Here are the 17 Best Mediavine Alternatives for Travel Bloggers

LOOKING FOR SOME MEDIAVINE alternatives?

You’ve come to the right, as I know from personal experience what a difference passive ad income can make in a travel blogger’s life.

In fact, I have four sites on Mediavine, and rely heavily on that income myself.

Mediavine is one of the top ad management companies in existence, and I’ve loved working with them.

However, I also know the application process is tough and competitive — but there are plenty of Mediavine alternatives.

While Mediavine’s stringent standards mean it can be hard to get accepted, other ad management companies for blogs make it MUCH easier to join.

Whether you’re still working to fulfill all of the requirements or have gotten a Mediavine rejection, there’s no reason to leave free ad money sitting on the table just because you can’t get into Mediavine (yet).

Keep reading to discover the 17 best Mediavine ad network alternatives, and within that list, you’re sure to find the best option for you.

The goal of Mediavine is to give Mediavine bloggers the highest income possible without affecting site appearance or site speed.

The company has a robust vetting process for its partners and an even more robust support system once you get in.

They have top-notch customer service, Facebook support groups, knowledge bases, and data-driven dashboards to help their publishers succeed.

They even have cool plugins, like Create by Mediavine, and FREE blogging software, like Grow by Mediavine.

They also offer a lightweight, speedy WordPress theme called Mediavine Trellis. Plus, they’re so publisher-focused that they don’t even offer a Mediavine affiliate program.

I personally make about 30-35% of my total income from Mediavine alone. In 2023, I made $118,230 from Mediavine 🤯

Journey By Mediavine

Before we get to the actual alternatives to Mediavine, I wanted to let you know about the program Mediavine launched in 2024 called Mediavine Journey.

As 50,000 sessions isn’t easy to hit, especially after Google’s Helpful Content Update (which was anything but helpful for small publishers), Mediavine launched a program to help make monetizing your blog easier.

According to their site, Journey is and “ad management solution… for smaller publishers,” and you only need 10,000 sessions to apply*

*Note: I personally know people who have got in with as little as 3,000 monthly sessions — so don’t hesitate to apply for Mediavine Journey here.

Keep in mind that you need to have Mediavine Grow tool installed in order to be accepted.

Officially, they say Grow must be installed for 30 days before applying — but they accepted this site with Grow being installed for only a few days.

These are the 17 Best Mediavine Alternatives

1. Monumetric

If you have a small (but growing) blog with at least 10,000 page views per month (not sessions), Monumetric is an excellent Mediavine alternative to consider.

In terms of Monumetric vs. Mediavine, Mediavina is a clear winner. But if you don’t have the numbers yet, Monumetric could be a great alternative choice.

❓ 🤔 If you’re questioning Monumetric vs Adsense, then again the former wins.

The question gets tricky if you ask Monumetric vs Ezoic, as I feel each of these alternatives has its own pros and cons.

🏆 Pros of Monumetric

When it comes to pros, Monumetric offers an easy setup, great support, fast-loading ads, and high RPMs (revenue per 1,000 impressions).

Monumetric RPM can range from $7-$14, and they accept websites in almost any niche, and not only blogs.

For example, they accept online magazines, business websites, online aggregators, forums, and more.

Although all ads will slow your site speed down, Monumetric has a minimal impact on site speed.

Considering Monumetric vs Mediavine, this is one area where a Mediavine alternative is closely competitive.

🚨 Cons of Monumetric

When it comes to Monumetric review cons, the biggest is that Monumetric requires a $99 USD setup fee if you have under 80,000 monthly page views.

You must also agree to use six ad slots on desktop and mobile.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

2. Ezoic

✅ things to know about Ezoic

• Google Certified Publishing Partner: Yes
• Minimum pageviews: None
• Sign-Up Fees: None
• Payment Term: 30 days
• Payment Threshold: $20 USD
• Company Contract: None; unless you join the Ezoic Premium Program

Ezoic was founded in 2010 to help independent publishing partners grow and optimize their websites.

It works by taking the ad placements you set up through the Ezoic dashboard and continually running A/B split tests.

