{
  "metadata": {
    "name": "LensPOV 2026 YouTube CPM Reality by Niche",
    "description": "Aggregated YouTube advertiser CPM and creator RPM ranges across 30 content niches, compiled from named-creator income disclosures, transparency reports, and industry-published rate cards. Confidence intervals are 10th and 90th percentile across the underlying disclosure set.",
    "sourceRecords": 30,
    "totalDisclosures": 142,
    "timeRange": "2024-Q1 through 2026-Q1",
    "datePublished": "2026-05-09",
    "dateModified": "2026-05-09",
    "lastVerifiedDate": "2026-05-08",
    "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
    "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "canonicalUrl": "https://lenspov.com/research/youtube-cpm-by-niche-2026/",
    "methodology": "Each niche range aggregates N>=3 named creator disclosures or industry-published CPM rate cards. CPM is the gross advertiser-paid cost per 1,000 ad impressions in USD before YouTube's 45 percent revenue share. RPM equivalent applies the standard 55 percent creator share to the median CPM. cpm_low is the 10th percentile of disclosed CPMs in the niche; cpm_high is the 90th. Q4 multiplier is the observed seasonal lift in the same niche when comparing Q4 (Oct-Dec) to Q2 (Apr-Jun) disclosures. Foreign currency disclosures normalized to USD at quarterly average ECB rates. Ranges describe the typical English-language US/Canada/UK/AU audience composition; creators with majority Tier 3 audience geography (India, Brazil, Indonesia) are excluded from the niche aggregation.",
    "dataProvenance": "AGGREGATED ESTIMATES from disclosed figures (no single authoritative source exists for CPM-by-niche). Each niche CPM range aggregates N>=3 named creator disclosures and/or industry-published CPM rate cards; CPM = gross advertiser-paid cost per 1,000 ad impressions before YouTube's ~45% revenue share. SOURCED: the underlying named creator disclosures + rate cards. ESTIMATED: the per-niche ranges are aggregations of those disclosures, NOT measured population CPMs — treat as directional ranges, not exact rates."
  },
  "overall": {
    "n_niches": 30,
    "median_cpm_across_niches": 5.1,
    "max_min_cpm_ratio": 41.7,
    "highest_niche": "personal-finance",
    "lowest_niche": "kids-content",
    "median_q4_multiplier": 1.62
  },
  "niches": [
    {
      "niche": "personal-finance",
      "label": "Personal Finance",
      "cpm_low": 18,
      "cpm_median": 29.3,
      "cpm_high": 50,
      "rpm_equivalent": 16.12,
      "sample_size": 7,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.85,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Graham Stephan",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh-NVqSiHo"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Andrei Jikh",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYqK8b8r7Yw"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Creator Economy Report (Peter Yang)",
          "url": "https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-state-of-creator-economy-2024"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "business-startups",
      "label": "Business and Startups",
      "cpm_low": 14,
      "cpm_median": 22.5,
      "cpm_high": 38,
      "rpm_equivalent": 12.38,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.7,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Patrick Boyle",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@PBoyle"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Ali Abdaal",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVXVPjvR6kY"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter rate card coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/06/15/youtube-cpm-rates-2023-niche/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "saas-software-reviews",
      "label": "Software and SaaS Reviews",
      "cpm_low": 12,
      "cpm_median": 19,
      "cpm_high": 32,
      "rpm_equivalent": 10.45,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.55,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Coffeezilla",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeezilla"
        },
        {
          "creator": "TechLinked / LTT",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@TechLinked"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubular Labs benchmarks",
          "url": "https://tubularlabs.com/resources/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "real-estate",
      "label": "Real Estate",
      "cpm_low": 15,
      "cpm_median": 24,
      "cpm_high": 40,
      "rpm_equivalent": 13.2,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.9,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "BiggerPockets",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@BiggerPockets"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Meet Kevin",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MeetKevin"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Creator Economy Report",
          "url": "https://creatoreconomy.so/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "insurance",
      "label": "Insurance",
      "cpm_low": 20,
      "cpm_median": 31,
      "cpm_high": 55,
      "rpm_equivalent": 17.05,
      "sample_size": 3,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.6,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "Google Ads insurance category benchmarks",
          "url": "https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2375420"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter coverage of insurance YouTube ad rates",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Variety creator income reporting",
          "url": "https://variety.com/c/digital/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "legal",
      "label": "Legal and Lawyer Content",
      "cpm_low": 14,
      "cpm_median": 22,
      "cpm_high": 45,
      "rpm_equivalent": 12.1,
      "sample_size": 3,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.5,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "LegalEagle",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@LegalEagle"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Steve Lehto",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@stevelehto"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter creator income coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "medical-health",
      "label": "Medical and Health",
      "cpm_low": 9,
      "cpm_median": 15.5,
      "cpm_high": 28,
      "rpm_equivalent": 8.53,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.45,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Doctor Mike",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@DoctorMike"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Medlife Crisis",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MedlifeCrisis"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "YouTube advertiser-friendly guidelines",
          "url": "https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6162278"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "tech-reviews",
      "label": "Tech and Gadget Reviews",
      "cpm_low": 6,
      "cpm_median": 9.5,
      "cpm_high": 17,
      "rpm_equivalent": 5.23,
      "sample_size": 6,
      "q4_multiplier": 2.1,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Marques Brownlee (MKBHD)",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Linus Tech Tips",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@LinusTechTips"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Sara Dietschy",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@SaraDietschy"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "gaming",
      "label": "Gaming",
      "cpm_low": 1.8,
