How Much Money Views Are Worth (2025): YouTube, TikTok & Blog RPMs

Key Takeaways

• YouTube long-form videos typically earn $2-$8 RPM, with premium niches reaching $10-$30+
• Short-form content (TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels) pays significantly less per view but excels at reach
• Geographic location matters: US, UK, Canada, and Western Europe views pay 5-10x more than other regions
• Niche is crucial: Finance, tech, B2B, and health content earn the highest CPMs
• 1 million views can range from $20 (TikTok) to $30,000+ (YouTube premium niches)
• Diversification is key: Combine platform ads with sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and products for maximum revenue

Short answer: It depends—heavily. A million views on one platform can be worth hundreds of dollars, while the same million on another can be worth thousands. What you actually earn per 1,000 views (often called RPM) changes with your niche, audience location, format (shorts vs long-form), watch time, and whether those views actually trigger ads.

Below is a clear, no-fluff overview of what creators typically earn from views today, plus simple ways to raise your RPM and plan realistically.

Key Terms You'll See

• CPM: What advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions
• RPM: What you earn per 1,000 views overall (your take-home after platform share and fill rate)
• Monetized playbacks: Views that actually showed an ad. Not every view is monetized

Rule-of-Thumb Earnings by Platform (Per 1,000 Views/Downloads)

These are typical ranges, not guarantees. Your actual RPM can be higher or lower.

Video Platforms

• YouTube long-form videos: $2–$8 RPM for many channels; $10–$30+ in premium niches (finance, B2B, tech, health). Strong watch time, longer videos, and high-value audiences push you up
• YouTube Shorts: Often $0.05–$1.00 RPM. Great for reach, weaker for pure ad revenue
• TikTok (Creator Rewards/qualified views): Roughly $0.02–$0.50 RPM for many; occasionally higher in top niches with longer videos and strong geos
• Instagram Reels (bonuses, where available): $0–$0.20 RPM is common, and bonuses may not be available. Most IG income comes from brand deals and affiliate, not per-view payouts
• Facebook in-stream video: About $2–$5 RPM for longer videos with ad breaks. Facebook Reels are typically lower, around $0.50–$3 RPM
• Snapchat (Stories/Spotlight revenue share): Variable and program-dependent; payouts aren't typically published as a stable per-view RPM. Treat Snap as a complement to your overall mix
• Twitch: Ad revenue varies widely by contract and ad density; think a few dollars per 1,000 ad impressions. Most income is from subs, gifted subs, and bits rather than "views"

Other Content Platforms

• Podcasts (per 1,000 downloads, not views): About $18–$50 per ad slot is common (pre-roll on the low end, mid-roll on the high end). A single episode with two ad slots can earn $36–$100 per 1,000 downloads
• Blogs/websites (per 1,000 pageviews): $5–$30 RPM with standard display networks; $30–$60+ in premium niches or with premium ad networks. Affiliate content can far exceed display RPMs if your articles target buying intent

What 1 Million Views Might Earn, Very Roughly

• YouTube long-form: $2,000–$8,000 for general niches; $10,000–$30,000+ in premium niches
• YouTube Shorts: $50–$1,000 depending on niche, region, and watch behavior
• TikTok: $20–$500+ in many cases; sometimes higher in select cases
• Instagram Reels: Often $0–$200 via platform bonuses; most revenue is off-platform (brand deals, affiliate)
• Facebook long-form: $2,000–$5,000 if the views are qualified and monetized; Reels typically $500–$3,000
• Podcasts: 1 million downloads with two ad slots could be $36,000–$100,000, but this accrues episode by episode and depends on fill rate and sales
• Blogs: 1 million pageviews can be $5,000–$30,000+ from display alone; much more if your content converts affiliate offers or sells your own products

Why the Same Number of Views Pays Differently

Geographic Factors

Views from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Western Europe usually earn more than views from lower-CPM regions.

Content Factors

• Niche: Finance, B2B, SaaS, legal, tech, and health often have higher CPMs than general entertainment
• Watch time and format: Longer videos enable mid-rolls and higher ad density. Short-form is superb for reach but weaker for per-view ad revenue
• Ad eligibility and brand safety: Content that's advertiser-friendly gets more (and better) ads

Timing and Source Factors

• Seasonality: Q4 typically pays best; Q1 is usually the softest
• Traffic source: Search and loyal audience traffic tend to monetize better than accidental/low-intent scroll-bys

How Each Platform Really Pays You

YouTube

• Best for predictable ad revenue and high-RPM niches
• What boosts RPM: 8–12+ minute videos with strong retention, mid-rolls placed thoughtfully, evergreen topics, high-value geos, and brand-safe content
• Beyond ads: Channel memberships, Super Thanks/Chat, sponsorships, affiliate links, and your own products or courses

