YouTube RPM Revenue Estimator

This YouTube RPM revenue estimator helps you turn RPM and views into a realistic income range for monetized long-form videos. It is built for YouTube creators, editors, agencies and brands who want to sanity-check income claims, compare niches and set view or RPM targets for the next month or year.

1. Start with your monthly long-form views

In the first box, enter your monthly views on monetized long-form videos. You can grab this from YouTube Studio > Analytics by filtering for your main content type and excluding Shorts if you want a clean long-form picture. The calculator treats this as your typical month and scales it to show monthly and annual revenue.

2. Add a target monthly revenue if you have one

The optional target box lets you type the monthly income you’d like from YouTube ads and on-platform features. Once you enter a target, the tool shows the RPM needed at your current view level and the views needed at your current RPM to hit that goal. This makes it easy to see whether you need more views, better-paying videos, or both.

3. Plug in a realistic RPM for your channel

RPM (revenue per mille) is how much you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube takes its cut and combines all on-platform revenue sources. In YouTube Analytics, RPM is shown separately from CPM and is generally the better metric for what you take home per view. Many channels see RPM anywhere between about $1 and $8, with big differences between niches and countries. Use your own Analytics RPM when possible; if you are pre-monetization, try a conservative default like $2–$5 RPM and adjust later.

4. Use the alternative RPM box to compare niches

The second RPM field is for “what-if” scenarios. For example, put your current RPM in the first box and a niche you are considering in the second. If your channel is at $3 RPM now and a similar niche averages around $6, you can instantly see the upside for the same view count. This is also useful for modelling how much an increase in US/Canada traffic or more advertiser-friendly content might move the needle.

5. Read the breakdown to sanity-check income claims

After you click Calculate, the results box shows a headline figure for estimated monthly revenue at your main RPM. Under that, you’ll see:

• estimated monthly and yearly revenue for your primary RPM,
• optional monthly and yearly revenue for the alternative RPM scenario,
• your target income, shortfall or surplus at current RPM, and
• the RPM or view count required to hit your target.

The Copy summary button gives you a clean text breakdown you can paste into spreadsheets, planning docs, sponsorship pitches or emails with collaborators.

6. Remember RPM moves over time

RPM is not fixed. It changes with advertiser demand, seasonality, your audience mix, content type, and YouTube’s policy decisions. Treat the numbers from this calculator as ballpark estimates. Use the tool alongside your YouTube Analytics and AdSense dashboard, and revisit your assumptions a few times per year as your channel and the ad market evolve.

Nothing here is financial or tax advice. Always check your actual YouTube and AdSense reports and talk to a qualified advisor when making long-term business or tax decisions based on your creator income.

Math explainer: RPM and revenue estimates

In YouTube Analytics, RPM (revenue per mille) is defined as your total creator revenue divided by total views, multiplied by 1,000. That revenue usually includes ads, YouTube Premium share, memberships, Super Chat and similar features. Let V be your monthly long-form views, R your RPM in USD, and M your target monthly revenue.

Monthly revenue at a given RPM is:

Monthly revenue = R × (V ÷ 1,000)

Annual revenue is just 12 times the monthly estimate:

Annual revenue = 12 × R × (V ÷ 1,000)

When you enter a target monthly revenue, the calculator rearranges the same formula to answer two common questions:

1. What RPM do I need with my current views?
Here we solve for R:

Required RPM = M × 1,000 ÷ V

2. How many views do I need at my current RPM?
Here we solve for V instead:

Required views = M × 1,000 ÷ R

The alternative RPM scenario runs the same monthly and annual revenue math with a second RPM value. That makes it easy to see how much difference a higher-paying niche, more premium geographies, or improved ad suitability could make if your view count stays the same.

References and further reading

• Understand ad revenue analytics (YouTube Help) – Official explanation of RPM, CPM and how YouTube calculates creator ad revenue.
• Revenue per thousand impressions (RPM) – AdSense Help – General RPM formula and examples for estimating earnings per 1,000 impressions.
• What is YouTube RPM, and how does it work? – Creator-focused guide to how RPM behaves across niches and how to improve it over time.
• RPM YouTube: Decode your channel’s revenue – Breakdown of RPM vs CPM and practical tips to optimise your earnings per 1,000 views.