Brave Ads vs. Google Ads: A Comparison

Brave is a new browser that blocks ads and trackers by default. To make money, they built a unique ad network, which is optional for users and pays them to view ads.

Below is a comparison between Brave Ads and Google Ads.

Overview

  • Google Ads
  • Brave Ads
  • Privacy
  • Recommendation
  • I don't pay to search Google, but Google makes money when I do.
  • How? Google sells my attention to the highest bidding advertiser.
  • As a specific example—for the search "car insurance," Google charges between $46 and $116 a click to be the top sponsored result.
  • To improve their targeting, Google uses 3rd-party cookies on nearly every website that track your browsing.

Brave Ads

  • Unlike Chrome, Brave blocks 3rd-party cookies and ads by default.
  • However, Brave allows users who re-enable ads to receive a portion of the ad revenue they generate.
  • How much do users get? It depends on the type of ad:

    • Website ad

      • The Website: 70%
      • User: 15%
      • Brave: 15%
        Website-Ads

    • Browser ad (home screen, new tab, etc)

      • User: 70%
      • Brave: 30%
        Browser-Ads
  • In other words, you're always paid at least the same as Brave when you see an ad.
  • This is wildly different than Google ads, which pays users 0% of ad revenue.

Privacy

  • Perhaps Brave's biggest innovation is designing an ad platform that's private and targeted.

  • At first, this seems impossible—don't they need my data to show me a targeted ad?

  • However, what makes this possible is Brave’s clever ad matching system. Let’s compare it to the traditional model:

    • Traditional Ads
      • Google or Facebook stores your data on their servers (which means they have access to it).
      • When the time is right, they show an ad that’s perfect for you.
    • Brave Ads
      • Brave never stores your data on their servers (and cannot access it, even if they want to).
      • Instead, your browsing data is stored locally on your device—similar to any browser’s “history” feature.
      • Brave’s catalog of ads is also stored on your device.
      • When the time is right, your local browser matches you with an appropriate ad.
  • The browser also lets you choose how often to view ads.

Recommendation

  • Brave's privacy-first ads are an exciting breakthrough in what has become a surveillance internet.
  • While Brave already offers a noticeable boost in speed, privacy, and security, their unique ad network makes it all the more compelling.
  • Not surprisingly, Brave has grown rapidly, from 1 million to 10.4 million users in the past 2 years alone.
  • As time goes on, ad networks that pay users for their attention may become more and more common.
  • Download Brave here