Journey
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Stage 3 (50k–100k): Mediavine Classic
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Stage 4 (100k+ & heavy Tier-1 traffic): Raptive
That’s the clean version. The messy truth? There’s overlap, and sometimes you stick with a network past its “stage” because moving isn’t worth the dip.
Stage 1 — The “Just Please Let Me Earn Something” Phase (0–10k Sessions)
You’ve got a site, you’ve got some traffic, and you’re itching to see that first dollar hit your dashboard.
This is not the time to chase premium networks. Nobody’s letting you in at 500 visitors/day — and if they did, the ads wouldn’t have enough data to optimize anyway.
Best choices right now:
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AdSense — idiot-proof, no traffic minimums, fast approval if your content isn’t garbage. You get money flowing in days.
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Ezoic — they dropped the old 10k barrier, so now even baby blogs can get in. Bonus: you start learning their analytics early, which is worth more than the pennies you’ll earn at first.
Reality check:
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You’re probably looking at $1–$6 RPM on AdSense and $5–$10 RPM on Ezoic (if you’re lucky early).
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That’s $5–$60/month if you’re at 10k sessions. Don’t quit your job yet.
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Your main job right now? Publish content like a madperson.
💡 Pro Tip: If you’re in a high-value niche (finance, tech, B2B), even AdSense RPMs can surprise you. But don’t get high on a lucky spike — January will smack it back down.
Stage 2 — The “Small but Dangerous” Phase (10k–50k Sessions)
Congrats, you’re not a total rookie anymore. At this point, you’ve got enough traffic to start thinking about ad optimization seriously — but you’re still small enough that a bad switch won’t destroy you.
Your options now:
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Ezoic — keep milking their machine learning, test layouts, play with placeholders.
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Monumetric Propel — at 10k+ PVs, you can get in, but they’ll charge you $99 if you’re under 80k PVs. They handle the heavy lifting for you.
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Mediavine Journey — if you’re clean, brand-safe, and at ~10k sessions, this is a nice early taste of Mediavine tech without the 50k gate.
Money reality:
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Ezoic: $6–$15 RPM range, sometimes higher in niches with great advertiser demand.
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Monumetric: Often $8–$12 RPM for lifestyle/food/travel blogs.
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Journey: $4–$8 RPM — not as high as classic Mediavine, but you’re getting the infrastructure early.
Switch pain:
At this stage, if you move networks, your RPM will probably dip for a week or two. But you’re small enough to recover quickly.
💡 Pro Tip: This is the stage where you start tracking RPM by device and geo. You’ll realize that your US desktop visitors are worth way more than your mobile India visitors.
Stage 3 — The “Real Player” Phase (50k–100k Sessions)
You’ve officially made it past the “small fry” bracket. This is where the good networks open up, and your ad revenue starts feeling like something you can actually budget around.
Best move here:
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Mediavine Classic — requires 50k sessions/month (GA verified), stricter approvals, but they optimize the heck out of your ads. Most people who join never leave unless Raptive waves a better deal.
Money reality:
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$10–$20+ RPM if your traffic is US-heavy and your site is fast + brand safe.
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That’s $500–$2,000/month on 50k sessions.
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Q4? Could be 30–50% higher.
💡 Pro Tip: Once you’re in Mediavine, you don’t have to switch even if you hit Raptive’s requirements. Sometimes the marginal gain isn’t worth the migration headache.
Stage 4 — The “Big League” Phase (100k+ Pageviews)
At this point, you’re either:
a) Already killing it on Mediavine and happy.
b) Wondering if Raptive can take you higher.
Why Raptive:
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They specialize in premium brand deals and high-tier advertisers.
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They want majority Tier-1 traffic (US, CA, UK, AU, NZ).
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They handle the early “RPM dip” with a guarantee so you’re not panicking.
Money reality:
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$15–$25+ RPM is realistic with Tier-1 dominance and brand-safe niches.
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That’s $1,500–$2,500+ per 100k sessions. Q4 can push it higher.
💡 Pro Tip: Don’t apply to Raptive with borderline traffic mix (like 60% India/Philippines) — you’ll likely get denied or get in with disappointing results.
The Ugly Truth Nobody Tells You
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Traffic quality > traffic volume — 50k Tier-1 sessions beats 150k low-paying geo sessions every time.
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Seasonality is brutal — you’ll feel rich in November, broke in January.
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Overloading ads can backfire — a “higher” RPM doesn’t mean more revenue if your bounce rate explodes.
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Switching networks is emotional — the first week will make you think you made a mistake. That’s normal.
Ballpark RPM Cheat Sheet
My No-BS Playbook
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Under 10k: Just start — AdSense or Ezoic. Stop overthinking.
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10k–50k: If you’re brand-safe, try Journey or Monumetric. If not, stick with Ezoic and keep publishing.
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50k–100k: Mediavine Classic. Hands down.
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100k+ & Tier-1 heavy: Talk to Raptive. Compare against Mediavine’s actual payout for your site before moving.
Extra Hacks Between Stages
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Use affiliate links alongside ads — even $50/month from affiliates at Stage 1 is a nice boost.
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Test sticky ads — but not so aggressive they slow your site.
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Push traffic from Pinterest/YouTube to boost Tier-1 sessions before applying to premium networks.
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Schedule Q4 content early (Christmas posts should be ranking by October).
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