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YouTube Shorts RPM by Niche: 2026 Data from 274 Channels
By ytbench team · Updated 2026-09-26
YouTube Shorts RPM is the one number that tells a creator what their Shorts actually earn. Most figures online are advertiser CPM or one creator's screenshot. This page uses YouTube's own definition and Studio data from 274 channels, then sets each niche against its long-form RPM.
What YouTube Shorts RPM Counts
YouTube defines RPM — revenue per mille — as what a creator earned per 1,000 views, after YouTube's revenue share. It isn't only ads: RPM includes channel memberships, YouTube Premium revenue, Super Chat, and Super Stickers.
For Shorts, one detail changes. RPM is calculated per 1,000 engaged views, not every view. A Short counted as viewed but scrolled past immediately doesn't enter the math, and neither do loops.
Shorts RPM vs CPM
The two numbers sit side by side in YouTube Studio and are easy to mix up. They measure different things:
| RPM | CPM | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it describes | The creator's earnings | The advertiser's cost |
| Per 1,000… | Views (engaged views for Shorts) | Ad impressions |
| YouTube's share | Already taken out | Not taken out |
| Revenue included | Ads, memberships, Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers | Ads only |
For Shorts the gap between the two is even wider than for long-form, because ad revenue is pooled across all monetizing creators and split by engaged views before the creator's 45% share is applied. Our how much YouTube Shorts pay guide walks through that pool step by step.
YouTube Shorts RPM by Niche and Channel Size
AIR Media-Tech pulled a year of YouTube Analytics data from 274 channels and reported median Shorts RPM by niche and by channel size (monthly views: small 10K–100K, medium 100K–10M, large 10M–50M). The medium tier is the most complete:
Median Shorts RPM · channels with 100K–10M monthly views
| Niche | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music | $1.48 | $0.97 | — |
| Lifestyle | $0.23–$0.28 | $0.16–$0.20 | — |
| Gaming | $0.17 | $0.15–$0.17 | — |
| Entertainment | — | $0.07–$0.12 | — |
| Crafting | — | $0.11 | — |
| Kids & Teens | $0.11 | $0.06–$0.09 | $0.02–$0.05 |
Source: AIR Media-Tech, “What Is YouTube Shorts RPM in Your Niche in 2026?” (June 23, 2026): YouTube Analytics API data from 274 channels, full-year medians.
Two cells are left out on purpose. The study had no Shorts data for Education, and it flagged small Entertainment channels as unreliable. Across the whole dataset, Shorts RPM ran at roughly 3%–14% of long-form RPM in the same niche — the same range our YouTube Money Calculator cites when it explains why it leaves Shorts out.
How Many Shorts Views Equal 1,000 Long-Form Views
The calculator's niche buttons hold long-form RPM ranges from AIR's separate 300-channel study — the middle 50% of channels in each niche:
Divide those long-form ranges by the medium-tier Shorts RPM and you get how many Shorts views it takes to earn what 1,000 long-form views earn. We ran that arithmetic ourselves, next to AIR's own estimate:
| Niche | Long-form RPM (calculator) | Shorts RPM (medium) | Shorts views needed (our math) | AIR estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | $1.35–$4.16 | $0.97 | 1,400–4,300 | ~1,470 |
| Lifestyle | $1.77–$5.24 | $0.16–$0.20 | 8,900–32,800 | ~26,063 |
| Gaming | $0.70–$3.62 | $0.15–$0.17 | 4,100–24,100 | ~17,474 |
| Entertainment | $0.88–$5.02 | $0.07–$0.12 | 7,300–71,700 | ~12,933–29,143 |
| Crafting | $1.00–$3.90 | $0.11 | 9,100–35,500 | ~34,000 |
| Kids & Teens | $0.16–$0.88 | $0.06–$0.09 | 1,800–14,700 | ~11,522 |
Our ranges are wider because they span the middle half of long-form channels, not one median. They still agree with AIR on the shape: outside Music, a Short needs thousands to tens of thousands of views to match what 1,000 long-form views pay.
Read the table as an exchange rate. A Lifestyle creator who shifts effort from one long-form video into Shorts needs those Shorts to pull tens of thousands of views just to stay even on revenue. Kids & Teens is the opposite case: its long-form rate is already held down by the ad limits on children's content. AIR measured only about 1 in 8 long-form Kids views carrying an ad, against 45.7% of Shorts views, so the gap between the two formats is much smaller there.
Why Music Breaks the Pattern
Music is the only niche where Shorts come close to long-form. Small Music channels had a median Shorts RPM of $1.48, 60% of their long-form RPM; medium Music channels reached $0.97, or 41%. Every other niche sat far lower.
AIR attributes this to Content ID. When a Short uses a copyrighted track, the rights holder receives part of that revenue. A music channel that owns its songs collects it on top of its own Shorts share, so a viral Short using its track keeps paying — something a gaming or cooking channel can't do.
What Moves Your Number
Niche sets the rough level, but two channels in the same niche can still land far apart. These are the levers behind that gap, from YouTube's policy and from the AIR data:
- Audience country. YouTube splits the pool country by country. AIR reports ad rates of roughly $0.20–$1.50 CPM from viewers in markets like Nigeria, Pakistan, or the Philippines, against $8–$20 from the US, UK, or Australia. An English-language channel often draws from both.
- Music in your Shorts. With one licensed track, half the revenue tied to that Short's engaged views goes to music licensing before the pool is split.
- Season. AIR found December CPM running 40–60% above January. Screenshots shared online skew toward the fourth quarter, which is one reason public figures look higher than full-year medians.
- Engaged views. Views that don't qualify as engaged still show in your view count but never earn, so a Short with fast swipe-aways has a lower effective rate.
None of these are settings you can switch. They explain why your own Studio figure is the only one worth planning around, and why a benchmark is a sanity check rather than a forecast.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good YouTube Shorts RPM?
Outside Music, most niche-and-size groups had a median Shorts RPM between $0.06 and $0.28, so anything near $0.30 is strong. Music is the exception: small Music channels reached a median of $1.48.
Why is my Shorts RPM so low?
Shorts ads run between videos in the feed rather than inside one video, so revenue is pooled and shared across every monetizing creator by engaged views. Music licensing takes a cut when a track is used, and creators keep 45% of what is allocated to them. Audience country matters too, because the pool is split per country.
Is Shorts RPM the same as CPM?
No. CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube's share. RPM is what the creator earns per 1,000 views after YouTube's share, from every revenue source.
Does Shorts RPM include YouTube Premium revenue?
Yes. YouTube's RPM covers ads, channel memberships, YouTube Premium revenue, Super Chat, and Super Stickers. For Shorts, it is calculated per 1,000 engaged views.
Can the YouTube Money Calculator estimate Shorts revenue?
No. The YouTube Money Calculator estimates long-form ad revenue only. Multiply your Shorts views by the RPM on this page instead: views × RPM ÷ 1,000.
Sources
- YouTube Help — Revenue per mille (RPM)
- YouTube Help — YouTube Shorts monetization policies
- AIR Media-Tech — What Is YouTube Shorts RPM in Your Niche in 2026?
Last verified: 2026-09-26