How to monetize an app without banner ads

Banners and interstitials are the default because they need nothing from you. They also interrupt every user, whether or not they would ever pay. Here are the alternatives, including where an offerwall fits and where it doesn't.

Apply as a publisher

The options

Model	Who pays	Works best when
Subscription	Your most engaged users	The app delivers ongoing value: content, tools, a service
In-app purchases	A small share of users, sometimes a lot	Games and apps with items, boosts or upgrades
Paid app	Every user, once	Niche tools with an audience that expects to pay
Affiliate links	Partners, when a user buys through you	Apps that recommend products anyway
Opt-in offerwall	Advertisers, for actions your users choose to take	Apps with a currency, points or perks to reward

Where an offerwall fits

To be clear: an offerwall is advertising. The difference is that nobody sees it unless they open it. A user who wants more coins, a premium feature for a week or points toward a reward can choose to complete an offer for it; everyone else is never interrupted.

It earns from the users who were never going to pay you. It also sits well next to in-app purchases: the same store can sell coins for money or give them for completing an offer, and some users who start with offers later buy.

What your app needs

Something to reward: a currency, points, lives, a perk or time-limited premium access.
A stable user ID, so a completed offer can be credited to the right person.
A small server endpoint that receives postbacks and credits the reward. Rewards are never credited from inside the app.
A screen to show offers, built from the offers API.

When it is the wrong choice

If there is nothing in your app worth earning, an offerwall has nothing to offer the user and will sit unused. If your audience is mostly in countries few advertisers buy, the list will be short. And if your app is for children, incentivized offers are usually not appropriate at all.

Check the App Store and Google Play rules for your app as well; both restrict some kinds of rewarded installs and engagement.

Getting started

If you have a currency and a server, apply as a publisher. After approval you get an API key, set your postback URL, and can test the whole flow from the dashboard before showing offers to users.

Questions

Can you monetize an app without ads?

Yes, with subscriptions, in-app purchases, a paid download or affiliate links. An opt-in offerwall is still advertising, but users only see it when they choose to open it.

How do free apps make money?

Mostly from in-app purchases, subscriptions and advertising. Many combine two or three, for example free with purchases plus an optional offerwall for users who don't pay.

Does an offerwall hurt retention?

It shouldn't interrupt anyone, because users open it themselves. Test it with your own audience and watch retention as you would for any change.