YouTube does not publish a fixed rate for what it pays per 1,000 views — the number varies by channel, by video, and by dozens of variables. The metric that reflects your actual earnings is RPM (Revenue Per Mille: your income from all sources per 1,000 views, after YouTube's share). RPM is determined by 5 documented factors. The only accurate source for your channel's RPM is YouTube Analytics.
| Metric | What It Measures | Who Uses It | Before or After YouTube's Share? |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPM | What an advertiser pays per 1,000 ad impressions | Advertisers — their metric | Before |
| RPM | Your earnings from all revenue sources per 1,000 views | Creators — your metric | After |
| Creator's share | The portion of revenue that reaches you | — | 55% ads / 45% Shorts / 70% Fan Funding |
Key takeaways:
- Per YouTube's official ad revenue analytics page, your channel's RPM is affected by 5 factors: viewer geography, content topic, season, available ad formats, and your channel's revenue source mix.
- RPM is always lower than CPM because it is calculated after YouTube's share is deducted and includes all views — not just monetized ones.
- Shorts RPM is calculated per 1,000 Engaged Views — not total views — because the Shorts Creator Pool system uses qualified views for revenue distribution.
- Per YouTube's partner earnings overview: creators receive 55% from Watch Page ads, 45% from Shorts, and 70% from Fan Funding.
- Any figure you find online ("YouTube pays $X per 1,000 views") is a circumstantial average across millions of channels — it does not reflect your channel specifically. Your RPM in Analytics is the only accurate reference.
Why there is no fixed rate for what YouTube pays per 1,000 views
Per the official YouTube Help Center, CPM and RPM are determined by variables that differ for every channel and every video. Figures that circulate online are aggregate averages pooled from millions of channels across different niches, audiences, and geographies — they carry no reliable signal for your channel's actual earnings.
The five factors that determine your channel's RPM
1. Viewer geography
Per the official page, advertisers specify the countries they want to target. Ad market competition varies by country, meaning two channels with identical content and size will generate different CPMs if their audiences are in different locations.
2. Content topic
Advertisers pay more to reach audiences with high commercial intent. Personal finance, technology, and business content attracts advertisers willing to spend more than general entertainment. This creates meaningful CPM differences across niches even at the same audience size.
3. Season
Per the official page, advertisers raise their bids before holidays and major occasions (November–December) and pull back at the start of the year (January–February). Your channel will generate higher CPM in Q4 regardless of content type — and lower CPM in Q1 for the same reason.
4. Available ad formats
Per the official page, different ad formats carry different CPMs. Non-skippable ads generally achieve higher CPM than skippable ones. The availability of these formats in ad inventory changes continuously and is outside the creator's direct control.
5. Your channel's revenue source mix
RPM includes all revenue sources — ads, memberships, Supers, and Premium. A channel generating significant income from Channel Memberships will show a higher RPM without any change in ad CPM. Two channels with similar ad performance can show different RPMs simply because one has more active Fan Funding revenue.
How YouTube calculates your earnings per 1,000 views
Per the official YouTube Help Center, the formula is:
RPM formula:
RPM = (Total earnings from all sources ÷ Total views) × 1,000
Example: If you earned $22 from 10,000 views:
RPM = (22 ÷ 10,000) × 1,000 = $2.20
⚠️ Shorts RPM is calculated differently
Per the official page, Shorts RPM is calculated per 1,000 Engaged Views — not total views. This is because the Shorts Creator Pool distributes revenue based on qualified views only, not aggregate view counts. For full details, see the Shorts monetization guide.
How to find your actual RPM in YouTube Analytics
Per YouTube's revenue verification page, your channel's RPM is available directly in YouTube Analytics:
📋 Steps to find your RPM
- Open YouTube Studio → Analytics.
- Select the Revenue tab.
- Find the RPM card under the key metrics.
- RPM can be viewed at channel level or for each individual video.
- To compare RPM across periods: adjust the date range to view different timeframes side by side.
Note: The RPM figure in Analytics is an estimate — it is subject to two adjustment cycles before final figures appear in AdSense for YouTube. For details on the difference, see the earnings calculator accuracy guide.
What percentage of every advertiser dollar reaches you?
Per YouTube's official partner earnings overview, these are the confirmed revenue share rates:
- Watch Page ads (long-form video and live streams): 55% to the creator — YouTube keeps 45%
- Shorts Feed ads: 45% to the creator from their Creator Pool allocation — YouTube keeps 55%
- Fan Funding (memberships, Supers): 70% to the creator — YouTube keeps 30%
- YouTube Premium: A proportional share determined by how much Premium subscribers watch your content relative to all content they watch
Frequently asked questions
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views in the US?
YouTube does not publish fixed rates for any country, including the US. RPM for a US-based audience still varies by niche, content type, ad format availability, and season. A US-audience finance channel in December will produce a very different RPM from a US-audience entertainment channel in January. The only accurate figure for your channel is in your YouTube Analytics Revenue tab.
Why is my channel's RPM much lower than its CPM?
Per the official page, RPM is lower than CPM for three reasons: first, it is calculated after YouTube's share is deducted (YouTube keeps 45% of Watch Page ad revenue). Second, it is divided across all your views — including views that carried no ad. Third, it incorporates all revenue sources, not ads alone, which affects the overall average differently depending on your channel's mix.
Does 1 million views on YouTube always equal a specific dollar amount?
No. One million views from a US personal finance audience in December produces entirely different earnings from one million views from a mixed global entertainment audience in January. Figures that circulate online for "1 million YouTube views" are pooled averages with no meaningful relationship to any specific channel's RPM.
Can I increase my channel's RPM?
Yes. Per the official page, RPM can be raised by: enabling ads on all eligible videos, enabling mid-roll ads on videos longer than 8 minutes, and diversifying revenue by activating Channel Memberships and Supers. Each of these adds revenue without necessarily increasing views — which raises RPM directly. For a full breakdown, see the ad revenue optimization guide.
Is Shorts RPM comparable to long-form video RPM per view?
No — the two systems are structurally different. Shorts revenue runs through the Creator Pool, a collective distribution mechanism distinct from the individual ad auction that governs long-form video. Shorts RPM is calculated per 1,000 Engaged Views (not total views), and creators receive 45% rather than 55%. Comparing Shorts RPM directly to long-form RPM on a per-view basis is not a meaningful comparison.