Cost Per Mile (CPM)
Also known as: Cost Per Mile, Cost Per Thousand, CPT
CPM is what you pay to send 1,000 emails through a provider. It shows your cost per thousand sends so you can compare pricing between tools.
Cost per mile or CPM is a simple way to price email sends. Instead of charging for how many contacts you store, it focuses on how many emails you actually send. You pay a set amount for every block of 1,000 emails. This makes the math simple when you plan campaigns.
CPM matters because it ties your spend directly to sending volume. If you keep your list clean and only email engaged people, your costs stay under control. It also makes it easier to test new campaigns since you know roughly what each extra thousand sends will cost. This helps you judge whether a campaign is worth sending.
You can estimate cost with a quick formula. Take your total emails to send, divide by 1,000, then multiply by the CPM rate. For example, 25,000 emails at a $4 CPM will cost about $100. Running this check before you hit send keeps budgets realistic.
Related Terms
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)(CAC)
The average amount you spend to win one new paying customer. It includes your marketing, sales, and related costs over a period divided by how many new customers you gained.
Learn more →Email Service Provider (ESP)(ESP)
The software you use to send and manage email campaigns. It stores your contacts, sends messages in bulk, and tracks what happens after you hit send.
Learn more →Google Postmaster Tools(GPT)
Google Postmaster Tools is a free dashboard provided by Gmail that shows senders data about their domain reputation, spam rate, and authentication.
Learn more →Internet Service Provider(ISP)
Companies that provide internet access and often email services to people and businesses. In email marketing, they decide if your emails reach the inbox or land in spam.
Learn more →