This YouTube money calculator estimates how much a channel earns from ads, using views and RPM (revenue per 1,000 views) for long-form videos and Shorts separately. Add expected growth to see the next 12 months.
How YouTube pays creators
Creators in the YouTube Partner Program receive 55% of ad revenue from long-form videos and 45% of their allocated share of Shorts ad revenue. YouTube Analytics shows this as your RPM, the amount you actually earn per 1,000 views after YouTube’s share.
Earnings = views ÷ 1,000 × RPM
RPM vs CPM
- CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube’s share and only on views that show ads.
- RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views, counting every view and all revenue sources in the Partner Program. It is always lower than CPM and is the better number for estimating income.
Worked example
A channel with 100,000 long-form views a month at a $4 RPM and 500,000 Shorts views at a $0.06 RPM earns $400 + $30 = $430 a month, about $5,160 a year.
What affects your RPM
- Niche: finance, business and tech often earn more than entertainment or gaming.
- Audience country: viewers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia usually bring higher ad rates.
- Season: ad rates often rise in Q4 and fall in January.
- Video length: videos over 8 minutes can carry mid-roll ads.
Frequently asked questions
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?
It depends on your RPM, which varies widely by niche and audience. Check your RPM in YouTube Analytics under Revenue and enter it in the calculator.
How many views do you need to get paid on YouTube?
To join the YouTube Partner Program with ad revenue, channels need 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 public watch hours in the past year or 10 million public Shorts views in the past 90 days.
Do Shorts pay less than long videos?
Usually much less per view, because Shorts revenue is pooled and shared across creators and music rights. Long-form RPMs are often many times higher.
Is YouTube income taxable?
Yes. It is self-employment income in most countries; US creators also owe self-employment tax.
Related calculators
Sources
Last reviewed: October 2026. For information only; not financial, tax or legal advice.