      "cpm_median": 3.4,
      "cpm_high": 6.5,
      "rpm_equivalent": 1.87,
      "sample_size": 8,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.5,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "PewDiePie public commentary",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@PewDiePie"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Ludwig",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@ludwig"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter gaming earnings coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "entertainment-news",
      "label": "Entertainment News and Pop Culture",
      "cpm_low": 1.5,
      "cpm_median": 2.8,
      "cpm_high": 5,
      "rpm_equivalent": 1.54,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.7,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "The Hollywood Reporter creator income coverage",
          "url": "https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Variety creator earnings reporting",
          "url": "https://variety.com/c/digital/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter weekly Top 50",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/category/youtube-top-50/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "kids-content",
      "label": "Kids Content (post-COPPA)",
      "cpm_low": 0.4,
      "cpm_median": 0.7,
      "cpm_high": 1.2,
      "rpm_equivalent": 0.39,
      "sample_size": 6,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.35,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "FTC COPPA enforcement order against YouTube (2019)",
          "url": "https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/09/google-youtube-will-pay-record-170-million-alleged-violations-childrens-privacy-law"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter post-COPPA earnings coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/2020/01/06/youtube-coppa-rules-creator-impact/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "YouTube made-for-kids policy",
          "url": "https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9528076"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "lifestyle-vlogs",
      "label": "Lifestyle and Vlogs",
      "cpm_low": 2.5,
      "cpm_median": 4.5,
      "cpm_high": 8,
      "rpm_equivalent": 2.48,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.65,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Casey Neistat public statements",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@CaseyNeistat"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Emma Chamberlain",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@emmachamberlain"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Passionfruit (Daily Dot) creator economy coverage",
          "url": "https://passionfruit.dailydot.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "beauty",
      "label": "Beauty and Cosmetics",
      "cpm_low": 4,
      "cpm_median": 7.2,
      "cpm_high": 13,
      "rpm_equivalent": 3.96,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 2.2,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "James Welsh",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@JamesWelsh"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Hyram Yarbro",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@SkinCarebyHyram"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubular Labs beauty benchmark",
          "url": "https://tubularlabs.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "fashion",
      "label": "Fashion and Style",
      "cpm_low": 3.5,
      "cpm_median": 6.4,
      "cpm_high": 12,
      "rpm_equivalent": 3.52,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 2.15,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Justine Leconte",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@JustineLeconte"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Ashley Brooke",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@ashleybrookenicholas"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Variety fashion creator coverage",
          "url": "https://variety.com/c/digital/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "fitness",
      "label": "Fitness and Strength Training",
      "cpm_low": 3,
      "cpm_median": 5.5,
      "cpm_high": 10,
      "rpm_equivalent": 3.03,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.4,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Jeff Nippard",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@JeffNippard"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Athlean-X",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@athleanx"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Creator Economy Report fitness coverage",
          "url": "https://creatoreconomy.so/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "food-cooking",
      "label": "Food and Cooking",
      "cpm_low": 2.8,
      "cpm_median": 5,
      "cpm_high": 9,
      "rpm_equivalent": 2.75,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.95,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Babish Culinary Universe",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@babishculinaryuniverse"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Joshua Weissman",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@JoshuaWeissman"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter food creator coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "travel",
      "label": "Travel",
      "cpm_low": 2.2,
      "cpm_median": 4.2,
      "cpm_high": 8.5,
      "rpm_equivalent": 2.31,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.45,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Kara and Nate",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@KaraandNate"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Drew Binsky",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@DrewBinsky"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Rest of World creator coverage",
          "url": "https://restofworld.org/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "automotive",
      "label": "Automotive",
      "cpm_low": 4.5,
      "cpm_median": 8,
      "cpm_high": 14,
      "rpm_equivalent": 4.4,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.8,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Doug DeMuro",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@DougDeMuro"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Engineering Explained",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@EngineeringExplained"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter automotive coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "photography-film",
      "label": "Photography and Film",
      "cpm_low": 5,
      "cpm_median": 8.5,
      "cpm_high": 15,
      "rpm_equivalent": 4.68,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.85,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Peter McKinnon",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@PeterMcKinnon"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Sara Dietschy",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@SaraDietschy"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Matti Haapoja",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MattiHaapoja"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "music",
      "label": "Music",
      "cpm_low": 1.2,
      "cpm_median": 2.4,
      "cpm_high": 4.5,
      "rpm_equivalent": 1.32,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.4,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "Spotify Loud and Clear (parallel framing)",
          "url": "https://loudandclear.byspotify.com/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "YouTube Music creator support",
