The usual guide to AdSense alternatives is a ranked list of ten networks with a paragraph each and a verdict at the end. It reads well and helps almost nobody, because the first question a small publisher has is not which network is best but which one will accept the site. Start from the entry thresholds and most of the list falls away. What is left depends on where your traffic is today, not on which network pays best at a size you have not reached.
Why the threshold comes first
AdSense publishes no minimum traffic requirement. Its review is about content quality and policy, which is why it is the default first network. Every alternative worth considering sets an explicit bar instead, measured in pageviews, sessions, users or revenue. If your site is under it, the network’s revenue share and features are irrelevant to you for now.
The received wisdom says you should leave AdSense as soon as possible. That is half right. Moving up the ladder is a sensible goal, but leaving early means a network that will have you rather than the one you would choose, and every switch costs a period of testing and lost data. The better plan is to know the next rung and grow towards it.
Note, too, what “alternative” means in practice. Several networks on the ladder are not replacements for AdSense at your current size but destinations for a size you have not reached. Listing them side by side with networks you could join tomorrow is what makes most comparison posts misleading.
The ladder of display networks
Here are the published entry points, lowest first. The Monumetric tiers come from Monumetric’s own site; the others are covered in our posts on Mediavine requirements, Raptive requirements and Ezoic requirements.
| Network | Stated entry threshold | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| AdSense | No minimum traffic stated | Review |
| Journey by Mediavine | 1,000 Tier 1 sessions in 30 days | Sessions |
| Monumetric (Propel) | 10,000 monthly pageviews | Pageviews |
| Raptive | 25,000 monthly pageviews (since October 2025) | Pageviews |
| Mediavine (full program) | $5,000 annual ad revenue | Revenue |
| Ezoic (new sites, since 19 February 2026) | 250,000 monthly active users | Users |
The units differ, so the rows are not strictly comparable, and every network adds quality and geography conditions that the table leaves out. But the order is useful. It also overturns an older assumption: Ezoic, once the network for sites nobody else would take, now has the highest stated bar for new sites on this list.
Monumetric requirements and tiers
Monumetric organises its programme into four tiers by monthly pageviews:
- Propel: 10,000 to 80,000.
- Ascend: 80,000 to 500,000.
- Stratos: 500,000 to 10 million.
- Apollo: 10 million and above.
So the entry point is 10,000 pageviews a month, which places Monumetric between Journey and Raptive. Its site does not set out other criteria alongside the tiers, so check the application form for anything on content, geography or account terms before you rely on it. A tier figure is a starting condition, not a guarantee of acceptance.
For a site with a few hundred visitors a day, the best AdSense alternative is often not an ad network.
AdSense alternatives for low-traffic sites
If your traffic is below the Journey threshold, no display alternative on the ladder is open to you, and AdSense is the network that will take the site. The real alternatives at that size are different models, and they suit small audiences better than ads do:
- Affiliate links. Revenue depends on intent rather than volume. A review page read by a few hundred buyers can outearn a news page read by thousands.
- Sponsorships. A specialist audience is worth more to a relevant brand than its size suggests, and the deal is negotiated directly.
- Newsletters. A list you own survives algorithm changes and gives you a second channel for both affiliate and sponsored income.
- Your own products. Templates, courses or tools keep the whole margin.
These are not consolation prizes. Many sites run them alongside display ads at every size. Our piece on how websites make money compares the models in detail.
Choosing the next rung
Decide in this order. First, which thresholds do you clear today, in the unit each network counts? Pageviews, Tier 1 sessions and active users can differ widely for the same site. Second, which of those networks suits your audience’s geography and content? Third, only then, which pays better?
The unit matters more than it looks. Journey counts sessions from Tier 1 countries, so a site with a large audience elsewhere can have healthy total traffic and still sit below it. Monumetric and Raptive count pageviews, which reward sites where readers browse several pages. Ezoic counts monthly active users, where one reader counts once however much they read. Pull the right figure from your own analytics for each network rather than reading one headline number against all of them.
Prepare the site before the application, not after. Networks pair their thresholds with quality conditions, and Ezoic, for one, requires compliance with AdSense policies, so the same basics carry over: original content, working navigation and a clean policy record. Fixing thin pages and broken templates first means the application is judged on the site you intend to run. Apply once, with the site ready, rather than testing the review with a draft and learning its standards from a rejection.
When you do switch, keep both sets of earnings reports side by side for at least a full month, because RPM moves with the calendar and a week’s comparison misleads. Our ad network comparison covers the trade-offs between the premium networks once you have a choice.
See what similar sites run
Before you apply anywhere, look at what established sites in your niche use. Open the database explorer, set monetization to display ads, add your niche, and sort by estimated traffic. Then filter the ad network to each rung of the ladder in turn. The pattern of which networks appear at which estimated size tells you what your realistic next step is.
The limitation: estimated traffic is not the unit any network measures. A site’s estimated monthly visits are not its pageviews, its Tier 1 sessions or its active users, and no third-party dataset can tell you when a site joined a network or under which terms. Treat the view as evidence that a network works in a niche, not as proof that a site of a given size qualifies.
Thresholds also change. Raptive lowered its bar in October 2025 and Ezoic raised its bar for new sites in February 2026, so check each network’s own page before you apply. The monetization hub collects the related guides as they are updated.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AdSense alternative for a low-traffic site?
Below Journey by Mediavine’s 1,000 Tier 1 sessions in 30 days, no display network on the ladder above is open, so affiliate links, sponsorships, newsletters and your own products are the practical alternatives.
What are Monumetric’s requirements?
Monumetric’s entry tier, Propel, covers sites from 10,000 to 80,000 monthly pageviews. Check its application form for any further criteria.
Is Ezoic still an easy AdSense alternative?
Not for new sites. Since 19 February 2026, Ezoic generally requires 250,000 monthly active users, the highest stated bar on this list.
The takeaway Rank AdSense alternatives by what they require before what they pay. Journey, Monumetric and Raptive are the next rungs for growing sites; below them, affiliate, sponsorship, newsletter and product income are the real alternatives.
