How much can a blog make?
A blog earns from several streams at once, and the mix matters as much as the traffic. Enter your monthly pageviews, your ad rate, how readers use your affiliate links, any sponsored posts or products you sell, and what the blog costs to run, and this calculator adds it all up to a monthly profit. The table underneath shows what the same blog would make at smaller and larger traffic levels.
Where the money comes from
Each income stream for one month at your current traffic.
The same blog at other traffic levels
Ads and affiliate income grow with traffic. Sponsors, products and costs are kept as they are, which is cautious: bigger blogs can usually charge sponsors more.
| Pageviews a month | Ads | Affiliate | Revenue | Profit |
|---|
How blog income is added up
Ads and affiliate links pay in proportion to traffic. Sponsored posts and your own products depend more on your audience's trust than on raw pageviews, so you enter them directly.
Costs come off the top, so the headline is the profit you actually keep.
Ad income
Pageviews divided by 1,000, times your ad page RPM.
ads = pageviews ÷ 1,000 × RPM
Affiliate sales
Only pages with affiliate links count, and only some readers click and buy.
sales = pageviews × affiliate share × click-through × conversion
Affiliate income
Each sale pays your average commission.
affiliate = sales × commission per sale
Sponsors and products
Added at the numbers you enter.
other = sponsored posts × rate + product sales × price
Profit
Total revenue minus monthly costs.
profit = ads + affiliate + other − costs
Blog income questions
How much do blogs make per month?
Most blogs earn little or nothing, because most never pass a few thousand visits a month. Blogs with 50,000 to 100,000 monthly pageviews and a clear niche often earn a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month. Large, well-run blogs earn far more, usually from several income streams at once.
How many pageviews do you need to make $1,000 a month blogging?
With ads alone at a $20 page RPM, around 50,000 pageviews a month. Affiliate links and a product can get you there with much less traffic if your readers are ready to buy. Use the table below the calculator to see the traffic you need with your own mix.
What earns more, ads or affiliate links?
It depends on the niche. Recipe and entertainment blogs often earn most from ads because readers rarely buy. Product review, software and finance blogs often earn more from affiliate commissions, because readers arrive looking for something to buy.
How long does it take for a blog to make money?
Search traffic takes time. Many bloggers see little income in the first 6 to 12 months while posts start to rank, then faster growth as older posts pick up traffic. Publishing consistently in one niche shortens the wait.
What costs should a blogger plan for?
Hosting, a domain, an email tool, keyword research software and design are the basics. Many growing blogs also pay freelance writers or editors. Include them so the calculator shows profit rather than revenue.
Is selling my own product worth it?
Often, yes, once you have an email list. A small guide, template or course keeps most of the sale price, unlike an affiliate commission. Even a small share of readers joining your list and buying can rival ad income.
Are these numbers guaranteed?
No. They are estimates built from the rates you enter. Start with cautious numbers and replace them with real figures from your analytics and dashboards as you get them.