If you’re spending money on YouTube Ads campaigns, or planning on doing so, it’s important to understand how you’re doing.
So in this article, I’ve compiled the most important YouTube Ads benchmarks that you can use to evaluate your performance.
If you’re new to running YouTube Ads campaigns, check out our in-depth YouTube Ads tutorial before diving into the numbers.
Table of Contents
Which YouTube Ad Benchmark to start with
When you get started with YouTube Ads, it can be hard to know if your campaigns are actually working, especially early on, when you may not yet be seeing direct conversions.
So without conversions, how do you know if you’re being patient, or just burning money? The answer is to work backwards from leading indicators. Each metric in this post tells you something different about where in the funnel things might be going wrong (or right).
A high CPM tells you you’re paying a premium to reach your audience. A low view rate tells you they’re not sticking around. A decent view rate but poor CTR means the ad isn’t driving action. And if CTR is fine but conversion is low, look at your landing page.
Don’t fixate on a single number. Use the benchmarks together to figure out where to focus.
Here is the “backward funnel” we’ll be using:
- Cost per thousand (CPM): how much do you pay for 1,000 ad impressions on your ad
- View rate: how many of those impressions turn into views?
- Cost per view (CPV): how much do you pay per view
- Video played to rate: do people watch 25-50-75-100% of your video ad?
- Click-through rate (CTR): how many people are clicking through
- Cost per click (CPC): how much are you paying for each click
- Conversion rate: how many people end up purchasing?
Are YouTube Ads Benchmarks Still Relevant in a Demand Gen World?
An important platform change to know about is that YouTube Video Action Campaigns no longer exist.
Google removed the ability to create new Video Action Campaigns in April 2025, and automatically upgraded all remaining ones to Demand Gen by September 2025. If you want to run conversion-focused video ads today, Demand Gen is the only campaign type that does it.
Demand Gen is broader than the old Video Action Campaign setup. It runs across YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and the Google Display Network, and supports both video and image assets in the same campaign. You can, however, use channel controls to restrict your Demand Gen campaigns to YouTube placements only.
All of the benchmarks in this post, CPM, CPV, view rate, CTR, and the rest, apply directly to the YouTube video portion of Demand Gen campaigns. The metrics work the same way; the campaign wrapper is just different. So whether you’re running awareness campaigns, views campaigns, or conversion campaigns through Demand Gen, the numbers below give you the right frame of reference for evaluating YouTube performance.
YouTube Ads CPM
CPM tells you how much you’re paying to reach 1,000 people. It’s the baseline cost metric for awareness campaigns, and it gives context to everything else, why your CPV is high, why your CTR looks a certain way.
The average YouTube Ads CPM is $5–$10 for most advertisers
CPM moves around a lot depending on audience targeting, geography, ad format, and time of year. US campaigns run significantly more expensive than global averages. One analysis by Adzoola of $14.3B in YouTube ad spend put the market average CPM at $9.29 for standard video formats, with small-to-mid advertisers closer to $8.15. A separate study covering $1M+ in spend found an average of $9, with a range from $1 to $23.
YouTube Ads CPM by ad format
| Ad Format | Avg CPM | Bidding | Notes |
| Skippable in-stream | $5–$10 | CPM or CPV | Most common format; billed per view or impression depending on campaign type |
| Non-skippable in-stream | $6–$10 | CPM | Viewer must watch in full |
| Bumper ads (6s) | $3.24–$4.37 | CPM | Lowest CPM; good for reach and frequency on a tight budget |
| In-feed (Discovery) | $3–$8 | CPV | Billed per click-to-play; viewer has to choose to watch |
| YouTube Shorts | ~$4 | CPM or CPV | Lower CPM; shorter attention window |
Sources: Strike Social (2024), (2025); inBeat Agency; Inceptly (2025)
YouTube Shorts Ads CPM
The average YouTube Shorts Ads CPM is $4.
