Impression Calculator

Derive total impressions from reach and frequency, the two numbers media plans are built on.

About Impression Calculator

Impressions count exposures, not people, so the same campaign can report very different impression totals at the same reach depending on frequency. Cost per person reached is the figure that matters when the goal is awareness rather than repetition. Buying on impressions without controlling frequency concentrates delivery on a small audience seeing the ad many times, which wastes budget on saturated viewers.

Formula

Impression

Impressions = reach × frequency

reach: Distinct people who saw the campaign at least once
frequency: Average number of exposures per reached person

Worked example

With the default values below, Impression Calculator returns Total Impressions of 1,000,000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Unique people reachedminimum 0: 250,000
Average frequency per personminimum 0 x: 4 x
Cost per thousand impressionsminimum 0: 8

Results

Total Impressions: 1,000,000
Gross Rating Points Against a 1m Population: 100.00
Media Cost at This CPM: $8,000.00
Cost per Person Reached: $0.0320
Impressions per Thousand People Reached: 4,000

Step by step

1Values used
2Impression
3Total Impressions= 1,000,000
4Gross Rating Points Against a 1m Population= 100.00
5Media Cost at This CPM= 8,000.00
6Cost per Person Reached= 0.0320
7Impressions per Thousand People Reached= 4,000

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Impression calculated?

Impressions = reach × frequency Impressions count exposures, not people, so the same campaign can report very different impression totals at the same reach depending on frequency. Cost per person reached is the figure that matters when the goal is awareness rather than repetition.

Why does Impression matter?

Buying on impressions without controlling frequency concentrates delivery on a small audience seeing the ad many times, which wastes budget on saturated viewers.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 3 inputs: Unique people reached, Average frequency per person, Cost per thousand impressions. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.