YouTube money calculator
Estimate what a channel earns from ads — by niche, size and engagement, with the RPM range the estimate assumes shown openly rather than hidden behind one number.
Content niche
Advertisers pay very differently by topic — this is the single biggest factor in the estimate.
Estimated monthly
$74.36 – $211
- Per video
- $9.29 – $26.39
- Per year
- $892 – $2,534
- Per 1M views
- $1,239 – $3,519
RPM this estimate assumes
- Long-form$1.15 – $3.06
- Shorts$0.09 – $0.46
Ad revenue only, from Partner Program RPM ranges by niche adjusted for channel size and engagement. Where your audience lives moves this more than anything else — the same video earns several times more from US viewers than from most of the world. Sponsorships, affiliates and merch are not counted.
What the estimate covers
Ad revenue through the Partner Program, and nothing else. For most channels above a few thousand views, ads are the smallest slice: sponsorships typically pay several times the ad income for the same video, and affiliate or product revenue can dwarf both. Treat this as the floor, not the ceiling.
Why two channels of the same size earn differently
- Niche. Finance, software and B2B command high RPMs; gaming, entertainment and music sit at the bottom. The gap is often five to ten times.
- Audience country. The same view is worth far more from the US, Canada, Australia or Western Europe than from most of the world.
- Format. Shorts monetise from a shared pool and pay a fraction of long-form per view — which is why the Shorts share matters in the estimate.
- Watch time and mid-rolls. A video past eight minutes can carry mid-roll ads; a three-minute video cannot.
RPM and CPM are not the same
CPM is what an advertiser pays per thousand ad impressions. RPM is what lands in your account per thousand views, after YouTube's cut and after counting views that never showed an ad. RPM is the number worth planning around, and it is what this calculator reports.
Earnings follow the videos people click
PostLink analyses the comments on any video and surfaces what that audience wants more of — the videos and titles most likely to break out, and grow the number you just calculated.
Analyze a video freeQuestions
How does this calculator work?
Enter your subscriber count, average views, likes, comments, upload frequency, Shorts ratio, and content niche. The calculator estimates monthly and yearly earnings based on typical RPM ranges for your niche, adjusted for engagement and subscriber size.
What is RPM on YouTube?
RPM (Revenue Per Mille) is how much you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube takes its 45% cut. It varies by niche, audience location, and seasonality. Finance channels often see $8–25 RPM, while gaming may see $1.20–3.50.
Do Shorts earn less than long-form videos?
Yes. YouTube Shorts RPM is typically 8–15% of long-form RPM because Shorts ad inventory is different and viewer intent is lower. However, Shorts can drive massive view counts that offset the lower rate.
Is this official YouTube earnings data?
No. This is an estimate based on publicly reported RPM ranges by niche and creator size. Actual earnings depend on many factors including audience geography, content suitability, advertiser demand, and seasonality.