What does CPM stand for?

CPM stands for "Cost Per Mille" (thousand). It is the cost of 1,000 ad impressions, whether on a web page or in a video.

How do I calculate CPM?

CPM = (Cost ÷ Impressions) × 1000, where Cost is the total ad spend. It helps compare the cost-efficiency of campaigns with different reach. Switch to Planning mode and enter a margin to also see the CPM to charge. Calculating CPM takes that one formula, and the CPM calculation helps compare the cost-efficiency of campaigns with different reach.

How do you figure out CPM by hand?

Divide what you spent by the impressions you got, then multiply by a thousand. $500 across 100,000 impressions is $500 ÷ 100,000 = $0.005 per impression, × 1000 = a $5.00 CPM. The multiplication only moves the decimal somewhere readable; the underlying cost is the same. Going the other way, budget = impressions ÷ 1000 × CPM: the version you want when a publisher quotes a rate and you need the cost of a run.

What is a good CPM for digital advertising?

There is no fixed good CPM: it varies with the channel, the audience, the season, auction conditions and the country. A lower CPM is not always better, because it measures the cost of reach, not what the reach brings. A CPM is most telling next to the CPM of your own earlier campaigns.

How many impressions will my budget buy?

Impressions = budget ÷ CPM × 1000. At a $4 CPM, a $2,000 budget buys 2,000 ÷ 4 × 1000 = 500,000 impressions. Choose Impressions under Find, then enter the budget in Total Cost and the quoted rate in CPM. It is what the budget buys at that rate; actual delivery depends on the auction, pacing and the inventory available. That is how to calculate impressions from a CPM and a budget.

How do I convert CPC to CPM?

CPM = CPC × CTR × 10, with CTR in percent. A $0.50 CPC at a 1% CTR is $0.50 × 1 × 10 = a $5 CPM: 1,000 impressions at 1% bring 10 clicks, and 10 clicks at $0.50 cost $5.

How do I convert CPM to CPC?

CPC = CPM ÷ (CTR × 10), with CTR in percent. For example, a $5 CPM at a 1% CTR gives $5 ÷ 10 = $0.50 a click. The CPC Calculator does this conversion, with budget-to-clicks planning beside it.

CPM Calculator - Cost Per 1,000 Impressions

Formulas and sources

Each formula this calculator uses, where it comes from, and what it leaves out. "How it works" shows the same formula with your own numbers.

Cost per thousand impressions

Simple and Planning modes, when finding the CPM

CPM = (Cost ÷ Impressions) × 1000

CPM: cost per mille: the cost of 1,000 impressions
Cost: the total ad spend, platform fees included
Impressions: the impressions your ad platform counted

Source: Uses the formula in Google Ads Help, under the avg. CPM metric [1]. The IAB defines CPM as the cost per thousand ad impressions [2]. For desktop display, an impression counts once the ad begins to render, whether or not anyone sees it [3].

Impressions a budget buys

Simple and Planning modes, when finding impressions

Impressions = (Cost ÷ CPM) × 1000

Impressions: the impressions the cost buys
Cost: the budget
CPM: the price per 1,000 impressions

A plan at the quoted rate: delivered impressions depend on the auction, pacing and inventory.

Source: The formula above, rearranged [1].

Cost of a number of impressions

Simple and Planning modes, when finding the total cost

Cost = (Impressions ÷ 1000) × CPM

Cost: what the impressions cost
Impressions: the impressions to buy
CPM: the price per 1,000 impressions

Source: The formula above, rearranged [1].

CPM to charge

Planning mode, with a margin

CPM to charge = CPM ÷ (1 - margin)

CPM to charge: the price per 1,000 impressions that leaves your margin
CPM: cost per mille: the one found, or the one you enter
margin: the share of the price you keep, as a decimal (20% is 0.20)

The margin is a share of the price, not a markup on cost. "How it works" prints the margin you entered in its place.

Source: Standard formula; no single publisher.

Cost per impression, and impressions per unit of currency

Simple and Planning modes

Cost per impression = CPM ÷ 1000 Impressions per currency unit = 1000 ÷ CPM

The results card shows this as impressions per $1, using your currency's symbol, rounded to a whole number.

Source: Standard arithmetic; no single publisher.

Sources

Google, Google Ads Help. About YouTube ads and view metrics, the avg. CPM metric. Undated page, read October 5, 2026.
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Glossary: Digital Media Buying & Planning, entry "CPM", page 6. IAB Certification Program, undated.
IAB Tech Lab and Media Rating Council. Desktop Display Impression Measurement Guidelines, section 2.0, point 1. Version 7.1 (MMTF Final Version 1.1), October 2017.

