Compare YouTube niches by CPM, RPM, CPC, and competition. Find what pays the most and discover untapped opportunities.
| Action | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40 | $18.00 | $6.00 | ||
| $36 | $15.00 | $4.20 | ||
| $32 | $13.00 | $4.00 | ||
| $30 | $12.00 | $3.50 | ||
| $24 | $10.00 | $3.20 | ||
| $25 | $10.00 | $3.50 | ||
| $28 | $10.00 | $3.00 | ||
| $22 | $9.00 | $2.80 | ||
| $22 | $9.00 | $3.00 | ||
| $20 | $8.00 | $2.50 | ||
| $20 | $8.00 | $2.50 | ||
| $18 | $7.50 | $2.50 | ||
| $18 | $7.00 | $2.20 | ||
| $16 | $6.50 | $2.00 | ||
| $16 | $6.50 | $1.50 | ||
| $15 | $6.00 | $1.80 | ||
| $14 | $5.50 | $1.50 | ||
| $14 | $5.50 | $1.60 | ||
| $14 | $5.50 | $1.80 | ||
| $12 | $4.50 | $1.50 | ||
| $12 | $4.50 | $1.20 | ||
| $10 | $4.00 | $1.00 | ||
| $10 | $4.00 | $1.20 | ||
| $8 | $3.50 | $0.80 | ||
| $8 | $3.00 | $0.80 | ||
| $5 | $2.00 | $0.50 | ||
| $4 | $1.50 | $0.40 |
What advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. Higher CPM = more competition = your ads pay more.
What YOU actually earn per 1,000 views (after YouTube's 45% cut). This is the number that matters most.
What advertisers pay when a viewer clicks their ad. Higher CPC niches have ads worth clicking.
Choosing the right niche is the single most important decision you will make as a YouTuber. It determines your audience, your growth potential, and most importantly, your income. A channel with 10,000 subscribers in the Finance niche can easily out-earn a channel with 100,000 subscribers in the Gaming or Comedy niches.
Why? Because advertisers pay for audience quality, not just quantity. If your viewers are looking for investment advice, advertisers know they have money to spend. If your viewers are watching pranks, their spending power (and intent) is lower. This guide breaks down exactly how YouTube pays creators and which niches offer the highest ROI for your time.
What advertisers pay for 1,000 ad impressions. This number tells you how valuable your audience is to brands.
What YOU earn per 1,000 views. This is your take-home pay after YouTube takes its 45% cut and accounts for views without ads.
Formula: (Total Revenue / Total Views) * 1,000
The price of a click. If a viewer clicks an ad on your video, the advertiser pays this amount. High CPC = High CPM.
Education & Tutorials often have high CPC because viewers are in "learning mode" and ready to buy tools or courses.
The most successful channels usually hit three specific criteria. If you can find a topic that overlaps all three, you've found a Blue Ocean opportunity.
Viewers are looking to solve a problem or buy something. Ex: "Best laptop for students" vs. "Funny cat videos".
Companies in the space (Software, Insurance, Hosting) typically have massive marketing budgets.
The topic is searchable year-round, not just a passing trend. How-to guides and tutorials are perfect for this.
Why it pays: Financial products (credit cards, mortgages, brokerages) have incredibly high "Lifetime Value" (LTV). A bank is willing to pay $100+ to acquire a single customer because that customer might stay for decades.
Why it pays: Software companies run on recurring revenue (subscriptions). They pay huge sums to get users to try their tools. Tutorial channels (e.g., "How to use Notion") often get 2x-3x higher CPM than hardware review channels.
Why it pays: This audience consists of business owners and entrepreneurs. B2B (Business to Business) advertisers pay significantly more than B2C (Business to Consumer) brands because business software contracts are worth thousands.
The smartest creators use AdSense as "gas money." The real wealth comes from backend monetization. If you pick a niche like Fitness or Tech, your potential for affiliate income often exceeds ad revenue by 5-10x.
Yes, but it's risky ("Niche Pivoting"). Youtube's algorithm builds a profile of your ideal viewer. If you switch from Gaming to Finance, your old subscribers won't click, signaling to YouTube that your new video is "bad." It's often better to start a new channel for a drastically different niche.
Absolutely. Views from Tier 1 countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia) pay 3-5x more than views from Tier 2 or Tier 3 countries. A finance channel with a US audience might have a $30 RPM; the same channel with an Indian audience might have a $2 RPM.
It depends entirely on the niche. A Finance YouTuber might make a full-time income with 20,000 subscribers and a course. A Reaction channel might need 500,000 subscribers to make the same amount via AdSense alone. Quality > Quantity.