Know what your channel is actually worth before saying yes.
Most creators accept the first number a brand offers. Most brands offer 30 to 50% below what an agency would quote for the same channel. The gap is on you to close. But you need the number first.
Free. No signup. No email gate.
The biggest leak in your channel revenue isn't AdSense. It's bad sponsorship deals.
You spent 200 hours making the videos. You spent 3 minutes responding to the brand email. That 3-minute decision is worth more than 50 hours of editing, and most creators wing it.
Brands have spreadsheets. Agencies have CPM models. You have a gut feeling and the offer in front of you. That's not a fair fight, and it's why a channel earning $25k a month from AdSense can be quoting $800 for a sponsored video that should be $4,000.
You don't need to become a sales person. You need a number.
What you'll see on your report
Drop your channel and you get a one-screen breakdown. No scrolling, no email forms.
Three-tier rate
Conservative, market, premium. Based on your average views, engagement, niche, and tier. Use market as your opening quote.
Detected niche + CPM band
We show the niche we detected and the CPM band that applies. If we got it wrong, you can adjust manually on the calculator page.
Format and deal modifiers
Toggle Integration vs Dedicated. Add Exclusivity, Usage rights, Rush. The rate updates live so you can see exactly what each term is worth.
Engagement tier check
Your engagement rate compared to the benchmark for your subscriber tier. Tells you if your audience is over or under performing for your size.
What does each channel size actually earn?
Realistic benchmark ranges by tier, with the moves that matter at each size. Pick the tab that fits your channel.
The sweet spot ⚡
Brands love this tier because it converts. You have real audience trust and your rate per view stays high. Most sponsorship leaks happen here because creators undercharge.
- Average views
- 3k to 30k
- Realistic CPM
- $12 to $25
- Per-video band
- $200 to $2,500
- Engagement to beat
- 3% to 5%
- 01Build a one-page media kit even if you don't think you need one.
- 02Start tracking conversion data from your sponsor reads. Brands pay more when you bring receipts.
- 03Never quote without checking the calculator first. The gap between gut feel and market rate is the widest at this tier.
Your niche moves the number more than your sub count.
A 50k-sub finance channel earns more per video than a 500k-sub vlog channel. Brands pay for buyer intent, not raw eyeballs. The category band is half the story.
- 💰 Finance / investingHighest CPM. Compliance-heavy reads. Brands pay for trust.$30 to $50
- 💻 Tech / SaaS / devAudience converts to high-LTV product trials.$25 to $45
- 📈 Business / productivityLots of recurring sponsors (note-taking apps, CRMs, etc.).$20 to $40
- 🎓 Education / languageCourse platforms and edtech dominate.$15 to $30
- 💪 Fitness / wellnessSupplements and apparel. Watch out for race-to-bottom rates.$12 to $25
- 🍳 Food / cookingCookware and meal-kit brands. Strong for product placement.$10 to $22
- ✈️ Travel / lifestyleHigher CPM if audience is in top-tier countries.$10 to $20
- 🎮 GamingHigh view counts make total deals strong even with lower CPM.$6 to $14
- 🎬 Vlog / entertainmentBrand-fit matters more than CPM here. Pick aligned sponsors.$6 to $14
CPM ranges are sponsorship-equivalent rates, not AdSense ad revenue. Different math.
When to run the numbers
- 01
Your first brand deal lands in your inbox
They offer $300. You have no idea if that's a lowball or a fair starter rate. Run your channel through Channeltics. If the market rate is $1,200, you now have an anchor to negotiate against.
- 02
Renegotiating with an existing sponsor
Your views have doubled since you signed the original deal, but the rate hasn't moved. Bring the new market rate to the conversation. "My CPM-adjusted number is now X. Let's align."
- 03
Comparing offers from multiple brands
Two brands made offers in the same week. One is generous, one is insulting. See where each falls on the conservative, market, premium spectrum.
- 04
Building a rate card from scratch
You want to put numbers on your media kit. Use the calculator to set integration, dedicated, and Shorts rates that match your tier and niche.
Four habits that quietly cost you thousands a year
Most of the value the calculator gives back is not in a single quote. It's in pattern-breaking.
Accepting the first offer
First offers are anchored to what the brand hopes you'll accept, not what you're worth. Always counter, even by a small amount, even on your first deal.
Pricing off subs instead of views
If you have 800k subs but average 40k views, you're a 40k-view creator. Quoting off subs makes you look uninformed. Quoting off views makes you look professional.
Letting them "reuse the read"
If a brand cuts your sponsor read into a paid ad, that's a media buy, not a free upgrade. Charge usage rights or refuse.
Skipping a written agreement
"We'll sort it after" turns into "the brand never paid." Always get the deal in writing before you shoot.
How to actually use this in a negotiation
Having the number is half. Knowing how to wield it is the other half.
- 01
Get the number before you reply
When a brand pitches you, paste your channel link before opening Slack or hitting reply. The 30 seconds it takes will save you from anchoring against their offer.
- 02
Quote the market rate, not the floor
The conservative number is what someone desperate would accept. The market rate is what an agency would quote. Start from market and let them negotiate you down.
- 03
Stack the modifiers they're asking for
Exclusivity, usage rights, rush turnaround. Each one pushes the price up. If a brand wants to reuse your read as paid ads, that's +50% minimum.
- 04
Don't bundle without a discount kicker
If they want 3 videos at once, that's a multi-video package. Yes, discount it. But only to lock in volume. Minus 20% is the floor.
The questions every YouTuber asks at some point
Direct answers, no fluff. If yours isn't here, the methodology page covers the math.
What this won't do for you
It won't close the deal. The number is an anchor. If you can't say no, even a perfect number won't help you. Get comfortable with "let me think about it" as a default response.
It won't account for relationships. A brand you've worked with for two years might pay 1.5x market because they trust your audience. A new brand might pay 0.7x because you have to prove yourself. These are negotiation-table factors, not formula factors.
It won't fix a misaligned audience. If your audience is 70% from Tier 3 markets, your sponsorship CPM should reflect that, and the calculator can adjust for it. But if you've been quoting US rates to brands while your audience is in India, the gap will catch up.
Don't reply to that pitch yet. Run the numbers first.
It takes 30 seconds. You'll never overlook your worth again.
Curious how the math works? Read the formula.