# How much do YouTubers make per view?

URL: https://howinfluencersmakemoney.com/how-much-do-youtubers-make-per-view/
Facts checked: 2026-10-21
Independent and unsponsored: no company paid for, reviewed, or approved this page.

YouTube publishes no rate per view. AIR Media-Tech's estimate from 300 channels, May 2025 to May 2026, puts the median long-form RPM at about $2.30 per 1,000 views, or roughly $0.0023 per view and $2,300 per million. Its 2026 study of 274 channels puts Shorts at $0.07 to $0.20 per 1,000 views in most niches.

A YouTuber makes about a quarter of a cent per long-form view on AIR Media-Tech's 2026 estimates, and a small fraction of that on Shorts. YouTube does not publish a rate per view. It publishes the share it keeps. The per-view figures on this page come from AIR Media-Tech, an agency that reports its client channels' YouTube Studio data.

This page explains RPM and CPM, then gives per-view estimates by format, niche and country, each labeled with who measured it and when. It ends with the math from RPM to the money that reaches your bank.

## The numbers

- RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube's share. CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions before it.
- AIR Media-Tech's median long-form RPM is about $2.30, or $2,300 per million views, across 300 channels from May 2025 to May 2026.
- Shorts earn $0.07 to $0.20 per 1,000 views in most niches, per AIR Media-Tech's 2026 study of 274 channels.
- Niche moves RPM the most. AIR's medians run from $0.33 for Kids & Teens to $10.22 for Education & Science.
- YouTube pays monthly through AdSense once a US balance reaches $100.

## What is the difference between RPM and CPM?

RPM is what you earn per 1,000 video views after YouTube's share. CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions before YouTube takes its share. Use RPM to forecast your income and CPM to judge how much advertisers value your audience.

YouTube's help center defines RPM as the money you have earned per 1,000 video views. It counts every view, including views that showed no ad. It also counts more than ads, with memberships, YouTube Premium, Super Chat and Super Stickers in the total. For Shorts, RPM is based on engaged views.

YouTube Studio shows two kinds of CPM. Plain CPM is the cost per 1,000 ad impressions. Playback-based CPM is the cost per 1,000 playbacks where at least one ad appeared. Neither one is your pay.

## Why is RPM so much lower than CPM?

RPM is lower because YouTube keeps part of the ad money and because many views show no ad at all. YouTube's own help center example shows both effects.

The example uses a video with 5,000 views. Of those, 1,000 showed one ad and 500 showed two, so 1,500 views had ads and the video served 2,000 ad impressions. The advertiser paid $7. That makes the CPM $3.50 and the playback-based CPM $4.67.

Now apply YouTube's 55% long-form share, assuming the $7 is all net ad revenue. The creator gets about $3.85. Spread across all 5,000 views, that is an RPM of $0.77, less than a quarter of the $3.50 CPM.

AIR Media-Tech's 2026 data shows the same gap at scale. Across its 300 channels, the median channel showed an ad on 53% of views, with about 1.55 ads per monetized view. Only 34% of Gadgets & Tech views showed an ad, against 77% in Education & Science.

## How much do YouTubers make per 1,000 and per 1 million views?

AIR Media-Tech's median long-form RPM is about $2.30 per 1,000 views, which works out to about $2,300 per 1 million views. AIR measured it across 300 channels it works with, with 10,000 to 50 million subscribers, using YouTube Studio data for every monetized month from May 2025 to May 2026. It is one company's estimate from its own clients, not a YouTube rate.

The median hides a wide spread. In AIR's data, the top 10% of channels earned 58% of all ad revenue and the bottom half earned 4%. Channel size mattered less than niche. The median RPM was about $2.14 for channels with 10,000 to 100,000 subscribers and $2.04 for channels with 100,000 to 10 million.

Even inside one niche the range is wide. In Education & Science, AIR's bottom quarter of channels earned $2.31 per 1,000 views and its top quarter earned $19.50, an 8.4 times gap. The RPM in your own YouTube Studio is the only number that predicts your pay.

The month matters too. AIR's all-niche median fell to $1.56 in January from a $2.35 peak in November. Plan for a thin first quarter. At the $2.30 median, AIR estimates it takes about 43,500 views to earn your first $100, the US payout threshold.

