YouTube does not pay a fixed amount per 1,000 views. What a channel actually earns per 1,000 views is its RPM (revenue per mille), which YouTube reports in Analytics after its revenue share has been taken out. RPM differs from channel to channel and month to month, so the only reliable number for your channel is the one in your own YouTube Studio.
Key points
- Only channels in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) earn ad revenue.
- RPM = what you earn per 1,000 engaged views, including views that showed no ads, after YouTube’s share.
- Since August 24, 2026, public view counts start the moment a video plays, but RPM and YPP earnings are still based on engaged views.
- CPM = what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube’s share. It is always higher than RPM.
- For long-form videos, creators get 55% of net ad revenue; for Shorts, 45% of their allocated share of the Shorts Creator Pool.
- To estimate 100,000 views, multiply your RPM by 100.
- Third-party creator data from 2026 put median long-form RPM at about $4.14 and Shorts at about $0.18. Your own RPM is the only figure that applies to you.
- From February 1, 2027, earning from the Shorts Creator Pool needs 10 million qualified Shorts views in the past 90 days.
Does YouTube pay a set amount per 1,000 views?
No. YouTube pays a share of the ad revenue (and other revenue such as YouTube Premium) your videos generate, so earnings depend on how many ads run, what advertisers pay for them and who is watching. Two videos with the same view count can earn very different amounts.
YouTube’s help page on RPM lists the factors that affect what advertisers pay, including the time of year, viewer geography and ad formats. That is why no honest article can give a single “YouTube pays $X per 1,000 views” figure that applies to you.
Do all public views count toward earnings?
No. Since August 24, 2026, YouTube counts a public view as soon as a video starts to play, across Shorts, long-form videos and live streams. Earnings work differently. YouTube says RPM “is calculated per 1,000 engaged views”, meaning views where someone clicked or tapped to watch or kept watching past the first moments. YPP eligibility and most analytics also use engaged views. So a public view count that jumped after August 2026 doesn’t mean your revenue views grew by the same amount.
What is the difference between RPM and CPM?
RPM is the creator’s number: total revenue per 1,000 views after the revenue share. CPM is the advertiser’s number: the cost per 1,000 ad impressions before the revenue share.
| Metric | What it measures | Counted per | Before or after YouTube’s share |
|---|---|---|---|
| RPM | Your total revenue (ads, Premium and other sources) | 1,000 engaged views, including views that showed no ads | After |
| CPM | What advertisers pay for ads on your videos | 1,000 ad impressions | Before |
| Playback-based CPM | Advertiser cost for monetized playbacks | 1,000 playbacks where at least one ad was shown | Before |
Because RPM includes views where no ad ran and is measured after YouTube’s share, it is lower than CPM. When you are estimating earnings, RPM is the number to use.
How is YouTube ad revenue split with creators?
For ads on the watch page, which covers long-form videos including embedded plays, creators in YPP receive 55% of net revenue. Shorts work differently: revenue from ads shown between Shorts is pooled, and creators receive 45% of the revenue allocated to them from that pool.
| Revenue type | Creator share |
|---|---|
| Watch page ads (long-form, including embeds) | 55% of net revenue |
| Shorts feed ads | 45% of the revenue allocated from the Shorts Creator Pool |
| Channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks | 70% of net revenue |
YouTube’s Shorts help page also explains that if a Short uses music, part of its allocation goes toward music licensing. As a result, Shorts and long-form RPMs on the same channel are often very different.
What changes in 2027?
YouTube has announced YPP updates starting February 1, 2027:
- Shorts minimum: to earn from the Shorts Creator Pool in a given month, a channel needs 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days. Missing it doesn’t remove you from YPP or affect long-form earnings.
- Targeted Shorts ads: if an advertiser targets five or fewer channels, eligible creators get a direct 45% share of those placements on top of the pool.
- Premium Lite: expands to all Premium countries. Creators share a pool of 60% of net Premium Lite subscription revenue.
- New entry thresholds: new applicants need 1,000 subscribers plus 8,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days. Channels already in YPP aren’t affected. See how long it takes to reach YPP.
Existing partners need to accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027 to keep fully monetizing.
What RPM do creators actually report?
