CPM Calculator
Cost per 1,000 impressions for ad campaigns
$500 spent on 200,000 impressions is a $2.50 CPM, the cost of 1,000 impressions, or a quarter of a cent for each one. Enter your own cost and impressions to calculate CPM, cost per impression and how many impressions $1,000 buys.
What CPM means
Used as a cost per impression calculator, the same arithmetic gives you the per-impression figure alongside the per-thousand one.
CPM is "cost per mille" — the cost of 1,000 ad impressions. It is the standard pricing unit for display, video and social advertising, and the only fair way to compare two buys of different sizes.
CPM = cost ÷ impressions × 1,000. A $500 buy delivering 200,000 impressions is a $2.50 CPM.
| Impressions | CPM | Per impression | Impressions per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 | $10.00 | 1.0¢ | 100,000 |
| 100,000 | $5.00 | 0.5¢ | 200,000 |
| 200,000 | $2.50 | 0.25¢ | 400,000 |
| 500,000 | $1.00 | 0.1¢ | 1,000,000 |
| 1,000,000 | $0.50 | 0.05¢ | 2,000,000 |
Typical CPM by channel
| Channel | Typical CPM |
|---|---|
| Programmatic display | $0.50 to $4 |
| Google Display Network | $2 to $10 |
| YouTube | $4 to $15 |
| Facebook and Instagram | $5 to $15 |
| Podcast | $15 to $35 |
| National TV | $20 to $40 |
| $20 to $60 |
LinkedIn costs ten times what programmatic display does per impression, and for B2B it is frequently still the better buy. That is the argument against optimising for CPM in one line: the metric measures cost, not value.
CPM, CPC and CPA
| Model | You pay for | Risk sits with | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPM | Impressions | The advertiser | Awareness, reach |
| CPC | Clicks | Shared | Traffic, direct response |
| CPA | Conversions | The publisher | Performance, affiliate |
They connect through click-through rate: CPC = CPM ÷ (CTR × 1,000). A $10 CPM at a 2% CTR is a $0.50 effective CPC. That conversion is how you compare a CPM buy against a CPC buy honestly, and the CTR calculator handles the other direction.
Why a low CPM can be the expensive option
Cheap impressions in front of the wrong audience cost more per result than expensive impressions in front of the right one. Work the example: a $2 CPM at 0.1% CTR gives a $2.00 effective CPC. A $20 CPM at 3% CTR gives $0.67 — a third of the cost per visitor, at ten times the CPM.
- Check viewability. A served impression is not a seen one, and low-CPM inventory often has poor viewability.
- Watch frequency. Cheap CPMs often mean showing a small audience the same ad twenty times, which is reach on paper and irritation in practice.
- Beware invalid traffic. The cheapest inventory carries the most bot traffic, and you pay for those impressions.
- Judge on cost per outcome — a signup, a sale, a conversion — not on the media unit price.
Once the campaign has run, the ROAS calculator tells you whether the spend actually made money, which is the only question that finally matters.
What the CPM figure assumes
CPM is cost ÷ impressions × 1,000. Cost per impression is reported in cents, and impressions per $1,000 is 1,000,000 ÷ CPM.
- Served impressions as reported by the platform. Viewable-impression CPM (vCPM) is a different and usually higher figure, since not every served impression is seen.
- Channel benchmarks are broad US ranges as of September 2026 and move considerably with targeting, seasonality and auction competition. Q4 CPMs routinely run well above the annual average.
- The CPM to CPC conversion assumes the same audience and creative, so it compares buys rather than predicting performance.
- Not modelled: frequency capping, unique reach against total impressions, invalid traffic, and platform fees layered on top of media cost.
Reviewed September 2026.
Sources, checked
- Cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM): Definition, Google Ads Help. CPM as the price paid per thousand impressions.
Figures reviewed . Every worked example on this page is checked against the calculator above.
CPM Calculator: frequently asked questions
How is CPM calculated?
Divide the total campaign cost by impressions, then multiply by 1,000. A $500 buy delivering 200,000 impressions is a $2.50 CPM.
What does CPM stand for?
Cost per mille, meaning cost per thousand impressions. The M is the Roman numeral for a thousand rather than the initial of a word, which is why it is not abbreviated CPT.
What is a typical CPM?
Roughly $0.50 to $4 for programmatic display, $5 to $15 for Facebook and Instagram, $15 to $35 for podcasts, and $20 to $60 for LinkedIn. Compare only within the same channel and audience.
How do I convert CPM to CPC?
CPC = CPM ÷ (CTR × 1,000). A $10 CPM at a 2% click-through rate is a $0.50 effective cost per click. This is how you compare a CPM buy against a CPC buy fairly.
Is a lower CPM always better?
No. A $2 CPM at 0.1% CTR costs $2.00 per click, while a $20 CPM at 3% CTR costs $0.67. The expensive impressions are three times cheaper per visitor. Judge on cost per outcome.
What is the difference between CPM, CPC and CPA?
CPM charges for impressions with the risk on the advertiser, CPC charges for clicks with risk shared, and CPA charges only for conversions with risk on the publisher. Each suits a different campaign goal.
Why is LinkedIn CPM so high?
Precise professional targeting and a limited inventory of business users. At $20 to $60 it costs ten times programmatic display per impression, and for B2B it is often still cheaper per qualified lead.
Does CPM include viewability?
Not usually. A served impression is not necessarily a seen one, and cheaper inventory tends to have lower viewability and more invalid traffic. Check viewable CPM if your platform reports it.