Glossary
RPM
RPM is revenue per mille: how much a thousand page views earn, usually from advertising.
What it means
RPM is calculated as ad revenue divided by page views, multiplied by 1,000. It is a measurement of what your own pages actually earned over a period — it is not a rate anyone sets, and it is not a figure you can copy from another site and use as your own. RPM varies with the audience, the country they are in, the season, the ad placement and the content: the same thousand views can be worth very different amounts on two different blogs. Any site that publishes a table of RPM figures by niche and presents it as fact is publishing its own numbers, or someone else's, as though they were universal — they are not.
Example
As an illustration, suppose a blog earned 60 from display ads in a month across 20,000 page views. Its RPM is 60 divided by 20,000, times 1,000, which is 3.00 — three units of currency per thousand views. If the same blog earned 60 from only 5,000 views, the RPM would be 12.00: fewer views, worth more each. Neither figure tells you what your blog will earn; it tells you what that blog earned, in that month, from that audience.
Common misunderstandings
The most common misunderstanding is treating RPM as a rate card — a price per thousand views that applies to every blog. It is not: it is a measurement of the past. The second is confusing RPM with CPM. CPM is what an advertiser pays per thousand ad impressions; RPM is what the publisher keeps per thousand page views, after the platform's share and all the impressions that never showed an ad.
Related terms
Learn more
- How to Make Money Blogging
- Website Monetization
- How to Start a Blog
- Blog Profit Calculator
- Blogging and SEO
- Back to the full glossary
Last checked: 14 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How is RPM calculated?
Ad revenue divided by page views, times 1,000. A blog that earned 60 from 20,000 views has an RPM of 3.00 per thousand views.
Why does RPM differ between blogs?
Because it depends on the audience, their country, the season, the ad placement and the content. The same thousand views can be worth very different amounts on two different blogs.
What is the difference between RPM and CPM?
CPM is what an advertiser pays per thousand ad impressions. RPM is what the publisher keeps per thousand page views, after the platform's share and the impressions that showed no ad.
Can I use another site's RPM figure for my own blog?
No. RPM is a measurement of a real blog's real earnings over a period, not a rate. Planning tools on this site ask you to enter your own RPM from your own ad dashboard, if you have one.