Carbon Ads vs EthicalAds (2026): Which Fits Your Plan?

The short answer

Carbon Ads and EthicalAds work in a similar way. Both place one ad per page on developer websites and match it to the page, not to a profile of the reader.

The main difference is scale. Carbon runs on about 350 active sites read by developers and the builders around them (designers, founders, people building with AI tools), with 250M+ impressions a month. EthicalAds grew out of Read the Docs, a platform for software documentation. It reports 35M+ developer impressions a month. On privacy, both can run with no pixels: EthicalAds sets no ad cookies and loads no pixels, and Carbon publishers can choose a no-tracking zone that only serves campaigns without pixels.

Pick EthicalAds for placements on Read the Docs or an open source ad server. Pick Carbon for far more monthly impressions (250M+ vs 35M+) across docs, dev tools, blogs and design resources, with a client services team that runs the campaign with you.

Who each is best for

Carbon is best for:

Developer tool, infra, AI and data companies that want always-on awareness at scale.
Campaigns that need more monthly impressions than a docs-focused network can supply.
Reaching designers as well as developers.
Teams that want click and view-through attribution through an optional reporting pixel.
Teams that want white-glove service from a real person who knows their campaign.
Teams that also want developer newsletters in the same booking.

EthicalAds is best for:

Reaching developers on Read the Docs and its documentation network.
Teams that value an open source ad server.
Exclusive takeovers of a single docs site, such as Flask's documentation.

Side by side

	Carbon Ads	EthicalAds
Format	Carbon Classic (image plus 100 characters) or Carbon Cover (interactive, select sites). Premium placements available. One ad per page, so it doesn't compete with other ads on the page	Text and image ad (image plus up to 100 characters), or text only. Single-site takeovers available
Where ads show	~350 active, curated developer and design sites: docs, dev tools, blogs, open source pages, not only documentation	Developer sites on its network, starting with Read the Docs and open source documentation
Audience	Developers, plus the designers and other builders around them	Developers
Scale	250M+ impressions a month, more reach from one booking	35M+ developer impressions a month
Targeting	Page context and site category. Country, OS and browser. No personal data needed	Page topic (classified by a contextual model) and region
Pricing	$6 CPM (cost per thousand ad views) developer, $5 CPM creator. Published in the media kit. Baseline rate. Final quote depends on timing, targeting and volume. Pay per thousand views (CPM) across the network. A native pay-per-click option is also available.	$3.10 to $8.00 CPM by topic and region. Published on its pricing page
Budget	1M impressions a month recommended. $5,000 a month minimum. We've run campaigns for years, and very small tests rarely reach enough developers to show whether it works.	$1,000 minimum buy, per EthicalAds' advertiser page.
Privacy	Targets the page, not the person. Publishers can choose a no-tracking zone that only serves campaigns without pixels. Advertiser pixels are optional, and most advertisers run without one	No ad cookies, no conversion pixels, no third-party scripts. Open source ad server
Measurement	Optional reporting pixel for click and view-through attribution, never retargeting. Or UTMs and your own analytics, so you pick the level of attribution you need	UTM parameters and your own analytics
Ad blockers	Acceptable Ads approved (shown to AdBlock Plus users who keep Acceptable Ads on), so you reach readers other ads miss	Acceptable Ads approved (shown to AdBlock Plus users who keep Acceptable Ads on)
Reporting	Real-time dashboard to see daily impressions, clicks and CTR by creative, so you can act on results while the campaign runs	Live reports by ad, day, country and region, and publisher, per EthicalAds' advertiser FAQ
How you buy	Planned and run with our client services team, who handle setup, launch and optimization with you. A real-time dashboard shows results as they come in. Goes live on your schedule, within minutes once creative is ready.	Send an inbound form, and an ad specialist follows up. EthicalAds approves and starts each campaign, per EthicalAds' advertiser page

Setting the record straight

EthicalAds has a page about Carbon. A few points are out of date.

“Unlike Carbon, our pricing and minimums are public on our website.”

That's from EthicalAds' Carbon alternative page. Carbon's pricing is public too, in the media kit.

Privacy.

EthicalAds' Carbon alternative page says "We never set an ad cookie or load third-party scripts." Its page also shows "a screenshot of Carbon Ads loading a Google tracking pixel," captioned "Carbon sometimes loads third-party resources from Google or other trackers." Some Carbon campaigns do carry an advertiser's reporting pixel, and that's likely what the screenshot shows. It isn't true of every Carbon ad or every site, though. Publishers can install a no-tracking zone code that only serves campaigns without pixels. On the advertiser side, pixels are optional, and most Carbon advertisers run without one. Those who want deeper measurement can add a reporting pixel for click and view-through attribution, which gives a fuller picture than last click alone. It's for reporting, never retargeting.

Off-topic ads.

Carbon only runs developer-relevant advertisers, with one ad per page. The network reaches designers as well as developers, so you'll see design tools alongside developer tools.

When to pick EthicalAds

Your buyers live on Read the Docs or Flask's documentation.
You want your ads served by open source software you can inspect.
You want an exclusive takeover of one docs site.

Looking beyond these two? See EthicalAds alternatives.

When to pick Carbon Ads

You need more reach than one docs-focused network can deliver.
You want your ad on frameworks, coding tools and dev blogs, not only docs.
You sell to builders, not just developers.
You want click and view-through attribution, not just last click.
You want a hands-on team that plans, launches and optimizes campaigns with you.
Testing on a smaller budget? Tell us your budget and we'll focus it on the sites that fit you best.

Using both

Both networks place one contextual ad per page, so they fit together well.

Run EthicalAds on documentation and open source sites.
Run Carbon across the wider set of developer and design sites.
Use the same creative on both and compare results with UTMs.

FAQ

Is EthicalAds cheaper than Carbon?

EthicalAds lists CPMs from $3.10 to $8.00 by topic and region. Carbon lists $6 CPM for developers. Pay per thousand views (CPM) across the network. A native pay-per-click option is also available. Depending on the topic and region you pick, either can cost less per impression.

What's the minimum budget for each?

EthicalAds has a $1,000 minimum buy. Carbon's minimum is $5,000 a month, and it recommends 1M impressions a month.

Which is bigger?

Carbon reports 250M+ impressions a month across about 350 active sites. EthicalAds reports 35M+ developer impressions a month.

Which is better for privacy?

Both can run with no pixels. EthicalAds runs no pixels at all. Carbon targets the page, not the person, and lets publishers choose a no-tracking zone that only serves campaigns without pixels. Advertisers who want deeper attribution can add an optional reporting pixel. It's for reporting only, never retargeting.

Can I run both?

Yes. They use similar formats and reach developers on different sets of sites.

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Last updated 21 Oct 2026

Prices checked against each vendor's site on 21 Oct 2026.

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