CPM (cost per mille) is what advertisers pay for every 1,000 ad impressions they buy on a platform. RPM (revenue per mille) is what a creator actually receives for every 1,000 video views, after the platform takes its cut. The gap between the two numbers is the platform fee \u2014 and on most creator-pay platforms that gap hides the majority of the math people get wrong.
How it works
CPM is set by an ad auction. Advertisers bid on audiences \u2014 US viewers in finance, viewers with high purchase intent, viewers watching a long-form video that keeps them engaged enough to see multiple mid-rolls. The winning bids determine the price per 1,000 impressions on that video, and that number is the CPM.
Then the platform takes its share. YouTube keeps 45% of AdSense revenue from long-form videos and gives 55% to the creator. So a $15 CPM on a video becomes roughly $8.25 RPM to the creator before other adjustments. TikTok\u2019s Creator Rewards Program uses a different model \u2014 the RPM comes from a pool based on qualified views, not from the advertiser CPM directly \u2014 but the same compounding applies.
Other layers also eat into RPM: country tier (US/UK pay more than LATAM/SEA), watch time per session, ad blockers, copyright-claim splits, and whether the video is suitable for all advertisers. Two videos with identical CPMs can produce very different RPMs based on these downstream factors.
RPM and CPM in practice
Imagine a 10-minute finance video with 100,000 views. Advertiser CPM on finance content typically sits in the $20\u2013$40 range. Say the average is $28 CPM. YouTube takes 45%, leaving an AdSense RPM of about $15.40 \u2014 about $1,540 on 100,000 views. That\u2019s the ad revenue number. Brand sponsorships use their own CPM for dedicated integrations, and that\u2019s where most creators earn the bulk of their income.
On TikTok, the Creator Rewards Program uses a different yardstick \u2014 a pool-derived RPM for videos over one minute with qualified views. US creators see $0.40\u2013$1.00 per 1,000 qualified views, with a baseline around $0.75. That\u2019s the real RPM to model against, not a generic AdSense number. The Rewards calculator below walks through the math.
Common misconceptions
\u201cCPM is my income.\u201d It\u2019s not. CPM is what advertisers pay the platform. You see 55% of that on YouTube long-form \u2014 and less on mobile apps after store fees on memberships or tips.
\u201cRPM doesn\u2019t matter for sponsorships.\u201d It sort of doesn\u2019t \u2014 brand deal rates are priced in their own CPM range that\u2019s usually 3\u201310\u00d7 higher than ad CPM, because a sponsorship is a dedicated slot, not a pooled impression. But you still benchmark against your audience\u2019s view economics when pricing a sponsor.
\u201cHigh CPM guarantees high RPM.\u201d Not always. Ad fill rate, country mix, copyright splits, and adblock rates all live between CPM and RPM. A video with a $25 CPM can end up with an $8 RPM if only half of viewers see ads or if the video shares revenue with a rights-holder.