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How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views? RPM vs CPM

How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views? RPM vs CPM

YouTube ad income depends on RPM, the amount a creator keeps per 1,000 views, and RPM changes a lot between channels. Estimate a channel's earnings as a range, then compare it with what the same audience would earn from ads on a website.

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Why one number per view is the wrong question

Two numbers get mixed up. CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. RPM, revenue per mille, is what the creator keeps per 1,000 views after YouTube's share. RPM already counts views that showed no ad at all, which is why it is lower than CPM. A plan built on CPM will promise more than the channel can earn.

RPM also moves a lot from one channel to the next. A finance or tech channel with a US audience can earn an RPM above $10, while an entertainment channel with a global audience may earn under $1. Shorts pay far less per view than long videos. Most channels land roughly between $1 and $5 per 1,000 views. A single figure per view hides all of that, so a useful estimate is a range.

Ad revenue is only one part of what a channel earns. Sponsorships, memberships, Super Chat, and merchandise sit on top of it, and a channel has to be in the YouTube Partner Program before it earns ad revenue at all. Every figure below is an estimate.

Estimate the channel, then compare a website

Use the YouTube Money Calculator for the channel. Enter the views and whether that is per day or per month, the share of monetized views, and a low and a high RPM. It multiplies views by the monetized share, divides by 1,000, and multiplies by each RPM, then shows the range for the period with daily, monthly, and yearly figures. 100,000 views at 60% monetized and a $4 RPM is $240. 1,000,000 monthly views at 60% monetized and an RPM of $1 to $5 is $600 to $3,000 a month. If you have channel analytics, enter your real RPM there instead of the defaults. The result covers ad revenue only.

If you also run a website, or are deciding where to send an audience, the Ad Revenue Calculator gives the same kind of estimate for display ads. Enter monthly page views and either a page RPM or ad units per page, viewability, click-through rate, and cost per click. 100,000 page views at a $10 page RPM is $1,000 a month and $12,000 a year. The same traffic with 3 ad units, 70% viewability, 0.5% CTR, and $0.80 CPC is $840 a month, an effective RPM of $8.40. Page RPM commonly runs from $2 to $30 depending on topic and audience. Revenue share, payment thresholds, and taxes are not included.

Estimate a channel's ad earnings as a range

  1. Take the views for a day or a month from your channel analytics, and enter them in the YouTube Money Calculator with the matching period.
  2. Set the monetized share of views. Leave it at the default if you do not know it.
  3. Enter a low and a high RPM. Use your real RPM from analytics when you have it, since it differs by topic, audience country, and video format.
  4. Read the low and high figures as a range for planning. Sponsorships, memberships, and merchandise are extra and not in the result.
  5. To compare with a website, enter its monthly page views and page RPM in the Ad Revenue Calculator and set the two monthly ranges side by side.

What these estimates leave out

  • Both calculators give estimates from the RPM you enter. They are not a promise of payment and not financial advice.
  • The YouTube figure is ad revenue only, and only for a channel in the YouTube Partner Program.
  • RPM varies by niche, country, device, and season. Your own analytics are more accurate than any default.
  • Revenue share, payment thresholds, and taxes are not included in the website estimate.

Frequently asked questions

How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?

Most channels earn roughly $1 to $5 per 1,000 views in RPM, and some niches earn much more. The figure is an estimate and varies by audience and topic.

What is the difference between CPM and RPM on YouTube?

CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. RPM is what the creator earns per 1,000 views after YouTube's share, including views with no ad.

How much does a video with 1 million views earn?

At an RPM of $1 to $5 with 60% of views monetized, about $600 to $3,000 in ad revenue. Sponsorships and other income are extra.

Do Shorts pay the same as long videos?

No. Shorts pay far less per view than long videos, so a channel's mix of formats changes its RPM.

Tools used in this guide

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