The split tests are aimed to discover what ad placements, sizes, ad layouts, ad designs, and other variables work best across your site.

It aims to find the sweet spot between ad revenue and user experience for tablet, mobile, or desktop users.

🤑 How much I made on Ezoic: About $185 USD per month with 10,000 monthly page views and mostly U.S. traffic (Note: U.S. traffic pays the most).

🏆 pros of Ezoic

When it comes to pros, Ezoic offers decent ad earnings, good ad placement control, big data analytics, and no contracts or set-up fees.

It also offers a 30-day payout window, compared to the Mediavine payout window of 65 days.

🚨 Cons of Ezoic

The cons of Ezoic are its confusing interface, doesn’t have the most friendly setup process, hit-or-miss customer service, and assorted setup issues (bugs).

In full disclosure, I was happy to get my blog off Ezoic because I found their customer service pretty bad, and their RPMs pretty low.

As this is an article about the top Mediavine alternatives, I couldn’t not list Ezoic — but if you can hold out until you qualify for SHE Media (up next on the list), then I’d say skip Ezoic entirely.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

3. SHE Media

✅ things to know about SHE Media

• Google Certified Publishing Partner: Yes
• Minimum pageviews: 20,000
• Sign-Up Fees: None
• Payment Term: 60 days
• Payment Threshold: $20 USD
• Company Contract: 1 year

If you have 20,000 or more page views per month* and a high percentage of US-based traffic and female traffic, SHE Media could be a perfect Mediavine alternative for you.

*Note: I have heard of bloggers being accepted to SHE with less than 10,000 page views, though their site does officially say 20,000.

As you can guess from the name, SHE Media focuses on digital media platforms for women.

This ad network offers a large range of display advertising options ranging from native ads, display ads, sponsored content, and more.

🤑 How much I made on SHE Media: About $800 USD per month with 30,000 monthly page views and mostly U.S. traffic (U.S. traffic pays the most).

🏆 pros of She Media

• SHE Media’s pros include a user-friendly setup process (involving adding a plugin to WordPress, similar to the Mediavine plugin)
• High-quality ads from premier brands, all related to your content and audience.
• The SHE Media net 35 payout terms, with a direct bank transfer option — meaning you are paid out 35 days after the close of the month, versus the net 65 payout terms on Mediavine

🚨 Cons of She Media

• Cons include the semi-high blog traffic requirements
• SHE also prioritizes publishers in the US, Canada, and the UK, so if you’re in another country, you might not be accepted
• Some niches have low earnings

The company isn’t known to always provides top-notch customer support.

From what I know, using their chat function within in the SHE Dashboard (which you have access to when you’re accepted) is your best bet.

You also must sign a 1-year contract and give them exclusivity with your website ads.

However, I have heard of bloggers ending their contract early by giving 60 days notice.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

4. Google AdSense

Google Adsense is a popular ad management platform for new bloggers.

This is usually the one people start out with because it has no traffic requirement — however, there’s some things you’ll want to consider.

🏆 pros of Google Adsense

• Fairly relaxed entry requirements compared to the Mediavine company
• Pretty simple to set up
• Easy to integrate into your layout and brand

🚨 Cons of Google Adsense

• You can’t get paid out until you reach the $200 payment threshold
• If Google suspects a breach of terms, it will close your Adsense account without warning and withhold payment
• The cons of using Adsense are that it doesn’t pay very much compared to other networks

In fact, for some bloggers, we’re talking a few dollars per month, depending on how much traffic you have, and how many ads on your page.

⚠️ Note: If you go overboard on how many ads you include, your site will get very slow and look spammy, driving visitors away, and earning you even less.

Considering Mediavine vs Adsense, there aren’t any major pros to the latter (for me anyway).

Best Mediavine Alternatives

5. Raptive (Formerly known as AdThrive)

Raptive (formerly AdThrive) is a premium ad network with state-of-the-art ad placement technology and full service.

When it comes to AdThrive vs Mediavine, they’re both quality options.

While some bloggers will say Raptive is a great Mediavine alternative for blogs with high volume traffic — others will say they prefer Mediavine!

