Offerwall vs. Rewarded Video in 2025 – Can They Co-Exist or Will One Win Out?

The Mechanics: Offerwalls vs. Rewarded Video Ads

Offerwalls function as in-app marketplaces where users complete tasks ranging from app installs and surveys to trial subscriptions in exchange for virtual currency. These are persistent, user-initiated ad units that sit in the app like a feature, not an interruption. In 2025, modern Offerwalls are dynamic, personalized, and often powered by real-time optimization engines that serve higher-value tasks to relevant users.

Rewarded video ads, meanwhile, are short-form, skippable, or non-skippable video clips that users watch voluntarily, typically in exchange for small in-game incentives. These are more lightweight, often appearing during natural pauses in gameplay or when users face progression blocks.

From a user’s standpoint, Offerwalls feel more transactional and task-oriented, while rewarded videos are frictionless and quick. From a monetization lens, they serve different purposes and different segments.

Changing User Behavior in 2025: What Do Players Actually Want?

In 2025, users will no longer be passive participants in ad experiences. Thanks to the rise of personalization, consent-first design, and better UX practices, users expect ad experiences to feel like choices, not interruptions.

Rewarded videos, with their ease of engagement and time-bound nature, are still a go-to format for casual users and early gameplay stages. Their integration is intuitive: the user wants more coins, sees a button to “Watch & Earn,” taps it, and returns to gameplay.

Offerwalls, on the other hand, cater to more intent-driven users, typically those who are deeper into the game loop or are more invested in maximizing in-game benefits. These users don’t mind investing time or effort in return for a big reward.

What’s crucial is that users want contextual relevance. They don’t inherently prefer one format over the other, they prefer the right format at the right moment. And that’s where smart monetization comes into play.

Revenue & ROI: Which Format Wins for Publishers?

From a revenue standpoint, both Offerwalls and rewarded videos hold value but they operate on different ends of the monetization spectrum.

• Offerwalls often deliver higher eCPMs due to CPA and CPE pricing models. Each task completed represents a high-intent conversion for the advertiser, which translates to better payouts for publishers. That said, engagement rates are lower, and the format performs best in certain geographies (e.g., LATAM, India, Southeast Asia) and app categories.
• Rewarded videos have a broader reach and higher engagement, especially in casual games. While the per-user revenue is lower, the format benefits from high fill rates and a steady stream of advertiser demand. It supports retention by smoothing over monetization friction points.

The best-performing publishers in 2025 no longer ask “Which format pays more?” Instead, they segment their audience and ask, “Which format pays more for this user, at this moment?”

Beyond Monetization: The UA & Retention Angle

One of the more underrated aspects of this debate is how these formats impact user acquisition and retention.

• Rewarded video ads are great at preventing churn. They allow users to bypass pain points without hitting a paywall. Freemium apps serve as a bridge between non-payers and potential payers by nudging them toward value appreciation.
• Offerwalls, though not traditionally retention tools, can indirectly improve it. Users who engage deeply with Offerwalls often become more invested in the app, especially when the reward is significant enough to unlock premium content or speed up progression.

On the user acquisition front, Offerwalls offer high-conversion rates for performance marketers. Unlike display ads or interstitials, Offerwalls are opt-in and action-driven making them ideal for deep-funnel metrics like trial sign-ups or first purchases.

Can They Co-Exist? The Rise of the Hybrid Model

The idea that one format will “win out” in 2025 is increasingly outdated. The most forward-thinking publishers have embraced hybrid monetization strategies, using Offerwalls and rewarded videos in tandem, not competition.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

• Session-based placement: Rewarded videos dominate the early session. Offerwalls are introduced after the user has crossed a certain engagement threshold.
• Geo-based deployment: In regions where Offerwall payouts are higher (due to higher advertiser competition), users see a more prominent Offerwall interface.
• Behavioral targeting: Users who repeatedly engage with rewarded videos but never purchase in-app items may be nudged toward Offerwalls as an alternative route to value.

The underlying philosophy is simple: let the user decide. Give them both formats, intelligently surfaced so the monetization journey feels like part of the app experience, not a detour from it.

The Road Ahead: Is One Format Becoming Obsolete?

Short answer: no. But both are evolving, and rapidly.

Offerwalls are moving toward real-time personalization. AI-driven sorting, task bundling, and contextual placement are making them feel less like ad marketplaces and more like reward engines embedded into the core loop.

Rewarded videos are becoming more immersive. Think playable ads within videos, interactive storytelling, and gamified opt-ins. The simplicity of “watch and earn” remains, but the format is becoming richer.

If there’s a takeaway for developers and product teams, it’s this: formats will blend, user expectations will rise, and static monetization strategies will fail. Flexibility, intelligence, and user-centric design will determine which apps win.