It varies enormously by platform, audience, and industry — CPM is most useful for comparing your own campaigns against each other or against a specific benchmark, not as a single universal target.

How is CPM different from CPC?

CPM charges per 1,000 impressions (views), regardless of clicks. CPC charges per click, regardless of how many people saw the ad without clicking — see the CPC Calculator.

CPM Calculator

Calculate CPM (Cost Per Mille) — the cost of an ad campaign per 1,000 impressions.

Total ad spend

Total impressions

CPM

$5.00

Cost per 1,000 impressions

How It Works

The CPM formula

CPM = (total cost ÷ total impressions) × 1,000 — it standardizes ad cost to a per-1,000-impressions basis so campaigns of different sizes can be compared fairly.

Example Calculation

A campaign costing $50 that generates 10,000 impressions has a CPM of $5.

Common Mistakes

Comparing raw total cost between campaigns of very different sizes instead of comparing CPM.
Confusing impressions (ad views) with clicks — CPM is about views, not engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's a good CPM?: It varies enormously by platform, audience, and industry — CPM is most useful for comparing your own campaigns against each other or against a specific benchmark, not as a single universal target.
How is CPM different from CPC?: CPM charges per 1,000 impressions (views), regardless of clicks. CPC charges per click, regardless of how many people saw the ad without clicking — see the CPC Calculator.

CPC CalculatorCalculate cost per click (CPC) from ad spend and total clicks.