by So about six months ago, I got this DM from another publisher in my network asking if I’d looked into InMobi yet. I was skeptical at first because, honestly, I’ve tested like a dozen ad networks and most of them either pay peanuts or make you jump through hoops for verification. But this person has been doing this longer than me and actually makes real money, so I figured, why not give it a shot?
My site was pulling about 90,774 monthly pageviews when I signed up in May of last year. It’s not huge, but it’s steady. Mostly tech and productivity content with a decent amount of organic traffic. I already had AdSense running, but I wanted to diversify because relying on one network is kind of dumb when you’re trying to actually make income from your site.
Let me break down what I’ve learned over the past six months, because there’s a lot to unpack here.
| Founded | 2007 |
| Ad Formats | Banner, Interstitial, Native, Video, Rewarded |
| Minimum Payout | $100 |
| Payment Methods | Wire Transfer, PayPal, Check |
| Approval Time | 5-7 business days (usually) |
| Best For | Mobile publishers, app developers, mid-tier sites |
The Signup Process: Easier Than I Expected
Honestly? The signup was painless. I thought I’d be waiting two weeks for approval or dealing with some nightmare verification process, but I was live in about six days. That was June 1st when I got the approval email.
The form was straightforward. They wanted to know about my traffic sources, my site content, some basic stuff about my audience. I uploaded my Google Analytics screenshot (which I recommend doing even though it’s not always required—it helps your case). No drama, no rejected application, nothing weird.
What I did notice immediately after logging in was that the dashboard was a little clunky compared to AdSense. Not unusable, but like, it felt like it was built a few years ago and nobody’s redesigned it since. The layout wasn’t intuitive at first. I clicked around for like ten minutes trying to figure out where to grab my ad codes. Eventually I found them under “Publisher Tools” but it should’ve been more obvious.
Testing Different Ad Formats
Here’s where it gets interesting. I didn’t just drop one ad format on my site and hope for the best. I tested everything they offered because that’s kind of the whole point of trying a new network.
Banner ads were first. Standard 728×90 and 300×250. I put the 300×250 in my sidebar and the 728×90 at the top of my posts. Results? Meh. They made money but the CTR was low. Like, really low. Around 0.3%. I think people are just blind to banner ads at this point.
Native ads were surprisingly better. InMobi’s native format actually blends into content pretty well. I integrated it into my “recommended reading” section and the engagement was noticeably higher. Not amazing, but better than banners.
Interstitials were the winner for me. I know, I know. People hate interstitials. But I was smart about placement. I only showed them between page navigations, not on entry. My bounce rate barely moved and the revenue jumped. The CPM on interstitials was consistently 30-40% higher than banners.
Video ads were the biggest question mark. I tested them for about a month in July and the fill rate was all over the place. Some days 95%, other days like 60%. The revenue was decent when they did fill, but the inconsistency drove me crazy. I ended up turning them off.
Rewarded ads didn’t really apply to my site, so I didn’t test those heavily. That’s more for app publishers anyway.
The Real CPM Rates I Actually Got
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about ad networks. They advertise CPM ranges but your actual numbers depend on a million variables. Traffic source, time of year, user location, content category. I tracked my CPMs by country over the six months and made a spreadsheet because I’m kind of obsessive about data.
| Country | Average CPM (USD) | Range | Notes |
| United States | $2.40 | $1.80 – $3.50 | Most consistent, higher on weekdays |
| United Kingdom | $1.85 | $1.30 – $2.60 | Decent but more volatile |
| Germany | $1.65 | $1.10 – $2.30 | Lower volume, lower CPM |
| India | $0.45 | $0.20 – $0.80 | High volume, way lower rates |
| Pakistan | $0.30 | $0.15 – $0.55 | Cheapest traffic but decent fill rates |
So yeah, US traffic is king. My site pulls about 65% US traffic, 15% UK, 10% EU, and the rest scattered. That split basically determines your whole earnings equation.