In the AdThrive vs Mediavine debate, there’s no clear winner, as they’re both great.

I actually have websites on BOTH Mediavine and Raptive, and it honestly comes down to personal preference.

🏆 pros of raptive

• The company has a very easy onboarding process and takes care of everything from header bidding to ad placement.
• Excellent customer support
• Great revenue split
• Premier ad structure

🚨 Cons of raptive

One of the biggest cons is that Raptive requires a minimum of 100,000 monthly page views, making it difficult for bloggers to qualify at such a high traffic threshold.

Update: They have now launched Raptive Rise for sites with 50,000-99,999 monthly page views.

Adthrive requirements also include the majority of your traffic originating in Tier 1 ad countries, such as the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

6. Adsterra

Adsterra is a unique player in the ad network field, founded in 2013 by a team of seasoned affiliate marketers and webmasters.

This global ad network boasts an impressive reach, with 1 billion impressions daily, making it a noteworthy Mediavine alternative.

✅ Things to Know About Adsterra

• Founding Year: 2013
• Reach: 1 billion impressions daily
• Advertisers: More than 12,000
• Approval Time: 10 minutes
• Unique Features: Innovative ad formats, including the Social Bar
• Language Support: Multiple languages
• Minimum Pageviews: None
• Anti-Adblock Solutions: Three options to combat ad blocking, potentially increasing revenue by 35%
• Affiliate Program: Yes, offering additional earning opportunities

The Social Bar is a standout feature of Adsterra, designed to significantly increase click-through rates (up to 30 times).

These ads appear as notifications, icons, or widgets, enhancing user experience without being intrusive.

🏆 PROS OF ADSTERRA

The main advantages of Adsterra include its swift approval process, high fill rate, and unique ad formats.

Its support for multiple languages and no minimum pageview requirement make it accessible to a wide range of publishers.

🚨 CONS OF ADSTERRA

However, it’s worth noting that being less known than giants like Mediavine might be a downside for some.

Also, their payment methods are somewhat limiting and there are no scheduling options.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

7. Media.Net

Media.net stands as a top-tier choice for growing and large blogs, especially those with traffic predominantly from the US, UK, and Canada.

What sets Media.net apart is its revolutionary display-to-search (D2S) technology, skillfully serving ads that match the search intent of your audience.

🏆 PROS OF MEDIA.NET

Experience ads that blend seamlessly into your site’s design, offering a non-intrusive user experience.

The big draw? You’re assigned a personal account manager right off the bat, ensuring you have expert assistance in optimizing your ads.

Plus, it’s compatible with other ad networks, like Google AdSense.

🚨 CONS OF MEDIA.NET

It’s selective about traffic sources, heavily favoring top-tier countries like the US, UK, and Canada.

Also, a notable omission is the lack of page-level reporting, which can be a deal-breaker for those who rely heavily on analytics for optimization.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

8. Snigel

Snigel distinguishes itself as a premium ad optimization partner for large blogs, particularly effective for those with more than 100,000 monthly pageviews.

It’s the brainchild of former Google executives, tailored to surpass traditional AdSense limitations with a focus on maximizing publishers’ ad revenue.

🏆 PROS OF SNIGEL

Snigel’s service includes a dedicated ad management expert, effectively an extended team member, who oversees your ad strategy and performance while also providing tailored optimizations.

Their products like AdEngine and AdStream optimize ad space and enhance user engagement with high-quality video ads.

Notably, Snigel maintains transparency in revenue sharing (80% for publishers) and offers the flexibility of no fixed contract periods.

🚨 CONS OF SNIGEL

The platform requires a significant traffic threshold of 100,000 monthly views, focusing primarily on large-scale publishers.

Advanced analytics are accessible only through your account manager, potentially limiting immediate data analysis.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

9. Setupad

Hailing from Latvia, Setupad offers a comprehensive suite of monetization tools for blog owners and publishers.

It’s particularly appealing to those who value versatility in managing their ad campaigns, providing options to either use their self-service prebid platform or rely on their expertise.

