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How to Compare YouTube Livestream RPM With Regular Video RPM

Compare YouTube livestream and regular-video RPM over the same period, then examine views, revenue sources and live ad settings before interpreting the difference.
Opened Runtime4 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Compare YouTube livestream and regular-video RPM in YouTube Analytics using the same date range and comparable content groups. Then check view totals and the revenue-source breakdown: RPM is total creator revenue per 1,000 views, not an ad-only rate, so a difference does not by itself show that livestreams earn more or less from ads.

What RPM measures—and what it does not

YouTube defines RPM as creator revenue per 1,000 views after YouTube’s revenue share. Depending on the channel and enabled features, it can include advertising, YouTube Premium, channel memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers. It includes views that did not generate revenue, too, so RPM can fall when the share of unmonetized views grows even if total revenue has not fallen. YouTube’s explanation of ad revenue analytics covers the metric and its components.

CPM is different: it describes advertiser spending per 1,000 ad impressions before YouTube’s revenue share. It is not a like-for-like substitute for creator RPM. Compare RPM with RPM, and use revenue-source reporting if you want to investigate advertising specifically.

Compare the formats in YouTube Analytics

  1. Choose one reporting period. Set the same start and end dates for both groups. Make sure the period includes the streams, replays and regular videos you intend to compare.
  2. Separate the content formats. In YouTube Studio Analytics, use the content-format reporting for videos and livestreams. YouTube reports performance and RPM across formats; its guidance says views count when playback starts for long-form video on demand and live formats. See YouTube’s revenue-checking guidance for Android for its content-performance reporting.
  3. Read RPM for each group. Compare the livestream/replay RPM with the regular-video RPM for the same period. Do not substitute estimated ad revenue or CPM for either RPM figure.
  4. Check views and revenue sources. Record the view totals alongside RPM, then inspect the revenue-source breakdown. Where the available reporting permits, distinguish advertising from Premium and fan-funding sources such as memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers.
  5. Note changes in monetization settings and mix. Record whether live ad settings changed, and whether either group had a different proportion of unmonetized views. These factors can affect the comparison.

YouTube’s Live filter can show ad-revenue breakdowns for livestreams and replays. That can help isolate advertising from total RPM when explaining a gap. For details on live-stream ad formats and reporting, see YouTube’s live-stream monetization guidance.

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How to interpret a difference

A higher livestream RPM is an observed result for your channel and the selected period—not a universal live-stream rate. The difference may reflect audience and view mix, the share of views that were not monetized, ad delivery, or revenue from Premium and fan-funding features. Likewise, a lower RPM does not alone prove that livestream ads paid less.

Live streams can have pre-roll and display ads when monetization is enabled, and mid-roll ads may be automatic or manual. YouTube does not guarantee that an ad slot will serve; its systems decide whether to fill it. Eligible channels may also earn from Super Chat, Super Stickers and memberships when those features are enabled. Monetization options are managed through the relevant Watch Page and Commerce Product modules; see YouTube’s monetization options for computers.

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Do not treat the mid-roll figure as an RPM benchmark

YouTube reported that, across 207 countries in January 2024, creators who chose live automatic mid-roll ads had over 20% higher average instream ad revenue per hour than channels that had not turned them on. This is YouTube’s reported comparison for that period and measure; it is not a guaranteed uplift, does not compare livestream RPM with regular-video RPM, and should not be used to predict an individual channel’s result. YouTube’s live-stream monetization guidance describes the finding.

Make the comparison useful for your channel

  • Use the same dates and clearly defined format groups; note whether replays are included with live content.
  • Keep RPM, views and revenue-source breakdowns together so a rate is not interpreted without its underlying totals and mix.
  • Check that each group has enough views for the period to be informative for your channel. A small or uneven sample can make the observed difference less useful as a guide to future performance.
  • Describe the result narrowly: for example, “livestream/replay RPM was higher for this channel in this period,” rather than claiming that livestreams generally earn more.
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