by So here’s the thing – back in early 2025, my ad network basically ghosted me. No warning, no explanation, just a deactivated account and months of earnings trapped in limbo. I had three websites running at the time and suddenly I’m sitting there staring at zero revenue. It was honestly terrifying. I reached out to support like five times and got absolutely nothing back. Total nightmare.
I needed a new network fast. My blogs weren’t making life-changing money or anything, but that income covered my hosting bills and kept me motivated to keep writing. So I started researching alternatives, and Cityads kept popping up in publisher communities. People seemed… cautiously optimistic about it? Not glowing reviews, but not horror stories either. I figured I had nothing to lose at that point.
Here’s what I’m gonna give you – a completely honest breakdown of my year-plus experience with Cityads. No sugar-coating. I’ll walk you through the good, the weird, and the straight-up frustrating parts.
| Founded | 2009 |
| Ad Formats | Display, Native, Pop-unders, Banner ads |
| Minimum Payout | $10 |
| Payment Methods | Wire transfer, Payoneer, Skrill |
| Approval Time | 3-7 days |
| Best For | Mid-tier publishers, international traffic |
The Signup Process – Surprisingly Not Terrible
I signed up on February 14th, 2025. Yeah, Valentine’s Day. I remember because I was literally supposed to be doing something romantic but instead I was filling out ad network applications. Real romantic stuff.
The signup itself was straightforward. They asked for basic info – my website URL, traffic stats, what kind of content I run. I submitted my three sites. Two were approved within 4 days. One took like 10 days, which was annoying because I was eager to get everything monetized quickly. But eventually all three got the green light.
What surprised me was that they actually seemed to review my sites manually. The approval emails mentioned specific content from my pages, which felt more legit than those automated “yep, you’re approved” responses you get from some networks. It gave me a tiny bit of confidence that I wasn’t signing up for something sketchy.
Getting The Code Installed
Once approved, the dashboard wasn’t confusing. I grabbed the ad code, plugged it into my WordPress sidebar and post content areas, and waited to see what would happen. This was probably mid-late February when I actually started seeing impressions roll in.
Ad Formats – Testing What Actually Works
Cityads lets you choose from several formats: display ads, native ads, pop-unders, and banner placements. I tested different combinations because I wanted to maximize earnings without completely destroying my user experience.
My main site (the one with 66k monthly pageviews) got display ads in the sidebar and native ads mixed into the content. My second site is smaller, around 12k monthly views, so I was more conservative there. Third site is basically a side project with like 3k views, so I mostly just let it run as-is.
Native ads actually performed the best for me. I placed them between article paragraphs and they didn’t feel as intrusive as banner ads. Users seemed more likely to click them naturally. Display ads in the sidebar did okay but honestly, people ignore sidebars. That’s just internet facts.
Pop-unders – I tried them for like a week and immediately turned them off. They’re annoying as hell and my bounce rate spiked. Yes, they probably would have made more money short-term, but I wasn’t gonna trash my site’s reputation for a few extra dollars.
Earnings Breakdown – The Real Numbers
Okay so let’s talk actual money. I started in February 2025. My first full month tracking was March.
| Month/Year | Impressions | Clicks | Earnings | Approx CPM |
| March 2025 | 187,400 | 342 | $183.96 | $0.98 |
| April 2025 | 195,200 | 368 | $201.47 | $1.03 |
| May 2025 | 203,100 | 405 | $227.34 | $1.12 |
| June 2025 | 211,450 | 437 | $248.91 | $1.18 |
| July 2025 | 198,760 | 389 | $215.67 | $1.08 |
| August 2025 | 209,340 | 421 | $233.45 | $1.11 |
| September 2025 | 217,890 | 459 | $256.78 | $1.18 |
| October 2025 | 225,100 | 478 | $267.34 | $1.19 |
| November 2025 | 231,456 | 495 | $289.12 | $1.25 |
| December 2025 | 219,340 | 441 | $271.89 | $1.24 |
| January 2026 | 228,910 | 487 | $280.45 | $1.23 |
So total over the 11 months of heavy testing and running, I made just under $2,776. That’s nothing life-changing, but it’s real money. And honestly? For just having ads on my site, that’s pretty solid.