Source: Strike Social (2024)
CPM by Device (Including Connected TV)
Exact device-level CPM splits are rarely published, but the directional picture from 2024 campaign data looks like this:
| Device | Relative CPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile (Phone) | Moderate | Highest volume; CPMs generally $5–$9 |
| Desktop | Moderate–High | Slightly higher than mobile in competitive verticals |
| Tablet | Lower | Lower CPM and lower overall volume |
| Connected TV (CTV) | $8.72–$10.01 | Higher CPM, but completion rates are much stronger |
Source: Strike Social 2024 CampaignLab data
Seasonal CPM Trends
CPM follows a predictable seasonal rhythm. The biggest takeaway: January–February and July–August are cheap. October–December are expensive.
| Period | CPM Trend | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| January–February | Low ($1.98–$2.50) | Post-holiday lull; good window to build audiences cheaply |
| April–May | Rising ($6.00–$6.33) | Q2 budgets kick in; more brands back in the auction |
| July–August | Dip ($1.76–$3.00) | Summer slowdown; efficient window for views campaigns |
| October–November | High ($5–$7+) | Holiday buildup; competition picks up fast |
| December (Cyber Week) | Peak ($5.70 avg; $6.93 peak) | Most expensive period of the year; focus on efficiency, not scale |
Source: Lenos CPM analysis, December 2025
YouTube Ads View rate (Trueview rate)
The average YouTube Ads view rate is 31.9%.
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
This number is calculated by dividing the number of views by the total impressions.
Note: This YouTube metric used to be known as view rate, but now it’s called TrueView rate.
Why is it important?
The average view rate tells you how relevant an ad is to a specific audience. I look at it as the quality score for YouTube Ads.
Your goal is not 100%, but to spot ads/ad groups where the view rate is far below the average.
View Rate by Ad Format
Format has a huge effect on view rate because the definition of a “view” changes depending on where your ad runs:
| Format | View Counts When… | Typical View Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream | Viewer watches 30s (or full ad if <30s) or clicks | 29–66% (depends heavily on creative) |
| Non-skippable in-stream | Ad plays in full | ~100% by definition |
| Bumper ads (6s) | Ad plays in full | ~100% by definition |
| In-feed | Viewer clicks thumbnail or auto-play hits 10s | Lower; viewer has to actively choose |
| YouTube Shorts | Viewer watches 10s or to end of ad | Generally higher than skippable in-stream |
Source: Google / YouTube Help Center; Strike Social 2024 data
A note on the other view rate breakdowns: The data below comes from Strike Social’s 2018 benchmark report. No equivalent large-scale study has been published since. The relative differences between groups are likely still directionally accurate; the absolute numbers are not current. Use them as rough reference, not hard targets.
View Rate By Age Group
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads view rate by age group:
| Age | View rate |
| 18-24 | 31.5% |
| 25-34 | 29.6% |
| 35-44 | 31.4% |
| 45-54 | 32.3% |
| 55-64 | 34.7% |
| 65+ | 31.3% |
| Unknown | 37.4% |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
View Rate by Gender
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads view rate by gender:
| Gender | View rate |
| Female | 28.1% |
| Male | 34.4% |
| Unknown | 37.7% |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
View Rate by Month
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads view rate by month:
| Month | View rate |
| January | 34.2% |
| February | 29.2% |
| March | 30.1% |
| April | 38.5% |
| May | 37.5% |
| June | 36.4% |
| July | 26.6% |
| August | 31.6% |
| September | 37.3% |
| October | 25.1% |
| November | 18% |
| December | 10% |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
View Rate by Device
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads view rate by device:
| Device | View rate |
| Desktop | 35.4% |
| Phone | 33.2% |
| Tablet | 26.2% |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
View Rate by Industry
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads view rate by industry:
| Industry | View rate |
| Education | 35.4% |
| Fashion | 32% |
| Telecommunications | 31.9% |
| Baby & Child Care (CPG) | 31.2% |
| Healthcare & insurance | 31.2% |
| Toys | 31% |
| Household appliances | 30.7% |
| Entertainment | 30.2% |
| Restaurants | 29.7% |
| Government & advocacy | 29.6% |
| Health & beauty | 29.6% |
| Travel | 29.6% |
| B2B | 35.4% |
| Sports | 35.4% |
| Business & Finance | 35.4% |
| Science & technology | 35.4% |
| Automotive | 35.4% |
| Adult beverage | 35.4% |
| Food (CPG) | 35.4% |
| Electronics | 35.4% |
| Art | 35.4% |
| Home & Garden (CPG) | 35.4% |
| Gambling | 24.4% |
| Gaming | 24% |
| Retail | 15.7% |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
YouTube Ads CPV (Cost Per View)
Average YouTube Ads CPV: ~$0.05 for in-stream ads
Source: AdConversion analysis of $1M+ YouTube ad data, 2023–2024
The cost per view is total spend divided by number of views.
