CPM calculator

CPM (cost per mille) is what you pay for 1,000 ad impressions. CPM = cost ÷ impressions × 1,000, so $3,000 for 200,000 impressions is a $15 CPM. Enter any two of the three to get the third.

$15.06Median Meta CPM across 40,000+ ecommerce brandsAug 2025–Jul 2026 · Triple Whale

$15.00CPM, cost per 1,000 impressions$3,000 ÷ 200,000 × 1,000 = $15.00

1.50%Click-through rateClicks ÷ impressions

$1.00Cost per clickSpend ÷ clicks

2.50Frequency, views per personImpressions ÷ reach

$37.50Cost per 1,000 people reachedCPM × frequency

Compare

Two campaigns, side by side.

Campaign A

$15.00CPM

1.50%CTR

$1.00CPC

Campaign B

$10.00CPM

0.80%CTR

$1.25CPC

B’s CPM is 33% lower than A’s. But its cost per click is 25% higher.

How it's calculated

The CPM formula, worked through.

CPM = cost ÷ impressions × 1,000
Cost = CPM × impressions ÷ 1,000
Impressions = cost ÷ CPM × 1,000

$15 CPM

Demo Brand (made up) spends $3,000 for 200,000 impressions.

$1.00 per click

3,000 clicks is a 1.5% CTR. $3,000 ÷ 3,000 clicks.

$50 per purchase

2% of 3,000 visitors buy: 60 orders from $3,000.

$37.50 per 1,000 people

80,000 people reached, each saw the ad 2.5 times.

On Meta

What moves your CPM.

Auction

Bid, relevance, quality

Each impression goes to the ad with the highest total value, not the highest bid.

Meta: About ad auctions

Audience

Who else wants them

You bid against every advertiser whose audience includes the same person.

Meta: About ad auctions

Placement

Feed, Stories, Reels

Placements cost different amounts. Meta buys the cheapest results overall, not per placement.

Meta: Advantage+ placements

Season

Q4 and Black Friday

Black Friday 2025 CPMs ran 61% above the Oct 1 baseline; 48% for vertical video with sound.

Meta holiday benchmarks, Oct 2025–Jan 2026

CPM isn't the verdict

A cheap CPM can still buy expensive sales.

Cost per purchase = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR × conversion rate). Judge ads on that, against your break-even. More in how much Facebook ads cost.

$62.50Per purchase. Ad A: $10 CPM, 0.8% CTRDemo Brand, 2% conversion

$50.00Per purchase. Ad B: $20 CPM, 2% CTRDemo Brand, 2% conversion

Questions

What founders ask about CPM.

What is CPM?

Cost per mille: the price of 1,000 ad impressions. Mille is Latin for thousand. CPM = cost ÷ impressions × 1,000.

What is a good CPM?

It depends on industry, audience and season. Across 40,000+ brands, median Meta CPM was $15.06 (Aug 2025–Jul 2026), from $11.50 in Baby to $21.80 in Health & Wellness, per Triple Whale. Good is any CPM that keeps cost per purchase under break-even.

Is CPM the cost per 1,000 people?

No. CPM counts impressions, and one person can see an ad several times. Cost per 1,000 people reached = CPM × frequency.

How do CPM, CTR and CPC connect?

CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR). At a $15 CPM, a 1.5% CTR makes clicks $1.00; doubling CTR halves CPC.

Why do CPMs rise in Q4?

More advertisers bid for the same people. In Meta’s 2025 holiday data, Black Friday CPMs ran 61% above the Oct 1 baseline, then fell 15–30% in Western Europe in mid to late December.

CPM calculator