Rewarded Video vs Interstitial Ads: When to Use Each

Rewarded video vs interstitial ads: what is the difference?

A rewarded video is an ad the user chooses to watch in exchange for something inside your app, such as coins, an extra life or a hint. An interstitial is a full-screen ad your app shows at a natural break, such as between levels, without asking. Rewarded video trades the user’s time for a reward they wanted; an interstitial takes their time and gives nothing back. Use rewarded video wherever your app has something worth earning, and use interstitials sparingly, at real breaks, with a frequency cap.

For the wider family of opt-in formats, see What are rewarded ads? Policy details below were checked on November 4, 2026, and platform rules change, so read the linked pages before you launch.

The three formats you will see in a mediation dashboard

• Interstitial. A full-screen ad shown at a transition in the app. The user did not ask for it and can close it. It earns per impression.
• Rewarded ad (often rewarded video). A full-screen ad, usually video or playable, that the user starts by tapping something like “Watch to get 50 coins”. The reward is granted when the ad completes.
• Rewarded interstitial. A hybrid. It appears at a break without a tap, but offers a reward and must let the user decline. Google’s AdMob rewarded ads policy requires an introductory screen with a clear “no” option and enough time to use it.

Rewarded video vs interstitial side by side

How each feels to the user

The difference is control. With rewarded video the user decides when an ad plays and knows what they get, so the ad becomes part of the game loop: lose a level, watch a video, keep your streak. With an interstitial the app decides, and the user waits. That is fine at a real pause, such as after a finished level, and frustrating anywhere else.

Interstitials also reach users who would never watch an ad by choice. That is why they earn from your whole audience, and why they cost you more goodwill per impression. Rewarded video only reaches users who want what you offer, so its reach depends on how much your reward is worth to them. A reward that is too small gets ignored; one that is too big lets users skip the game you built. Offerwall vs rewarded video covers how to size rewards.

What the policies allow

AdMob rules for interstitials

Google’s help page on disallowed interstitial implementations sets clear limits:

• Do not place interstitials on app load or when the user exits the app. Google recommends app open ads for the moment the app loads or comes back to the foreground.
• Place “no more than one interstitial ad after every two user actions”. Showing one after every click or swipe is not compliant, and the limit also applies to the Back button.
• Do not show an interstitial right after the user closed another one.
• Do not surprise users while they are focused on a task, such as playing, filling out a form or reading.
• Preload the ad, so it does not appear late, after a new page has already loaded.

The page recommends showing interstitials only at “logical breaks” in your content, such as between pages, stages or levels.

Google Play’s Better Ads Experiences rules

Google Play’s Ads policy applies to every Android app, whatever ad network you use. Its Better Ads Experiences section does not allow:

• full-screen interstitial ads of any format that show unexpectedly, typically when the user is doing something else;
• ads that appear during gameplay at the beginning of a level, or at the beginning of a content segment;
• full-screen video interstitials that appear before the app’s loading (splash) screen;
• full-screen interstitials that cannot be closed after 15 seconds, unless they are opt-in or do not interrupt users.

The same policy says it “does not apply to rewarded ads which are explicitly opted-in by users”. Its Made for Ads rules also forbid showing interstitials repeatedly to distract from what the user is doing, such as one after each consecutive click.

AdMob rules for rewarded ads

The rewarded ads policy requires that standard rewarded ads are served only after the user clearly opts in, that the action and reward are disclosed before each ad, that users can skip or dismiss without losing normal use of the app, and that the promised reward is delivered. Direct monetary rewards such as cash, cryptocurrency and gift cards are never allowed.

When to use each format

Use rewarded video when

• Your app has a currency, lives, boosts, hints or a timer the user wants to skip.
• You want ads that users see as a choice: “double your reward”, “continue after losing”, “free spin”.
• You want revenue from users who will never pay but will trade time for progress.

Use interstitials when

• Your app has natural breaks, such as finished levels, finished articles or a completed task.
• There is little to reward: utility apps, readers or tools without a currency.
• You can cap frequency and protect the first sessions of new users.

Use both when

Many games do. One pattern worth testing is no interstitials for new players, rewarded video from the start, and interstitials later at level ends with a cap, plus an option to pay to remove them. Hybrid monetization shows how to plan formats by player segment.

Frequency capping

A frequency cap limits how often one user sees ads. AdMob lets you cap at two levels, according to its app and ad unit settings page:

• An app-level cap across all interstitial, rewarded and app open ad units in the app.
• A cap on a single ad unit.

You set a number of impressions per minutes, hours or days. Google’s example is “no more than 2 impressions per 30 minutes”. When both caps are on, whichever the user hits first applies. Changes can take up to 24 hours, and a short server delay can occasionally let the cap be exceeded. The caps cover Google demand and third-party ad sources.

Other mediation platforms have similar controls. Unity LevelPlay, for example, lets you A/B test ad unit capping and pacing. A cap is not a substitute for the AdMob rule of one interstitial per two user actions: keep both.

For rewarded video, think of caps as part of your economy. If each video gives 50 coins and a user can watch without limit, your store prices stop meaning anything.

How interstitials and rewarded video affect retention

There is no honest universal number for how much an interstitial costs in retention. It depends on your app, your users and where the ad sits. What the platforms do give you are tools to measure it:

• Google’s Firebase tutorial on optimizing ad frequency uses AdMob ad units with different caps, Remote Config and A/B Testing to find which frequency performs better “with minimal impact on retention”, testing on a small subset of users first.
• Unity’s LevelPlay A/B test dashboard compares groups on revenue and ARPDAU alongside D1, D3 and D7 retention.

So the method is: pick one change (a cap, a placement, a later start), run it on part of your users, and judge it on revenue and retention together. A test that raises ad revenue but lowers day 7 retention may lose money over the user’s lifetime. The LTV calculator helps you put both into one number, and what is retention rate? defines the metrics.

For apps where rewards are the product, rewards app retention covers what keeps users coming back.

The third opt-in format: the offerwall

An offerwall is opt-in like rewarded video, but it is not an ad impression. The user opens a list of offers, such as reaching a level in another game or completing a survey, and earns your currency when the result is confirmed. You earn per completed offer. Because it pays for results, not views, it does not run through your ad mediation; it is its own placement with its own SDK or link.

It fits apps with logged-in users and a currency they want more of. Put it where users already look for currency, next to the rewarded video button, as offerwall placement explains. It is not a fit for apps without accounts or a currency.

How to add Moonetix to your app as a third format

Moonetix is a pay-per-result affiliate network, and its offerwall sits next to your interstitial and rewarded ad units without changing them.

1. Apply as a publisher at moonetix.com. Every application is reviewed by hand; once approved, every app you add is live right away.
2. Add your app and set the currency name, icon, conversion rate, user split and wall design with the live preview.
3. Install the SDK for your stack: Android, iOS, Unity, Flutter or React Native. The Android offerwall guide and the Moonetix docs show the steps.
4. Credit currency only on your server from the signed postback, and remove it when a reversal arrives (what is a postback URL?).
5. Test before launch with test your app before launch, then add an “Earn more” button beside your rewarded video button.

See the whole setup for games, including the platform rules and an earnings estimate, on Moonetix for games.

Frequently asked questions