Magazine ad rate calculator

Magazine advertising is often priced per thousand readers, also called CPM. The sum is readers ÷ 1,000 × your rate per thousand. That gives you the full-page price, and every other ad is a percentage of it.

Say you have 2,500 readers an issue and pick a rate of $40 per thousand. That's 2,500 ÷ 1,000 × 40, so a full page costs $100. At 60%, a half page costs $60. Those numbers are only there to show the arithmetic.

This is the one number the calculator can't give you, because real rates vary a great deal between industries and audiences. Find five magazines or newsletters that reach people like yours and ask for their media kits. Most will send one. Divide each full-page price by their readers in thousands and you have a range to work from.

A specialist audience is usually worth more per reader than a general one. If you reach 800 hospital procurement managers, a sum built for a general audience will undersell you. Treat the result as a floor and check it against what those five magazines charge.

The size percentages and discounts already filled in are starting points we picked to get you moving. They aren't industry figures, so change any of them. The rule that matters: a half page should cost more than half a full page, or nobody has a reason to buy the full page.

What is a rate card?

A rate card is a price list for advertising. It shows each ad size or format, what it costs, any discounts and the booking deadlines.

What does CPM mean?

CPM is cost per thousand readers or impressions. If an ad reaches 2,000 readers at a CPM of $30, it costs $60.

What is a good CPM for a magazine?

There is no single figure. It depends on how valuable your audience is to the advertiser, so compare the media kits of five similar publications and work out their rate per thousand.

What counts as a reader?

Use a number you can back up. For a digital magazine that's the average number of people who open an issue. If your magazine is new, use your member count or email list and say that's what it is.

Should members pay less than outside companies?

Many associations offer a member rate. Decide it in advance and publish both prices so there are no awkward conversations.

Do you see the numbers I type in?

No. The sums run in your browser and nothing you type is sent to Zeenly. Your figures are saved in this browser so they're still here next time.