What caught my attention was that my earnings were actually pretty consistent and slightly trending upward. No wild swings. No months where I made $5 because something broke. That stability felt good after getting burned by my previous network.
CPM Rates By Country – This Is Where It Gets Interesting
Cityads shows you a breakdown of where your traffic and earnings are coming from. I noticed pretty quick that geographic location matters a lot. Like, a lot a lot.
| Country | Approximate CPM | Traffic % | Notes |
| United States | $2.15 – $2.89 | 34% | Consistently highest performing |
| United Kingdom | $1.78 – $2.34 | 12% | Solid secondary market |
| Germany | $1.45 – $1.92 | 8% | Good quality traffic |
| India | $0.23 – $0.56 | 28% | High volume, low CPM |
| Pakistan | $0.18 – $0.34 | 11% | Volume compensates for low rate |
Real talk: if you’re getting 50% of your traffic from India and Pakistan, your overall CPM is gonna be way lower than if you had 50% from the US. That’s just how it works. Cityads doesn’t hide this – it’s all transparent in their dashboard. I actually appreciated that honesty.
Payment Methods – More Flexibility Than Most
| Payment Method | Min Payout | Processing Time | Notes |
| Wire Transfer (Bank) | $50 | 3-7 business days | Direct to bank, no middleman |
| Payoneer | $10 | 1-2 days | Fastest option, lowest minimum |
| Skrill | $10 | 1-2 days | Good alternative to Payoneer |
I used Payoneer because I already had an account set up from previous gigs. My first payout request was in late March 2025 for $183.96 (my first full month earnings). It hit my Payoneer account in like 36 hours. That was honestly shocking in the best way. No delays, no weird holds, nothing sketchy.
I’ve done 11 payouts total. Every single one has arrived within 2 days. That consistency is extremely important to me after getting ghosted before. I’m not trying to get rich, I just need reliable income I can count on.
The Dashboard Experience
Cityads’ dashboard is… functional. It’s not gorgeous or anything. It looks like it was designed around 2015 and they haven’t updated the UI much. But it works. You can see your earnings in real-time, filter by date, see which countries are sending traffic, check your CPM rates, and manage your ad placements.
There are some quirks though. Sometimes the daily numbers don’t add up perfectly to the monthly total, which is weird. Like, I’ll see 40 cents earned on Tuesday, but when I look at the aggregate it says $37 for the whole month and I know I made way more than that. It usually corrects itself within a day, but it’s annoying when you’re obsessively checking your earnings (which, let’s be honest, I definitely do).
They also don’t give you a lot of granular filtering options. Like, I can’t easily see earnings broken down by ad format or by specific pages. You get country, date range, and that’s basically it. If you’re running multiple sites on one account, good luck trying to separate the earnings – you can’t. You’d need a separate account for each site, which I eventually ended up doing.
Support – The Real Test
I’ve contacted support maybe 8 times over the past year. Twice for technical issues, the rest just asking questions about optimization and stuff.
Here’s the thing: they actually respond. Not in 10 minutes, but usually within 24-36 hours. Their support team is obviously not based in the US, so there’s a language barrier sometimes, but they’re helpful. I had a weird issue where my ads weren’t showing on one of my sites for like three days in September. I submitted a ticket and they got back to me with actual troubleshooting steps. Turned out I had inadvertently blocked my own IP in my ad settings (user error, totally on me), and they helped me figure it out.
I had one really weird support experience though. In June, I asked if I could run ads from competing networks on the same page. Their response was… vague? They basically said “it depends” and “test it and see.” Which, okay, but not super helpful. I tested it anyway and my overall earnings actually went down, so I stopped doing it. But it would’ve been nice to get actual guidance.
Is Cityads Legit? The Important Question
Yes. I’m confident saying that.
Here’s why: I’ve been paid 11 times. Every payment arrived. The dashboard matches my records. When I contacted support with concerns, they actually engaged with me. The CPM rates they show are realistic and don’t suddenly spike or crash for no reason. Their ads are from legitimate advertisers – I recognize the brands sometimes.
