OpenX Free Ad Server Is Now Revive Adserver: How to Manage Ads Yourself (2026)
Want to sell ads directly, rotate banners and target visitors by country without paying for an ad platform? A free, self-hosted ad server can do it. In 2008 we installed OpenX on QuickOnlineTips (DreamHost offered it as a one-click install) mainly to geotarget a UK-only video ad campaign and collapse it for everyone else. The free OpenX software lives on today as Revive Adserver. Here’s what it does and whether you still need one in 2026.
Quick answer: OpenX’s free open-source ad server is now called Revive Adserver. You can install it on your own hosting to manage direct-sold banner campaigns, rotate ads, set geotargeting and frequency caps, and give advertisers statistics. For most bloggers, AdSense or Google Ad Manager’s free tier is easier; a self-hosted ad server suits sites selling lots of direct ads.
Table of Contents
What happened to OpenX?
OpenX began as the open-source “phpAdsNew/Openads” project. The company later focused on its commercial ad exchange, and the free self-hosted software was handed over and renamed Revive Adserver, which remains free and open source and is now looked after by Revive Software and Services. The old openx.com download links no longer offer the free software.
What a free ad server does
- Zones and campaigns: define ad spaces on your site and assign campaigns to them.
- Rotation and weighting: show several ads in one spot, with control over how often each appears.
- Targeting: by country (as we did for UK visitors), device, time or page.
- Frequency caps and scheduling: limit impressions per visitor and set start and end dates.
- Reporting: impressions and clicks for each advertiser, with read-only advertiser logins.
- Fallback ads: show AdSense or house ads when direct campaigns aren’t running.
How to install Revive Adserver
- Check your hosting meets the requirements (PHP and MySQL/MariaDB) on the Revive website.
- Download the latest release and upload it to a subdomain, such as
ads.yoursite.com. - Create a database, run the web installer and follow the setup steps.
- Create websites, zones, advertisers and campaigns, then paste the generated invocation code into your site.
- Keep it updated: self-hosted ad servers are attractive targets for hackers, so apply security releases promptly.
Is a self-hosted ad server worth it?
- Yes if you sell several direct campaigns, need advertiser reports, or want full control and no third-party fees.
- No if you only run AdSense or one or two sponsors; a plugin or Google Ad Manager is simpler.
- Remember the costs in time: updates, security, database growth and server load on busy sites.
Alternatives
- Google Ad Manager: free ad server for most publishers, hosted by Google, with AdSense backfill.
- WordPress ad plugins: such as Advanced Ads, which handle rotation and placement without a separate server.
- AdSense Auto ads: simplest option if you don’t sell direct ads; see our guide to AdSense Auto ads.
Selling ads yourself pairs well with these tips to maximize blog ad revenue.
FAQ
Is OpenX still free?
The free self-hosted software continues as Revive Adserver, which is free and open source.
Do I need an ad server for AdSense?
No. AdSense serves its own ads. An ad server is useful when you sell banner space directly to advertisers.
Is Google Ad Manager free?
Yes for most small and medium publishers, up to generous monthly impression limits.
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After several integration issues and dealing with the slow or non-existent support from OpenX community, I’ve switched to AdSpeed.com, a similar hosted ad server with decent price and pretty good and quick at helping me get it up and running.
Do you have shared hosting on dreamhost or VPS? Because I have installed openx on my dreamhost shared account and it seems very slow.
I had install the openx server for managing ads in my company but i m facing problems on Report not a single report is working properly. i have done all the steps given in tutorial still i am not getting proper result,so please can you help me out for this problem.
This system will installed easily in the system because its small soft ware its not take more memory and its easily to work with that.
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Manzi
I found another plugin recently launched that also server the same purpose. Its by Maxblogpress. Unfortunatly the plugin will display the word “powered by maxblogpress” and you will need to pay to remove them.
This plugin allow user to put advertisement in any position in the blog, post, header, footer, sidebar, allow ads rotation, has stats on total clicks, CTR% and allow specific ads to appear in specific posts.
I haven’t test it out yet in my blog. I will test it offline first.
Fred Chan
Malaysia Blog Gallery Directory
@Steven – It is not a paid ad. We don’t publish any hidden sponsored posts or paid advertisements. I have started using OpenX a few days back to geotarget my ads and thought I would get the word out for how useful it is. OpenX is free and open source.
@Arlen – Its great to know OpenX is watching the blogosphere for what is being said about their service. OpenX is a great tool. :-)
Hi,
Very nice write-up: It’s a great example of how to use OpenX and geotargeting with networks to optimize inventory. It’s also a great quick overview of some networks that new publishers might not know.
Cheers,
Arlen Coupland
OpenX