While that might sound straightforward, I want to pay a little attention to the definition of a view:
On YouTube, a view is counted when someone watches 30 seconds of your video ad ( or the duration if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or interacts with the ad, whichever comes first.
– Google
And better: if there is no view, you don’t pay. So if someone watches the first 5 seconds of your ad but then skips, you don’t pay.
Why is this metric important?
The average cost per view is a lagging metric of the performance of your ads.
If your CPV is higher compared to the benchmark, it’s time to dig a little deeper and look at your creative, targeting, or both!
CPV by Format
| Ad Format | Avg. CPV | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream (TrueView) | $0.05–$0.10 | You pay only when viewer watches 30s or clicks |
| Non-skippable in-stream | N/A (CPM-billed) | Not billed per view; runs ~$6–$10 CPM |
| Bumper ads (6s) | N/A (CPM-billed) | Not billed per view; runs ~$3–$4 CPM |
| In-feed (Discovery) | Varies | Billed per click-to-play; CPV tends to be low because viewers self-select |
| YouTube Shorts | $0.10–$0.30 | Higher than in-stream; reflects the shorter format and different inventory |
Source: AdConversion; Lenos; inBeat Agency; Precise.TV
YouTube Shorts Ads CPV
The average YouTube Shorts Ads CPV is $0.10-0.30.
Cost per view by age group
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads cost per view by age group:
| Age | Cost per view |
| 18-24 | $0.025 |
| 25-34 | $0.029 |
| 35-44 | $0.028 |
| 45-54 | $0.029 |
| 55-64 | $0.025 |
| 65+ | $0.024 |
| Unknown | $0.020 |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
Cost per view by gender
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads cost per view by gender:
| Gender | Cost per view |
| Female | $0.028 |
| Male | $0.026 |
| Unknown | $0.023 |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
Cost per view by month
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads cost per view by month:
| Month | Cost per view |
| January | $0.026 |
| February | $0.030 |
| March | $0.030 |
| April | $0.022 |
| May | $0.025 |
| June | $0.028 |
| July | $0.024 |
| August | $0.022 |
| September | $0.026 |
| October | $0.028 |
| November | $0.033 |
| December | $0.045 |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
It goes up and down during the year, but the most interesting part of this table is the benchmark for December.
It’s peak shopping season, which attracts more advertisers to the platform, which drives up CPV.
Cost per view by device
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads cost per view by device:
| Device | Cost per view |
| Desktop | $0.028 |
| Phone | $0.026 |
| Tablet | $0.025 |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
Cost per view by Industry
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads cost per view by device.
