Platform reviews
Ranked by average score. Each review covers what the table cannot: what the platform actually does, who it is for and where it hurts.
1. Passionfroot
Best for: B2B creators who sell sponsorships themselves.
Passionfroot is not an ad network. It gives a creator a storefront: your newsletter, podcast, YouTube or LinkedIn slots with prices, a booking form and a calendar. Brands book, send the brief, approve the draft and pay through it.
That makes it the most open option here. There is no audience minimum, and the sponsor block is text you write yourself, so it works in any inbox. The catch is demand. Brands do find creators through it, mostly software and AI companies, but most bookings still start with brands you reach yourself.
Strong
- Free to start, live the same day.
- A fixed fee agreed before the post goes out.
- One storefront for newsletter, podcast, video and social.
- Paid per booking, no balance to build up.
Weak
- Less incoming demand than a network.
- A fee on each booking.
- No API.
Pick it if sponsors already ask about your audience and you want the paperwork to run itself.
Skip it if you want ads to appear without selling them.
2. impact.com
Best for: affiliate and creator partners on any channel.
impact.com runs partner programs for thousands of brands, from retail and travel to software and finance. You sign up as a partner, apply to brands one by one, and get tracking links, codes and banners for each.
The terms for a partner are good. Nothing is taken from your commission, the withdrawal minimum is low, and the Partner API is switched on from your own settings. The slow part is the brand side: each brand approves you and sets its own locking period, so a sale can wait a month or two before it is paid.
Strong
- A huge brand list in many categories.
- A free Partner API with keys in the dashboard.
- Links that work on a site, in email, on social and in video.
Weak
- Each brand sets its own hold before a commission locks.
- Mostly paid per sale: a click that does not convert earns nothing.
Pick it if your audience buys things you can recommend.
Skip it if you want to be paid for reach, not sales.
3. Awin
Best for: retail, travel and telecom affiliate offers.
Awin is one of the largest affiliate networks, with thousands of advertisers across retail, travel, telecoms and finance, strongest in Europe and the US. It gives you links, banners, voucher codes and product feeds, plus a free publisher API for reports and feeds.
It asks for a small deposit at sign-up and returns it with your first payment, and it reviews your site or channel before you can apply to advertisers. After that the money moves slowly. Each advertiser validates sales on its own clock, and Awin pays out once the advertiser has paid it.
Strong
- No cut taken from your commission.
- Product feeds and a free API.
- A deep retail and travel catalog.
Weak
- A refundable deposit to join.
- Validation can take weeks or months.
- Paid per sale on most programs.
Pick it if you write about things people buy online.
Skip it if you need the money in the month you publish.
4. Paved
Best for: newsletters that want sponsors without a sales team.
Paved is a marketplace for newsletter sponsorships. You list your newsletter with its audience and prices, and brands book a slot. Its ad network can fill the dates nobody booked, paid per click.
The ads are a sponsor block in your email, so they work in any inbox. Most advertisers sell to business and tech readers, with finance and consumer brands behind them. Paved keeps a share of each booking, and the ad network asks for a minimum list size before it serves you.
Strong
- Brands come to you, at your price.
- Email-native ads, no code in your template.
- Fixed fees for marketplace bookings.
Weak
- A share of each booking goes to Paved.
- Demand leans to B2B and tech.
- No publisher API.
Pick it if you run a newsletter with a clear audience.
Skip it if your audience lives on a website, not in an inbox.
5. Admitad
Best for: coupon, cashback and content sites with readers in many countries.
Admitad is a global affiliate network with thousands of programs: online stores, travel, finance, games and online education, spread over many markets rather than centered on the US.
Sign-up is free and fast, then Admitad moderates your ad space and each advertiser approves you. Commissions sit in a hold set by each program while the advertiser checks orders. A documented API covers links, programs and statistics once you register an app.
Strong
- Free, with no traffic minimum.
- Links, banners, coupons and product feeds.
- Programs in many countries.
Weak
- A hold set by each program, often weeks.
- Mostly paid per sale.
- Few ways for brands to find you.
Pick it if your readers are spread across many countries.
