YouTube RPM Calculator
Estimate your real YouTube ad payout and effective RPM from monthly views, CPM, monetized-views %, invalid traffic and withholding tax — after YouTube’s 45% cut.
How it works
Gross = views × (monetized% ÷ 100) × (1 − invalid% ÷ 100) ÷ 1000 × CPM · Creator share = gross × 0.55 · After tax = creator share × (1 − tax% ÷ 100) · RPM = payout ÷ views × 1000
CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 monetized impressions; RPM is what you actually earn per 1,000 total views — and the gap between them is large. Not every view carries an ad (the monetized-views percentage), some traffic is filtered as invalid, and YouTube keeps 45% of ad revenue on long-form video, leaving creators 55%. Non-US creators may also have US withholding tax deducted, up to 30%, on the US-viewer share. This tool chains all of those together so the headline figure is a realistic take-home payout and effective RPM, not the inflated “views × CPM” number.
Worked example
500,000 monthly views, an $8 CPM, 55% monetized and 5% invalid traffic: gross = 500,000 × 0.55 × 0.95 ÷ 1000 × 8 = $2,090. YouTube’s 55% share leaves $1,149.50, and with 0% withholding tax that is your payout. Effective RPM = 1,149.50 ÷ 500,000 × 1000 = $2.30, or about $13,794 a year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CPM and RPM?
CPM (cost per mille) is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions before YouTube’s cut. RPM (revenue per mille) is your earnings per 1,000 total video views after the platform’s share and after accounting for unmonetized views. RPM is almost always far lower than CPM, and it is the number that reflects what you actually take home.
Why does YouTube take 45%?
Under the YouTube Partner Program, creators keep 55% of long-form ad revenue and YouTube retains 45%. Shorts use a different pool-based split. This calculator applies the 55% long-form share, so the payout is after YouTube’s cut, not the advertiser’s gross spend.
Why is there a withholding-tax field?
Creators outside the US can have up to 30% US tax withheld on earnings from US viewers, depending on whether their country has a tax treaty and whether they submitted tax info to Google. Enter your effective withholding rate to see payout after that deduction; US creators typically leave it at 0.
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Estimate only — real payouts and returns depend on rates, taxes and factors outside this tool. Educational, not financial advice.