🏆 PROS OF SETUPAD

Setupad is celebrated for its user-friendly interface, advanced technology capable of managing multiple ad exchanges without compromising page speeds, and a range of ad formats including video ads.

The platform’s smooth UI, free consent management platform (CMP), exceptional customer support, and competitive pricing make it a standout choice.

🚨 CONS OF SETUPAD

A notable downside is the lengthy payment term, requiring publishers to wait up to 60 days.

Another potential challenge is the necessity for manual placement of ad codes on the site, which could be a drawback for less tech-savvy users.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

10. Adnimation

Adnimation stands out in the U.S. market for its unique blend of technology and personal touch in ad management.

Their hybrid header bidding technology, reportedly outperforming standard header bidding by 18%, is a key highlight.

🏆 PROS OF ADNIMATION

Adnimation’s approach is highly appreciated for its quick implementation and onboarding, alongside responsive and efficient customer support through flexible communication channels (including WhatsApp, Telegram, and Skype).

Their hands-on approach includes mock-ups of ads for approval, regular audits, and optimization by a dedicated team, ensuring a high level of personalized service.

🚨 CONS OF ADNIMATION

A significant limitation is the high minimum page view requirement of 150,000, potentially excluding smaller websites from their services.

Additionally, while their dashboard is effective, it lacks compatibility with add-ons, which might limit its functionality for some users.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

11. PubGalaxy

PubGalaxy, established in Bulgaria in 2013 and later acquired by Azerion in 2021, has been a significant player in the ad industry.

Specializing in helping publishers maximize ad revenue, the company provides comprehensive services ranging from header bidding to a personalized dashboard catering to specific needs.

🏆 PROS OF PUBGALAXY

PubGalaxy offers several advantages, including no minimum traffic requirements, 24/7 customer support, and dynamic price floor adjustments.

The full ad management service ensures a comprehensive solution for optimizing ad revenue.

The detailed dashboard is specifically tailored to meet individual publisher needs.

Additionally, PubGalaxy’s global network connects publishers with more than 20 premium networks, supporting a variety of ad formats.

They also promise an ad revenue increase of up to 100%, with an average 40% uplift.

🚨 CONS OF PUBGALAXY

Access to direct and private marketplace deals is only available with the premium package.

Plus, the platform does not offer monetization for content on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

12. Taboola

Taboola is a widely recognized online marketing platform, especially known for its Sponsored links and Stories you might like from around the web sections.

It caters to a vast online audience with a variety of ad formats and robust real-time analytics.

🏆 PROS OF TABOOLA

Taboola excels in providing real-time data for effective ad tracking and feedback.

Publishers have the control to filter and block unsuitable ads, offering a tailored ad experience.

The platform’s diverse ad formats and absence of language restrictions for content enhance its appeal.

🚨 CONS OF TABOOLA

On the downside, Taboola’s lack of a free trial may deter potential users. Limited payment options and English-only support could be restrictive for some publishers.

The high threshold of 500,000 page views for traffic might be challenging for smaller or emerging websites.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

13. AdPushUp

AdPushUp distinguishes itself in the ad management sector.

Its blend of advanced ad technology and adtech expertise caters to those who value control over their ad layouts and direct ad partnerships.

🏆 PROS OF ADPUSHUP

AdPushUp excels in providing an easy-to-navigate platform, simplifying ad management and monetization.

Some other key strengths include ad block recovery, 24/7 live support, lazy loading, and an AI-powered optimization tool.

🚨 CONS OF ADPUSHUP

AdPushUp falls short in its dashboard update frequency, which isn’t real-time but occurs several times a day.

This could be a drawback for publishers who rely on immediate data for decision-making.

Moreover, the requirement for exclusivity might be limiting for publishers seeking to use multiple ad management platforms.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

14. InfoLinks

Infolinks stands out in the global advertising platform arena, supporting more than 350,000 websites worldwide.

Their commitment to offering ad solutions that integrate seamlessly into the existing design of blogs and publishers’ sites makes them a considerate choice in the ad tech landscape.