AIR marks Transport as directional because it had fewer than ten channels in that niche. For the share YouTube keeps on each revenue stream, see [how much YouTube pays](https://howinfluencersmakemoney.com/how-much-does-youtube-pay/).

Estimated long-form earnings by niche, AIR Media-Tech medians, May 2025 to May 2026

| Niche | Median RPM per 1,000 views | Per 1 million views |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Education & Science | $10.22 | $10,220 |
| Transport, directional | $5.69 | $5,690 |
| Lifestyle | $2.98 | $2,980 |
| Entertainment | $2.43 | $2,430 |
| Gadgets & Tech | $2.33 | $2,330 |
| All niches | $2.30 | $2,300 |
| Music | $2.28 | $2,280 |
| Gaming | $2.05 | $2,050 |
| Health & Sport | $1.23 | $1,230 |
| Kids & Teens | $0.33 | $330 |

## How much do YouTube Shorts pay per view?

Shorts pay a fraction of long-form. AIR Media-Tech's 2026 study puts most niches at $0.07 to $0.20 per 1,000 Shorts views, or $70 to $200 per 1 million.

AIR based the study on 274 channels with YouTube Analytics access and last updated it on September 16, 2026. Shorts RPM was 3% to 14% of the same niche's long-form RPM in almost every niche. Music was the exception at 41% to 60%, which AIR puts down to Content ID revenue. For most channels in the study, Shorts made up less than 2% of total revenue.

The gap comes from how Shorts pay. YouTube pools Shorts Feed ad revenue each month, takes out music licensing costs, and pays each creator 45% of the slice their engaged views earned. A Short with one licensed track sends only half of its revenue to the creator pool.

From February 1, 2027, a channel needs 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days to earn from the Shorts pool each month. At AIR's estimates, 10 million Shorts views are worth roughly $700 to $2,000.

## Which countries pay the most per view?

Viewers in the United States pay the most per view in both AIR Media-Tech datasets we found, and viewers in South Asia pay among the least. AIR's 2025 CPM list, built from more than 3,000 channels it works with and last updated June 27, 2025, puts the United States first at $14.67 and India at $0.74. That is a gap of about 20 times between the two countries.

These are CPMs, so your RPM from the same viewers will be far lower. AIR defines CPM as what advertisers pay to show 1,000 ads, so these figures come before YouTube's share. AIR does not say which months it measured. Its 2026 Shorts study adds Shorts RPM for five countries, shown in the last column.

Creators outside the US also lose part of their US earnings to tax. YouTube's help center says creators who submit US tax info have 0% to 30% withheld on earnings from US viewers, depending on their country's tax treaty. An individual with no tax info on file can have 24% of total worldwide earnings withheld. Our guide to [influencer taxes](https://howinfluencersmakemoney.com/influencer-taxes/) covers the rest.

Estimated YouTube CPM and Shorts RPM by country, AIR Media-Tech

| Country | Long-form CPM, 2025 list | Shorts RPM, 2026 study |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | $14.67 | $0.328 |
| Australia | $13.30 | $0.193 |
| Switzerland | $12.98 | Not published |
| Canada | $9.93 | $0.165 |
| Germany | $9.79 | $0.163 |
| United Kingdom | $8.91 | $0.166 |
| Japan | $5.68 | Not published |
| Indonesia | $0.84 | Not published |
| India | $0.74 | Not published |
| Pakistan | $0.53 | Not published |

## Worked example: from RPM to payout

To estimate a month's YouTube earnings, divide your views by 1,000 and multiply by your RPM. Here is the math for a long-form channel with 200,000 views in March, using AIR Media-Tech's estimates.

- **Revenue.** 200,000 views is 200 blocks of 1,000. At the $2.30 median RPM, that is 200 times $2.30, or $460.
- **Niche.** The same views earn about $2,044 at the $10.22 Education & Science median and about $66 at the $0.33 Kids & Teens median.
- **YouTube's share.** It is already gone. RPM is counted after YouTube keeps its share, so do not take 45% off again.
- **Tax.** A US creator with tax info on file has nothing withheld. Say you live in a country with no US tax treaty and $200 of the $460 came from US viewers. YouTube withholds 30% of that $200, or $60, which leaves $400.
- **Payout.** March earnings post to your AdSense balance between April 7 and 12. The balance is over the $100 US threshold, so AdSense pays between April 21 and 26.