What this calculator does not cover

Impressions are taken as you enter them. A viewable impression is a stricter count: at least half of the ad's pixels in view for one continuous second, or two seconds for video (Media Rating Council, 2015, desktop guideline). Fraud-adjusted counts are not modeled.
Google Ads Help's CPM definition says existing Display CPM bids are converted to viewable CPM (vCPM) bids, so a platform's CPM may already be per viewable impression.
It is one campaign at one point in time: CPM trends over a flight are not modeled, and platform fees count only if you include them in the cost.
Finding impressions or cost assumes the quoted CPM holds for the whole buy. Auction prices, pacing and inventory change it, so delivery can differ from the plan.

Sources checked on October 5, 2026.

Help

Choose what to find: Under Find, choose CPM, Impressions or Total Cost: the CPM from a cost and impressions, the impressions a budget buys at a CPM, or the cost of a number of impressions at a CPM.
Enter the other two: For CPM, enter the Total Cost of the campaign and the Impressions delivered. For Impressions, enter the Total Cost (your budget) and the CPM. For Total Cost, enter the Impressions and the CPM.
View the result: See the CPM, the impressions or the total cost, with the cost per impression beside it.
Enter Profit Margin: Switch to Planning mode and enter a margin to see the CPM to charge.
Compare Campaigns: Calculate CPM for multiple campaigns to compare efficiency.
Export Results: Export your CPM analysis as JSON, CSV or PDF.

Understanding CPM

How to calculate CPM, worked through

CPM is cost per mille, the cost of a thousand impressions. Quoting it per thousand turns a cost per impression with too many zeros into a number you can compare. A $500 campaign that served 100,000 impressions works out at $500 ÷ 100,000 × 1000 = $5.00 CPM. Rearranged, the same formula prices a buy before you place it: 250,000 impressions at a $5 CPM cost $1,250.

Plan a buy: impressions from a budget

Choose Impressions under Find, then enter the budget in Total Cost and the quoted rate in CPM. $2,000 at a $4 CPM buys 2,000 ÷ 4 × 1000 = 500,000 impressions. Choose Total Cost to go the other way: 250,000 impressions at a $12 CPM cost $3,000. Either is a plan at the quoted rate; what is delivered depends on the auction, pacing and the inventory available. Programmatic, display and video buys are usually quoted as a CPM, so the same two steps price any of them.

CPM measures reach efficiency, not results

CPM (cost per mille; "mille" is Latin for thousand) is what you pay for every 1,000 impressions your platform counts. It measures the cost of reach, not performance: a low CPM says impressions are cheap, but says nothing about clicks, conversions or revenue. Pair it with CPC or ROAS to see what the reach brings. Publishers quote eCPM, their earnings per 1,000 impressions. It is the same calculation: choose CPM under Find, enter the earnings as the Total Cost and the impressions served.

Pricing to keep a margin

If you resell impressions or run campaigns for clients, switch to Planning mode and enter the margin you want to keep. The calculator shows the CPM to charge so that margin is left after the media cost. At a 20% margin, $5 of media needs a $6.25 selling CPM, not $6.00: a 20% markup on cost leaves only a 16.7% margin.

There is no universal "good" CPM

CPM depends on the platform, the audience targeting, the season, the format (video or display) and the competition. Google Ads Help notes that a good average CPM varies by country, and calls CPM most useful for comparing your own ads, ad groups and campaigns.

CPM Calculator - Cost Per 1,000 Impressions

Formulas and sources

Cost per thousand impressions

Impressions a budget buys

Cost of a number of impressions

CPM to charge

Cost per impression, and impressions per unit of currency

Sources

What this calculator does not cover

Help

Understanding CPM

How to calculate CPM, worked through

Plan a buy: impressions from a budget

CPM measures reach efficiency, not results

Pricing to keep a margin

There is no universal "good" CPM

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Calculators

CPC Calculator

ROAS Calculator

ROI Calculator

CLV Calculator

CAC Calculator

CPM Calculator - Cost Per 1,000 Impressions

Formulas and sources

Cost per thousand impressions

Impressions a budget buys

Cost of a number of impressions

CPM to charge

Cost per impression, and impressions per unit of currency

Sources

What this calculator does not cover

Help

Quick Start Guide

Understanding CPM

How to calculate CPM, worked through

Plan a buy: impressions from a budget

CPM measures reach efficiency, not results

Pricing to keep a margin

There is no universal "good" CPM

Features

Common Use Cases

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Calculators

CPC Calculator

ROAS Calculator

ROI Calculator

CLV Calculator

CAC Calculator