Earns.io

SIDE BY SIDE

Put two or three platforms side by side

Pick the ones you are actually choosing between. The same questions get asked of each, the answers come off the company's own pages, and every figure carries the day we read it.

Places that pay youThings you build on

Eight questions about what it costs and who owns the result, asked of each one.

2 PLATFORMS · 8 QUESTIONS · 6 ANSWERED BY ALL

Hetzner
Mediavine

What it costs you

What it really costs to startAll in, not the first-year promotional price.
HetznerDedicated server setup feeGoing dedicated costs more up front: AX42-1 is EUR 97.30 a month plus a one-off EUR 49.00 setup fee, excluding VAT.source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavineA revenue split, not a feeNo upfront fee. The entry cost is the split: the publisher's minimum revenue share is 75% of gross ad proceeds, the remainder to Mediavine.source · checked 2026-09-07
What it costs to keep alivePer year, once the introductory pricing is over.
HetznerVAT on topEvery listed price is net: German customers pay 19% VAT on top of the monthly figure.source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavinePayout fees onlyNo platform fee to stay on. The recurring cost is the payout fee: $15 per U.S. wire transfer, $20 per international wire in local currency, $26 in U.S. dollars, all charged to the publisher.source · checked 2026-09-07

The gate before the first cent

The gate before it pays anythingThe traffic, sales or balance you must reach before a single cent moves.
HetznerWe have not checked this one yet
Mediavine$5,000 a year in ad revenueA site must generate a minimum of $5,000 in annual ad revenue to qualify for Mediavine Ad Management.source · checked 2026-09-07
How long before the first paymentThe gap you have to fund out of your own pocket.
HetznerWe have not checked this one yet
MediavineNET 65 daysPaid in U.S. dollars NET sixty-five (65) days after the end of the month in which the revenue was earned.source · checked 2026-09-07

Is it yours or theirs

Who owns what you buildYours, or a room you are allowed to sit in until the rules change?
HetznerData ownership clauseCustomer data stays the customer's. The terms grant Hetzner no content licence beyond running the service or complying with law.source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavineMediavine owns the numbersThe publisher keeps the site, but Mediavine owns every figure in the Dashboard outright. Only the data supplied in the application is excepted.source · checked 2026-09-07
Can you take it with youThe domain, the list, the content. What actually leaves with you.
HetznerIP address is not yoursThe IP address does not travel with you: no claim to a specific IP, and Hetzner may reassign it with prior written notice.source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavineExport before access endsThe site and its content leave with the publisher. Dashboard access ends at the close of the 30-day notice period, but every section of the dashboard has an export option over the date range you set, so the earnings history can be taken out as a file first.source · checked 2026-09-07
Can it be soldIs there a resale market, and what does it pay?
HetznerServer transfer between customersDedicated root servers can be sold customer to customer: Hetzner documents a Robot transfer-token procedure, usually without support help.source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavineSite sells, account does notThe site is sellable but the Mediavine account is not. The buyer must apply to Mediavine from scratch, and the seller's loyalty bonus does not carry over.source · checked 2026-09-07
What takes it all awayThe single rule, ban or dependency that ends it overnight.
HetznerBackups are the customer's jobNo safety net on their side: backups are the customer's duty and are meant to be stored off the Hetzner server.source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavineTermination at any timeMediavine may end the agreement or cut off Program access at any time, and may remove ads from any part of the site without notice.source · checked 2026-09-07

There is no winner at the bottom of this table

Nothing here gets added up. A score would have to decide that these questions weigh the same for everyone, and they do not. A lower cash-out bar is better if you need the money this month and worse if it arrives as a gift card you cannot spend on rent. One payout method is fine right up until it is the one that does not work where you live.

The rows worth your attention are usually the ones where the columns disagree about whether to answer at all. A platform that publishes its fee and a platform that does not are not two platforms with different fees. One of them has told you, and you can hold them to it.

Rows marked as not checked are about us, not about them. They mean nobody here has gone looking yet, and they stay visible for that reason. Found a figure that has moved? Tell us, and it gets a new source and a new date rather than a quiet edit.

ALL PLATFORMS