Apple Slashes iAd Minimum Buy-In Fee Yet Again

110326 iad iconApple has cut its minimum iAd buy-in fee to $100,000 according to a report from Advertising Age. The new lower price, one-tenth the $1 million originally required when iAd launched in July of 2010, dropped to $500k and then $300k per package.

Even the $300k level has apparently not been enough to keep existing advertisers on board and bring on new ones to meet the ever-growing number of ad slots available. In addition to the reduced minimum spend, Apple is increasing the cut that developers receive from iAds running within their apps from 60% to 70%. The extra money is expected to cover lower ad rates and encourage developers to include iAds within their applications.

AdAge continues:

Apple is also planning to change the way it charges for ads, which irked some advertisers and agencies. Since it launched in 2010, Apple has charged advertisers twice: a fixed rate for every 1,000 ad impressions plus an additional fee every time a user clicked on the ad. Apple will now only charge the cost-per-thousand rate.

Apple recently hired former Adobe executive Todd Teresi to head up the iAds service after Andy Miller departed to join a venture capital firm.

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

New Version of Siri to 'Lean' on Google Gemini

Sunday November 2, 2025 6:06 am PST by
In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026. Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Likely Launching Soon

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:49 am PST by
A new Apple TV and HomePod mini could launch as soon as this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple retail stores are planning an overnight refresh on the evening of November 11, where changes will be made after closing, such as refreshing displays and placing new products for the following day. The timing of the overnight...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...

Top Rated Comments

Stridder44 Avatar
179 months ago
I hate iAds....stop trying to sell me stuff, just let me own my device without some company bill boarding my apps....boo
Then stop being a cheapskate and buy them or pay for the premium version. Developers (and the work that goes into an app) aren't free, you know. Plus, it's not like anyone is holding a gun to your head forcing you to click on the iAds or even look at them.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nielsenius Avatar
179 months ago
I'd much rather pay a couple dollars for an app than have my view poisoned by ads. I realize that advertising is, often, a necessary evil, but that doesn't keep me from being annoyed by constant ads.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pegamush Avatar
179 months ago
bring it to OSX and i'll switch back to Windows
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FrHa Avatar
179 months ago
I forgot about iAd, lol! :D
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
179 months ago
An Ad is an Ad, no matter how much candy eye to try to add.. and the majority people just hate adverts.

I guess, Apple is still struggling with iAds, otherwise the price wouldn't be dropping, still.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
179 months ago
This may just be a great thing for me...

I've been strongly considering dropping ads entirely from my ad supported apps and just charging for them... but if Apple wants to finally drop the requirement that people tap on the ads, that sounds great. Only about 1 in 1000 people would actually do that, and as a result, I essentially only made 10 cents per 1000 uses of my app. That amounted to anywhere between $1 and $5 per month. At thousands of downloads for free, I'm pretty certain if I changed to charging $1 per download I'd still get a few dozen downloads a month. Heck, just one dozen downloads a month would still be $8, over double what I get in an average month from ads.

If ad fill rates go up from the reduced buy in, that could double impressions (right now only about 50% of users see ads.) Increase my cut from 60% to 70% and that'll be a slight increase, too. Maybe change $0.10/thousand to $1/thousand... and this could be substantial. $1-$5 per month goes to $21-$110 per month... my ad supported apps would actually make me roughly as much money as my paid for apps.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)