Note that this data is from 2018. There hasn’t been a large-scale study that has this industry breakdown. So While the aboslut numbers have shifted upward (about a 4x increase), the relative ranking between the industries is still very similar.
| Industry | Cost per view |
| Education | $0.037 |
| Fashion | $0.046 |
| Telecommunications | $0.048 |
| Baby & Child Care (CPG) | $0.035 |
| Healthcare & insurance | $0.071 |
| Toys | $0.038 |
| Household appliances | $0.047 |
| Entertainment | $0.035 |
| Restaurants | $0.037 |
| Government & advocacy | $0.040 |
| Health & beauty | $0.034 |
| Travel | $0.047 |
| B2B | $0.037 |
| Sports | $0.034 |
| Business & Finance | $0.048 |
| Science & technology | $0.038 |
| Automotive | $0.058 |
| Adult beverage | $0.06 |
| Food (CPG) | $0.043 |
| Electronics | $0.042 |
| Art | $0.057 |
| Home & Garden (CPG) | $0.088 |
| Gambling | $0.062 |
| Gaming | $0.046 |
| Retail | $0.045 |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
The cost per view follows a similar trend to the CPC in Google Ads. If there is lots of money to be made, CPVs are higher.
YouTube Ads Video Played To Rate
The video played to rate shows how far into your ad viewers actually get — reported at four quartiles: 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. Together they give you a retention curve for your creative.
Why there’s no single benchmark: The numbers vary so much by format that a cross-format average is useless. Non-skippable ads hit ~100% by default. Skippable in-stream ads drop sharply right when the skip button appears at the 5-second mark. Shorts are different again. The most useful comparison is your own ads against each other, within the same format.
Directional Benchmarks by Format
| Format | 25% Played | 50% Played | 75% Played | 100% Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream | ~60–70% | ~45–55% | ~35–45% | ~25–35% |
| Non-skippable in-stream | ~100% | ~100% | ~100% | ~100% |
| Bumper ads (6s) | ~100% | ~100% | ~100% | ~100% |
| CTV (skippable) | ~85–90% | ~80–85% | ~75–80% | ~65–70% |
| YouTube Shorts | Higher than in-stream | Higher than in-stream | Varies by length | Strong for short (<15s) ads |
These are directional estimates. Your numbers will depend on ad length, hook quality, and audience match. A steep drop at the 5-second mark on a skippable ad is normal. A steep drop at 25% on a 15-second ad is a problem worth investigating.
Source: Strike Social; Agency Analytics; SEO Design Chicago / Innovid CTV data, 2024
On CTV specifically, completion rates run 90–96% on average because viewers watching on a TV are less likely to grab their phone and skip. Non-skippable formats on any device will obviously show near-100% across all quartiles.
YouTube Ads CTR (Click-Through Rate)
Average YouTube Ads CTR: 0.65% (overall)
CTR is clicks divided by impressions (or views, depending on how your account reports it). The 0.65% average is a reasonable starting point, but format changes everything. A 0.65% CTR on a bumper ad is exceptional. On an in-feed ad, it probably means something isn’t working.
Source: Pixability, Strike Social, AdConversion
CTR by Ad Format
| Format | Typical CTR Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream | 0.5%–2.0% | Widest range; creative quality has the biggest effect |
| Non-skippable in-stream | <0.3% | Not built for clicks; use it for awareness, not traffic |
| Bumper ads (6s) | <0.1% | Very low CTR is expected and normal here |
| In-feed (Discovery) | 1.0%–3.0%+ | Highest CTR format; viewers opt in by clicking |
| YouTube Shorts | 0.1%–0.5% | Still early data; benchmarks are less settled |
Source: Pixability YouTube CTR Guide, November 2025
CTR by Industry
Here is a breakdown of the YouTube Ads CPC rate by industry:
| Industry | CTR |
|---|---|
| Toys | 1.00% |
| Gaming | 0.90% |
| Retail | 0.84% |
| Travel | 0.78% |
| Automotive | 0.65% |
| Education | 0.56% |
| Healthcare & Insurance | 0.45% |
| Health & Beauty | 0.44% |
| Entertainment | 0.43% |
| Fashion | 0.40% |
| Business & Finance | 0.38% |
| Electronics | 0.38% |
| Art | 0.36% |
| Telecommunications | 0.33% |
| Sports | 0.31% |
| Food (CPG) | 0.31% |
| Science & Technology | 0.31% |
| Home & Garden (CPG) | 0.31% |
| B2B | 0.28% |
| Adult Beverage | 0.28% |
| Baby & Child Care (CPG) | 0.07% |
| Government & Advocacy | 0.07% |
| Restaurants | 0.04% |
| Household Appliances | 0.045% |
| Gambling | 0.023% |
Source: Strike Social benchmark report
Going Deeper on Google Ads
While this guide is a big one, it barely scratches the surface of what it takes to win with Google Ads campaigns.
