# What is RPM? Revenue per thousand of a stated unit

RPM is estimated or reported revenue divided by a chosen count, multiplied by 1,000; the unit can be pageviews, impressions or requests.

Publishers use page RPM, impression RPM and other variants. Specify the unit, time period and whether the revenue is estimated, gross or net before comparing two values.

## Naming the denominator

Illustrative May calculation: $1,250 net ad revenue for May ÷ 100,000 pageviews in May × 1,000 = $12.50 net per 1,000 pageviews. If the publisher instead divides estimated earnings by ad impressions, it has calculated a different RPM; name the amount, revenue scope, period and unit.

## Why “RPM” alone is incomplete

Suppose the same May example has 200,000 ad impressions across its 100,000 pageviews. Its impression RPM is $1,250 ÷ 200,000 × 1,000 = $6.25. Page RPM remains $12.50. The difference comes from the denominator, not from a change in revenue.

Same illustrative May revenue, two different units

Measure | Calculation | Result

--- | --- | ---

Page RPM | $1,250 / 100,000 pageviews × 1,000 | $12.50

Impression RPM | $1,250 / 200,000 impressions × 1,000 | $6.25

## Compare like with like

If one dashboard reports revenue per thousand sessions and another uses page views, label both rates before comparing them. A change in pages per session can move the two figures differently even when the same revenue is recorded.

[Revenue per thousand (RPM) calculator](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/tools/revenue-per-thousand-calculator/)

## Related terms

[Fill rate](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/fill-rate/)

[ARPU](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/arpu/)

## Continue reading

[Prebid price floors: calculate the fill rate needed to break even](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/articles/price-floors-test/): It calculates revenue per assigned opportunity, which is different from pageview RPM.

## Sources

https://docs.prebid.org/dev-docs/modules/floors.html

https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/190515?hl=en

Editorial method: https://digitalpublishingnews.com/how-we-use-ai/

Canonical: https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/rpm/