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CPM Calculator
Calculate CPM, total campaign cost or impressions from any two figures.
CPM means cost per mille — cost per thousand impressions. It is the standard way display advertising is priced, and the only sensible way to compare two campaigns that reached very different numbers of people.
Running a CPM calculation
- Enter any two of the three values: cost, impressions, or CPM.
- The third is calculated for you.
- Use cost and impressions to find the CPM you actually paid.
- Use CPM and budget to forecast the reach a campaign will buy.
- Use CPM and a target impression count to work out what to budget.
The formula, and the mistake people make
CPM = (total cost ÷ impressions) × 1,000. Spend 450 to get 180,000 impressions and your CPM is 2.50.
The common slip is dividing by a thousand in the wrong place, or comparing a CPM against a CPC as though they measure the same thing. They do not. CPM prices exposure; CPC prices a click. A campaign with a wonderful CPM and no clicks has bought you nothing but a low number on a report.
What different CPMs buy
| Budget | CPM 2.00 | CPM 5.00 | CPM 12.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 250,000 | 100,000 | 41,700 |
| 1,000 | 500,000 | 200,000 | 83,300 |
| 5,000 | 2,500,000 | 1,000,000 | 416,700 |
| 10,000 | 5,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 833,300 |
Reading a CPM properly
- A low CPM on badly targeted inventory is more expensive than a high CPM on the right audience.
- CPM says nothing about whether the impression was actually seen — ask about viewability.
- Compare CPMs only within the same channel; display, video and audio are not interchangeable.
- Frequency matters: 100,000 impressions across 10,000 people is a very different campaign from 100,000 people seeing it once.
- Track a downstream metric as well, whether that is clicks, signups or revenue.
CPM questions
What does CPM stand for?
Cost per mille — mille being Latin for thousand. It is the price you pay for one thousand advertising impressions.
How is CPM calculated?
Divide total campaign cost by the number of impressions, then multiply by 1,000. Spending 800 for 400,000 impressions gives a CPM of 2.00.
What is the difference between CPM and CPC?
CPM charges for exposure, whether or not anyone acts. CPC charges only when someone clicks. CPM suits brand awareness; CPC suits campaigns measured on direct response.
What counts as a good CPM?
It depends entirely on channel and audience. Broad display inventory can run under 2, while tightly targeted professional audiences on premium platforms can exceed 30. Compare against your own historical benchmarks, not a general figure.
What is eCPM?
Effective CPM — the revenue or cost per thousand impressions once everything is normalised. Publishers use it to compare earnings across ad formats and networks that are priced in different ways.
