2025’s Best European Ad Networks [GDPR Compliant]

Do you want to find out which European ad networks offer the most value for your budget? If yes, Look no further. Each ad network offers its own set of features, but they’re usually pretty similar across most platforms. Some European ad networks are performance-based, while some are flexible.

It’s not always easy choosing which one will work for you; there are a variety of European ad networks out there claiming to be the best. CPMs, or cost per impression, are the main metric that every established publisher maximizes, and so should you! In this post, I’ll share some reasons for choosing specific advertising platforms and explain how they can help your publishing business grow.

In order to ensure success, it is essential for publishers to be able to go for those ad networks that will be able to deliver them the results they are seeking for.

Emerging Trends in European Ad Monetization

Header Bidding 2.0

Header bidding has become a cornerstone of modern ad monetization, and its latest iteration—Header Bidding 2.0—is helping European publishers maximize revenue like never before. Unlike traditional header bidding, which often faced latency issues, Header Bidding 2.0 leverages advanced technologies like server-to-server (S2S) integration and prebid.js to streamline the auction process. This ensures faster load times, higher fill rates, and increased competition among advertisers. Publishers across Europe are adopting this solution to tap into a broader pool of demand partners, including programmatic buyers, and achieve higher CPMs.

Video and Native Ads

Video and native ad formats are experiencing explosive growth in Europe, driven by their ability to deliver engaging, non-intrusive experiences to users. Video ads, particularly out-stream and rewarded video ads, are becoming a top revenue driver for both websites and mobile apps. Meanwhile, native ads—designed to blend seamlessly with content—are gaining traction due to their higher click-through rates (CTRs) and improved user experience. Publishers are increasingly integrating these formats into their monetization strategies to cater to the preferences of European audiences, who value relevance and quality over disruptive ad experiences.

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising continues to dominate the European ad market, accounting for a significant share of digital ad spend. Automated buying and selling of ad inventory through real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic direct deals enable publishers to optimize revenue while reducing operational overhead. In Europe, programmatic platforms are also adapting to privacy regulations like GDPR by offering consent-based targeting and first-party data solutions. This makes programmatic advertising not only efficient but also compliant with regional laws, ensuring long-term sustainability for publishers and app developers.

Performance Metrics: Key Benchmarks for European Publishers and App Developers

To make informed decisions about ad monetization, publishers and app developers need clear, data-driven insights into performance metrics. Here’s a breakdown of key benchmarks and trends for the European market in 2023:

Average CPMs (Cost Per Mille)

• Display Ads: CPMs for display ads in Europe typically range from €0.50 to €5.00, depending on the region, niche, and ad format. Premium markets like the UK and Germany often see higher CPMs (€3.00–€5.00), while Eastern Europe may average closer to €0.50–€2.00.
• Video Ads: Video ads command significantly higher CPMs, averaging €8.00 to €20.00 across Europe. Rewarded video ads in mobile apps can even reach €25.00 or more in high-demand regions like Scandinavia and the UK.
• Native Ads: Native ad CPMs generally fall between €2.00 and €10.00, with higher rates in markets with strong engagement, such as the DACH region and Southern Europe.

Fill Rates

• Websites: Average fill rates for European publishers range from 70% to 90%, with header bidding and programmatic solutions often achieving the higher end of this spectrum.
• Mobile Apps: App developers typically see fill rates of 80% to 95%, especially when using networks like AppLovin or Unity Ads, which have extensive demand from gaming and lifestyle advertisers.

Revenue Benchmarks

• Websites: Mid-sized publishers in Europe (50,000–500,000 monthly pageviews) can generate €1,000 to €10,000 per month, depending on traffic quality and ad optimization. High-traffic publishers (1M+ pageviews) often earn €20,000+ monthly with premium ad formats and programmatic strategies.
• Mobile Apps: App revenue varies widely based on the category and user base. Gaming apps, for example, can earn €5,000 to €50,000 per month with a well-optimized ad strategy, while utility apps may generate €1,000 to €10,000 monthly.

Key Factors Influencing Performance

• Geography: CPMs and fill rates are generally higher in Western and Northern Europe compared to Eastern and Southern Europe.
• Ad Format: Video and native ads consistently outperform traditional display ads in terms of both CPMs and user engagement.
• Compliance: GDPR-compliant ad networks and consent management tools often see better performance, as they build trust with users and advertisers alike.

Optimization Tips

• A/B Testing: Regularly test ad placements, formats, and networks to identify the best-performing combinations.
• Header Bidding: Implement advanced header bidding solutions to increase competition and boost CPMs.
• User Experience: Balance ad density with user experience to minimize bounce rates and maximize long-term revenue.

Here are some of the best European ad networks in 2025 for publishers who want to boost their revenue:

Criteo

Criteo is one of the most successful European ad tech companies out there today trusted by over twelve thousand advertisers, delivering personalized ads to over 100+ countries. More than 100 global brands directly plug into Criteo‘s advertising pool means this Paris, France-based Ad Network is a must for monetizing European Traffic.