🏆 PROS OF INFOLINKS

Infolinks is notable for its ability to work in tandem with AdSense, providing an added layer of flexibility for publishers.

Their unique approach to advertiser selection, which focuses on the website’s niche rather than relying on users’ cookie data, ensures more relevant and targeted ad content.

This method enhances the potential effectiveness of the ads displayed.

🚨 CONS OF INFOLINKS

However, a significant downside to Infolinks is that their ad formats can often be perceived as bulky and intrusive.

This might detract from the user experience on the website, potentially affecting visitor engagement and retention negatively.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

15. Publift

Recognized as a certified Google publishing partner, Publift leverages advanced ad technology to optimize earnings and connect publishers with suitable advertising partners.

The main requirements of Publift are the publishers must have a minimum monthly revenue of $2,000.

If you don’t meet the revenue requirement you need to have more than 500,000 monthly page views.

🏆 PROS OF PUBLIFT

Publift stands out for its excellent customer support. They offer a no-lock-in contract policy, providing flexibility and freedom for publishers.

Access to a wide range of high-quality ads enhances the potential for revenue generation.

Publishers retain full control over their sites, allowing them to tailor the user experience.

Additionally, Publift’s comprehensive blog material serves as a valuable resource for publishers seeking to expand their knowledge and skills in ad management.

🚨 CONS OF PUBLIFT

The platform has high minimum requirements, which may be a barrier for smaller or new publishers.

This limitation could exclude a significant portion of potential users who do not meet the monthly revenue or traffic thresholds set by Publift.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

16. MonetizeMore 

MonetizeMore, a Google Certified Publishing Partner, excels in connecting publishers with advertisers to effectively monetize content.

Since 2010, they have specialized in ad inventory management, optimization, and programmatic advertising, offering advanced ad formats and targeting options.

🏆 PROS OF MONETIZEMORE

MonetizeMore offers flexible contracts, allowing publishers to opt out with a 30-day notice.

Personalized consultations on ad placement, sophisticated and transparent reporting, and invalid traffic detection and blocking are other standout features.

They also provide a concierge setup for header bidding and Google Ad Manager, along with comprehensive educational resources through YouTube and blogs.

🚨 CONS OF MONETIZEMORE

MonetizeMore has demanding minimum traffic requirements, as publishers must generate at least $1,000 in ad revenue to start.

While they offer reporting, it isn’t fully automated, which may be a drawback for some users.

New publishers might find the platform unsuitable due to its complexity and the lack of features in the starter plan.

Additionally, support is primarily email-based, and advanced ad tech engineering team support is reserved only for premium publishers.

Best Mediavine Alternatives

17.  ylliX

ylliX, notable for its low minimum payout requirement, stands out as a convenient choice among Mediavine alternatives, especially for those who prefer quick access to their earnings.

🌟 PROS OF YLLIX

The platform’s most appealing feature is its daily payments and a $5 minimum payout threshold, which is significantly lower than many other ad networks.

It also offers rapid approval for running ads, allowing publishers to start monetizing their content without lengthy waiting periods.

🚨 CONS OF YLLIX

Users have reported slow customer support, which can be a significant inconvenience, especially for new publishers needing guidance.

Another issue is the inconsistency in payment terms.

What are the Mediavine requirements?

Mediavine’s basic requirements include 50,000 monthly sessions, original content, and a good track record with Google.

However, there’s a lot more to it than that if you want to be one of the many Mediavine sites ad publishers.

If you want to learn more about things like Mediavine revenue, Mediavine RPMs, Mediavine CPMrates, Mediavine payment method, etc, I wrote an article about this that you can find here.

I even talk about Mediavine reviews, new Mediavine requirements, and how much does Mediavine pay.

Best Mediavine Alternatives: Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve applied to Mediavine and been rejected or are still working to meet the requirements, an alternative could be just the thing.

Bloggers with a low percentage of US traffic or a niche targeting Tier 2 or 3 ad countries may not even have the option of applying to Mediavine.

However, you can still monetize your site through ads using one of the following alternatives to Mediavine.

