Google AdSense vs Infolinks Comparison 2026
Google AdSense pays a published share, 80 percent of revenue for AdSense for Content, and requires no traffic minimum despite existing mainly as the step before a managed network like Raptive asks for 25,000 monthly pageviews. Infolinks also asks for no traffic floor at all, but its revenue split is never published before you apply, and its six ad formats use space a standard banner does not, in-text, in-frame, in-screen and more. Because they use different space on the page, Infolinks' own listing suggests running both at once and comparing the revenue against the bounce rate, rather than choosing only one.
Ads on your site, paid out by Google
Display ads with no traffic minimum to join
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Google AdSense | Infolinks | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
Google AdSense
Ads on your site, paid out by Google
AdSense is the default answer to putting ads on a site, and for most creators it is the only one available until traffic grows enough for a managed network to take the call. Setup is a script tag and a review. The rate per thousand views is lower than what Raptive or Mediavine negotiate, and the trade is that nobody has to want you first.
Our note
Start here, and treat the 25,000 pageview mark as the day to apply to Raptive. The same traffic earns several times more through a managed network, and the switch is a script change.
Infolinks
Display ads with no traffic minimum to join
Infolinks places in-text, in-frame and interstitial ads on sites that the managed networks will not take, because it sets no pageview floor at all. That is its whole reason to exist and it is a real one for a site that is growing. The formats are more intrusive than a standard banner, and the rate it pays is not published anywhere before you apply.
Our note
Why people weigh these two
- Infolinks instead of Google AdSense
- Infolinks has no traffic minimum to join and is free the same way AdSense is, worth running instead of or alongside it on a very new site.
- Google AdSense instead of Infolinks
- Google AdSense is the network most sites try first and pays out through Google, with stricter approval than Infolinks asks for.
Which one should you pick
Pick Google AdSense as the default: it is free to join, publishes its cut plainly, 80 percent of revenue for AdSense for Content or roughly 68 percent when the advertiser buys through Google Ads, and a script tag is the entire setup. Treat 25,000 monthly pageviews as the day to apply to a managed network like Raptive instead, since the same traffic earns several times more there.
Add Infolinks, rather than replace AdSense with it, once you want to test whether its in-text and in-frame formats earn more than they cost in reader experience. It sets no traffic floor either, but its revenue split is not published anywhere before you apply, and the formats are more intrusive than a standard banner. Run it for a month, watch both the revenue and the bounce rate, and drop it if the second number moves more than the first.
Common questions
- Should I run Google AdSense and Infolinks at the same time?
- That is what Infolinks' own listing recommends: its in-text and in-frame units use ad space a standard banner does not, so the two can run together rather than compete for the same slot. Test the pair for a month and watch the bounce rate alongside the revenue before keeping either.
- Which one tells you what percentage it keeps?
- Google AdSense does: publishers get 80 percent of revenue for AdSense for Content, or about 68 percent when the advertiser buys through Google Ads. Infolinks does not publish its revenue split before you apply, despite stating it has paid publishers over $100 million to date.
- Does either require a minimum amount of traffic to join?
- No, neither does. AdSense has no traffic floor of its own, though it exists mainly as the option before a managed network like Raptive asks for 25,000 monthly pageviews. Infolinks states no pageview floor at all, which is its entire reason to exist for a smaller site.
- Are Infolinks' ad formats more intrusive than AdSense's?
- Yes, by its own listing's description: the six formats, including in-text, in-fold and interstitial units, are more intrusive than a standard banner. AdSense's auto ads are placed by Google from a single script tag without that same warning attached.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.