BuySellAds alternative for site owners
Nishant · Updated 10 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
Short answer
BuySellAds offers a sales team for established publishers and the invitation-only Carbon network. Choose it if you want advertisers found and campaigns managed for you; ask for the split and contract terms first. Selling monthly spots directly gives you control over price and brand, but you find sponsors yourself and unbooked months earn nothing. Check exclusivity before running both.
On this page
you run a large developer or design site and want a sales team to find, negotiate and run campaigns for you.
you want sponsored content and social placements sold as one package, not just spots on your site.
you have no route into a network, or brands already email you asking to sponsor.
you want to set the price, choose each sponsor and be paid into your own payment account.
At 50,000 pageviews a month: Your sponsor spots $80 asked, Carbon network, via BuySellAds $60–115, Carbon Direct Rate not published.
Networks pay every month they fill. A spot pays for the months someone books.
Estimates from each network’s published rates and sites’ own advertise pages. More on prices
Carbon Network publishes a typical CPM range; Carbon Direct does not publish a rate, so there is no direct-sales earnings estimate here. Sponsor figures are asking prices for similar sites, not guaranteed bookings.
How BuySellAds works today
BuySellAds started in 2008 as a self-serve marketplace where advertisers bought 30-day ad zones on blogs. Today its publisher page describes two programs:
- Carbon Direct: a team that "pitches your inventory, negotiates with sponsors" and runs campaigns start to finish. Listed formats are premium sponsorships, sponsored content and social placements.
- Carbon Network: native, contextual, cookieless ad placements across developer and design sites. Publishers join by invitation only (see the Carbon Ads comparison).
BuySellAds does not publish its revenue split, traffic minimum or payout terms on its publisher page. It shares the split with publishers, not the public. Ask for it in writing before you sign.
How Sponsor.st works
Paste one script tag, click where a spot goes and set a monthly price. Each spot gets a booking page with its open months; sponsors pick months, upload the ad and pay into your own Stripe or Dodo account.
Side by side
| BuySellAds | Sponsor.st | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Ad sales company and network | Tool for selling your own sponsor spots |
| Who can join | By application; traffic and fit reviewed (thresholds not public) | Anyone with a website |
| Who finds the advertiser | BuySellAds' sales team or network | You: your booking page and "Advertise" link |
| Negotiation | Done for you | You set a fixed monthly price |
| Who picks the ads | BuySellAds and advertisers, under your agreement | You; approving each ad first is optional |
| Revenue split | Not published | Paid to your own Stripe or Dodo account, minus that provider's processing fee |
| Booking unit | Campaigns set by the sales team | Calendar months |
| Formats | Sponsorships, sponsored content, social, native network ads | Spots on your website: banner, card, text line, logo |
| Setup | Onboarding with their team | One script tag, then click where the spot goes |
| Tracking | Cookieless (network) | No cookies |
| Cost to you | Share of ad revenue (rate not public) | Free, or Pro at $19/month |
What you trade
get a sales team that finds, negotiates and runs campaigns, including sponsored content and social.
need to be accepted, and the revenue split is only shared once you talk to them.
can start on any site, set a fixed monthly price and choose each sponsor.
find the sponsors yourself, and only sell spots on your website.
Finding a sponsor
A network brings the advertiser. Here you do:
- Your booking page. Each spot gets its own page with its price and open months. Link it as “Advertise” in your footer or newsletter, and send it to brands that ask.
- A media kit. Make a one-page PDF with your audience and spots, for the brands you email.
- Who to ask. How to sell sponsorships covers finding brands that already sponsor sites like yours.
- The directory. Brands browse the Sponsor.st directory for sites to sponsor.
Common mistakes
- Signing before seeing the split. BuySellAds doesn't publish it; ask in writing.
- Assuming you can mix freely. Carbon's network is exclusive. Check any Carbon Direct contract too.
- Pricing a sponsor spot like a network ad. A monthly sponsor buys your audience, not a count of impressions. Start from what similar sites ask.
- Placing a spot nobody sees. Whether you sell yourself or through a team, the spot has to sit where readers look.
Keep BuySellAds while you try
It depends on the program. Carbon's network is exclusive: its FAQ says publishers show only Carbon ads. A Carbon Direct deal has its own contract, so check it first. If you're in neither, nothing stops you selling a monthly spot today.
-
Paste one script tagIn your site’s head, once.
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Click where a spot goesOn your own page, where readers look.
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Set a monthly priceSponsors book months and pay your Stripe or Dodo account.
Start free Free for 1 site and 3 spots · no card
Sources (checked 10 October 2026)
- BuySellAds publishers (Carbon Direct and Carbon Network): buysellads.com/publishers
- Carbon Ads FAQ (invitation only, exclusivity): carbonads.net/faq
- Website prices: Sponsor.st listings data, see banner ad pricing