How YouTube pays creators
YouTube shares ad money with creators in the YouTube Partner Program. At the time of writing, ad revenue sharing needs 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days.
On long-form videos, you keep 55% of the ad revenue and YouTube keeps 45%. Shorts work differently: ad money from the Shorts feed goes into a pool, it's shared out by your share of views, and you keep 45% of your part.
RPM vs CPM
CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube takes its share. RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views of your videos, after YouTube's share, counting every view, including ones where no ad played. RPM also folds in other income like memberships and YouTube Premium.
RPM is the number to plan with, because it's what lands in your account. This calculator uses RPM, so it doesn't take another cut off.
The formula
Earnings = views × share on monetized videos ÷ 1,000 × RPM. Shorts are added the same way with their own, much lower RPM.
For example, 5,000 views a day with 90% on monetized videos at a $3 to $8 RPM is 4,500 ÷ 1,000 × $3 to $8, or $13.50 to $36 a day. That's about $410 to $1,095 a month.
What moves your RPM
The same views can pay very differently depending on:
- Niche: finance, business and tech attract advertisers who pay more per viewer.
- Audience country: views from the US, UK, Canada and Australia usually earn the most.
- Video length: videos over 8 minutes can carry mid-roll ads.
- Time of year: ad budgets peak in the fourth quarter, then drop in January.
- Content: videos YouTube marks as not suitable for most advertisers earn little.
Frequently asked questions
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?
Most channels see an RPM somewhere between $1 and $10 per 1,000 long-form views, with finance and business channels often higher. Shorts usually pay a few cents per 1,000 views.
How much does YouTube pay for 1 million views?
For long-form videos, roughly $1,000 to $8,000 for most niches at a $1 to $8 RPM. For Shorts it's far less, often around $30 to $80.
Is RPM before or after YouTube's cut?
After. RPM is your share of the revenue per 1,000 views, so you don't need to subtract YouTube's 45% from it.
How many views do I need to make $1,000 a month?
At a $4 RPM, about 250,000 views a month on monetized videos. At a $10 RPM, about 100,000.