YouTube Studio shows two revenue-per-thousand numbers that look similar and are frequently confused. They answer different questions, and mixing them up is the most common reason revenue estimates come out wrong.
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CPM: the advertiser's side
CPM (cost per mille) is the amount advertisers pay for 1,000 monetized ad impressions, before YouTube's revenue share. It only counts views where an ad was actually shown.
CPM = ad revenue ÷ monetized ad impressions × 1,000
RPM: the creator's side
RPM (revenue per mille) is what you earned per 1,000 views, after YouTube's share, across every view — including views where no ad ran — and including other revenue sources shown in Studio such as memberships or Super Thanks.
RPM = total revenue ÷ total views × 1,000
Why RPM is almost always lower than CPM
- RPM is net of YouTube's revenue share; CPM is gross.
- RPM divides by all views, while CPM divides only by monetized impressions. Views with no ad (ad blockers, ineligible content, viewers who already saw an ad) lower RPM but not CPM.
- One view can contain several ad impressions, which pushes CPM-based numbers up relative to per-view numbers.
Which one should you use for estimates?
Use RPM when estimating your own earnings from views, because it already includes the revenue share and unmonetized views. Use CPM when you want to understand advertiser demand — for example, how much seasonal ad pricing changes in Q4.
Both vary substantially by audience geography, content category, time of year, video length and viewer device. Audiences in the US, UK, Canada and Australia often see higher advertiser demand than the global average, but your own Studio numbers are the only reliable input.
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