Calculators / CPM

CPM calculator

Pick what you want to find. Fill in the other two numbers, and add clicks if you have them for your CTR and cost per click.

Your numbers

$

Result

CPM
Total cost
Impressions
Click-through rate
Cost per click

The formulas

CPM = cost ÷ impressions × 1,000
Cost = impressions ÷ 1,000 × CPM
Impressions = cost ÷ CPM × 1,000

Worked example

A week of ads costs $250, is shown 80,000 times and gets 960 clicks.

CPM250 ÷ 80,000 × 1,000 = $3.13
CTR960 ÷ 80,000 = 1.20%
Cost per click250 ÷ 960 = $0.26

If the next week costs the same but the CPM rises to $4.50, you get about 55,600 impressions instead of 80,000. At the same click-through rate that is around 670 clicks, so each click now costs about $0.37.

Using CPM to make decisions

Compare like with like

A video ad, a feed ad and a search ad are sold in different ways and reach people in different moods. Compare CPMs between campaigns on the same platform and placement, not across platforms.

Don't stop at CPM

Cheap impressions that nobody clicks are not cheap. Follow the chain through to sales: CPM, then click-through rate, then conversion rate, then return on ad spend. The target CPA calculator tells you what a sale is allowed to cost.

Formula and examples last checked October 12, 2026.

Questions people ask

What does CPM mean?

Cost per mille: what you pay for 1,000 ad impressions. "Mille" is Latin for thousand. An impression is one time the ad is shown, whether or not anyone clicks.

What is a good CPM?

It depends on the platform, the audience, the ad format and the time of year. Prices usually rise in the weeks before the holidays, when more advertisers compete for the same people. A low CPM is only good if the impressions turn into clicks and sales, so look at CPM together with click-through rate and cost per sale.

How do I calculate the cost of a campaign from CPM?

Divide the impressions you want by 1,000 and multiply by the CPM. 200,000 impressions at a $4 CPM cost 200 × 4 = $800. Choose "Total cost" in the calculator to do it for any numbers.

Is CPM the same as CPC?

No. CPM is the price of 1,000 impressions; CPC is the price of one click. If you add clicks to the calculator, it shows your CPC and click-through rate too, which tie the two together: CPC = CPM ÷ (CTR × 1,000).

Other calculators