## How can you earn more per view?

You earn more per view by changing what you make and who watches it. One control sits in YouTube Studio. On monetized videos of 8 minutes or longer, you can turn on mid-roll ads.

Timing helps at the margin. AIR found a fourth-quarter RPM premium in every niche it tracked, from 4% in Entertainment to 60% in Business & Finance, a niche it marks as directional. If you can choose when to publish your best work, October to December pays more. Volume is less reliable. AIR's busiest quarter of channels, at a median of about 288 videos a year, had a $2.73 RPM, while the quarter below it, at about 98 videos, had $1.57.

Run the Shorts math before you plan around them. 200,000 Shorts views at $0.07 to $0.20 per 1,000 earn $14 to $40, against $460 for the same long-form views at the median. Use Shorts to find viewers and long videos to earn from them.

Past a point, the better move is income that does not depend on views. Influencer Marketing Hub's planning estimate, updated October 6, 2026, puts sponsored videos at $200 to $1,000+ for creators with 10,000 to 100,000 followers. It does not say how it measured the range. Read [how much to charge for sponsored posts](https://howinfluencersmakemoney.com/how-much-to-charge-for-sponsored-posts/) and [how to make money on YouTube](https://howinfluencersmakemoney.com/how-to-make-money-on-youtube/) for the other streams.

## Questions people ask

### How much does YouTube pay per view?

About $0.0023 per long-form view at AIR Media-Tech's median RPM of $2.30, measured across 300 channels from May 2025 to May 2026. Shorts pay roughly $0.00007 to $0.0002 per view in most niches, per AIR's 2026 Shorts study. YouTube publishes no rate.

### How much do YouTubers make per 1 million views?

About $2,300 for long-form at AIR Media-Tech's $2.30 median RPM, with niche medians from $330 for Kids & Teens to $10,220 for Education & Science. One million Shorts views earn about $70 to $200 in most niches. These are estimates, not YouTube rates.

### What is a good RPM on YouTube?

Anything above your niche median. AIR Media-Tech's medians for May 2025 to May 2026 run from $0.33 for Kids & Teens to $10.22 for Education & Science, with $2.30 across all niches. Compare yourself with your niche, not with the overall figure.

### Why is my RPM lower than my CPM?

CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions before YouTube's share. RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views after it, and it counts views that showed no ad. With YouTube's own example numbers and its 55% long-form share, a $3.50 CPM works out to an RPM of about $0.77.

### Do YouTube Shorts pay per view?

Shorts pay from a monthly pool. YouTube splits Shorts Feed ad revenue by engaged views, takes out music costs, and pays creators 45% of their slice. AIR Media-Tech's 2026 estimate is $0.07 to $0.20 per 1,000 views in most niches.

### Which country has the highest YouTube CPM?

The United States, at $14.67 in AIR Media-Tech's 2025 list from more than 3,000 channels, followed by Australia at $13.30 and Switzerland at $12.98. India sits at $0.74. These are estimates of what advertisers pay, not creator pay.

## Sources

- YouTube Help: Understand ad revenue analytics: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9314357 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- YouTube Help: YouTube partner earnings overview: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72902 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- YouTube Help: YouTube Shorts monetization policies: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12504220 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- YouTube Help: Changes to the YouTube Partner Program: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12843009 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- YouTube Help: Manage mid-roll ad breaks in long videos: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6175006 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- YouTube Help: US tax requirements for YouTube earnings: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10391362 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Google AdSense Help: Payment timelines for AdSense for YouTube: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/7164703 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Google AdSense Help: Payment thresholds: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/1709871 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- AIR Media-Tech: YouTube RPM in 2026, real data from 300 channels, last updated July 1, 2026: https://air.io/en/air-data-findings/how-much-does-youtube-really-pay-in-2026-real-rpm-data-from-300-channels (accessed 2026-10-21)
- AIR Media-Tech: YouTube Shorts RPM vs long-form, data from 274 channels, last updated September 16, 2026: https://air.io/en/air-data-findings/youtube-shorts-rpm-vs-long-form-how-much-do-shorts-earn-in-2026 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- AIR Media-Tech: How much can creators make with AdSense in 2025, last updated June 27, 2025: https://air.io/en/monetization/how-much-can-creators-make-with-adsense-in-2025 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Influencer Marketing Hub: Influencer rates, updated October 6, 2026: https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-rates/ (accessed 2026-10-21)