Criteo is an ad network for internet retailers who want to increase their sales by showing targeted ads to people browsing their websites. Criteo focuses mainly on ROI-driven personalized retargeting. Criteo Dynamic Re­targeting helps online retailers drive conversions with their innovative ad retargeting technology that offers personalized and dynamic ads.

How Criteo takes care of this:

• This European ad network recommends the best offer from the whole catalog (usually the best-selling products).
• It optimizes campaign performance by dynamically choosing the most engagement-driven components.
• Accurate purchase intent predictions via machine learning, AI, and deep learning.

This ad network guarantees ultra-high CPMs ranging around 2X to 3X of Google AdSense revenue. At first, the fill rates are expected to be lower. Use a DFP-driven passback for that. Also, ensure that your website content is brand-safe.

Compared to AdSense CPMs, Criteo pays out CPMs 2-3X more than the regular AdSense CPM. Their CPMs range between $1- $5 per thousand ad RPMs each for European traffic.

It syncs well with blogs in the fashion, traveling, and lifestyle niche. Sign up to the Criteo marketplace to instantly access 17K ad brands. Publishers usually experience 20-40% traffic monetized by this ad network at higher CPM rates than AdSense. Thus, it’s a no-brainer.

Google AdSense

Google AdSense is the most popular ad network globally, known for its high payouts and extensive reach. It offers various ad formats and provides advanced targeting options. AdSense is particularly favored for its ease of use and the ability to generate revenue from a large pool of advertisers.

Many publishers report that AdSense provides competitive eCPMs (effective cost per mille), making it a viable option for generating income. While specific earnings can vary widely based on niche, traffic quality, and user location, AdSense remains a go-to choice for many due to its large pool of advertisers and the relevance of ads served.

Related Read: https://www.monetizemore.com/best-ad-networks-for-publishers/

AdNow

Located in more than 107 countries, Adnow is one of the fastest-growing native ad networks. They have a strong presence in Europe and South Asia. With AdNow, publishers can get related post widgets to be placed on their blog posts. When visitors view the sponsored content or click on the related posts widget, they earn money.

Millions of webmasters are using AdNow to make a good profit. For those who don’t know, AdNow is a content-driven, transparent, and secure platform to monetize websites. The content here is reviewed by its team of moderators.

Publishers here can earn around $0.2-$2 per thousand impressions through AdNow depending on the traffic. AdNow doesn’t have any minimum traffic requirements. However, your clicks need to be bot-free and always publish quality content. You’ll be able to see the additional earnings coming by if your site is getting more than 30K page views a day.

The AdNow ad network has around 900 million users plus 4 billion impressions on a monthly basis. Their CPMs are ranging between $0.1-$0.2 cents depending on which country you are located in. They’ve got remarkable native ad formats with more than a 1% CTR average. They steadily boost your eCPMs with a $100 fill rate & buyout.

ExoClick

ExoClick is a self-serve ad network based in Barcelona that provides online advertising services to publishers, brands, and advertisers around the world via rich media, video ads, mobile advertising, etc. The ExoClick ad platform is one of the most comprehensive in its category serving more than a billion geo-targeted ad impressions on a monthly basis.

It offers multiple ad formats both pre-roll video ads as well as other types like notification bar or display banner, interstitial, in-video ads, mobile redirects, etc all targeted to different audiences with specific interests based on their location! The ExoClick platform is typically for publishers with a high volume of traffic who want to monetize their ad inventory & mobile inventory with additional benefits.

With ExoClick, publishers have increased their native ad zone CPMs. Whatever AdNetwork you have, always double-check for CTR improvements as the higher the CTR the more valuable your ad space becomes to advertisers. Some publishers have seen their ad revenue grow by 55% for native ad zones and CPMs increase by 200%. For advertisers, CTRs soared from 0.03% to 0.24%.

The CPM rates are usually high for European traffic. In a nutshell, it is a reliable ad network and does the job well when it comes to serving ads immediately after approval. 

	REVENUE %	CPM%	CTR CHANGE
MOBILE	+43%	+50%	0.06% – 0.14%
DESKTOPS	+10.8%	+7%	0.02% – 0.03%

Teads

Teads is another industry-standard European ad network in the video ad network category. The french-based video ad network was founded in 2011 and their advertiser base is mainly European based with clients in the US too.

Teads’ video advertising solutions are specifically tailored toward brands, so they have a higher bar for working with publishers. They have worked with well-known entertainment companies like Mashable.

Ads, conversions/engagements, and CPM rates are made better by the premium quality of advertisers and publishers, so both the publishers and advertisers are content and willing to invest in this video ad network.

Teads is a great ad network option to go for if your site content is brand-safe & premium quality. They offer their clients an array of different advertising options including banner ads, text links, rich media video ads which they call ‘in-read video ads.’

