Guide
YouTubeRPMIndiaNiche ResearchYouTube RPM by Niche in India: 2026 Complete Breakdown
Choosing the right niche can mean the difference between earning ₹5 and ₹350 per 1000 views on YouTube in India. This guide provides the most comprehensive RPM breakdown across 20+ Indian YouTube niches with data from 2026, helping you pick the most profitable niche for your channel.
Last updated: February 25, 2026
Step-by-Step Guide
Research niches using this guide
Review the RPM data above and shortlist 3-5 niches that match your knowledge and interests.
Analyze competition
Search each niche on YouTube. Look at how many views similar channels get and how often they post.
Create test content
Produce 5-10 videos in each shortlisted niche. Use FluxNote to create them quickly without massive time investment.
Compare performance
After 30 days, compare views, engagement, and estimated RPM across your test niches.
Go all-in on your best niche
Pick the niche with the best RPM × views combination and create a focused content strategy around it.
Top-paying YouTube niches in India (2026 RPM data)
Here are the highest-paying YouTube niches in India ranked by RPM:
1. Insurance & Financial Products — ₹200-₹400 RPM
Insurance and credit card content attracts the highest-paying advertisers. Even small channels in this space earn well because every viewer is a potential customer worth thousands to advertisers.
2. Stock Market & Investing — ₹150-₹350 RPM
With India's growing retail investor base (15 crore+ demat accounts), advertisers for trading platforms, mutual funds, and investment apps bid aggressively for this audience.
3. Real Estate — ₹120-₹280 RPM
Property reviews, home buying guides, and real estate investment content attract high-value advertisers. Each lead is worth lakhs, so they pay premium CPMs.
4. Technology & Gadgets — ₹80-₹200 RPM
Tech reviews, comparisons, and tutorials attract advertisers selling electronics, software, and services. Pre-launch and comparison videos get the highest RPMs.
5. Education & Exam Prep — ₹60-₹180 RPM
With India's competitive exam culture, ed-tech companies spend heavily on YouTube ads. UPSC, JEE, NEET, and coding education niches perform best.
Mid-tier RPM niches in India
These niches offer a good balance of views and earnings:
6. Business & Entrepreneurship — ₹70-₹200 RPM
Startup advice, business ideas, and side hustle content. Attracts SaaS, hosting, and business tool advertisers.
7. Career & Job Advice — ₹50-₹150 RPM
Resume tips, interview prep, and job search strategies. Recruitment platforms and upskilling companies advertise heavily here.
8. Health & Fitness — ₹40-₹120 RPM
Workout routines, diet plans, and health tips. Supplement brands, fitness apps, and health insurance companies are key advertisers.
9. Self-Improvement & Productivity — ₹35-₹100 RPM
Book summaries, productivity tips, and habit-building content. Attracts a diverse advertiser base from courses to apps.
10. Travel & Tourism — ₹30-₹90 RPM
Travel vlogs, destination guides, and budget travel tips. Seasonal RPM — peaks during holiday seasons. Hotels and airline advertisers pay well.
11. Automobile Reviews — ₹40-₹110 RPM
Car and bike reviews attract high-intent audiences. Automobile manufacturers and insurance companies are premium advertisers.
Lower RPM but high volume niches
These niches earn less per view but can generate millions of views:
12. Cooking & Recipes — ₹30-₹80 RPM
Massive audience in India. Kitchen appliance and food brand advertisers. Regional language cooking channels get slightly lower RPMs but huge volumes.
13. Motivation & Quotes — ₹30-₹80 RPM
Easy to create (especially with AI), high shareability, but lower advertiser demand. Works best as a gateway to other products.
14. News & Current Affairs — ₹25-₹70 RPM
High views during breaking news, but inconsistent. Some topics are demonetized. Political content can be risky.
15. Comedy & Entertainment — ₹15-₹50 RPM
Broadest audience, easiest to go viral, but lowest RPMs. Brand deals and merchandise often pay more than ad revenue.
16. Movie & Web Series Reviews — ₹20-₹55 RPM
Spikes during major releases. OTT platforms advertise heavily but CPMs are moderate.
17. Gaming — ₹20-₹60 RPM
Growing audience in India. Gaming peripheral and mobile game advertisers. Live streaming can supplement through Super Chat.
18. Music & Dance — ₹10-₹40 RPM
Lowest RPMs but massive viral potential. Most earnings come from brand deals and performance bookings, not ad revenue.
How to pick the right niche for maximum earnings
Don't just chase the highest RPM. Consider these factors:
1. RPM × Views = Total Revenue
A gaming channel with 5 million monthly views at ₹20 RPM earns ₹1,00,000/month. A finance channel with 200K views at ₹250 RPM earns ₹50,000/month. Volume matters.
2. Content sustainability
Can you create content in this niche for 2+ years? Burnout kills more channels than low RPM.
3. Competition level
High-RPM niches attract more competition. Use AI tools like FluxNote to produce quality content faster and stay ahead.
4. Audience monetization beyond ads
Some niches have better brand deal and affiliate potential. A tech review channel might earn ₹50,000/month from affiliate links on top of ad revenue.
5. Language choice
- English content: Higher RPM, smaller but wealthier audience
- Hindi content: Lower RPM, massive audience
- Regional content: Lowest RPM, but much less competition
Recommended approach: Start by producing test content across 2-3 niches using FluxNote. After 30 days, check which niche gives you the best RPM × views combination and focus there.
Pro Tips
- RPM varies by season — finance RPMs spike during tax season (Jan-Mar) in India
- English content consistently earns 2-3x more RPM than Hindi in the same niche
- Micro-niches (e.g., 'mutual fund SIPs for beginners') often have higher RPM than broad niches
- Use YouTube's Revenue per Video metric to identify your highest-earning content types
- Don't switch niches too quickly — give each niche at least 30 days and 20+ videos before evaluating