eCPM — effective cost per thousand impressions — is the standard yardstick for mobile ad revenue, but the number swings widely based on format, geography, vertical, and ad network, which makes generic benchmarks easy to misread.
What actually moves eCPM
Format is the biggest lever: full-screen formats like interstitials and rewarded video command a premium over banners because they can't be ignored the way a banner can. Geography matters almost as much — advertiser demand and CPM rates in tier-1 markets like the US, UK, and Australia typically run several times higher than in lower-ARPU regions.
Using eCPM benchmarks responsibly
Any published eCPM range should be treated as a rough starting point, not a guarantee. The only reliable number for a specific app is the one that comes from running its own inventory through a mediation waterfall and watching what advertisers actually pay for its real audience.