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Display ads vs Newsletter sponsorship
Side by side on the figures that matter for a small budget, from the same sourced benchmarks used across this site. At $500, Display ads buys clicks more cheaply ($16 each) — but cheaper clicks are not better clicks, so read the caveats.
| Display ads | Newsletter sponsorship | |
|---|---|---|
| Priced | per thousand impressions | per placement |
| Typical price | $8.00 | $300 |
| Range | $3.00–$20 | $100–$2,000 |
| Click-through rate | 0.05% | 1.50% |
| Least worth spending | $200 | $100 |
| Clicks for $200 | 12 | 0 |
| Clicks for $500 | 31 | 15 |
| Source | Nielsen Norman Group on banner blindness (2007, re-confirmed since) | Paved newsletter advertising marketplace (2026) |
How it works
Display ads: A 0.05% click-through rate means most of the budget buys impressions nobody registers, and a share of them are never rendered at all.
Newsletter sponsorship: Sold per send, so you cannot buy a small test — the smallest purchase is one whole placement.