RPM Calculator
Work out RPM and CPM from revenue, and what each thousand impressions is worth.
RPM is revenue per thousand impressions and CPM is cost per thousand impressions: the same thousand seen from the publisher and the advertiser side, with a revenue share between them.
Enter your revenue and impressions, or your CPM and revenue share, and this calculator converts between the two and shows the earnings at any traffic level.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Revenue, Ad impressions, Impressions per page, Advertiser CPM (optional), Publisher revenue share, Impressions to project
- What you get
- RPM, Revenue per page, Revenue per million impressions, Revenue at the projected volume, RPM from the advertiser CPM
- Formula shown
- Yes - every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only - always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the RPM Calculator
- 1 Enter Revenue
- 2 Enter Ad impressions
- 3 Enter Impressions per page
- 4 Enter Advertiser CPM (optional) - What the advertiser pays per thousand impressions, before the revenue share.
- 5 Enter Publisher revenue share - The share of the advertiser spend the publisher keeps. Many networks pay around 68%.
- 6 Enter Impressions to project
- 7 Press Calculate. You get RPM, Revenue per page, Revenue per million impressions, Revenue at the projected volume, RPM from the advertiser CPM, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 8 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result - that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$4,200 on 700,000 impressions
An established site measuring its real rate against the CPM an advertiser pays.
You enter
- Revenue
- $4,200.00
- Ad impressions
- 700,000
- Impressions per page
- 3
- Advertiser CPM (optional)
- $14.00
- Publisher revenue share
- 70%
- Impressions to project
- 2,500,000
You get
- RPM
- $6.00
- Revenue per page
- $0.02
- Revenue per million impressions
- $6,000.00
- Revenue at the projected volume
- $15,000.00
- RPM from the advertiser CPM
- $9.80
The RPM is $6.00 and there are 233,333 pageviews behind those impressions, so each page earns $0.018 when the three units are counted, which is $18.00 per 1,000 pages. A $14 advertiser CPM at a 70% share would be $9.80 to the publisher, so the $6.00 achieved implies an effective share of 42.9%. At the current rate, 2,500,000 impressions would produce $15,000, or $1,250 a month, and $1,000 of revenue needs 166,667 impressions.
$9,800 on 5.6 million impressions
A high volume site on a lower share, where the gap to the advertised CPM is much wider.
You enter
- Revenue
- $9,800.00
- Ad impressions
- 5,600,000
- Impressions per page
- 2
- Advertiser CPM (optional)
- $9.00
- Publisher revenue share
- 55%
- Impressions to project
- 8,000,000
You get
- RPM
- $1.75
- Revenue per page
- $0.00
- Revenue per million impressions
- $1,750.00
- Revenue at the projected volume
- $14,000.00
- RPM from the advertiser CPM
- $4.95
The RPM is $1.75 on 2,800,000 pageviews, which is $3.50 per 1,000 pages with two units each. A $9 advertiser CPM at a 55% share would be $4.95 to the publisher, so the RPM achieved implies an effective share of only 19.4%, well under the headline rate. Eight million impressions at this RPM would produce $14,000, or $1,166.67 a month, and $1,000 of revenue would need 571,429 impressions.
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Frequently asked questions
Does this use pageviews or ad impressions?
Impressions. The revenue is divided by the number of ad impressions and multiplied by 1,000. Pageviews are a different number and are usually smaller, because one page can carry several ad units, and the pageviews behind those impressions line shows the conversion.
If your reporting gives pageviews and you know how many units you show on a page, enter the impressions per page and the calculator works out the pageviews for you. Three ad units on 700,000 impressions means 233,333 pageviews, and the revenue per page line is the more useful figure for planning.
How does the advertiser CPM relate to the RPM I receive?
Through the revenue share. The publisher RPM from a gross CPM is the CPM multiplied by the share the network pays. A $14 advertiser CPM at a 70% share is $9.80 to the publisher, and if each page carries three units the revenue per page is $29.40.
The effective share line runs the comparison backwards, showing what share your actual RPM implies given the CPM you entered. Here the $6.00 RPM against a $14 CPM implies 42.9%, which is well below the 70% you entered, and that gap is the thing to investigate: it usually means plenty of impressions are not being filled at the assumed rate.
Can I project earnings from a traffic figure?
Yes, but only at the same rate. The projected impressions are multiplied by the RPM you have now, which assumes the new traffic earns exactly what the current traffic earns. At a $6.00 RPM, 2,500,000 impressions would produce $15,000, or $1,250 a month.
That assumption is the weak point. More traffic usually includes more visitors from countries and topics that pay less, so the RPM tends to fall as a site grows. Project at a lower RPM as well and see whether the plan still works before spending money to reach the number.
Why can my RPM change so much from month to month?
Because advertising is priced in an auction. Demand rises in the last quarter of the year and falls in January, the mix of countries and devices in your audience changes week to week, and adding ad units lowers the price of each one. A rate that was $10.00 in November can be $4.00 in February on identical traffic.
Use a twelve month average for planning and keep a low case as well. A site that only works at its best month is a site whose revenue is decided by somebody else's budget.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.