The typical YouTube channel earns about $2.30 per 1,000 views (its RPM), and the niche moves that a lot: in real Studio data from 300 channels, Education and Science had a median RPM of $10.22, while Kids and Teens had $0.33. Most other niches sit between $2 and $3. These are medians measured by AIR Media-Tech from May 2025 to May 2026, not the advertiser estimates most RPM lists quote. For an AI long-form channel the number that matters is what a video costs against what it earns: a 10-minute ClipFlux video costs from $9.49 to make, so at the median RPM it pays for itself after about 4,100 views, and in an education niche after about 900.
RPM and CPM in one minute
- CPM is what advertisers pay for 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube takes its share.
- RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views, after the split, counting every view, including the ones that showed no ad.
- On long videos creators get 55% of the net ad revenue from their watch pages. That, plus views without ads, is why RPM is almost always well below CPM.
- RPM includes YouTube Premium and other YouTube revenue, but not sponsorships, affiliate links or merch.
YouTube RPM by niche in 2026
Median RPM for 13 niches, with the middle half of channels in each (the 25th to 75th percentile). Source: AIR Media-Tech, real YouTube Analytics of 300 channels, May 2025 to May 2026. Niches marked * had fewer than ten channels in the sample; read them as directional. The last column is our own math: views needed to earn back a 10-minute ClipFlux video at $9.49.
| Niche | Median RPM | Middle half of channels | Views to earn back a 10-min video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education & Science | $10.22 | $2.31 to $19.50 | 900 |
| Transport* | $5.69 | $3.17 to $9.81 | 1,700 |
| Lifestyle | $2.98 | $1.77 to $5.24 | 3,200 |
| News & Politics* | $2.60 | $1.79 to $3.62 | 3,600 |
| Entertainment | $2.43 | $0.88 to $5.02 | 3,900 |
| Crafting & Handmade | $2.39 | $1.00 to $3.90 | 4,000 |
| Gadgets & Tech | $2.33 | $0.70 to $3.71 | 4,100 |
| Music | $2.28 | $1.35 to $4.16 | 4,200 |
| Food & Cooking* | $2.25 | $1.50 to $3.11 | 4,200 |
| Gaming | $2.05 | $0.70 to $3.62 | 4,600 |
| Business & Finance* | $2.01 | $0.73 to $5.17 | 4,700 |
| Health & Sport | $1.23 | $0.72 to $1.53 | 7,700 |
| Kids & Teens | $0.33 | $0.16 to $0.88 | 29,000 |
Two things stand out. The spread inside a niche is wider than the gap between most niches: the top quarter of education channels earns about eight times the bottom quarter. And the middle of the table is tight, so how a channel is run (who watches, how long, how many views carry an ad) matters more than picking between, say, entertainment and lifestyle.
Why other lists say finance pays $30
Most RPM-by-niche pages quote $15 to $50 for finance, insurance or software. Those figures are usually advertiser CPM estimates (what a brand bids per 1,000 impressions in peak season, before YouTube's share) or numbers from a single channel, presented as RPM. In AIR's Studio data the Business and Finance median was $2.01, from a small sample, so treat it as directional; the gap between what advertisers bid and what a typical channel is paid is the point. Finance can still pay well for a channel with a wealthy, US-heavy audience. But for a faceless AI channel it carries a second risk: since July 2026 YouTube refuses to monetize AI personas giving financial advice (see the AI monetization rules). Money stories are fine; an AI adviser is not.
What moves your RPM more than the niche
- Where viewers live. Advertisers bid by country, so the same video can earn several times more from a US or UK audience than from a global one.
- How many views carry an ad. Education leads partly because about 77% of its views served an ad in AIR's data, the best rate of any niche.
- Video length. Videos of 8 minutes or longer can show mid-roll ads. Transport channels ranked second mainly on ad load: 2.55 ads per monetized view on long car, aviation and build videos.
- Time of year. Advertisers bid higher before the holidays, so Q4 RPM runs above the rest of the year.
- Who the audience is. Content made for kids gets no personalized ads, which is a large part of why kids content earns $0.33.
Faceless long-form niches that fit the high end
The AI-friendly long-form formats map onto the better-paying rows of the table. History explained, science and how-things-work documentaries are Education and Science. How it was built, cars, ships and planes fall under Transport. True crime and story documentaries sit in Entertainment, in the middle of the table. Kids stories are the cautionary one: easy to make, $0.33 per 1,000 views. Twelve concrete channel ideas, with the look that fits each, are in the faceless channel ideas guide.
Long videos pay far more per view than Shorts
Shorts are paid from a creator pool, of which creators keep 45%, and in AIR's data from 274 channels Shorts earned only 3 to 14% of the long-form RPM in the same niche. A million Shorts views typically pays $150 to $300. Long videos are where the RPMs above apply. The full comparison is in how much YouTube pays per 1,000 views, and you can run your own numbers in the YouTube money calculator.
Questions
What is a good RPM on YouTube?
Across 300 real channels studied by AIR Media-Tech from May 2025 to May 2026, the median RPM was about $2.30 per 1,000 views. Anything above that is better than typical; education channels had a median of $10.22 and kids channels $0.33.
Which YouTube niche has the highest RPM?
In real Studio data, Education and Science, with a median RPM of $10.22, because its viewers attract high advertiser bids and about 77% of its views show an ad. Lists that put finance at $20 to $30 usually quote advertiser estimates, not what channels are paid.
Why is my RPM lower than my CPM?
CPM is what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube keeps its share. RPM is what you earn per 1,000 views after the split, counting every view, including the ones that showed no ad. So RPM is almost always lower.
Do longer videos have a higher RPM?
Usually. Videos of 8 minutes or more can carry mid-roll ads, so one view can show several ads. In AIR Media-Tech’s data, Transport channels earn the second-highest RPM mainly because their long videos carry 2.55 ads per monetized view.
Is RPM what I get paid?
RPM is your total YouTube revenue divided by every 1,000 views, after YouTube’s share. It includes ads, Premium and other YouTube revenue, but not sponsorships, affiliate income or merch, and you only earn it once you are in the YouTube Partner Program.