TikTok

• Great for reach and top-of-funnel growth; payouts vary
• Creator payouts tend to be modest unless you're in a strong niche with longer videos and a premium audience
• Real money often comes from brand deals, live shopping, affiliate, and pushing audiences to higher-monetization platforms

Instagram

• Reels payouts are inconsistent and often small. Treat IG as your engagement and brand-deal engine
• Strong DMs, Story links, and product tags drive affiliate and product conversions

Facebook

• Solid for long-form in-stream ads if you can hold attention for 3+ minutes and meet eligibility
• Reels can scale reach; per-view earnings are usually lower than long-form, but volume can make up the difference

Snapchat

• Revenue share exists but is highly variable. Strong daily storytelling and community can lead to meaningful revenue plus brand deals

Twitch

• Views themselves don't pay much; subs and community support do
• Use ads sparingly to avoid hurting retention; make subs and perks compelling

Podcasts

• High trust equals strong ad rates. Even relatively small shows can monetize well with host-read ads, affiliate, and memberships

Blogs/Websites

• Display ads give you a baseline RPM; affiliate and product sales are the real unlock
• Publishing buyer-intent content can push earnings per 1,000 pageviews far beyond display alone

How to Raise Your RPM Anywhere

1. Target premium geos and niches: Make content for audiences advertisers value highly
2. Increase session depth: Longer watch time or scroll depth attracts better ad delivery and more ad slots
3. Improve retention and engagement: Better retention equals more monetized impressions per session and stronger algorithmic reach
4. Schedule around seasonality: Front-load big series or launches into Q4 if you can
5. Diversify formats: Pair short-form reach with long-form depth, a podcast, and an owned site for maximum yield
6. Layer revenue streams: Ads + affiliate + sponsorships + products/subscriptions beat ads alone
7. Track your data: Watch RPM per piece, not just total views. Small changes in audience mix or video length can swing RPM dramatically

Three Realistic Scenarios

1. The Starter Creator

• 100,000 monthly views total across short-form (TikTok + Reels + Shorts)
• Likely platform payouts: Tens to a few hundred dollars
• Big wins: A couple of affiliate posts that convert or a recurring $500–$1,500/mo brand deal will out-earn the platform payouts

2. The Search-Driven YouTuber

• 200,000 monthly views in long-form tutorials
• Likely ad revenue: $600–$2,000+ depending on niche and geos
• Big wins: Add affiliate links for the tools you recommend and one sponsor at $1,000–$3,000/video

3. The Niche Blogger + Podcaster

• 150,000 monthly pageviews and 5,000 downloads/episode with two ad slots
• Likely blog ad revenue: $1,000–$4,000
• Likely podcast ad revenue: $180–$500 per episode (2 slots × $18–$50 CPM × 5,000)
• Big wins: One high-converting affiliate article or a small digital product can double take-home

What About Brand Deals?

• For many creators on IG/TikTok/Shorts, brand deals are the main revenue driver
• Very rough ranges:
  • Smaller creators with solid engagement: $100–$500 per post
  • Mid-tier creators: $1,000–$10,000
  • Larger creators: $10,000+ depending on niche, deliverables, usage rights, and exclusivity
• You'll often make more per view with a well-negotiated sponsorship than from platform payouts

When to Build Your Own "View-to-Value" Engine

• Add an email list, a simple landing page, or a lightweight product early
• Repurpose short-form hits into long-form YouTube and blog posts to raise RPM
• Use one hub to track cross-platform RPMs, affiliate clicks, and campaign performance. A lightweight workflow can be as simple as a spreadsheet, or you can centralize it in a creator ops tool like Ventress.app to keep your RPMs, brand deal pipeline, and content experiments in one place

Quick Checklist to Estimate Your Earnings

1. Identify your top 3 geos and their share of views
2. Classify your niche as general or premium (finance/B2B/tech/health)
3. Note average video length and retention
4. Apply the platform ranges above to 1,000-view chunks and add them up
5. Layer in non-ad revenue you can realistically activate in 30–60 days (affiliate posts, a starter sponsorship, a simple digital product)

Bottom Line

• Views alone don't pay; monetized, high-intent attention does
• Long-form and owned channels usually have higher RPMs than short-form alone
• The fastest way to increase what you earn per view is to pair platform ads with brand deals, affiliate, and your own products—then track what actually works and do more of that

Use the ranges here as a starting point, but let your own data be the truth. Dial in your niche, lengthen and deepen engagement where it makes sense, and diversify your revenue stack so a single algorithm change can't derail your income.