Paid Media Calculator

CPM Calculator

Calculate CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions), advertising spend or impressions. Enter any two values and PaidMediaKit will calculate the third — including impressions from CPM and budget.

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Campaign Metrics

Enter any two fields below. Leave the value you want to calculate empty.

Total amount spent.
Total number of ad impressions.
Cost per 1,000 impressions.

CPM Formula

How to calculate CPM

CPM stands for cost per mille, or the cost to deliver 1,000 advertising impressions. It is commonly used to compare media cost across display, video, social and other impression-based advertising.

CPM = Ad Spend ÷ Impressions × 1,000
2,500 ÷ 500,000 × 1,000 =5.00 CPM

Calculate impressions from CPM and budget

If you know the CPM and advertising budget, you can estimate how many impressions that budget can buy.

Impressions = Ad Spend ÷ CPM × 1,000
10,000 budget ÷ 8 CPM × 1,000 =1,250,000 impressions

Calculate advertising spend from CPM and impressions

Ad Spend = CPM × Impressions ÷ 1,000
12 CPM × 750,000 impressions ÷ 1,000 =9,000 estimated spend

Cost per impression formula

CPM expresses the cost of 1,000 impressions. If you want the mathematical cost of one impression instead:

Cost per Impression = Ad Spend ÷ Impressions
5.00 CPM ÷ 1,000 =0.005 cost per impression
CPM is normally easier to read.

Individual impression costs are usually tiny decimal values, which is why advertising platforms commonly report CPM instead.

What does an average CPM tell you?

Average CPM is the blended cost of impression delivery over the selected campaign, audience, placement or reporting period. It can change with auction competition, audience targeting, placement mix, geography, seasonality and inventory.

A lower CPM is not automatically better performance.

Review CPM alongside CTR, conversion rate, CPA and ROAS before deciding that cheaper impressions are more valuable.

CPM vs cost per impression

CPMCost per 1,000 impressions

The common advertising cost metric for impression delivery.

Cost per ImpressionCost of one impression

CPM divided by 1,000.

CPM, reach and frequency work together

CPM tells you what impressions cost. Reach tells you how many unique people or entities were exposed, while frequency describes how often they were exposed on average.

Reach & Frequency CalculatorCalculate reach, frequency or impressions →CPC CalculatorMove from impression cost to click cost →CTR CalculatorCalculate the rate at which impressions generate clicks →

CPM calculator FAQs

How do I calculate CPM?

Divide ad spend by impressions and multiply by 1,000.

How do I calculate impressions from CPM and budget?

Divide budget by CPM, then multiply by 1,000.

How do I calculate spend from CPM?

Multiply CPM by impressions, then divide by 1,000.

Is CPM the same as cost per impression?

No. Cost per impression is CPM divided by 1,000.

CPM & Impressions GuideNeed the formulas and planning examples in one walkthrough?
Read the CPM Guide →