What I Actually Earned Month by Month
Let’s get into the real numbers because that’s what actually matters.
| Month | Impressions | Clicks | Earnings (USD) | Notes |
| June 2024 | 142,000 | 180 | $223.74 | Partial month, June 1-30. Getting native ads dialed in. |
| July 2024 | 298,000 | 410 | $587.23 | Summer traffic spike. Tested video ads heavily. |
| August 2024 | 276,000 | 395 | $521.10 | Pulled video ads. Focused on interstitials. Better margins. |
| September 2024 | 298,000 | 440 | $614.45 | Back to school traffic. Highest earning month. Optimized placements. |
| October 2024 | 312,000 | 460 | $598.80 | Pre-holiday spending. Consistent CPMs. |
| November 2024 | 325,000 | 480 | $672.15 | Black Friday/Cyber Monday boost. Ad spend was higher. |
So total over six months, I made $3,617.47. That’s real money. Not getting rich, but it’s genuine revenue from just running ads on my site.
What’s interesting is you can actually see the patterns. Summer months are bigger because people have more free time. Fall is surprisingly strong. The CPMs go up during holiday shopping season. This is useful stuff to know for planning.
Payment Methods and Actually Getting Paid
InMobi offers three payment options.
| Payment Method | Minimum | Timeline | Fees |
| Wire Transfer | $100 | 5-10 business days | $15-30 depending on bank |
| PayPal | $100 | 2-3 business days | None |
| Check | $100 | 7-14 business days | None |
I went with PayPal because, honestly, why wouldn’t you? No fees, fastest payout, and I can transfer it to my bank immediately if I need to. I’ve gotten five payouts and every single one hit on time. No weirdness, no delays, no support tickets needed. They just pay.
The minimum payout is $100 which is totally reasonable. I hit that pretty easily within the first month since my CPMs were decent and I had solid traffic already.
Is InMobi Actually Legit?
Yeah. It’s legit. This isn’t some sketchy network that’s going to disappear next quarter or hold your money hostage. InMobi’s been around since 2007. They’re a real company with real investors. They power ads for major publishers and app developers worldwide.
That said, they’re not as user-friendly as Google AdSense. The dashboard is functional but outdated. Their support is okay—I had a question about reporting in August and got a response in like 24 hours, but the answer was vague and I had to follow up. Eventually I figured it out myself.
The earnings are real. They report impressions and clicks accurately based on my own analytics cross-checks. I spot-checked the numbers against my site’s traffic and everything lined up.
Legitimacy-wise, I’m giving this a solid yes. No red flags. Payouts are reliable.
What Actually Worked Well
The CPMs are genuinely competitive. Especially for US and UK traffic. I compared them to AdSense for similar periods and InMobi was actually slightly higher on average, which surprised me.
Fill rates are solid. Except for video, which I mentioned. But everything else filled consistently at 90%+ which means you’re not leaving money on the table with unfilled impressions.
The interstitial format actually works without destroying user experience. When placed smartly, they don’t tank your bounce rate. I was genuinely surprised by this.
Reporting is detailed. You can drill down by date, country, device type, placement. Way more granular than some networks. This let me actually optimize instead of just guessing.
No account suspensions or weird policy stuff. I’ve heard horror stories from publishers about networks turning off their accounts randomly. Never happened with InMobi. They’re pretty straightforward about their policies.
What Was Annoying
The dashboard UI is genuinely dated. It works, but it’s not pleasant to use. Loading times are a bit slow. The layout doesn’t flow logically. This is a minor thing but it does matter when you’re checking reports daily.
Video ad fill rates were unreliable. Some days great, some days terrible. Eventually I just stopped using them. If you’re dependent on video, this might be a deal-breaker. For me it wasn’t, but worth noting.
Support is okay but not great. Not bad, but they’re not proactive. I had to email them about some questions and the responses felt automated. Nothing rude, just not super helpful.
The native ad format has limited customization. You can’t really style them to match your site super closely. They look like ads, which is fine, but not ideal if you want maximum blending.
Revenue is variable month to month. This isn’t really InMobi’s fault—it’s just how ad networks work. But be aware that earnings fluctuate. Don’t expect the same money every month.
Who Should Actually Use This
InMobi is great for publishers with mid-tier traffic who are looking to diversify beyond AdSense. If you’re getting 50,000+ monthly pageviews and you have decent geographic distribution (at least some US traffic), you’ll make real money.