Ezoic offers a quicker payout schedule (an average of 30 days vs Mediavine’s 65). Ezoic’s AI technology helps with user experience, but Mediavine comes out ahead in this area.

Ezoic users sometimes experience slow site speed, slow site loading, and ad quality issues, whereas Mediavine is fast and serves high-quality ads consistently.

Mediavine also wins in the customer service department, with consistently great support, while Ezoic can be hit or miss.

However, many Google certified publishing partners report making an average of $2,000 a month 🤑 in Mediavine earnings.

I personally make between $8,500 to 10,000 USD per month 💰 on Mediavine with about 350,000 monthly pageviews.

Most of that is U.S. traffic, which pays the most.

Before moving to Mediavine, I was on SHE Media. The month I switched, my ad revenue increased six times over.

From what I know, this is not typical, and most people who switch will double or triple their earnings.

AdSense is favored by beginner bloggers who don’t have much traffic yet.

It is easy to get into, but the ads won’t make you as much money because you don’t (yet) have enough traffic.

With ads on your blog, you need traffic to see high earnings.

The more people on your site, the more eyes on the ads, and the more earnings in your pocket — so while ad thrive has not traffic minimum, with low traffic, you’ll see low earnings.

So, who wins in a Mediavine AdSense battle?

If you have the traffic for it and meet the other Mediavine requirements, Mediavine is definitely the way to go.

That means that for every dollar earned through an ad shown on your site, you would get 75 cents, and Mediavine would get 25 cents. 

The company’s revenue share covers administration costs, sales commissions, and hosting.

Unlike other ad management companies, Mediavine pays Mediavine publishers 75% of the gross proceeds before overhead Mediavine costs and discrepancies are removed.

If you have a largely female audience and more than 20,000 pageviews per month, SHE Media may be the way to go.

If you have less traffic, Ezoic or Monumetric are the two top contenders.

Ezoic is powered by AI but has hit-or-miss ad quality and spotty customer support.

Monumetric takes longer to ramp up and requires a $99 setup fee.

They also seem to have a long wait time to be approved, and I know some bloggers who waited 3-4 months to be approved by the Monumentric ads company.

Keep in mind that 50% of that traffic needs to originate in a Tier One ad country such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and/or New Zealand.

You must also have original, long-form content that is brand safe, a website optimized for performance and speed, and a perfect track record.

This includes no black hat techniques, spammy dealings, and/or bot traffic.

My Final Thoughts: What is the best Mediavine Alternative?

There’s no question that Mediavine is the top ad network in the world (with competition from Raptive).

Not only is it user-friendly, but it also serves premium ads and provides content creators with high payouts.

The Mediavine meaning centers around it being a full-service ad management solution, helping content creators optimize and have control over their site’s ad placements for maximum revenue.

But Mediavine’s requirements make this ad management company hard to get into. It takes a lot of work to reach their 50,000 monthly session minimum.

Even then, your niche or the demographic of your audience may not be a good fit.

Fortunately, there are several great alternatives to help you monetize your blog without being on Mediavine — including Mediavine Journey, which requires only 10,000 monthly sessions*

*Note: I know people who were accepted with as little as 3,000 monthly sessions, so I recommend you apply to Mediavine Journey here, and see what happens.

Google Adsense provides options for beginner bloggers, while Monumetric, SHE Media, and Ezoic are good alternatives for medium-tier bloggers, offering decent ad revenue and fairly high-quality ads.

The customer support and user-friendliness might not be as great as Mediavine, but they are still noteworthy Mediavine alternatives.

If you have a high volume of traffic, Raptive is definitely the way to go — and I actually have three sites on Raptive.

It gives Mediavine a run for its money in terms of ad revenue, user-friendliness, and customer support.

Which of these Mediavine alternatives is the best fit for you?

Getting accepted to ad network companies was made possible when I invested in great travel blogging courses.

If you’re ready to do the same, I suggest investing in the courses for blogging to help you grow your traffic and get accepted to Mediavine or any of its alternatives:

• Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures (Best general blogging course)
• How to Find Affiliate Keywords that Will Make You a Ton of Money (Best affiliate marketing course)