AppLovin MAX vs. ironSource

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AppLovin MAX
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
MoPub was a mobile ad server owned by Twitter since the September 2013 acquisition, acquired by AppLovin, and now part of the MAX mediation platform. MAX gives users a diverse set of auctions for supply.N/A
ironSource
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
ironSource (or Supersonic before ironSource and Supersonic merged under the ironSource brand) is a mobile app monetization and mobile advertising application. ironSource (the company) is headquartered in Tel Aviv.N/A
Pricing
AppLovin MAXironSource
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AppLovin MAXironSource
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AppLovin MAXironSource
Best Alternatives
AppLovin MAXironSource
Small Businesses
Google AdMob
Google AdMob
Score 7.6 out of 10
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Score 7.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Yahoo Native
Yahoo Native
Score 6.6 out of 10
Yahoo Native
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Score 6.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Marin Software
Marin Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AppLovin MAXironSource
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AppLovin MAXironSource
Likelihood to Recommend
MoPub is perfect for US in app campaigns. They are able to offer inventory worldwide, but clearly the US is their home turf and the place where they feel most comfortable. They work well for performance campaigns, but I would not use them for branding purposes. They are very responsive and keep improving their product offering to stay competitive.
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Although IS is mostly utilized for apps in the gaming vertical, and the bulk of their publishers are also in the gaming vertical, we have had some success using its DSP. As a non-gaming app, we occasionally struggle to find a reliable source of constant inventory and growth. However, with IS, we've found a few good pockets (publishers) that appear to back out extremely well for us.
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Pros
  • Lightweight SDK with waterfall setup
  • Large support for every ad format possible
  • Great display of analytics
  • Amazing support team
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  • Great reporting
  • Dedicated AM to help get the best use of the product
  • Exclusive deals with big publishers
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Cons
  • Their take rate is not transparent, its unclear the margin percentage.
  • Not a lot of premium publishers on the platfrom, mostly gaming.
  • Discrepancies keep arising between impressions served and billing numbers.
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  • Very small inventory for iOS in Latin.
  • Sometimes does not deliver at the set targets.
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Usability
MoPub is a great SSP. It is a trusted partner that can help you scale campaigns as well as educate the client about the benefits of programmatic advertising. They have a lot of inventory and a great support team. I wouldn't say they are perfect because reporting is not very good and some billing issues are not as transparent as they should be.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
MoPub's support is really good. Their team is knowledgeable on their product and the programmatic ecosystem in general and they are very helpful. The only 2 things that I would point out would be that their response times are not very fast and that there is a lot of rotation on the account management team.
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Alternatives Considered
We've been attempting to make AppLovin Max perform the same way as MoPub had for us. The value we get from AppLovin Max differs from the ROI we get from other mediation platforms. We keep convincing ourselves that AppLovin Max will eventually function similarly to MoPub.
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Very good service. Self serve platform in compared with the other apps. Would recommend it to try new channels.
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Return on Investment
  • CPMs are low, which translate into good CPAs and more budgets.
  • Possibility of rebate programs for big volumes can also increase ROI.
  • Lack of clarity on billing numbers reduces profitability for a few months.
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  • Helps us deliver on our campagins, improving ROI
  • Inventory quite expensive, decreasing ROI
  • Not transparent on margins, which is not good for the business
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ScreenShots

AppLovin MAX Screenshots

Screenshot of the Main ScreenScreenshot of Waterfall PreviewScreenshot of the MAX A/B Test feature, used to test real-time data to test and measure the impact of any change to the waterfall configuration.Screenshot of the Ad ReviewScreenshot of the Network Comparison report.Screenshot of the MAX Cohort Report.