Creator Unit Math · unit economics for creators
What should a video or podcast sponsorship pay you?
A single "we'll pay you X" tells you nothing about whether it is a good deal. Enter your expected views or downloads, your CPM range (or a flat rate), the integration type and the share of the audience that actually sees it — and watch a three-scenario ladder build conservative, base and aggressive revenue side by side, each with its effective CPM, the floor you should ask for, and the delta against the offer on the table.
How much should a video or podcast sponsorship pay?
Start from the audience that actually sees the integration — your expected views or downloads multiplied by the share that does not skip, block or drop off — then multiply that reach (per thousand) by the CPM you can command and by a weight for the integration type, because a dedicated segment is worth more than a passing mention or a skippable pre-roll. That gives the estimated revenue for the deal. Because a CPM is a range, not a point, the planner shows three scenarios — conservative, base and aggressive — and reports your effective CPM (what you really earn per thousand promised views, after audience-seen and the weight discount it). The conservative scenario is your floor: the number you can defend as a realistic worst case, and therefore the price you should not accept less than.
Every figure on this page comes from the numbers you enter — this planner models your own deal and shows no benchmark or "typical YouTube / Twitch / podcast CPM" data, because those vary by niche, geography and season and there is no single official source for them.
Your revenue scenario ladder
Conservative, base and aggressive side by side — the base scenario is the most likely and is highlighted.
Conservative
$1,008
- CPM used
- $18
- Effective CPM
- $12.6
- Vs the offer
- Offer is $492 above
Base
Most likely$1,484
- CPM used
- $26.5
- Effective CPM
- $18.55
- Vs the offer
- Offer is $16 above
Aggressive
$1,960
- CPM used
- $35
- Effective CPM
- $24.5
- Vs the offer
- Offer is $460 short
Floor to ask for
$1,008
Your conservative scenario — the realistic worst case, and the price you should not accept less than.
Take it into the negotiation
Export your three scenarios · $19 / €19
Download a PDF + CSV of this exact deal — the conservative, base and aggressive revenue, the effective CPM for each, and the floor to ask for — ready to put in front of the sponsor. One-time, no account.
Purchases handled by Lemon Squeezy (Merchant of Record).
Checkout is being finalised — the export will be available here shortly.
Estimate, not financial advice
This planner is an estimate to help you read a sponsorship's economics before you agree to it. It is not financial, tax or accounting advice, and it is not an adviser. The output is only as accurate as the views, CPM, weights and audience-seen share you enter, and it uses no benchmark or market-rate figures. Sense-check the result against your own past deals and analytics before deciding.
How the math works
How the revenue per scenario is built
First the planner works out the audience that actually sees the integration: your expected views or downloads multiplied by the audience-seen share. That reach, divided by a thousand, is then multiplied by the CPM and by the integration weight to give the revenue: revenue = reach ÷ 1000 × CPM × weight. The audience-seen share matters because impressions that skip, block or drop off the mid-roll do not pay — counting only the audience that sees the integration is what keeps the number honest.
What the effective CPM tells you
The headline CPM is what you negotiate per thousand impressions. The effective CPM is what you really earn per thousand promised views, after the audience-seen share and the integration weight discount it: effective CPM = CPM × audience-seen share × weight. It is usually well below the headline, and it is the number to compare across deals — a high headline CPM on a format only half the audience sees can earn less than a lower CPM on a dedicated segment everyone watches.
Why three scenarios instead of one number
A CPM is a range, not a point, and views are an estimate, so a single figure hides the risk. When you enter a CPM range the ladder uses your low for the conservative scenario, the midpoint for the base, and your high for the aggressive — the spread is entirely your own range, with nothing invented. When you enter a flat rate the ladder applies a transparent ± band that you control (the scenario spread), so you still see a defensible downside and upside around your rate.
What the floor means
The floor is the conservative scenario's revenue: the number you can defend as a realistic worst case. It is the price you should not accept less than, because below it the deal is worse than your own cautious estimate. If the offer on the table is below the floor, that is the clearest signal to push back; if it sits between the floor and the base, you have room to negotiate toward the base.
Where the numbers come from
Everything shown is computed from your inputs, in your browser — nothing is sent to a server. This planner deliberately asserts no "typical CPM" for any platform: YouTube, Twitch and Spotify are named only as examples of where creators run sponsorships, never with invented numbers, because real CPMs vary by niche, geography and season and there is no single authoritative source for them. The CPM, the weights and the audience-seen share are all yours to set; the starting values in the form are an editable example to make the tool usable on first load, not a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the estimated revenue calculated?
- The planner multiplies your expected views or downloads by the audience-seen share to get the reach that actually sees the integration, divides that by a thousand, then multiplies by the CPM and the integration weight. In short: revenue = reach ÷ 1000 × CPM × weight. Every input is yours.
- What is the difference between the CPM and the effective CPM?
- The CPM is the headline rate you negotiate per thousand impressions. The effective CPM is what you actually earn per thousand promised views once you account for the share of the audience that sees the integration and the weight of the integration type — effective CPM = CPM × audience-seen share × weight. It is the fairer number to compare deals on.
- Why does the integration type change the result?
- Because a dedicated segment, a brief mention and a skippable pre-roll do not command the same CPM. Each type carries a weight on the rate — a full dedicated segment is 1.0 by default, with a mention and a pre-roll at a fraction. The weights are your editable defaults, your own read of your formats, not market benchmarks; change them to match your experience.
- What do the conservative, base and aggressive scenarios mean?
- They are three points on your own uncertainty. With a CPM range, the conservative scenario uses your low, the base the midpoint and the aggressive your high. With a flat rate, the planner applies a transparent ± band you set around the rate. The base column is highlighted because it is the most likely outcome; the others show your realistic downside and upside.
- Do you use any typical YouTube, Twitch or podcast CPMs?
- No. Every figure on the page comes from the numbers you enter. Real sponsorship CPMs vary by niche, geography and season and there is no single official source for them, so the planner asserts none — inventing benchmark figures would be fabricated data. Those platforms are named only as examples of where sponsorships run, and the example values in the form are editable placeholders, not market data.
- Is this financial advice?
- No. It is an estimate to help you read a sponsorship's economics before you agree to it, and it is not an adviser. The output is only as accurate as the views, CPM, weights and audience-seen share you enter; sense-check it against your own past deals and analytics before deciding.