Mobile ad networks
For app marketers: what AppLovin Ads, with its Axon model, and Unity Ads each bill for, what it takes to start and a third option that charges for the in-app events you price.
Choose AppLovin if
you want to sign up yourself with a card and no published minimum, and want full-screen video and playable ads in mobile games.
Choose Unity if
your game already earns through Unity Ads and you want that revenue to fund installs, or want install campaigns and an offerwall from one company.
Choose if
you'd rather pay when a player reaches a step you price than pay per install or impression, and rewarded players suit your app.
Test events are free. Verify each required event before you go live.
01Side by side
| For advertisers | AppLovin | Unity | this is us |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're billed for | Each install, or each impression, set by the bidding strategy.1 | Each attributed install on install, ROAS and event campaigns. Per 1,000 impressions on creative tests.2 | Each event you priced, when it arrives tied to one of our clicks. How advertisers pay |
| Pricing an in-app event | Yes, as a cost-per-event goal. Billing stays per install or impression.1 | Yes, as a target cost per event. Billing stays per install.23 | Yes, and that price is the charge. |
| Minimum to start | No minimum listed publicly. It suggests a budget for 15 to 20 conversions a day.4 | A $1,000 minimum deposit by card or Alipay.5 | A $50 balance before you submit a campaign. Deposits are non‑refundable. |
| How you fund it | A card, charged daily at 0:00 UTC for the next day's budget.6 | A prepaid organization budget, by card, Alipay or Unity Ads revenue.5 | A prepaid balance. Deposits are non‑refundable. |
| Sign‑up | Self-serve, open to all since 22 June 2026. Apps are reviewed first.78 | Self-serve, with a Unity ID.9 | Self-serve. Our team reviews each campaign before it goes live. |
| Measurement | An attribution partner, six named. Ad ROAS also needs its Max SDK.8 | Post-install events through Adjust, AppsFlyer or Singular for event campaigns.3 | Events from your server, or forwarded from your attribution tool. No SDK needed. Setup without an SDK |
| Testing before spend | Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026) | Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026) | Free test events. Each required event must show Verified before you submit. |
| What the user sees | Full-screen video and playable ads, up to 60 seconds.8 | Ads built from the creative packs you add.10 | A task in a rewarded app or offerwall. No video or playable ads. |
| Reach | 1B+ daily active users across 10,000+ apps, by its own count.8 | Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026) | Rewarded apps, offerwalls and sites we approve. Smaller than either. |
Accurate as of 29 October 2026. Facts about AppLovin and Unity come from their own public pages, numbered in the sources. Terms change, so check each source before you decide.
02The two you searched
AppLovin Ads is AppLovin's self-serve ad platform for gaming apps, consumer brands and agencies; Axon is the name of the model behind it.7 Its ads are full-screen videos and playables, shown between levels or watched for a reward.811 You set a goal such as cost per event, and you're charged per install or per impression.1 AppLovin says it reaches 1B+ daily active users across 10,000+ apps.8
Their site, applovin.com (opens in a new tab)AppLovin Ads opened to all advertisers.7
Unity sells user acquisition through Unity Ads, with goals for installs, return on ad spend and in-app events.10 All three campaign types bill per attributed install.2 Event campaigns need post-install data from Adjust, AppsFlyer or Singular,3 and a card deposit starts at $1,000.5 Unity also owns the Tapjoy offerwall, which bills when a user completes an offer.12
Their site, unity.com (opens in a new tab)ironSource Ads stopped serving advertiser campaigns. New campaigns had stopped on 15 April.13
03Head to head
AppLovin bills per install or per impression, even when the goal is an in-app event.1 Unity bills per attributed install on install, ROAS and event campaigns, and switches a campaign to impression billing after 10,000 impressions with no install in 24 hours.2
AffiliateOS charges the price you set for an event when that event arrives, tied to one of our clicks. An event with no click of ours is logged and never charged.
Bottom line
If you want the event itself to be the billing unit, neither AppLovin Ads nor Unity Ads bills on it.
Both are self-serve. AppLovin needs a card on file and charges each day for the next day's budget.6 Unity's minimum card deposit is $1,000.5
AffiliateOS needs $50 in a prepaid balance and a free, verified test of each required event before you submit. Deposits are non‑refundable.