Mobile publishers and app developers should definitely look at this. That’s kind of their core market and it shows in the product.
People with tech, productivity, gadget, and gaming content seem to get the best CPMs in my experience. Finance and business content probably does well too. Basically, advertiser-friendly niches with spending power.
You should use InMobi if you want a passive income stream that actually pays out reliably and consistently. Not if you’re looking to make huge money—AdSense probably makes more for most people if you have good traffic.
Who Should Actually Skip It
If you have less than 20,000 monthly pageviews, the payout might take forever to hit $100. You could be sitting for two months waiting. Just use AdSense.
If your traffic is mostly from India, Pakistan, or other low-CPM countries, InMobi isn’t going to blow you away. The rates are actually a bit lower than some other networks in those regions.
Gaming or adult content publishers might have issues. InMobi is pretty strict on content policies. Not impossible to work with them, but you’ll need to be careful and read their guidelines closely.
If you hate complexity, skip it. Setting up different placements and optimizing them requires some hands-on work. If you just want to drop one ad code and forget about it, AdSense is simpler.
Questions People Keep Asking Me
Q: How does InMobi compare to AdSense?
A: AdSense is still the easiest and most consistent. Bigger inventory, easier setup. InMobi usually pays slightly more per impression, but AdSense fills better and the dashboard is way better. I’d use both if your site allows it. My strategy is AdSense in primary spots, InMobi in secondary spots.
Q: Will InMobi get me banned from AdSense?
A: No. They’re separate networks. You can run both simultaneously without issues. Just follow AdSense policies and you’re fine. I’ve been running both for six months with zero problems.
Q: What’s the approval process really like?
A: Apply, wait 5-7 days, get approved. That’s it. They’re less strict than AdSense about content. My approval was fast and painless. Just make sure your traffic looks real and your content is legitimate.
Q: Can I make serious money with this?
A: Define serious. I made $3,600+ in six months from a mid-tier site. That’s decent supplemental income. Not “quit your job” money unless you have major traffic. But if you have 500,000+ monthly pageviews, yeah, this could be real revenue.
Q: Are the CPMs really that different by country?
A: Yes. Dramatically. US traffic is worth like 5-8x India traffic. This is true across all ad networks, not just InMobi. If your audience is mostly India, your earnings will be low. That’s just the reality of programmatic advertising.
Q: Do I need technical skills to set this up?
A: Not really. You grab an ad code, paste it in your site’s template, done. If you can add a Google Analytics code or insert a plugin, you can handle InMobi. It’s not complicated.
Q: How long before I see money?
A: I saw earnings reported by like day three. First payout at $223 in my first full month. Timing depends on your traffic, but realistically, if you have steady traffic, you’ll hit $100 minimum payout within 1-2 months.
Q: What if earnings drop suddenly?
A: This happened to me once in August when I switched off video ads. My earnings dipped that week. But it stabilized once I optimized for interstitials. Monitor your placements and adjust if something stops working. Don’t panic if there’s one bad week.
My Honest Rating
I’m giving InMobi a 7.5 out of 10.
Here’s why. The product works. The payouts are real. The CPMs are competitive. You can actually make money without jumping through insane hoops. That’s the core of what matters, and InMobi nails it.
The points it loses are for user experience and reliability in certain formats. The dashboard needs an overhaul. Video ads should be more consistent. Support could be better.
But as a supplemental ad network for publishers with real traffic? Absolutely worth testing. I’m keeping it active on my site indefinitely. The revenue is real and it doesn’t interfere with AdSense.
Would I recommend it? Yeah, for most publishers. Would I recommend it as your primary ad network? Nah. Use it alongside AdSense and maybe one other network for maximum earnings. That’s the smart play.
If you’re looking to add another revenue stream to your site and you have at least 30,000+ monthly pageviews with decent geographic distribution, seriously test InMobi for a month or two. The worst that happens is you don’t make much money, which is the baseline anyway. The best case is you’re adding $500+ monthly to your income with minimal extra effort.
That’s worth it to me.
Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if you sign up through them. This doesn’t change the price for you and doesn’t affect my honest opinion of the service. I only recommend things I actually use and believe in.
