Reach, Frequency & GRP Calculator
Enter what you know about a media plan and get the rest, from reach to cost per point.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: the gross rating points in full, with the first step of the working and the first rows of the plan; every other value worked out is hidden.
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Results
The working, with your numbers
Plan lines
One line per spot, station, site or placement: its rating (the % of the populationtarget audience one insertion reaches), how many insertions and, optionally, its cost. Impressions use the populationtarget audience above.
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Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
How this tool is checked
- Based on
- the method set out under ‘The formulas’.
- Tests
- 20 automated tests check its results.
- Found an error?
- Report a problem or write to support@mysmartcopilot.com, with what you entered and the result you expected.
About the Reach, Frequency & GRP Calculator
Media plans for TV, radio, outdoor and digital rest on a few relations: impressions = reach × average frequency; gross rating points (GRPs) = reach % × average frequency = impressions ÷ population × 100; cost per point (CPP) = budget ÷ GRPs; and CPM = budget ÷ impressions × 1,000. Enter whatever you know — the population, the reach in people or as a percentage, the average frequency, the impressions, the GRPs, the budget, the CPP or the CPM — and the calculator works out every value those numbers determine, showing the formula and your numbers for each step. It also says when values you entered disagree beyond rounding, and when a result is impossible, such as a reach over 100%.
Count against a target audience instead of everyone and the same numbers are target rating points (TRPs). Below the solver, a plan of lines — each with a rating, a number of insertions and a cost — adds up the GRPs of a schedule and gives each line’s cost per point and CPM.
Without a pass you see a free preview: the GRPs (or TRPs) in full, with the first step of the working and the first rows of the plan; the reach, frequency, impressions, CPP, CPM and the plan’s totals worked out are hidden. All of them, Copy result and the CSV unlock with a Pro pass.
How to use it
- Choose Everyone (GRPs) or A target audience (TRPs), and your currency.
- Enter what you know. Two or three values are usually enough: for example the population, the reach % and the average frequency, or the GRPs and the budget.
- Read the values worked out, each marked Calculated, and the working under them. A warning shows when the values you entered disagree.
- For a schedule, add plan lines: each with its rating (the % of the population one insertion reaches), the number of insertions and the cost.
- With a pass, or after unlocking this result, Copy result or download the plan as CSV.
Examples
Population 2,400,000 · reach 45% · average frequency 3.2 · budget 72,000
1,080,000 people reached · 3,456,000 impressions · 144 GRPs · CPP 500 · CPM 20.83
GRPs = 45 × 3.2; CPP = 72,000 ÷ 144; CPM = 72,000 ÷ 3,456,000 × 1,000.
GRPs 200 · reach 50%
Average frequency 4
Prime-time TV 6.5 × 12 · drive-time radio 2 × 20 · online video 1.6 × 15
78 + 40 + 24 = 142 GRPs; with costs of 46,800, 12,000 and 13,200, a blended CPP of 507.04
Reach 45% · average frequency 3 · GRPs 150
45 × 3 = 135 GRPs, not 150: leave one of them empty to work it out
Common uses
- Check a media seller’s proposal: do its reach, frequency and GRPs agree?
- Work out the budget a GRP target needs at a given cost per point.
- Compare TV, radio, outdoor and online lines by cost per point and CPM.
- Turn a schedule of spots into total GRPs before you buy it.
The formulas
- Impressions = reach (people) × average frequency.
- Reach % = reach (people) ÷ population × 100.
- GRPs = reach % × average frequency = impressions ÷ population × 100.
- Cost per point (CPP) = budget ÷ GRPs.
- CPM = budget ÷ impressions × 1,000, so CPP = CPM × population ÷ 100,000.
Target rating points (TRPs) use the same formulas with the target audience as the population. Sources: the Universal Marketing Dictionary of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, entries gross rating point, reach, cost per rating point and cost per thousand, and Farris, Bendle, Pfeifer and Reibstein, Marketing Metrics.
Why GRPs add up and reach doesn’t
GRPs count exposures, duplicates included: two lines of 50 GRPs make 100 GRPs. Reach counts each person once, so the reach of two lines is less than the sum of their reaches whenever people see both. That is why the plan adds up GRPs, impressions and costs but gives no total reach: estimating how audiences overlap needs research about the audience, which a calculator doesn’t have.
Limitations
- The calculator does arithmetic on your numbers: ratings, reach and populations come from your research or your media seller.
- Reach across several lines can’t be added up, so the plan gives GRPs and costs only.
- Entries that agree within 1% count as agreeing, so rounded figures from a proposal don’t raise a warning.
- Results are estimates for planning, not a professional media plan or a promise of what a campaign delivers.
Privacy
On this device: nothing is sent
Your numbers are worked out in your browser: nothing you enter is sent to MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Reach, Frequency & GRP Calculator shows the gross rating points in full, with the first step of the working and the first rows of the plan; every other value worked out is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment unless you choose automatic renewal, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
How do you calculate GRPs?
Multiply the reach, as a percentage of the population, by the average frequency: 45% reached an average of 3.2 times is 144 GRPs. From impressions, GRPs = impressions ÷ population × 100.
What is the difference between GRPs and TRPs?
GRPs count against everyone in the population. Target rating points (TRPs) use the same formulas with only the target audience as the population, such as adults aged 25 to 54 or men aged 18 and over.
Can GRPs be more than 100?
Yes. GRPs count every exposure, so a plan that reaches 60% of people an average of 3 times has 180 GRPs. Reach itself can never be more than 100%, and the calculator says so when your numbers imply it.
What is a good cost per point?
It depends on the market, the medium and the audience, so compare the CPPs of lines that reach the same audience rather than across media. CPP = budget ÷ GRPs; with a population, CPP = CPM × population ÷ 100,000.
Is this a media plan?
No. It is an estimate from your own numbers, not a professional media plan, and not a promise of what a campaign will deliver.