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Calculate YouTube Ad Revenue for Yesterday (for Monetized Channels)

0h 03m video Published Feb 18, 2021 Transcribed Jul 29, 2026 A Anthony English
Beginner 2 min read For: YouTube content creators with monetized channels who want to track their daily ad revenue before official figures.
AI Trust Score 75/100
⚠️ Average / Some Fluff

"Delivers exactly what the title promises: a method to calculate yesterday's ad revenue with clear steps and an example."

AI Summary

This video demonstrates how to estimate daily YouTube ad revenue before official data is available by using the Playback Based CPM and Monetized Playbacks from YouTube Analytics. The creator provides a simple calculation formula and explains when the data typically updates.

[00:00]
Revenue estimation method

Shows how to calculate ad revenue even when data is still processing, using the striped green line indicator in Analytics.

[00:34]
Accessing Analytics data

Go to Analytics > Revenue, set custom date range to the desired day, then find Playback Based CPM and Monetized Playbacks.

[01:06]
Calculation formula

Formula: (CPM / 1000) * Monetized Playbacks * 0.55. Example: $16.29 CPM with 3079 playbacks gives approximately $27.58.

[02:16]
Data update timing

Playback Based CPM typically updates around 3 p.m. Pacific Time for the previous day's numbers, with estimated revenue appearing about 20 minutes later.

[03:14]
CPM vs RPM explained

CPM (Cost Per Mille) is the amount advertisers pay per thousand views; RPM (Revenue Per Mille) is the creator's earnings after YouTube's 45% cut. The method uses CPM for ad revenue calculation.

By using the Playback Based CPM and Monetized Playbacks from YouTube Analytics, creators can accurately estimate their daily ad revenue before official figures are released, typically available around 3 p.m. PST.

Tutorial Checklist

1 00:34 Go to YouTube Analytics > Revenue.
2 00:47 Set custom date range to the day you want (e.g., Feb 16 to Feb 16).
3 01:06 Locate Playback Based CPM and Monetized Playbacks, then click 'See more' for exact numbers.
4 01:45 Multiply CPM by Monetized Playbacks, divide by 1000, then multiply by 0.55.
5 02:31 Wait until around 3 p.m. PST for the data to update; estimated revenue should appear within 20 minutes.

Study Flashcards (5)

What is the formula to estimate daily YouTube ad revenue before official data?

medium Click to reveal answer

(Playback Based CPM / 1000) * Monetized Playbacks * 0.55

01:45

What does CPM stand for?

easy Click to reveal answer

Cost Per Mille (cost per thousand views)

01:22

What percentage of ad revenue does a YouTube creator get?

easy Click to reveal answer

55% (YouTube takes 45%)

01:45

When does Playback Based CPM data typically update?

medium Click to reveal answer

Around 3 p.m. Pacific Time for the previous day's numbers

02:31

What is the difference between CPM and RPM?

medium Click to reveal answer

CPM is the ad revenue before YouTube's cut; RPM is the creator's earnings after YouTube's cut.

03:14

💡 Key Takeaways

🔧

Revenue calculation formula

Provides a concrete arithmetic method to estimate earnings before official data.

01:45
📊

Data update timing

Explains when creators can expect the data to refresh, allowing them to plan when to check.

02:31
⚖️

CPM vs RPM distinction

Clarifies the difference between the two metrics, helping creators understand their earnings breakdown.

03:14

[00:00] Here's a quick way to see how much revenue  you have made on YouTube for the day,   even if the data isn't all in. Let me  jump to the analytics, to the revenue,   and you can see this striped green line? That  means that it’s still work in progress. Okay.  

[00:17] So I want to find the data for February 16th. Now  it's actually February 17th in the YouTube land,   at Pacific Standard Time. But February 16th is  still crunching the numbers. Never mind. I can  

[00:34] still find out how much money I'm going to be  getting through ad revenue, from ad revenue,   and here's how. I go to the date for the 16th.  Custom. Pick the day the 16th to the 16th,  

[00:47] to the 16th there. And hit Apply. And now, I've  got this Playback Based CPM. Once that comes in,   I have now, I can now click on this: See more.  So my Playback based CPM is $16.29 and Monetized  

[01:06] Playbacks is 3079. So, that's enough data for me  to get a very close calculation of how much money   I'm going to get for that day from YouTube. Watch.  $16.29, so that's the CPM or Cost Per Mille, for  

[01:22] a thousand views. Okay. So, we're going to need to  divide that by a thousand. And then we're going to   say, well, how many monetized playbacks? It was  3079. So that's times 3 0 7 9 divided by 1000.

[01:45] And this is how much money  advertisers are paying YouTube,   which is $50, and my cut is going to  be 55 percent of that, so go times 0.55

[02:00] and I should be getting roughly $27. $27.58  for that day, for that day's revenue. So,   even though the CPM, even though I don't have the  estimated revenue yet, or the Revenue Per Mille,  

[02:16] I can figure it out, based on this amount.  Now, last thing to tell you is that that   amount has come in at 3 p.m. Pacific Time on  Wednesday. So, that's for Tuesday's numbers. Now,  

[02:31] it varies each day, but generally around 3 pm  or mid afternoon to late afternoon. That’s PST.   Number is there. So, once again Analytics,  Revenue. Pick your day and then go down to  

[02:45] see more and then you multiply your monetized  playbacks by the CPM, divided by a thousand   times 0.55. Check a little while later. This  one was maybe within another 20 minutes or so  

[03:00] I get to see that the estimated revenue is  available. And it's actually really close to the   number that I came up with. Okay, so that's where  you see it. Now the RPM, we've still got to wait  

[03:14] for that to come in but even though the RPM - okay  - which is Revenue Per Mille, which is how much   you're actually earning per thousand views, that  hasn't come in. Now I really care about the CPM,  

[03:27] because that's ad revenue. That's pretty much  all that I'm getting from my YouTube channel.   I don't have any Merch. I'm not getting supers or  super chat or anything like that so I don't really  

[03:39] care about the RPM, the calculated amount after  YouTube has taken its cut. So I've got the CPM,   and once I've got that, as you can see, I can  work out my estimated revenue for the day.

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