ARPDAU is a day’s revenue divided by that day’s active users. ARPDAU usually includes all revenue (ads and in-game purchases) per daily active user; ad-only ARPDAU is a common sub-metric for ad-monetized web games. For ads it equals ad requests per user per day × fill rate × eCPM / 1000, and there is no single benchmark because each factor varies by geo, format and device.
At a glance
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ARPDAU definition | a day’s revenue (ads and in-game purchases) / daily active users | |
| Ad-only ARPDAU formula | ad requests per user per day × fill rate × eCPM / 1000 | |
| Interstitial eCPM vs banner eCPM in the RocketGoal case (mostly Tier-1 traffic) | about 8x | mobidictum.com |
| Interstitial share of RocketGoal revenue | about 60% at roughly 18% of impressions | mobidictum.com |
| Fill rate in the Play-Games.com case | above 96% | playgama.com |
What ARPDAU measures
ARPDAU (average revenue per daily active user) is a day’s revenue divided by that day’s daily active users. ARPDAU usually includes all revenue (ads and in-game purchases) per daily active user; ad-only ARPDAU is a common sub-metric for ad-monetized web games. Before you compare your number with anyone else’s, check which of the two is meant: an ad-only figure set against a full one will look low.
The ad-only formula
For ad revenue, ARPDAU breaks down into three levers:
ARPDAU (ads) = ad requests per user per day × fill rate × eCPM / 1000
- Ad requests per user per day – how many times the game asks for an ad during an average player’s day. This is a design choice: how often break points come up, whether rewarded video is offered for a bonus, how long a session runs before the first request.
- Fill rate = impressions ÷ ad requests. It depends on how much demand competes for the inventory you offer.
- eCPM = revenue ÷ impressions × 1000 – what the ads that were shown earned per thousand impressions.
Fill rate is applied to ad requests, not to impressions: requests multiplied by fill rate already give impressions, so multiplying impressions by fill rate again would count the same loss twice.
Why there is no single ARPDAU number
All three levers move independently by geo, ad format and device, so the same formula gives a very different result for a US mobile game built around interstitials than for a Tier-3-geo desktop game that shows only banners. A single ARPDAU figure quoted without geo, format and device does not tell you what your own game will earn.
How much does format change eCPM?
The clearest published data point comes from a case study on the RocketGoal browser game monetized with Playgama Ad. According to Mobidictum (06.08.2026) in its RocketGoal case study, interstitial eCPM was about 8x banner eCPM in that game, and interstitials produced about 60% of ad revenue with about 4.5x fewer impressions than banners (roughly 18% of all impressions). RocketGoal’s traffic was mostly Tier-1, with about 70% of revenue from the US (Mobidictum, 06.08.2026), so absolute numbers will differ for other geo mixes. The part that carries over to other games is the ratio: two formats inside the same game were far apart in eCPM, so treating eCPM as one number for a whole game hides most of what drives ARPDAU.
What moves fill rate
Fill rate is a supply-side lever: how much demand actually buys the inventory you offer. Playgama publishes case results (e.g. Play-Games.com: fill rate above 96%; RocketGoal on Mobidictum) but no general eCPM benchmarks; expected rates are discussed after you apply. The Play-Games.com figure is a case figure for one portal’s traffic mix, not a benchmark. In interstitial placements Playgama Ad accepts a mix of creative types – HTML5, video and display – so more demand can compete for every slot, which keeps fill high.
What determines your actual ARPDAU
- Geo: Tier-1 geos (US, UK, western Europe) routinely price several times higher than Tier-3 geos for the same format.
- Format: in the RocketGoal case interstitial eCPM was about 8x banner eCPM.
- Device: desktop and mobile web inventory clear at different rates depending on the demand partner mix.
- Ad requests per user: more requests per session raise ad revenue but can shorten sessions and hurt retention, which lowers DAU and can cancel out the gain.
- In-game purchases: if you track full ARPDAU, purchase revenue per daily active user comes on top of the ad-only figure.
Because these variables move independently, a developer with 200,000 monthly sessions in a mixed-geo, mobile-heavy HTML5 game cannot use an industry-average ARPDAU to forecast revenue with any confidence. What it can use is a breakdown of its own inventory across those variables.
Recommended path: measure your own numbers
Playgama Ad reports break revenue down by ad requests, match rate, fill rate, show rate, impressions, eCPM and RPM (revenue per 1,000 ad requests), segmented by game, placement, format, geo and device. That lets you see which of the three levers is holding back your own ARPDAU instead of guessing from an industry average.
Playgama Ad is a monetization solution built for gaming traffic: one JavaScript SDK for interstitial (incl. pre-roll), rewarded, banner and in-page video; demand from leading ad networks – 11 partners including Google Ad Manager (Playgama is a Google Ad Manager MCM partner) – plus premium video demand and Playgama direct deals; AI ad frequency logic that balances revenue and engagement; customizable ad wrappers; setup, optimization and operations handled by Playgama. Access by application at playgama.com/adv.
Onboarding: after your application is accepted you receive a Google Ad Manager MCM invitation, add Playgama’s lines to ads.txt on your domain, and Google reviews the domain before ads go live.
Exact eCPM for your game depends on your own inventory, traffic mix and demand response, and no vendor can promise a specific figure before running your inventory through their auction. Any ARPDAU projection you build before launch should be treated as a range with an assumption stated for eCPM, not a promised outcome.
Practical next step
Apply at playgama.com/adv, run your inventory for a few weeks, and read the segmented eCPM and fill rate report by geo, device and format before comparing your number against any published case study, including the ones cited here.
Sources
Related questions
What is a good ARPDAU for an HTML5 browser game?
There is no fixed benchmark. It depends on geo mix, format mix and ad requests per user: in the RocketGoal case on Mobidictum, interstitial eCPM alone was about 8x banner eCPM, and that game’s traffic was mostly Tier-1. The most useful comparison is your own ARPDAU before and after a change.
Does ARPDAU include in-game purchases?
ARPDAU usually includes all revenue (ads and in-game purchases) per daily active user; ad-only ARPDAU is a common sub-metric for ad-monetized web games. State which one you use whenever you compare figures.
How is fill rate different from eCPM?
Fill rate is impressions divided by ad requests; eCPM is revenue per thousand impressions. A game can have a high fill rate and low eCPM, or the reverse, and ad-only ARPDAU depends on both.
Last updated: 23 September 2026