Buy side · what advertisers pay

DOOH CPM

By Oliver Wakefield-Smith · updated July 2026

Benchmarks reviewed July 2026 · next review October 2026

The short answer

A digital billboard cannot count viewers, so a DOOH impression is a modeled estimate: Geopath's methodology combines traffic data, movement patterns and visibility to estimate how many people likely saw a screen. Rates are quoted per screen network with no industry-wide published CPM, and this page keeps that honest.

How impressions existmodeledDOOH impressions are modeled audience estimates, not served-ad counts (Geopath methodology)Geopath OOH audience measurementretrieved July 2026

Rate realityno published rateDOOH rates are quoted per screen network; no industry-wide published CPM existsOAAA industry resourcesretrieved July 2026

The measurement question is the content

Every other channel on this site serves an ad to a device and counts the serve. DOOH inverts it: the ad plays regardless, and measurement estimates who was there. That single difference explains the channel's pricing culture. You cannot audit a modeled impression against a server log, so buyers audit the model instead, which is why Geopath (the industry's measurement body) and OAAA (its trade association) matter more here than any rate aggregator. When you compare a DOOH CPM against a served-media CPM, you are comparing estimates to counts; keep the asterisk attached.

Agency folklore vs published rates

DOOH decks love a confident per-market CPM range. Ask where it came from and the trail usually ends at another deck. The checkable facts are: individual screen networks publish their own rate cards on request, programmatic DOOH exchanges expose floor prices in-platform, and no neutral body publishes a cross-market average. So: no number here, and a raised eyebrow at anyone quoting one without a network name and date attached.

Programmatic vs direct site buys

Direct: you contract screens and dayparts from the network; pricing per loop-share, negotiated flat or per modeled thousand.
Programmatic DOOH: exchange-traded slots bought through DSPs with floors visible in-flow; flexible, auditable, and subject to the same fee-chain logic as all programmatic buying (worked here).

The formula still applies once you accept the modeled denominator: spend ÷ modeled impressions × 1,000. Fellow modeled-audience medium: CTV. Full table: /rates.