YouTube Money Calculator
YouTube pays by RPM (revenue per 1,000 monetized views after YouTube keeps 45%) and RPM depends almost entirely on niche and audience country. Pick your niche, enter monthly views and the share of views that actually show ads, and you get a range, not a fantasy number.
YouTube RPM by niche (2026)
- Finance and investing: $8–$25
- Business, marketing, SaaS: $6–$18
- Tech and software: $4–$12
- Education and how-to: $3–$9
- Health and fitness: $3–$8
- Lifestyle and vlogs: $2–$5
- Gaming: $1.50–$4
- Entertainment, comedy, music: $1–$3
- Shorts, any niche: $0.05–$0.15
RPM is what you keep. CPM (what advertisers pay) is higher, but YouTube takes 45% of ad revenue and not every view shows an ad: usually 40–70% do, which is the "monetized" field above.
Why your number will differ
- Country: US, UK, Canadian and Australian viewers pay several times more than viewers in most of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
- Season: Q4 RPMs run 30–50% above Q1 because ad budgets spike before the holidays.
- Video length: videos over 8 minutes can carry mid-roll ads, which roughly doubles RPM.
- Shorts: paid from a shared pool at a fraction of a cent per view.
Below about 500k views a month, sponsorships and affiliate links usually out-earn ads.
Frequently asked questions
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?
Between about $1 and $25 after YouTube's cut, depending on niche and audience country. Most channels land between $2 and $6.
How much does YouTube pay for 1 million views?
Roughly $1,500–$6,000 for a typical channel, up to $20,000+ for finance or business content with a US audience, and under $200 if those views are Shorts.
Do Shorts make money?
A little. Shorts are paid from a shared ad pool at around $0.05–$0.15 per 1,000 views.
What is the difference between CPM and RPM?
CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. RPM is what you receive per 1,000 video views after YouTube's 45% share and after counting views that showed no ad.
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