CPM to RPM Calculator
The two numbers in Studio that nobody keeps straight, converted both ways.
- 100% success
Tool input
Overview
About this tool
Converts between playback CPM and RPM using the two facts that separate them — the share of views that carried an ad, and YouTube’s published 55% revenue split — and shows which of the two gaps is costing you more.
Instructions
How to use it
Pick a direction, enter the figure from Studio, and set your monetized playback rate — Revenue → Monetized playbacks, divided by views. For most channels it lands between 30% and 60%.
They are not two versions of the same number
CPM is what an advertiser pays for a thousand ad impressions: gross, before YouTube’s cut, measured against monetized playbacks. RPM is what reaches your account per thousand views, after the cut, across every revenue source. A channel with a $14 CPM and a $4 RPM has not been cheated — two thirds of its views carried no ad, and then YouTube took its 45%.
The identity
RPM = CPM × monetized playback rate × revenue shareWhich is why the tool asks for both. The interesting output is the comparison at the bottom: the money lost to unmonetized views is almost always larger than YouTube’s share, and unlike the split, it is a number you can move.
Questions
Frequently asked
Why is my RPM so much lower than my CPM?
Two reasons multiplied together: only a fraction of your views carried an ad at all, and you keep 55% of what those ads paid. At a 40% monetized rate the two together leave you 22% of the advertiser’s money.
Which number should I quote?
RPM, always, when you are talking about your own earnings — it is what you actually made per thousand views. CPM is an advertiser’s number and it flatters you.
Is the 55% split accurate?
It is YouTube’s published creator share for watch-page ads on long-form video. The field is editable because other products split differently.
Where do I find my monetized playback rate?
YouTube Studio → Analytics → Revenue. Divide monetized playbacks by views for the same period.
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