Bottom line
Unity asks for $1,000 up front. AppLovin publishes no minimum. We ask for a $50 balance.
Both networks ask for post-install events from an attribution partner, and Unity names three for event campaigns.38
AffiliateOS takes the events you priced from your server. We can match the install ourselves on first open, or you can forward events from the attribution tool you already run.
Bottom line
If you don't run an attribution tool yet, you can still start with us.
AppLovin shows full-screen video and playable ads, often between game levels.811 Unity runs ads built from creative packs.10
AffiliateOS shows your app as a task in rewarded apps and offerwalls, and the player earns a reward for reaching your steps. We don't run video or playable ads.
Bottom line
Players reach your steps for the reward, so check what they do after the last step you pay for.
Unity stopped new ironSource Ads campaigns on 15 April 2026 and stopped serving them on 30 April. Advertisers rebuilt their campaigns in Unity Ads by hand; the ironSource Exchange and LevelPlay still run.13
Unity also sells the Tapjoy offerwall, where you pay when a user completes an offer.12 That is Unity's pay-on-completion option.
Bottom line
Inside Unity, pay on completion means the Tapjoy offerwall. Ours bills on completion too, and you can test each event free before launch.
04Worked example
The same Harbor Blocks player, from the ad to level 40. Each lane marks the moment that company charges you. Pick the step you'd pay for.
You pay AffiliateOS for
AppLovin
Billed per install or per impression, set by the bidding strategy. An event is a goal it optimizes for.1
Unity
Install, ROAS and event campaigns bill per attributed install. Creative tests bill per 1,000 impressions.2
Charged at the step you priced, when it arrives tied to one of our clicks. Steps you don't price are never charged.
AffiliateOS charges at Level 10.
Billing units from each company's own documentation, checked 29 October 2026. Harbor Blocks is our example game.
Test events are free. Verify each required event before you go live.
05The honest part
AffiliateOS fits if
AppLovin or Unity fits better if
06Running both
Your existing postbacks stay live. Nothing you run today changes.
Your AppLovin or Unity campaigns, attribution tool and postbacks stay as they are.
Create a campaign, price one event and send a free test until it shows Verified.
Run both and compare what each event cost you, in your own reports.
07Questions
How you want to start and what you already run decide this one.
Choose AppLovin if you want to sign up yourself with a card and no published minimum, and want full-screen video and playable ads in mobile games. Choose Unity if your game already earns through Unity Ads and you want that revenue to fund installs, or want install campaigns and an offerwall from one company.
No. New campaigns stopped on 15 April 2026 and serving stopped on 30 April 2026. Campaigns had to be rebuilt in Unity Ads. The ironSource Exchange still runs.
Its API lists cost per event as a goal it optimizes for. The charge is per install or per impression, depending on the bidding strategy.
You set a target cost per event, but Unity bills event optimization campaigns per attributed install.
AppLovin lists none publicly. Unity's minimum card deposit is $1,000. AffiliateOS needs a $50 balance before you submit a campaign, and deposits are non‑refundable.
Yes. Campaigns run in rewarded apps and offerwalls, where people earn a reward for completing your steps.
No SDK is needed. Events come from your server. An attribution tool is optional; you can forward its events if you run one.
Each read on 29 October 2026. Numbers match the markers in the table and the text.
AppLovin blog
AppLovin Ads is now open to all advertisers (opens in a new tab)Checked 29 Oct 2026 Page dated 22 Jun 2026
Unity
ironSource Ads sunset FAQ (opens in a new tab)Checked 29 Oct 2026 Page announced 26 Mar 2026, updated 4 Aug 2026
We read each company's own public pages on 29 October 2026: pricing pages, docs, help centers and terms, plus SEC filings where a company files them. We compared what each offers the same kind of buyer at list terms. We didn't use custom quotes, review sites or anything told to us privately. Facts about AffiliateOS come from our product as it runs today, explained in our developer docs.
AppLovin and Unity are trademarks of their owners. AffiliateOS is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by either company. If something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@affiliateos.ai and we'll correct the page and its date.
Send a free test, then submit once your prepaid balance holds $50. We review each campaign before it goes live.