YouTube RPM vs. CPM: What's the Difference?

Key takeaways

CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions; RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views.
RPM is lower because of YouTube's share and the views that show no ads.
CTR doesn't change RPM directly — it changes how many views you get.

The short version

	CPM	RPM
Stands for	Cost per mille (thousand)	Revenue per mille (thousand)
Point of view	Advertiser	Creator
Per 1,000…	Ad impressions (or monetized playbacks, for playback-based CPM)	Views
Before or after YouTube's share?	Before	After
Includes non-ad revenue?	No (ads and Premium)	Yes: ads, memberships, Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers and more
Best used for	Understanding advertiser demand for your audience	Estimating what your views are actually worth to you

What CPM measures

According to YouTube, CPM is the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. YouTube Studio also shows playback-based CPM: the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 video playbacks where at least one ad was shown. Playback-based CPM is often more useful for creators because one playback can include several ads.

Both CPM figures are calculated before YouTube takes its share, and they only count views where ads actually ran.

What RPM measures

RPM is your total revenue after YouTube's share, divided by your views, times 1,000. It counts all views — including ones that didn't show any ads — and all YouTube revenue sources: ads, YouTube Premium, channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers and similar features.

RPM = (your estimated revenue ÷ views) × 1,000

Why RPM is always lower than CPM

YouTube's revenue share. For ads shown on long-form videos, creators in the Partner Program receive 55% of net ad revenue; for Shorts feed ads, the creator share of the allocated pool is 45%.
Not every view shows an ad. Some viewers use ad blockers, some videos have limited or no ads, and ad inventory isn't always filled. RPM spreads your revenue across all views; CPM only counts monetized ones.
Different denominators. CPM is per ad impression or monetized playback; RPM is per view.

A worked example

The same numbers as the worked example below: YouTube's share and non-monetized views are why RPM is always lower than CPM.

Here's a hypothetical long-form video, to show how the numbers connect. These figures are illustrations, not typical results for any niche.

100,000views

55,000monetized playbacks (55%)

$12.00playback-based CPM

$4.03resulting RPM

Advertiser spend: 55,000 monetized playbacks × $12 ÷ 1,000 = $660.
Creator's ad share (55%): $660 × 0.55 = $363.
Other revenue credited to the video, for example YouTube Premium: $40.
Total: $363 + $40 = $403. RPM = $403 ÷ 100,000 × 1,000 = $4.03.

Notice how a $12 CPM became a roughly $4 RPM. That gap is normal, which is why estimating income from CPM leads to disappointment. Always use RPM from your own YouTube Studio when you can. The revenue calculator works with RPM for exactly this reason.

What moves CPM and RPM

Factor	Effect
Audience location	Advertisers pay more to reach viewers in some countries (the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and parts of Western Europe are typically among the highest).
Topic / niche	Topics close to expensive purchases (finance, software, business, insurance) attract advertisers with bigger budgets. See CPM by niche.
Season	Ad demand usually rises through Q4 (October–December) and drops in January.
Video length	Videos of 8 minutes or longer can include mid-roll ads, which can increase ads per playback.
Advertiser-friendliness	Videos with limited ads (yellow icon) earn much less. Know the advertiser-friendly content guidelines.
Made for kids	Personalized ads are disabled on made-for-kids content, which usually lowers revenue.
Shorts vs. long-form	Shorts are paid from a shared pool and typically earn far less per view than long-form videos.

How CTR affects your earnings

A common misconception is that a better click-through rate raises your RPM. It doesn't — at least not directly. CTR changes how many views you get from the impressions YouTube gives you; RPM is what each thousand of those views is worth. Revenue is the product of both:

Revenue = impressions × CTR × RPM ÷ 1,000

For example, with 500,000 impressions and a $5 RPM, going from 2% to 3% CTR means 10,000 → 15,000 views and about $50 → $75 in revenue. And because YouTube tends to show videos more widely when viewers click and keep watching, better packaging can also increase impressions. Read our CTR guide for how to improve it without clickbait.

Where to find these numbers

In YouTube Studio, go to Analytics → Revenue. You'll see estimated revenue and RPM, and in the detailed report you can add CPM and playback-based CPM. Compare videos with each other and look at RPM over time to understand your channel, rather than relying on averages from other creators.

Frequently asked questions

Which matters more, RPM or CPM?

RPM, for your income. It's what your views are actually worth after YouTube's share and across all views. CPM is useful for understanding advertiser demand and seasonal changes.

Why did my RPM drop while CPM stayed the same?

Usually because a smaller share of views were monetized (for example, more views from countries with less ad demand, more Shorts views, or videos with limited ads), or because other revenue like memberships changed.

Is Shorts RPM comparable to long-form RPM?

No. Shorts revenue comes from a shared Creator Pool and is spread across a very large number of views, so Shorts RPM is typically much lower. Compare Shorts with Shorts and long-form with long-form.

Sources

YouTube Help — Revenue metrics: RPM, CPM and playback-based CPM
YouTube Help — YouTube partner earnings overview
YouTube Help — YouTube Shorts monetization policies
YouTube Help — Advertiser-friendly content guidelines