CPM Calculator
Enter what you spent and how many impressions it bought to get the cost per thousand impressions and the cost of each one.
- CPM
- $2.00
- Cost / impression
- $0.0020
- Impressions
- 50,000
- Spend
- $100.00
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded.
What it does
CPM is the standard way to compare awareness buys across platforms, placements and creators, because it ignores clicks and prices reach alone. This calculator needs two numbers, spend and impressions, and returns CPM and the cost of a single impression.
Use it when a platform export gives totals but not the rate, when checking a creator sponsorship quote against what you already pay for ads, or when putting two placements with very different budgets and audience sizes on the same scale.
How to use it
- 1
Enter Ad spend ($).
- 2
Enter Impressions.
- 3
Read CPM, Cost / impression, Impressions and Spend in the results grid.
What you get
Four figures: CPM to two decimals, cost per impression to four decimals, the impressions count, and the spend you entered.
When to use it
- Comparing two ad placements
- Run each placement through with its own spend and impressions to see which reached people more cheaply.
- Pricing a sponsored post
- Divide a sponsor fee by the post impressions to express the deal as a CPM a brand can compare with ads.
- Filling a report gap
- Get CPM from exported totals when the platform export does not include it.
Example
Input
Ad spend $300, impressions 120,000
Output
CPM $2.50, cost per impression $0.0025
CPM = spend / impressions x 1000. 300 / 120,000 = 0.0025 per impression, times 1,000 = $2.50.
Tips
- Compare CPMs only between campaigns with similar goals; a conversion-optimised campaign often pays a higher CPM for a more targeted audience.
- Check whether a quote counts impressions or reach. The same spend gives a lower CPM on impressions because one person can see an ad several times.
- For sponsored posts, use impressions from the delivered post, not follower count, or the CPM will look cheaper than it was.
Questions
How do I calculate CPM from ad spend?
Divide spend by impressions and multiply by 1,000. $300 for 120,000 impressions is a $2.50 CPM.
How do I turn a target CPM into a budget?
Multiply the CPM by the impressions you want and divide by 1,000. To reach 200,000 impressions at a $5 CPM you need $1,000.
What is the difference between CPM and CPC?
CPM prices every 1,000 impressions whether or not anyone clicks. CPC prices each click. Use the CPC calculator if you also have click data.