RPM YouTube

What is RPM on YouTube?

RPM (revenue per mille) is the amount a creator earns per 1,000 video views, after YouTube takes its share. It combines every revenue source in YouTube Analytics — ads, Premium, memberships, Super Thanks and Shopping — and divides that total by all views, then multiplies by 1,000.

The formula: RPM = (estimated revenue ÷ views) × 1,000. A channel that made $420 on 120,000 views has an RPM of $3.50.

RPM vs CPM

These two metrics sit on opposite sides of YouTube's revenue split, which is why they rarely match.

• CPM is what an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. It is measured before YouTube's cut and only on playbacks where an ad actually ran.

• RPM is what lands in your account per 1,000 views. It is measured after YouTube's cut and across all views, including the ones that carried no ads.

Because the denominator is bigger and the revenue is smaller, RPM is almost always lower than CPM. On long-form videos creators keep 55% of ad revenue; on Shorts the share is 45% of the creator pool after music licensing is paid out.

Why RPM matters

RPM is the closest thing YouTube gives you to an earnings-per-view rate. Views and watch time tell you how the channel is growing; RPM tells you what that growth is worth.

It also makes formats comparable. A tutorial with 50,000 views and a $9 RPM earns more than a vlog with 300,000 views and a $1.20 RPM, and RPM is the number that makes that obvious before you plan the next batch of videos.

How to check your RPM in YouTube Studio

1. Open YouTube Studio and click Analytics in the left menu.

2. Go to the Revenue tab. RPM appears in the top row of cards next to estimated revenue.

3. Change the date range in the top right to compare periods — last 28 days against the previous 28 is a useful default.

4. For a single video, open the video, then Analytics → Revenue.

The Revenue tab only appears for channels in the YouTube Partner Program. Figures are estimates and get finalised in the following month's report.

What moves your RPM up or down

• Where your viewers are. Advertiser budgets in the US, UK, Canada and Australia are far higher than in India or Brazil, so the same video can have very different RPMs depending on the audience mix.

• Topic. Finance, software and B2B pull premium ad rates. Gaming, memes and kids' content sit at the bottom.

• Video length. Videos over eight minutes can carry mid-roll ads, which raises the number of impressions per view.

• Format. Shorts monetise through a shared pool and typically produce a much lower RPM than long-form.

• Season. Advertiser demand peaks in Q4 and drops sharply in January, so RPM swings by month even when your content does not change.

• Revenue mix. Memberships, Super Thanks and Shopping all feed into RPM, so non-ad income lifts it too.