Skip it if you only need the big US brands.
6. Letterhead
Best for: newsletters that sell their own ads.
Letterhead gives newsletter publishers the tools to sell ads directly: a booking page, an inventory calendar and reporting. Its marketplace lets advertisers book across many newsletters at once.
Like Paved, it sells sponsor blocks that go into your email, so the ads work in any inbox and you set the price. Letterhead keeps a share of what sells through it, and its fuller tools sit on paid plans. The advertiser pool is smaller than a network's.
Strong
- Fixed-fee sponsorships at your price.
- Email-native ads.
- No audience minimum.
Weak
- Fewer advertisers than the big networks.
- Fuller tools on paid plans.
- No public API.
Pick it if you already sell sponsorships and want them in one place.
Skip it if you want ads to arrive on their own.
7. PartnerStack
Best for: recommending B2B software.
PartnerStack runs partner programs for software companies. One account opens a marketplace of SaaS programs, from project management to design to AI tools, and many of them pay a recurring share of each subscription you bring in.
You keep the commission the vendor sets, and the links and codes work in any channel. Each vendor approves you and holds rewards for its own period before they can be paid. Outside software there is nothing to promote, and the API is built for the vendors rather than for partners.
Strong
- Hundreds of SaaS programs in one account.
- Recurring commission on many programs.
- Links that work in email, video and social.
Weak
- Software only.
- Each vendor sets its own hold.
- Little API access for partners.
Pick it if your readers buy software for work.
Skip it if they shop for consumer products.
8. Ezoic
Best for: display ads on a small or new website.
Ezoic manages display and video ads on a website and tests placements with machine learning. It has no traffic minimum, which makes it the usual first step for sites too small for Mediavine or Raptive.
It keeps a share of ad revenue on the free plan and sells extras on paid ones. Payments arrive monthly, about 30 days after the month ends, from a low minimum. The ads are JavaScript, so none of it works in an email, and a small site earns little at first.
Strong
- No traffic minimum.
- Paid about a month after you earn.
- A low payout minimum.
Weak
- Web pages only, no email.
- Many ad slots can slow pages until tuned.
- Paid extras on top of the free plan.
Pick it if your site is too small for the premium ad managers.
Skip it if you already qualify for Mediavine or Raptive.
9. SparkLoop
Best for: newsletters paid per new subscriber.
SparkLoop's Partner Network pays a newsletter to recommend other newsletters. After someone subscribes to yours, a widget suggests a few more, and you earn for each new reader who confirms.
The money is per subscriber, checked for quality before it is paid, and payouts are monthly. Only other newsletters buy, so the pool of advertisers is narrow, and the recommendations run mostly on your sign-up page rather than inside the email.
Strong
- Quick to switch on with a supported email platform.
- Earns from readers you already get.
- A documented API.
Weak
- Other newsletters are the only advertisers.
- Mostly runs on a web page after sign-up.
- SparkLoop keeps a share of each referral.
Pick it if your newsletter gets steady new sign-ups.
Skip it if your list grows slowly.
10. Raptive
Best for: established lifestyle sites with US readers.
Raptive, formerly AdThrive, manages display and video ads for content sites. Its creators lean to food, home, parenting, travel and lifestyle.
It asks for a sizeable monthly page view count, mostly from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and pays monthly on net 45 terms. Publishers keep about three quarters of ad revenue on standard terms. The ads are JavaScript on your pages, so a newsletter gets nothing from it.
Strong
- Hands-off ad management.
- Paid 45 days after the month ends.
- Strong demand for food and lifestyle audiences.
Weak
- A high traffic bar, with a geography rule.
- Web pages only.
- No public API.
Pick it if your site has cleared the traffic bar with mostly US readers.
Skip it if you are still growing toward it.
11. Mediavine
Best for: food, travel and home blogs with steady traffic.
Mediavine is an ad management company founded by bloggers and best known among food, travel and home sites. Its main program asks for 50,000 sessions a month, and Journey by Mediavine takes smaller sites from 10,000.
