YouTube RPM Calculator

RPM vs CPM — the difference that trips everyone up

CPM is what an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. RPM is what you keep per 1,000 total video views, after YouTube's cut and after unmonetized views are counted. RPM is always the smaller, more useful number: it is the only figure that maps directly to money in your AdSense balance. If someone quotes you a $20 CPM, your RPM on that same video is usually $4–$8.

• • CPM = advertiser cost per 1,000 impressions (before YouTube's share).
• • Playback CPM = cost per 1,000 monetized playbacks — closer to reality but still pre-split.
• • RPM = your revenue ÷ total views × 1,000, after the 55/45 split and including unmonetized views.
• • RPM is always lower than CPM. If yours isn't, you're reading the wrong column in YouTube Studio.

How to calculate YouTube RPM

YouTube RPM is the money a creator earns per 1,000 total views. The formula is estimated revenue divided by views, multiplied by 1,000. Use this calculator to model views, monetized view rate, RPM, and extra creator income separately so sponsorships do not hide weak AdSense performance.

• • RPM = (estimated revenue ÷ total views) × 1,000.
• • Example: $400 from 100,000 views = ($400 ÷ 100,000) × 1,000 = $4.00 RPM.
• • Use RPM for creator income, not CPM.
• • Use YouTube Studio RPM when you have it — Analytics → Revenue → RPM.
• • Model Shorts and long-form videos separately because their RPMs are radically different.

Revenue grid: RPM × views (what you actually earn)

The fastest sanity check on any earnings estimate. Find your RPM, find your view count, and read the ad revenue:

• • $2 RPM: 10K views = $20 · 100K views = $200 · 1M views = $2,000
• • $5 RPM: 10K views = $50 · 100K views = $500 · 1M views = $5,000
• • $10 RPM: 10K views = $100 · 100K views = $1,000 · 1M views = $10,000
• • $20 RPM (finance/insurance/B2B): 10K = $200 · 100K = $2,000 · 1M = $20,000
• • $0.08 RPM (Shorts pool): 10K = $0.80 · 100K = $8 · 1M = $80

Monetized views vs total views

Not every view carries an ad. Ad blockers, viewers who skip before the pre-roll registers, limited-ads topics, and COPPA-designated content all produce views that earn nothing. Most channels see a monetized playback rate between 55% and 80%. RPM already bakes this in — which is exactly why a channel with a $12 playback CPM can show a $5 RPM and nothing is broken.

• • Typical monetized playback rate: 55–80% of total views.
• • Kids/family content under COPPA loses personalized ads and lands at the bottom of that range.
• • Longer videos (8+ minutes) can carry mid-rolls, lifting RPM 40–70% versus the same content at 6 minutes.

YouTube's revenue share

YouTube keeps 45% of long-form ad revenue and pays the creator 55%. For Shorts, the split is applied after music-licensing costs come out of the pool, and the creator share is 45%. The RPM you see in YouTube Studio is already net of this split — you don't subtract it again.

Shorts RPM vs long-form RPM

Long-form ads run on your watch page; Shorts ads run between other people's Shorts and are paid from a shared pool. The result is roughly a 30× gap for the same audience: a US long-form channel at $6 RPM will typically see $0.06–$0.20 RPM on Shorts. Never blend the two into a single channel RPM when forecasting — model them as separate lines.

What changes YouTube RPM the most

Niche, viewer country, video length, advertiser demand, seasonality, mid-roll eligibility, and audience buying intent can all move RPM. A finance tutorial and a meme compilation can get the same views and produce completely different revenue.

• • Geography: US/UK/CA/AU audiences pay 3–10× tier-3 markets for the same view.
• • Niche: finance, insurance, legal, and B2B software sit at the top; music, kids, and gaming at the bottom.
• • Season: Q4 runs 30–50% above Q1 on the same content.
• • Format: mid-roll-eligible long-form beats short long-form beats Shorts, in that order.