If you’re looking for minimum traffic requirements for Teads, they’d probably prefer sites with lots of engagement instead of just numbers. In a nutshell, publishers prefer Teads if they want to showcase out-stream video inventory, monetizing it via programmatic ad buying.

TradeDoubler

 

Tradedoubler is for advertisers and publishers, who want to scale their business. They offer performance marketing and advertising technology solutions driving a distinctive network of connections.

With over two decades of digital marketing innovation and expertise, global presence, and an industry-leading technology platform Tradedoubler offers tailored performance solutions based on the publisher’s and advertiser’s needs.

Verizon Media

 

Verizon Media connects publishers with advertisers and ad server technologies; the company currently serves over 1,000 direct publishers. Amongst the available display formats, there are three types of displays – native, mobile, display, and video display ad inventories.

Publishers who want to offer their ad space at high prices can choose between different types of header bidding options instead of using traditional waterfall bidding. Advertisers also get premium access to publishers’ inventory. They come with controls for brand safety as well as tools for taking care of premium inventory that is seamlessly integrated.

Sovrn 

Sovrn is a top choice for European publishers looking to maximize revenue through advanced header bidding and comprehensive publisher tools. With its robust Commerce Media platform and seamless integration with Prebid.js, Sovrn enables publishers to access a wide range of demand partners while maintaining fast page load speeds. Its GDPR-compliant solutions and focus on user privacy make it a reliable option for publishers navigating Europe’s strict regulatory environment.

AppLovin and Unity Ads (For App Developers)

AppLovin and Unity Ads are leading ad networks for app developers in Europe, offering monetization solutions tailored to mobile gaming and app ecosystems. AppLovin’s Lion Studios and MAX platform provide high-performing rewarded video and interstitial ads, while Unity Ads excels in delivering immersive ad experiences for gaming apps. Both networks are GDPR-compliant and offer advanced targeting options, making them ideal for developers looking to monetize effectively while maintaining user engagement.

Adform and Smart AdServer 

Adform and Smart AdServer are standout choices for European publishers seeking programmatic and privacy-focused ad solutions. Adform’s end-to-end platform offers real-time bidding (RTB), data management tools (DMP), and GDPR-compliant features, making it a favorite for premium publishers. Similarly, Smart AdServer provides a flexible, privacy-first programmatic platform with strong support for video and native ads. Both networks are well-suited for publishers prioritizing compliance and high-quality ad experiences in Europe’s competitive market.

Regional Focus: Tailoring Ad Networks to European Markets

Europe is a diverse continent with distinct markets, each characterized by unique language, cultural, and regulatory nuances. To maximize ad revenue, publishers and app developers must choose ad networks that align with the specific needs of their target regions. Here’s a breakdown of how ad networks perform across key European markets:

DACH Region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

The DACH region is known for its high digital ad spend and stringent privacy regulations. Publishers in this region should prioritize networks that offer robust consent management tools and support for local languages.

United Kingdom

The UK remains one of Europe’s largest digital advertising markets, with a strong preference for premium ad formats like video and native ads. Networks like Sovrn and PubMatic perform well here, offering advanced header bidding and programmatic solutions. Additionally, UK publishers benefit from networks that integrate seamlessly with Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiatives, ensuring compliance with evolving privacy standards.

Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland)

Scandinavian markets are highly digitalized, with a focus on mobile and video advertising. Ad networks like Unity Ads (for apps) and Ezoic (for websites) are gaining traction in this region due to their AI-driven optimization and support for high-quality ad formats. Publishers should also consider networks that offer localized support and competitive CPMs for Nordic audiences.

Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece)

In Southern Europe, mobile-first strategies and cost-effective ad solutions are key. Networks like AppLovin (for app developers) and Google AdSense (for smaller publishers) are widely used due to their ease of integration and broad advertiser base. Publishers in this region should also explore networks that offer multilingual support and cater to the growing demand for video and native ads.

Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania)

Eastern Europe is an emerging market with significant growth potential. Ad networks like AdMixer and PropellerAds are popular here, offering a mix of display, push, and native ad formats. Publishers in this region should focus on networks that provide competitive rates and support for local currencies and languages.

 

MonetizeMore For over 15+ years, we’ve been helping publishers with different shapes and sizes to increase their ad revenue significantly. As there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we combine cutting-edge ad tech and custom optimization techniques to achieve the best results. MonetizeMore is trusted by 2500+ publishers worldwide and is a Google-certified publishing partner. Partner with us, and we will help you monetize your traffic and, even more importantly, increase ad revenue for your site. Our publishing partners have seen their ad revenues increase 50-400% and more after partnering with us. Related Read: Case Studies Get in touch with MonetizeMore today to realize the potential of your ad inventory.

source https://www.monetizemore.com/blog/best-ad-networks-europe/