Opera: iOS Devices Drive Higher CPMs, More Revenue Than Android

There are almost 2X more Android handsets in the market than the iPhone. However the iPhone (and iOS devices) generate higher eCPMs and almost twice the ad revenue of Google-powered devices. This comes from Opera, which owns mobile ad network/mediator AdMarvel and released the data as part of its Q3 State of the Mobile Web report.

Opera saw eCPMs of $1.48 in Q3 on the iPhone compared to an average of just $0.88 from Android devices. Across iOS devices the eCPM average was $1.64, because of a massive $4.42 eCPM from the iPad.

Most of the ad revenue in the Opera/AdMarvel network (73 percent) came from apps as opposed to the mobile web.

The following chart shows the concentration of ad impressions compared with revenue across site categories according to Opera. The category “business, finance & investing” monetizes the best (revenue per impression). By contrast, games performs worst (least revenue per impression).

An interesting and somewhat surprising finding is that the overwhelming majority of ad revenue is coming from North America and the US specifically. The following graphic shows regional eCPM rates and where the most ad impressions come from within the Opera network.

One might be tempted to attribute this data to a US bias of some sort in the company’s network. However Opera is a Norwegian company with global reach. The data above are based on 40 billion monthly ad impressions served across 10,000 mobile sites and apps.