How Much Does YouTube Pay Per View?
The short answer: between $0.001 and $0.03 per view for YouTube long-form, depending on your niche and audience country. Music channels earn under $0.001 per view; finance channels with US-heavy audiences can clear $0.015–$0.03. This post walks through the actual model.
Per-view math by niche (2026)
| Niche | Take-home RPM | Per view |
|---|---|---|
| Personal finance / investing | $5–$17 | $0.005–$0.017 |
| Gaming | ~$2–$7 | $0.002–$0.007 |
| Entertainment / vlogs | ~$1–$4 | $0.001–$0.004 |
| Music | under $1 | under $0.001 |
Two multipliers sit outside the table: audience geography (US/UK/CA/AU views are worth several times low-ad-spend regions) and format (Shorts run on a pooled payout of roughly $0.01–$0.06 per 1,000 views — about a hundredth of long-form per view).
Why the range is so wide
- Advertiser demand by niche: finance and tech attract high-paying advertisers; music and comedy less so.
- Monetized share: ad blockers, Premium and limited-ads videos generate views without revenue.
- Video length: longer videos allow more mid-roll placements per view.
- Seasonality: Q4 CPMs run 30–80% above Q1.
How to find your real number
YouTube Studio → Analytics → Revenue shows your RPM (your share per 1,000 views). Divide by 1,000 for per-view. Until you have 90+ days of data, use the niche table above as a planning range — try the YouTube Money Calculator to model scenarios.
Frequently asked questions
Does YouTube pay per view or per ad impression?
Per 1,000 ad impressions served on monetized views, after the 45% platform share. "Per view" is the simplified way creators talk about RPM ÷ 1,000.
How many views to make $1,000/month?
At a $2 entertainment RPM, about 500,000 monthly views; at a $15 finance-tier RPM, roughly 67,000. Use the Views to Money Calculator for your exact number.