          "url": "https://creators.youtube.com/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Variety music creator coverage",
          "url": "https://variety.com/c/music/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "comedy",
      "label": "Comedy and Sketch",
      "cpm_low": 1.5,
      "cpm_median": 2.9,
      "cpm_high": 5.5,
      "rpm_equivalent": 1.6,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.7,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "MrBeast public CPM commentary (challenge content)",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Ryan George",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RyanGeorge"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter comedy creator coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "education-tutorials",
      "label": "Education and Tutorials",
      "cpm_low": 5,
      "cpm_median": 8.5,
      "cpm_high": 14,
      "rpm_equivalent": 4.68,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.5,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Khan Academy",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@khanacademy"
        },
        {
          "creator": "CrashCourse",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@crashcourse"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Stanford HAI creator economy research",
          "url": "https://hai.stanford.edu/research"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "science",
      "label": "Science",
      "cpm_low": 4,
      "cpm_median": 7,
      "cpm_high": 12,
      "rpm_equivalent": 3.85,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.55,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Veritasium",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Kurzgesagt",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt"
        },
        {
          "creator": "SmarterEveryDay",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@smartereveryday"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "history",
      "label": "History",
      "cpm_low": 3,
      "cpm_median": 5.5,
      "cpm_high": 10,
      "rpm_equivalent": 3.03,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.6,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Oversimplified",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@OverSimplified"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Extra Credits / Extra History",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@extrahistory"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Creator Economy Report",
          "url": "https://creatoreconomy.so/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "politics-news",
      "label": "Politics and News Commentary",
      "cpm_low": 1,
      "cpm_median": 2.2,
      "cpm_high": 4.5,
      "rpm_equivalent": 1.21,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.85,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "YouTube advertiser-friendly content guidelines (politics demonetization)",
          "url": "https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6162278"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter politics creator coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "The Hollywood Reporter politics creator income",
          "url": "https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "sports",
      "label": "Sports Commentary",
      "cpm_low": 2.5,
      "cpm_median": 4.8,
      "cpm_high": 9,
      "rpm_equivalent": 2.64,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.55,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "JxmyHighroller",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@JxmyHighroller"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Tifo Football (The Athletic)",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@TifoFootball"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Variety sports creator coverage",
          "url": "https://variety.com/c/sports/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "true-crime",
      "label": "True Crime",
      "cpm_low": 2,
      "cpm_median": 3.8,
      "cpm_high": 7,
      "rpm_equivalent": 2.09,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.6,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Bailey Sarian",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@BaileySarian"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Kendall Rae",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@KendallRae"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Passionfruit true crime coverage",
          "url": "https://passionfruit.dailydot.com/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "asmr",
      "label": "ASMR",
      "cpm_low": 1,
      "cpm_median": 2,
      "cpm_high": 4,
      "rpm_equivalent": 1.1,
      "sample_size": 3,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.5,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Gibi ASMR public statements",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@GibiASMR"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Tubefilter ASMR economy coverage",
          "url": "https://www.tubefilter.com/"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Garbage Day (Ryan Broderick) creator coverage",
          "url": "https://www.garbageday.email/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "podcasts-longform",
      "label": "Podcasts and Long-Form",
      "cpm_low": 6,
      "cpm_median": 10.5,
      "cpm_high": 18,
      "rpm_equivalent": 5.78,
      "sample_size": 5,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.55,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "creator": "Lex Fridman public statements",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@lexfridman"
        },
        {
          "creator": "Joe Rogan (post-Spotify return signals)",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@joerogan"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Creator Economy Report long-form coverage",
          "url": "https://creatoreconomy.so/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    },
    {
      "niche": "b2b-professional",
      "label": "B2B and Professional",
      "cpm_low": 11,
      "cpm_median": 18,
      "cpm_high": 30,
      "rpm_equivalent": 9.9,
      "sample_size": 4,
      "q4_multiplier": 1.6,
      "top_sources": [
        {
          "outlet": "Google Ads B2B category benchmarks",
          "url": "https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2375420"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "AdSense help (advertiser categories)",
          "url": "https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9904619"
        },
        {
          "outlet": "Creator Economy Report (Peter Yang) B2B segment",
          "url": "https://creatoreconomy.so/"
        }
      ],
      "last_verified_date": "2026-05-08"
    }
  ],
  "keyFindings": {
    "max_min_cpm_ratio": 41.7,
    "highest_cpm_niche_median": 29.3,
    "highest_cpm_niche": "personal-finance",
    "lowest_cpm_niche_median": 0.7,
    "lowest_cpm_niche": "kids-content",
    "median_q4_multiplier": 1.62,
    "highest_q4_seasonality": {
      "niche": "beauty",
      "multiplier": 2.2
    },
    "youtube_revenue_share_creator": 0.55,
    "youtube_revenue_share_platform": 0.45,
    "tier1_niches_above_15_cpm": [
      "personal-finance",
      "business-startups",
      "saas-software-reviews",
      "real-estate",
      "insurance",
      "legal",
      "medical-health",
      "b2b-professional"
    ],
    "tier3_niches_below_3_cpm": [
      "gaming",
      "entertainment-news",
      "kids-content",
      "music",
      "comedy",
      "politics-news",
      "true-crime",
      "asmr"
    ]
  }
}