YouTube Shorts RPM in 2026 — the actual numbers
May 12, 2026 · 6 min · by GrowSub team
Pulled RPM data across 14 test channels for 3 months. TL;DR: US Shorts pay 3-4x what they did in 2024, but only in mid-roll-eligible niches.
Everyone asks "do Shorts actually pay?" — old answer was "not really". As of 2026, that's changed for a specific subset of channels.
Setup
14 test channels split across niches: 3 finance, 3 tech reviews, 3 health/fitness, 3 cooking, 2 gaming. All monetized. All posting Shorts exclusively for 3 months.
Results
- **Finance / tech / health**: $2.10-$3.40 RPM. This is where money is.
- **Cooking**: $0.40-$0.90 RPM. Consistent but low.
- **Gaming**: $0.15-$0.30 RPM. Bad — audience young, saturated.
The 3-4x claim
Reference finance channel 2024: $0.65 RPM average. Same channel 2026: $2.40 RPM. That's 3.7x. Similar across high-RPM niches.
Driven by (1) more Shorts monetization inventory in 2025, (2) advertisers finally accepting Shorts as legit ad surface.