Definition
Cost Per Mille (CPM) is the price an advertiser pays for every 1,000 impressions an ad receives, regardless of whether anyone clicks or engages with it. “Mille” is Latin for thousand, and CPM billing is most common in brand-awareness campaigns focused on visibility over direct response.
In Plain Terms
CPM is like paying a billboard company by how many cars drive past, not by how many people actually look up — you’re buying guaranteed visibility, not a guaranteed reaction.
How It Works
- Priced per 1,000 impressions, regardless of clicks or engagement
- Preferred billing model for brand-awareness or reach campaigns, where being seen matters more than an immediate click
- Contrasts with CPC/CPA, which only charge when someone actually acts
Examples
- A display campaign with a NPR 200 CPM generating 500,000 impressions costs NPR 100,000
- Choosing CPM billing for a brand-awareness campaign versus CPC for a lead-generation campaign
- Comparing CPM across platforms to see where impressions are cheapest for a given audience
Commonly Confused With
- CPM vs CPC — CPM charges per 1,000 impressions regardless of clicks; CPC charges only when a click happens
- CPM vs CPA — CPM pays for visibility; CPA pays only for a completed conversion, several steps further down the funnel
