Which Ad Networks Should You Actually Use for an HTML5 Game?

If you're self-hosting an HTML5 game outside a portal, picking an ad network is one of the first real business decisions you'll make — and the honest answer is that no single network is "the best" across the board. Fill rate, eCPM, and payout terms all vary by traffic geography and genre, so the right pick depends heavily on where your players actually are, not just the network's own marketing page.

The main categories, not just a list of names

It helps to think in three buckets before comparing individual companies: direct ad networks (you integrate their SDK and they fill your inventory themselves), mediation platforms (you integrate one SDK that auctions your inventory across several underlying networks), and portal-supplied monetization (a distribution site like PlayKovo handles the ad SDK, consent, and payout for you as part of hosting the game). Each trades off control against setup effort differently.

Names worth knowing in each bucket

• Direct networks commonly used by HTML5 developers: AdinPlay, Playwire, and Google Ad Manager for web games — all take direct SDK integrations and pay out on their own schedules.
• Mediation platforms: Unity LevelPlay and AppLixir are common choices for developers who want one integration auctioning across multiple demand sources instead of picking a single network.
• Regional/specialized options: Yandex Ads has strong fill for Russian and CIS traffic specifically; worth adding if that's a meaningful share of your players rather than a primary choice otherwise.
• Syndication networks like GameDistribution bundle basic monetization into the distribution deal itself — lower effort, generally lower per-impression rate than a direct integration.

What actually matters when comparing them

eCPM headline numbers advertised by a network are close to meaningless without knowing the traffic mix they're quoting — always ask what geography and ad format that number assumes, or better, test with your own real traffic for a couple of weeks before committing. Beyond the rate itself, check the minimum payout threshold (some networks hold funds for months if you're below a small-publisher threshold), payment method options, and how much of the setup — consent management, GDPR/COPPA handling — is on you versus handled by the network.

The case for not picking one yourself at all

Every network above requires its own SDK integration, its own consent flow, its own dashboard to check, and its own relationship to maintain — real ongoing overhead for a solo or small-team developer, on top of actually building the game. Publishing through a portal that handles monetization as part of distribution — PlayKovo's SDK does this, and estimated earnings track in the developer console — trades some revenue upside for zero integration work and one dashboard instead of several. For a first game or a small catalog, that trade is usually worth it; a studio with a handful of high-traffic titles is more likely to find direct integration worth the extra effort.

Worth knowing where PlayKovo's own SDK stands right now: it's built for both mobile and desktop, and mobile and web delivery are live today — the revenue-share payout system on top of that is still actively being built, so check the developer console for the current status before assuming a specific payout flow is already live.

See HTML5 game traffic, volume, and revenue for how these rates actually translate into real earnings, and rewarded vs. interstitial ads for the format side of this same decision.