How Much Do Websites Earn From Ads? RPM by Niche (2026)

The number that decides everything: RPM

Website ad earnings come down to one metric: RPM, or revenue per 1,000 pageviews. It is the web’s answer to mobile’s eCPM; the difference is the denominator. Mobile counts individual impressions; the web counts pageviews, because a single page usually holds several ad slots. If that distinction is fuzzy, the eCPM vs RPM guide untangles it.

Monthly revenue = monthly pageviews ÷ 1,000 × RPM

The formula is trivial. The hard part is that RPM swings enormously with your niche, your audience’s geography, and how your ads are set up. The same 1,000 pageviews can earn 40 cents or 40 dollars. This guide is about which of those you should realistically expect.

RPM by niche

Niche is the single biggest driver, because it decides which advertisers bid on your pages. A page about refinancing a mortgage attracts lenders with deep pockets; a page about free wallpapers attracts almost no one willing to pay. Rough 2026 display RPM ranges for a US-heavy audience:

Two sites with identical traffic in different niches can be an order of magnitude apart in revenue. If you are choosing what to write about with monetization in mind, this table is the most important input.

Worked examples

Take a site doing 50,000 pageviews a month and run it through three niches:

• Personal finance blog at a $22 RPM: 50 × $22 = $1,100/month
• Recipe site at a $12 RPM: 50 × $12 = $600/month
• Gaming blog at a $2.50 RPM: 50 × $2.50 = $125/month

Same effort to reach 50k pageviews, an 8× spread in outcome. Note also that 50,000 pageviews is well past Raptive’s 25,000-pageview bar, so a food or lifestyle site at that size is usually on a premium network already, which is why those RPMs sit higher: the network, as well as the niche, is doing work.

The other four factors

Geography of your readers

A US, UK, Canadian, or Australian audience earns several times the RPM of an audience concentrated in low-CPC regions, for the same content. Two recipe sites can post $14 and $3 RPMs purely on reader location. Check your analytics before benchmarking against someone else’s numbers.

Ad network and setup

Raw AdSense typically returns the lowest RPM of the mainstream options, and Media.net or Newor Media sit near it as alternatives for sites AdSense will not take or that want header bidding without an exclusivity contract. Moving to Journey by Mediavine at about 1,000 Tier-1 sessions, then Raptive at 25,000 pageviews or the main Mediavine network once revenue qualifies, can multiply RPM two to five times on the exact same pages, because header bidding forces advertisers to compete. The AdSense vs Mediavine guide lays out that ladder and the traffic each rung requires.

Ad density and layout

More ads per page lifts RPM, up to the point where they wreck load speed and reader trust, at which point pageviews and return visits fall. The premium networks earn their cut partly by tuning this balance for you. Do not chase RPM by stuffing slots; you will trade the pageviews half of the equation for the RPM half and often come out behind.

Device and engagement

Desktop generally out-earns mobile per pageview, and engaged readers who scroll and return are worth more than bounce traffic. Content that holds attention (long-form guides, recipes people cook from) monetizes better than a quick answer a visitor reads and leaves.

What a new site should realistically expect

Be honest with the early numbers. A brand-new site on plain AdSense, in an average niche, with mixed geography, often sits at a $1 – $5 RPM, meaning it takes real traffic before the revenue is meaningful. The path up is a combination: a better niche focus, a more US/UK-weighted audience, enough traffic to graduate to a premium network, and content good enough that people stay and return. All four compound.

Your own pageviews, niche, and geography will tell a more useful story than any industry-wide table.

Run your site's numbers →