What changed
- First published. Ad unit sizes, auction rules and reporting endpoints checked against AppLovin’s MAX documentation.
AppLovin MAX vs Axon: which side are you on?
MAX is the sell side: publishers use it to auction their ad slots. Axon is the buy side: the AI model inside AppLovin Ads that bids on those slots for advertisers. Publishers install MAX. Advertisers use AppLovin Ads.
| AppLovin MAX | Axon / AppLovin Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | App and game publishers | Advertisers: games, apps, e-commerce, services |
| What it does | Sells ad slots in your app | Buys ad slots to reach players |
| How you plug in | An SDK inside your app | A dashboard at ads.applovin.com, plus a pixel or SDK for results |
| What you optimize | Revenue per impression | ROAS, cost per purchase, cost per lead, in-app events |
| Who else is in it | Rival networks and 100+ DSPs bid alongside Axon | Axon competes with those same bidders |
| Read more | This page | AppLovin Axon |
What is AppLovin MAX?
An in-app bidding mediation platform. When a slot opens in your app, MAX runs a single first-price auction in which SDK networks and outside DSPs bid on equal terms, and the highest bid fills the slot.
MAX sits between your app and every ad network you work with. Instead of calling networks one after another in a waterfall, it runs one unified first-price auction. SDK bidders and DSPs, which connect over OpenRTB 2.5, get equal access to it. AppLovin’s own demand bids in the same auction.
Per AppLovin’s exchange documentation, MAX connects to more than 100 DSPs through the AppLovin Exchange (ALX), more than 20 SDK bidders and more than 25 waterfall networks. MoPub, which AppLovin bought from Twitter for $1.05 billion in a deal that closed in January 2022, was folded into MAX.
That structure is why MAX matters to advertisers too. It is a pipe that feeds in-app game inventory to buyers, and AppLovin owns both the pipe and one of the buyers on it. What AppLovin does walks through the whole loop.
Which ad networks does AppLovin MAX mediate?
Most of the big ones: Google AdMob and Ad Manager, Meta Audience Network, Unity Ads, ironSource, Liftoff Monetize, Mintegral, Pangle, Moloco, InMobi, DT Exchange, BIGO, Chartboost, Amazon, PubMatic and others.
AppLovin keeps the full list in its mediation matrix. It includes Google AdMob and Ad Manager bidding, Meta Audience Network, Unity Ads, ironSource, Liftoff Monetize, Mintegral, Pangle, Moloco, InMobi, DT Exchange, BIGO, Chartboost, Amazon, PubMatic, Smaato, Verve, Yandex and HyprMX.
Moloco on that list is worth a second look. Moloco is a competitor to AppLovin on the buy side, and a bidder inside AppLovin’s own auction on the sell side. AppLovin vs Moloco covers what that means.
Supported platforms: iOS, Android and Fire OS, with plugins for Unity, Unreal, Flutter, React Native, Cordova, Defold and Adobe AIR.
What ad formats does AppLovin MAX support?
Six: banner, MREC, interstitial, rewarded, native and app open. Banners are 320x50 on phones and 728x90 on tablets. MRECs are 300x250 on both.
| Format | Size | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Banner | 320x50 phone, 728x90 tablet (auto-sized) | A strip at the top or bottom of the screen |
| MREC | 300x250 phone and tablet | A medium rectangle inside content or a menu |
| Interstitial | Full screen | Between levels or screens |
| Rewarded | Full screen | Watched by choice for an in-game reward |
| Native | Matches your layout | Assembled from the ad’s parts inside your own UI |
| App open | Full screen | On launch or return to the app |
Advertisers see these slots from the other side. On AppLovin Ads they upload full-screen video, playables and end cards, and the placement follows from the slot that opened. The AppLovin ads library has real examples of what fills them.
How does MAX reporting work, and what does MAX cost?
MAX reports revenue by API: an aggregate Revenue Reporting API and a User-Level Ad Revenue API, both keyed by your report key. AppLovin publishes no MAX fee.
- Revenue Reporting API. Aggregate MAX revenue over a 45-day window, with hourly data for the last 30 days.
- User-Level Ad Revenue API. Revenue per user per day, delivered as a CSV. Ready about 8 hours after the UTC day ends, with a 45-day lookback.
- Ad Unit Management API. Create and edit ad units by API with a management key.
Endpoints, parameters and rate limits for these and for the advertiser-side APIs are in the AppLovin API guide. On price: AppLovin publishes no fee or revenue share for MAX mediation.
Advertising on AppLovin instead? Start here
Use AppLovin Ads, not MAX. It is self-serve, starts at $10 a day, and Axon decides delivery against your goal. The ads that already run there are in the AppLovin ads library.
The advertiser path, in order: how Axon works, what AppLovin ads cost, and what advertisers report. Then study the AppLovin ads your category already runs.
Most brands buying AppLovin also buy Meta and Google. Sprites runs those, along with LinkedIn, TikTok and Reddit, and reads what competitors are running in the Meta, Google and LinkedIn ad libraries.
Keep going
The rest of the AppLovin guide, and the ads themselves.
Every ads library on Sprites
Search any advertiser by name, or open the library for the platform you are buying on.
Frequently asked questions
What is AppLovin MAX?
AppLovin MAX is an in-app bidding mediation platform. App publishers install it to sell their ad slots through one first-price auction in which AppLovin, rival networks and outside DSPs all bid.
What is the difference between AppLovin MAX and Axon?
MAX is for publishers selling ad space. Axon is the AI model that buys ad space for advertisers inside AppLovin Ads. They meet in the same auction.
Can I advertise through AppLovin MAX?
No. MAX is publisher software. Advertisers use AppLovin Ads, which is self-serve since June 22, 2026 and starts at $10 a day.
Is AppLovin MAX free?
AppLovin publishes no fee or revenue share for MAX mediation.
What banner sizes does AppLovin MAX use?
Banners are 320x50 on phones and 728x90 on tablets, sized automatically. MRECs are 300x250 on both.
Does AppLovin MAX work with AdMob and Meta Audience Network?
Yes. MAX mediates Google AdMob and Ad Manager bidding and Meta Audience Network, along with Unity Ads, ironSource, Mintegral, Pangle, Moloco and many others.
Is MAX a bidding or a waterfall platform?
Bidding first. MAX runs a unified first-price auction across SDK bidders and DSPs, and still supports waterfall networks alongside it.
What happened to MoPub?
AppLovin bought MoPub from Twitter for $1.05 billion in a deal that closed in January 2022 and folded it into MAX.
Selling ad space is MAX. Buying reach is the rest of your week.
Sprites runs your Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and Reddit ads and reads your competitors’ ads in the Meta, Google and LinkedIn libraries, with your approval on every change.