YouTube Money Calculator
How much do your views actually pay? Pick your niche and format to see realistic RPM-based earnings — not inflated averages.
Your numbers
Estimates use creator RPM (your share after YouTube keeps 45% of ad revenue; 55% larger cut on Shorts). Requires the YouTube Partner Program: 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 watch hours (or 10M Shorts views in 90 days).
Estimated ad revenue / month
$300 – $800
for 100,000 long-form views in Education / How-to
Yearly projection at this pace
$3,600 – $9,600
How to use it
- 1
Pick your format
Long-form ads and Shorts pay from completely different systems.
- 2
Enter monthly views
Use your typical monetized views per month.
- 3
Choose your niche
RPM varies 10× between finance and entertainment.
- 4
Read the range
Monthly and yearly ad revenue estimates, instantly.
How YouTube ad revenue actually works
Advertisers bid for space on your videos (CPM). YouTube keeps 45% of long-form ad revenue and passes the rest to you — and since not every view shows an ad, your effective earnings per 1,000 views (RPM) land well below the headline CPM. The single biggest lever is niche: an audience of investors is worth 10× an audience of meme viewers to advertisers, and rates follow. Geography matters almost as much — US, UK, Canadian, and Australian views pay several times more than views from most other countries.
Beyond AdSense
For most creators, ads are the floor, not the ceiling. Channel memberships, Super Thanks, affiliate links, sponsorships, and digital products routinely out-earn AdSense — sponsors alone often pay $20–$50 per 1,000 expected views, an order of magnitude above ad RPM. Use the ad estimate here as your baseline, then layer brand deals on top (our TikTok Money Calculator shows comparable sponsorship benchmarks by follower tier).
Frequently asked questions
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?+
For long-form videos, creators typically earn $1-$8 per 1,000 monetized views depending on niche — finance and tech channels can hit $8-$22 RPM, while entertainment and music sit under $3. Shorts pay far less: about $0.05-$0.10 per 1,000 views from the pooled Shorts fund.
What's the difference between CPM and RPM?+
CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. RPM is what YOU earn per 1,000 video views after YouTube takes its 45% cut and accounts for views without ads. RPM is the number that matters for your income, and it's usually 40-60% lower than CPM.
Why do finance channels earn so much more?+
Ad rates follow advertiser competition. Banks, brokers, and SaaS companies pay premium CPMs ($30-$60+) to reach buyers with high lifetime value. Entertainment viewers are cheap to reach, so those CPMs stay low. Same views, 10x revenue difference.
What are the YouTube monetization requirements?+
The YouTube Partner Program requires 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. A lighter fan-funding tier (memberships, Supers) opens at 500 subscribers. Check your progress with our Creator Monetization Checker.
How much do YouTube Shorts pay?+
Shorts revenue comes from a shared pool split by view share, working out to roughly $0.05-$0.10 per 1,000 views — 10 million Shorts views might pay $500-$1,000. That's why most Shorts creators treat them as a funnel to long-form content and brand deals rather than a direct income source.
Does this calculator use my real channel data?+
No — it's an estimate from the view count and niche you enter, using publicly reported RPM ranges. Your actual RPM depends on audience geography (US/UK/AU views pay most), seasonality (Q4 is highest), ad formats enabled, and average watch time.
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