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Glossary

What Is RPM on YouTube?

RPM (revenue per mille) is what a creator has earned for every 1,000 views on YouTube, after YouTube’s share: the number that turns views into money.

RPM is shown in YouTube Studio under Analytics › Revenue. YouTube defines it as how much you have earned per 1,000 video views, calculated after YouTube’s revenue share. It counts every view, including the ones that showed no ad, which is why it is lower than CPM.

It includes more than ads: YouTube Premium, channel memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers count too. Shorts RPM is usually much lower than long-form RPM, because Shorts earn from the Creator Pool, and both vary with where your viewers are, the season and the topic.

For a creator, RPM is the number to plan with, because it is already what you keep. Your own RPM from YouTube Studio is the only one that applies to your channel; a figure from another channel or a website is someone else’s.

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Questions

What is the difference between RPM and CPM?

RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube’s share, across several kinds of revenue. CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions before YouTube’s share, from ads and Premium only.

What is a good RPM on YouTube?

There is no single answer: it changes with the audience’s country, the topic and the season. Compare your RPM with your own past months, not with numbers from other channels.

Why is my Shorts RPM so low?

Shorts earn from the Creator Pool, shared by engaged views, rather than from ads inside each video, and every view counts in the RPM, including unpaid ones.

How do I estimate earnings from RPM?

Views divided by 1,000, times your own RPM. It is an estimate: the RPM of the next month can differ, and YouTube decides what is paid.

Sources

Related terms

CPM (cost per mille)

CPM (cost per mille) is what advertisers pay for 1,000 ad impressions on YouTube, before YouTube’s share. It is not what the creator earns: that is RPM.

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Shorts Creator Pool

The Creator Pool is the share of Shorts feed ad revenue YouTube sets aside for creators each month, split by engaged views. Each channel keeps 45% of its share.

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YouTube Partner Program (YPP)

The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is how a channel earns from YouTube, through ads and other features, once it meets the thresholds and YouTube accepts it.

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Niche

The one topic a channel is about, and the audience that comes for it.

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