CPM Calculator
CPM (cost per mille) is what you pay for 1,000 ad impressions. This CPM calculator converts total spend and impressions into that rate, so you can compare Meta, YouTube, Tik Tok and display buys on the same scale before you commit budget.
How to calculate cost per 1,000 impressions
Total cost – what you paid the platform for the placement over the period you are measuring, before agency fees or production costs. Use net media spend, the number the platform bills you for.
Impressions – how many times the ad was served in that same period. This counts servings, not people, so one person scrolling a feed three times generates three impressions and inflates nothing.
CPM – the result: what 1,000 delivered impressions cost you. The mille in cost per mille is Latin for a thousand, which is why the formula multiplies rather than divides.
For example: Spend $6,400 on a Meta campaign that delivers 780,000 impressions. CPM = ( $6,400/780,000) x 1,000 = $8.21. Move the same $6,400 to a placement running at $4.90 and you buy about 1.3 million impressions roughly 67% more audience for identical spend, before you judge whether that audience is worth reaching.
Frequently asked questions
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