What does CPM stand for? In advertising and marketing, CPM stands for cost per mille, the amount an advertiser pays for every one thousand times an ad is shown. Mille is Latin for thousand, the same root as in millennium and millimeter, which is why the letter M stands for 1,000 here.
CPM lets buyers compare very different places to run ads on one scale: a billboard, a podcast, a news site, a social feed or a TV spot. Outside marketing, CPM has its own meanings in project management, medicine and other fields, covered further down.
Quick facts
Stands for
Cost per mille (cost per thousand)Mille
Latin for thousandType
Initialism, said C P MFormula
Cost divided by impressions, times 1,000Used in
Ad buying, media plans, campaign reportsOther meanings
Critical path method, continuous passive motion, certified professional midwifeRelated terms
CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per action), CTR (click-through rate)
What does CPM stand for in marketing?
Read the letters this way:
- C for cost, what the advertiser pays
- P for per
- M for mille, one thousand impressions
An impression is one showing of an ad on a screen, page or broadcast. It does not mean anyone clicked, bought or even looked closely. CPM is about reach and visibility, so brands that want many people to see their name, a new product or an event tend to buy on a CPM basis. You may also see it called cost per thousand, and in some media plans the letters are written CPT for the same idea.
How to work out CPM
The cpm formula is short:
CPM = (total cost ÷ total impressions) × 1,000
A campaign report: A local gym runs display ads that are shown 400,000 times. To find its CPM, the gym takes the total cost of the campaign, divides it by 400,000, then multiplies by 1,000. Put another way, 400,000 impressions make 400 blocks of a thousand, so the CPM is the total cost split evenly across those 400 blocks.
You can turn the formula around to plan a budget. If you want 250,000 impressions, divide 250,000 by 1,000 to get 250 blocks. Multiply the quoted CPM by 250, and the answer is what the ads would cost. Rates vary widely by audience, season, ad format and placement, so a quote means most when you compare it with others aimed at a similar audience.
CPM vs CPC vs CPA
| Model | Stands for | You pay when |
|---|---|---|
| CPM | Cost per mille | The ad is shown 1,000 times |
| CPC | Cost per click | Someone clicks the ad |
| CPA | Cost per action (or acquisition) | Someone signs up, buys or completes a goal |
| CPV | Cost per view | A video ad is watched for a set time |
Each model shifts risk. With CPM, the advertiser pays for exposure whether or not people respond. With CPC and CPA, the advertiser pays only for results, and the seller takes on more risk. Marketers often track all of them alongside ROI and other KPIs. Note that CPA in this table is different from the accounting credential on the CPA page.
Other things CPM stands for
| Field | Stands for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Project management | Critical path method | Finding the longest chain of tasks that sets a project's end date |
| Physical therapy | Continuous passive motion | A machine that slowly bends a knee after surgery |
| Childbirth | Certified professional midwife | A midwife credentialed to attend births outside hospitals |
| Typing | Characters per minute | A typing test score |
| Science and radiation | Counts per minute | A reading on a radiation detector |
| Machines | Cycles per minute | How fast a pump or press repeats |
In a hospital chart, "CPM machine" almost always means the knee therapy device. In a project schedule, CPM is the critical path method. Only on an ad report does it mean a cost.
CPM in a sentence
- "The podcast quoted us a flat CPM for each episode."
- "Our CPM went up during the holidays because more brands were bidding."
- "Video placements usually carry a higher CPM than banner ads."
- "The physical therapist set the CPM machine to 60 degrees."
- "Using CPM, the planner found three tasks that could not slip without delaying the launch."
Spoken, it is three letters: "C P M." It takes capitals and no periods, and the article that fits is "a," giving "a CPM report." You will find more money and marketing letters in the business acronyms section, from ROI to KPI.
Questions people ask
What does CPM stand for in marketing?
It stands for cost per mille, meaning what an advertiser pays for each block of a thousand impressions. Marketers use it to compare the cost of reaching people across different sites, shows and channels.
Why is the M in CPM for thousand?
The M comes from mille, the Latin word for thousand. Roman numerals use M for 1,000 for the same reason.
What is a good CPM?
There is no single good number. It depends on the audience, the ad format, the season and whether the goal is awareness or sales. Compare CPM against your own past campaigns and results.
What does CPM stand for in project management?
There it means critical path method, a way to map tasks and find the sequence that controls the finish date. Any delay on the critical path delays the whole project.
Is CPM the same as CPC?
No. CPM charges for every thousand times an ad is shown. CPC charges only when someone clicks on it.