Could I have gotten scammed and just not realized it? I guess technically yes? But every indicator points to legitimate operation. They’re not one of those networks that disappears overnight. They’ve been around since 2009. My money shows up consistently.
That said, I can’t guarantee what will happen if you hit a million monthly pageviews or if you suddenly get flagged for something. I’m operating at a medium-small level and everything’s been fine. But that caveat matters.
The Actual Pros
Reliable payments. This is honestly everything to me after my previous experience. Getting paid 11 months straight with zero issues is huge.
Low minimum payout. $10 for Payoneer means you don’t have to wait months to actually see your money. I can cash out monthly if I want.
Transparent reporting. They show you CPM by country, which helps you understand where your value is actually coming from. No hidden metrics.
Multiple payment methods. Payoneer, Skrill, wire transfer – flexibility is good. Some networks only offer one option.
Reasonable CPM rates. I’m getting $1-1.25 average CPM with my traffic mix. That’s not industry-leading, but it’s fair for my traffic quality.
Ad formats that don’t completely destroy user experience. Unlike some networks that push pop-ups and autoplaying videos, Cityads defaults to cleaner formats.
The Actual Cons
Dashboard UI is dated. It works, but it’s not pretty. Navigating feels clunky sometimes.
Limited filtering and analytics. You can’t drill down into details the way you’d want to. No earnings by ad format breakdown, no page-level reporting.
CPM is lower than some networks. If you have majority US/UK traffic, you might find networks offering $1.50+ CPM. Cityads’ $1-1.25 average might feel low in comparison.
Support can be slow. Not terrible, but if you need answers immediately, you’re gonna be disappointed. 24-36 hours is pretty standard, but sometimes it’s slower.
All three sites on one account complicated my tracking. I wish they either allowed per-site analytics or made it easier to use multiple accounts without issues.
No mobile optimization metrics. I can’t see how many impressions are from mobile vs desktop, which would be useful for optimizing placements.
Comparing to Other Networks I’ve Tested
I’ve been in the publisher game for a while. I’ve tested AdSense, Mediavine (not approved because traffic wasn’t high enough), Ezoic, PropellerAds, and a few others. Cityads sits somewhere in the middle-to-upper tier for me personally.
Compared to AdSense, Cityads pays better (my CPM was like $0.40 on Google, versus $1+ here). But Google’s dashboard is way more robust. Compared to PropellerAds, Cityads is less aggressive with ads (which I prefer). Compared to Ezoic… honestly I never got that one to work right.
Cityads is like the reliable friend who shows up, does what they said they’d do, but isn’t flashy about it. It works.
Questions People Keep Asking Me
1. Can I use Cityads alongside Google AdSense?
Yes. Google’s terms say you can use other networks. I ran both for a couple months actually. My overall earnings went down slightly because the ad inventory is competitive, so I dropped Cityads from one site to see. Turned out each network did better with dedicated placements. So technically you can, but practically you might not want to on limited placements.
2. What’s the average monthly earnings with Cityads?
That depends entirely on your traffic volume, traffic quality/geography, and ad placement strategy. I made an average of $250/month across my main site. Someone with 10k monthly pageviews might make $25-50. Someone with 500k views could make thousands. Your CPM will vary based on your audience.
3. Is Cityads better than Google AdSense?
For me personally, yes. Higher CPM rates. But AdSense is more widely known and their dashboard is better. If you can get approved for AdSense, you could run both. I’d lean toward AdSense if you have tier-1 traffic though.
4. How long before I see meaningful earnings?
Define meaningful. I made $184 in my first full month with 66k pageviews. For some people that’s huge, for others it’s pocket change. But earnings start showing immediately – usually within 24-48 hours of getting approved and adding code.
5. Do they penalize you for traffic sources?
They haven’t penalized me. I get traffic from Google organic search, Reddit, and some email traffic. I haven’t tried anything sketchy like bot traffic or paid traffic farms, so I can’t speak to that. But my “clean” traffic has been totally fine.