Publishers keep 75% of ad revenue on standard terms. Payment is net 65, so January's money arrives in early April, from a $25 minimum. That wait is the longest regular one in this list. The ads are JavaScript, so an email list earns nothing here.
Strong
- Publishers keep 75% on standard terms.
- A program for smaller sites.
- A strong name among lifestyle bloggers.
Weak
- Net 65 payment.
- Web pages only.
- No public API.
Pick it if your blog has the traffic and you want ads handled for you.
Skip it if you need the money within a month.
12. Wellput
Best for: newsletters that want ad slots filled for them.
Wellput is an ad network built for email. You add its ad block to your newsletter template once, and it fills the slot with a native text and image ad, so there is no sponsor to find and nothing for the inbox to block.
It pays per click. You apply with your list's size and engagement and a person reviews it, and the revenue share and payment terms are in the publisher agreement, not on a public page. Ask which advertisers will fill your slots before you add the block.
Strong
- Email-native ads, no JavaScript.
- No sponsors to sell.
- No fee to join.
Weak
- Terms only in the publisher agreement.
- Paid per click, so earnings swing with your readers.
- No directory and no API.
Pick it if you want ad money from a list without selling sponsorships.
Skip it if you want to choose every advertiser yourself.
13. Linkby
Best for: established publishers paid per click on brand mentions.
Linkby, from Australia, pays publishers for clicks on brand links inside their content: articles, newsletters and creator posts. Brands pay per click instead of per sale, so a reader who clicks and does not buy still earns you something.
It works with established publishers and creators, who apply and are reviewed. The revenue share and payment terms come with the agreement. The links themselves are plain, so they work in email too.
Strong
- Paid per click, not per sale.
- Links that work on the web and in email.
- No fee to join.
Weak
- An application aimed at established publishers.
- Terms in the agreement, not on a public page.
- No public API or directory.
Pick it if you write about products and your readers click more than they buy.
Skip it if you are just starting out.
14. LiveIntent
Best for: large email publishers with brand advertisers.
LiveIntent built its business inside the inbox. Publishers put its ad tags in the newsletter template, and each ad is an image chosen when the reader opens the email, so it needs no JavaScript and fits any email client.
It is built for very large lists. There is no self-serve sign-up: you talk to sales, and the revenue share and payment terms are set in the contract. Demand comes from brand advertisers in retail, consumer goods, finance and health.
Strong
- Ads made for email from the start.
- Brand demand, not only direct response.
- Paid on impressions as well as clicks.
Weak
- Large publishers only.
- Sign-up through sales.
- Terms set in a private contract.
Pick it if you send millions of emails a month.
Skip it if your list is in the thousands.
15. Taboola
Best for: large news and media sites.
Taboola fills the recommendation widgets under articles on many large news sites, mixing links to your own stories with paid ones.
It pays per click on the paid recommendations, with the revenue share in your publisher agreement. The bar is high: Taboola wants large, steady traffic, and small sites are often turned down. The widgets are JavaScript, so it does nothing in email, and some readers find the paid links low in quality, which can cost a site trust.
Strong
- Fills space with no sales effort.
- Large advertiser demand.
- Also recirculates your own stories.
Weak
- A high traffic bar.
- Web pages only.
- Terms in a private agreement.
Pick it if you run a large news or entertainment site.
Skip it if your brand depends on a clean page.
16. Outbrain
Best for: the largest publishers who want a second bid next to Taboola.
Outbrain is Taboola's long-time rival for recommendation widgets on news sites. Since it bought Teads in 2025, the company has traded under the Teads name.
For a publisher it works like Taboola: a JavaScript widget, paid per click on the paid links, with terms in a private agreement. It is even more sales-led and aimed at the largest publishers, which is why it ranks last here. For those publishers it is a solid second source. For everyone else it is out of reach.
Strong
- Strong brand demand.
- Recirculates your own stories.
- A rival bid that keeps Taboola honest.
Weak
- The largest publishers only.
- Web pages only.
- Terms set in a private contract.
Pick it if you run a large publisher and want competition for your widget slots.
Skip it if you are an independent site or a newsletter.
