Reach and Frequency Calculator
Solve impressions, reach or frequency from the other two, with reach percentage, GRPs, plan cost, days to effective frequency and impressions wasted above a cap.
Plan inputs
Effective frequency
- Impressions needed at that frequency
- 1,500,000
- Days at the current daily rate
- 12.5
Frequency cap
- Impressions above the cap
- 500,000
- Spend on those impressions
- $4,000.00
This assumes exposures are spread evenly across the reached audience. Real frequency distributions are long-tailed — a small group sees the ad far more often than the average — so treat this as a conservative floor on the waste.
The core identity is impressions = reach × frequency, so fixing any two fixes the third. GRPs are reach percentage × frequency, the classic gross rating points figure. Every metric with a zero denominator shows — instead of dividing, and the whole calculation happens in your browser.
What is the Reach and Frequency Calculator?
A reach and frequency calculator built on the identity impressions = reach × frequency: enter any two and it solves the third, then reports reach as a share of your addressable audience, GRPs, plan cost at your CPM, and the impressions delivered above a frequency cap.
- Solves impressions, reach or frequency from the other two, on the standard identity
- Reach expressed as a percentage of an addressable audience you define
- GRPs computed as reach percentage × frequency
- Plan cost and cost per person reached at your own CPM
- Days to an effective-frequency target at your current daily delivery
- Wasted impressions above a frequency cap, with the spend they represent
How to use the Reach and Frequency Calculator
- 1
Choose which of impressions, reach or frequency to solve for; the other two become your inputs.
- 2
Fill in the two known values, then add your addressable audience size and CPM.
- 3
Read the solved value in the highlighted box, with reach percentage, GRPs and plan cost below it.
- 4
Set an effective-frequency target and your daily impression rate to see how many days the plan needs.
- 5
Set a frequency cap to see how many impressions land above it and what they cost you.
About the Reach and Frequency Calculator
Impressions, reach and frequency are three views of the same number: impressions = reach × frequency. Fix any two and the third is determined, which is why a media plan that promises both a big reach and a high frequency on a fixed impression budget is promising something arithmetically impossible. This calculator makes the trade-off explicit by solving for whichever variable you leave out.
Around that core it adds the planning numbers you actually argue about. Reach as a percentage of your addressable audience, gross rating points, the cost of the plan at your CPM, how many days it takes to reach an effective-frequency target at your current daily delivery, and how many impressions are landing above a frequency cap and are therefore wasted.
The wasted-impressions figure assumes exposures are spread evenly, which real frequency distributions never are — so treat it as a conservative floor rather than the full waste. Everything runs locally in your browser with no ad-platform connection.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate ad frequency?
Frequency is impressions divided by reach — the average number of times each person reached saw the ad. If a campaign served 1.5 million impressions to 500,000 people, the average frequency was 3.0.
What is a good frequency for a social media ad?
It depends on the goal. Awareness campaigns often aim for three or more exposures before a message registers, while direct-response campaigns cap much lower to avoid fatigue. Set your own effective-frequency target in the panel and the tool works out what it takes to reach it.
What are GRPs and how are they calculated?
Gross rating points are reach percentage multiplied by average frequency, so 25% reach at a frequency of 3 gives 75 GRPs. They are a broadcast-planning convention that lets you compare the total weight of very different plans on one scale.
Why does raising reach lower frequency?
Because impressions are fixed by your budget. Spreading the same impressions across more people necessarily means each person sees the ad fewer times. That is the trade-off this calculator is designed to make visible before you commit the budget.
How accurate is the wasted-impressions figure?
It assumes every person reached saw the ad the same number of times, which understates the waste — real distributions are long-tailed, with a small group seeing an ad far more often than average. Read it as a conservative floor on over-delivery, not the total.
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