6. Can you get banned from Cityads?
Probably. Their terms mention stuff about not cheating the system, no incentivizing clicks, etc. I haven’t heard horror stories about random bans like I did with my previous network, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Follow the rules and you should be fine.
7. What’s the actual commission Cityads takes?
They don’t explicitly state it, but based on what advertisers pay versus what I earn, they’re probably taking 20-30%. That’s pretty standard for networks. You’re not gonna find a network that takes 0% – they need to eat too.
8. Will my earnings grow if I add more content?
Almost definitely. More content = more pageviews = more impressions = more earnings (assuming your traffic grows). My earnings have been gradually increasing, partially because I’ve been writing more consistently, and partially because my SEO has improved and Cityads has optimized my ad inventory.
9. Can I use Cityads on niche sites or just big blogs?
You can use it anywhere. I’m successfully running it on small niche sites. The earning potential is lower obviously, but there’s no minimum traffic requirement I’m aware of. My smallest site makes like $15-20/month.
Who Should Actually Use Cityads
Cityads is a solid choice if:
You have existing websites with organic traffic (not paid, not bot traffic). You’re not trying to maximize earnings from a small audience – you need real volume. You can handle CPM rates around $1 as your baseline. You value reliability and consistency over maximum earnings potential. You’re willing to work with a slightly dated platform in exchange for stable payouts. You have international traffic (they handle that well). You’ve been burned by other ad networks and want someone trustworthy.
Who Should Avoid Cityads
Skip Cityads if:
You have 100% tier-1 traffic and you’re hunting for the absolute highest CPM rates (you’d probably do better with Mediavine or Ezoic). You need advanced analytics and granular reporting. You hate slow support. You’re looking to make thousands per month from a small blog (you’ll need way more traffic for that). You have lower quality traffic and can’t accept $0.20-0.50 CPM rates. You need an account manager or personal support. You’re trying to scale quickly and need hand-holding.
The Money Talk – Is It Worth It?
Over 11 months, I made $2,776 across all three sites. That’s not life-changing. But it’s also not nothing. That covers 11 months of hosting, some coffee while writing, and honestly just feels good psychologically. I’m earning from my work in a transparent, reliable way.
If you have 60k+ monthly pageviews, you’re realistically looking at $200-400 per month depending on your traffic geography. That’s $2,400-4,800 annually. Your time investment is minimal – just setting up the ads takes maybe 30 minutes once.
Is that worth it? Absolutely. Is it gonna replace your day job? Nope. But as supplemental income? It slaps.
Final Verdict – Honest Rating
I’m giving Cityads a 7.5 out of 10.
Here’s my breakdown: They deliver on their promises (reliable payments, working ads, decent CPM rates). The dashboard could be way better. The support is adequate but not amazing. The earnings are solid but not exceptional. They’re not the flashiest network or the most feature-rich, but they’re consistently dependable.
Coming from a network that completely ghosted me, reliability is huge. That alone bumps them up. If I rate networks on “will I actually get my money,” Cityads is 9.5/10. If I rate them on “features and analytics,” they’re 5/10. Averaging it out with the other factors gives me 7.5/10 overall.
Would I recommend Cityads? Yes – to specific people. If you’re reading this and you have a blog with decent traffic and need a reliable monetization method, test them out. Open an account, add some ads, see how it performs for your specific traffic. Their approval process is quick and your earnings start immediately.
The landscape changes fast though. New networks launch, existing ones get worse. This review is current as of January 2026, but I’d probably revisit this in another year and see if things have changed.
One last thought: don’t rely on just one ad network. I learned that the hard way. Diversify. Run Cityads on one site, test another network on a different site, use AdSense where you can. That way if something breaks, you’re not completely devastated.
That’s my honest take. Would I trust them with my money again? Yes. Have they been perfect? No. Is that okay? Definitely.
Full disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links, meaning I might earn a small commission if you sign up through them. That said, everything I’ve written here is based on my actual experience. I wouldn’t recommend something I didn’t genuinely use and think was solid.
