Work out the spend needed to deliver a target number of impressions at a given CPM.
CPM prices inventory per thousand impressions, so spend is impressions divided by a thousand times the rate. Agency and platform fees sit on top, which is why working media is always less than the budget approved. Comparing channels on CPM alone ignores fee load and click-through; the effective cost per click is what makes them genuinely comparable.
Ad Spend
Media spend = impressions ÷ 1,000 × CPM; total = media spend × (1 + fee)
Media spend = impressions ÷ 1,000 × CPM; total = media spend × (1 + fee) CPM prices inventory per thousand impressions, so spend is impressions divided by a thousand times the rate. Agency and platform fees sit on top, which is why working media is always less than the budget approved.
Comparing channels on CPM alone ignores fee load and click-through; the effective cost per click is what makes them genuinely comparable.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Target impressions, Cost per thousand impressions, Agency or platform fee, Expected click-through rate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.