What it means now
HTML5 stopped being a distinguishing feature years ago. Almost every non-video ad is HTML5, so the phrase mostly survives in spec sheets and in job descriptions.
The useful split is by weight. A display banner built in HTML5 is a small bundle of markup, styles and script, sized in kilobytes, built to animate and click. A playable is a self-contained application of up to 5MB with every asset inlined, built to be used.
They share a lineage and almost nothing else. The banner is served into a slot on a page or app and governed by the ad server’s limits. The playable runs full screen inside another app under MRAID, and the networks that take it each publish their own cap.
The one place the two genuinely overlap is the interactive end card, which is an HTML5 unit that behaves like a tiny playable. It is also the most consistently valuable part of a video buy, because it arrives when attention is already paid.
If you came here for the playable limits rather than the banner ones, they are on playable ad specs, network by network, including which MRAID version each one wants.
Published limits, by what you are building
The playable rows are each network’s own published figure. The display row is the shape of ad server limits rather than one platform’s number.
| What you are building | Weight | Packaging |
|---|---|---|
| HTML5 display banner | Kilobytes, set by the ad server | Bundle of markup, styles, script |
| Playable, Google Ads | 5MB | ZIP, up to 512 files |
| Playable, Unity | Under 5MB | One index.html, assets inlined |
| Playable, AppLovin | 5MB or smaller | One HTML file, base64 or base122 |
| Playable, TikTok | Under 5MB compressed | ZIP with index.html at the top level |
| Playable, Mintegral | 5MB | One HTML file |
| MRAID tag, ironSource exchange | 4MB downloaded to device | Raw HTML snippet, not a document |
What to know before building one
Four things catch people moving from image ads or from an old Flash workflow.
Inlining costs about a third
Playables need every asset embedded as base64, which inflates it. A 5MB cap is really a 3.5MB art budget, and this surprises nearly every first build.
No calls out
Most networks forbid runtime network requests entirely. No remote font, no analytics beacon, no asset fetched on demand. It has to work with the radio off.
The click is network-specific
Each platform routes the store or the landing page through its own call. This is the single line that makes a working creative convert nothing on the wrong network.
Flash is not a precedent
Old Flash units expected a timeline and a stage. HTML5 units are responsive and run at whatever size the slot gives them, which is a layout problem rather than a conversion one.
HTML5 at the heavy end
Each of these is a single HTML file under the 5MB cap, with every image and sound inlined. Open one to see what the format can carry.
PlayablePixel Sort“Puzzle, published by MOONEE PUBLISHING LTD”A whole sorting game in one file
PlayableWord Roll“Word, published by PlaySimple Games Pte Ltd”Word game, inlined and responsive
PlayableParadise Paws“Match / merge, published by Wildlife Studios”One of four variants of the same build
PlayableGrand Mafia“Strategy / simulation / RPG, published by Phantix Games”Heavier art, same ceiling
The video half
HTML5 units are built once. Video is the format that needs a new batch every week.
Director by Sprites is a full creative team for your startup, in private beta. Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human.
Strategy, hooks, scripts, shooting and editing, end to end. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.
Every video is checked by a person before it reaches your inbox. No endless revisions.
Questions
What is an HTML5 ad?
An ad built from web code rather than an image or video file, which is what display advertising moved to after Flash. It covers both small display banners and playables of up to 5MB.
What is the file size limit for HTML5 ads?
For playables, 5MB on Google Ads, AppLovin, TikTok and Mintegral, under 5MB on Unity, and 4MB for everything downloaded to the device on the ironSource exchange. Display banner limits are set by the ad server and are far smaller.
What is the difference between an HTML5 banner and a playable?
Weight and purpose. A banner is kilobytes of markup built to animate and be clicked. A playable is a self-contained application of several megabytes built to be used.
How do you make an HTML5 banner ad?
Build the markup, styles and script as one small bundle sized to the ad server’s limit, make it responsive to the slot, and route the click through the platform’s own call rather than a plain link.
Keep going
Want the video ads made for you?
Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.