YouTube doesn’t publish average RPMs. Independent studies give a rough sense of the range. These are third-party figures, not YouTube data:
| Format | Median RPM | Middle half of creators | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-form | About $4.14 | $2.50 to $8.40 | Virev, Oct 2026 (third-party) |
| Shorts | About $0.18 | $0.07 to $0.19 | Virev, Oct 2026 (third-party) |
AIR Media-Tech’s 2026 study of 274 channels (also third-party) found that Shorts RPM was 3% to 14% of long-form RPM in most niches. Finance and business channels with US, UK or Canadian audiences tend to sit well above the median. Treat these as context, not a forecast. See long-form vs Shorts for more on the gap.
How much do 100,000 views pay on YouTube?
Divide the views by 1,000 and multiply by your RPM. For 100,000 views, that means 100 × your RPM. The table below shows the arithmetic for a few example RPMs. These are example inputs, not averages or typical rates.
| Example RPM | 1,000 views | 10,000 views | 100,000 views | 1,000,000 views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1.00 | $1 | $10 | $100 | $1,000 |
| $3.00 | $3 | $30 | $300 | $3,000 |
| $6.00 | $6 | $60 | $600 | $6,000 |
| $10.00 | $10 | $100 | $1,000 | $10,000 |
If you are not in YPP yet, you don’t have an RPM. Our YouTube money calculator lets you plug in daily views and a CPM you choose, so you can see a range of scenarios without treating any single number as a promise.
Where do I find my RPM and CPM?
Both are in YouTube Analytics once your channel is monetized.
On desktop
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- Select Analytics in the left menu.
- Open the Revenue tab.
- Find the RPM card. For per-video detail, open Advanced mode.
On mobile
- Open the YouTube Studio app.
- Tap Analytics.
- Swipe to the Revenue tab to see estimated revenue and RPM.
What makes RPM go up or down?
RPM moves with advertiser demand and with how many of your views can show ads. YouTube names season, geography and ad formats as factors in CPM. Beyond those, a few things are within your control:
- Ad suitability. Videos with limited or no ads (yellow icon) pull RPM down. Our guide to advertiser-friendly content covers what triggers this.
- Format mix. Shorts and long-form are paid from different pools, so a channel that shifts toward Shorts often sees its blended RPM change. See long-form vs Shorts.
- Video length and ad breaks. Longer long-form videos can carry mid-roll ads where they are eligible.
- Other revenue. Premium, memberships and Super Thanks all count toward RPM, not just ads.
When does YouTube pay creators?
Payments go through AdSense for YouTube. According to YouTube Help, your estimated earnings for a month are finalized and posted to your AdSense balance between the 7th and 12th of the next month. Payment is issued between the 21st and 26th, once you have reached your payment threshold and have no holds on your account.
Views bought from third parties do not produce ad revenue and can break YouTube’s fake engagement policy. We do sell YouTube view packages for visibility, but they will never raise your RPM. If you use any promotion, check it against that policy first.
Sources
- YouTube Help: Revenue per mille (RPM) and CPM
- YouTube Help: YouTube Partner Program revenue shares
- YouTube Help: Shorts monetization
- YouTube Help: Fake engagement policy
- YouTube Help: Changes to the YouTube Partner Program (2027)
- YouTube Official Blog: What are engaged views on YouTube?
- Virev (third-party study, Oct 2026): How much does YouTube pay per view?
- AIR Media-Tech (third-party study, 2026): YouTube Shorts RPM vs long-form
FAQ
How much does YouTube pay for 1,000 views?
There is no fixed rate. A monetized channel earns its RPM per 1,000 engaged views, which you can see in YouTube Studio under Analytics > Revenue. RPM varies by audience, season, ad formats and how many views showed ads.
How much do 100k views pay on YouTube?
Multiply your RPM by 100. For example, an RPM of $3 would mean about $300 for 100,000 views. That is arithmetic from an example input, not a typical figure.
Is RPM or CPM better for estimating earnings?
RPM. It is measured after YouTube’s revenue share and counts every engaged view, including ones without ads, so it reflects what you actually take home. CPM is the advertiser’s cost before the share.
Do Shorts pay the same as long-form videos?
No. Long-form ads pay creators 55% of net revenue. Shorts ad revenue is pooled, and creators get 45% of what is allocated to them from the Shorts Creator Pool.
Do I get paid for views before joining YPP?
No. Ad revenue is only paid to channels in the YouTube Partner Program, starting from when monetization is turned on.
Did the August 2026 view-count change affect earnings?
Public views now count from the first frame, but RPM is still calculated per 1,000 engaged views. A higher public count doesn’t by itself mean more revenue.