That’s exactly why I combined two of our courses, Search Ads Success and Google Shopping Success into a Google Ads Success bundle.
It covers everything I’ve learned from running these campaigns for the past 12 years and much more.
If you want to learn more, I’d love for you to check it out!
On with the article 👇
YouTube Ads CPC (Cost Per Click)
Average YouTube Ads CPC: ~$3.56 (range: $0.05–$10.71)
CPC on YouTube matters most for in-feed ads and companion banner clicks. For most video campaigns, CPV is the more relevant cost metric — but CPC tells you what you’re paying when someone does click through.
Source: AdConversion analysis of $1M+ YouTube ad data, 2023–2024
YouTube Ads Conversion Rate
Ecommerce
Average YouTube Ads conversion rate (ecommerce): 0.05%–0.5%
YouTube is a top-of-funnel channel for most ecommerce advertisers. Low direct conversion rates are normal and expected. The more interesting number is usually view-through conversions — people who saw your ad, didn’t click, and came back to buy later.
Lead Generation
Average YouTube Ads conversion rate (lead gen): 40%–60%
When YouTube campaigns are set up for lead generation — with a focused offer, tight targeting, and a well-matched landing page — conversion rates are much higher than ecommerce.
YouTube Shorts Ads Benchmarks
Shorts has moved from an experiment to a meaningful part of the YouTube ad mix. In 2025, short-form content accounted for 22% of YouTube’s total ad revenue, up from 15% the year before. 62% of brands now put more budget into Shorts than TikTok or Instagram Reels.
| Metric | Benchmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CPM | ~$4 | Significantly lower than standard in-stream |
| CPV | $0.10–$0.30 | Higher than in-stream CPV because of the shorter format |
| View definition | 10 seconds or to end of ad | Not the same as in-stream (30s) — don’t compare view rates directly |
| Completion rates | Higher than skippable in-stream | Less time to drop off |
| CTR | 0.1%–0.5% | Still early; benchmarks will firm up as more data accumulates |
Source: Precise.TV 2026; Lenos 2025; various
A few practical notes on Shorts ads:
- They run between organic Shorts content in the feed — same context as TikTok ads
- Creative made natively for Shorts (vertical, strong hook in the first second, UGC-style) consistently outperforms repurposed horizontal video
- CTV Shorts viewership doubled in 2024 — this is no longer just a mobile placement
- Because the view threshold is 10 seconds (not 30), view rates aren’t comparable to in-stream numbers
YouTube on Connected TV (CTV): Benchmarks
YouTube is the #1 streaming platform on TV screens in 2025. CTV ads run on smart TVs, game consoles, streaming sticks — any device where someone watches YouTube on a big screen. The viewing context is fundamentally different from mobile: people are sitting back, less distracted, and not scrolling past.
| Metric | CTV Benchmark | vs. Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| CPM | $8.72–$10.01 (2024 campaign data) | Higher than mobile |
| CPV (skippable) | $0.012–$0.020 | Comparable to mobile CPV |
| Video completion rate | 65–96% | Much higher than mobile skippable |
| Attention rate | ~51.5% (Q1 2024) | Higher than mobile or desktop |
| CTR | Lower than mobile | Expected — CTV is an awareness placement, not a click driver |
Source: Strike Social 2024 CampaignLab data; SEO Design Chicago / Innovid CTV research 2024
What to keep in mind with CTV: don’t judge it on CTR or direct conversions. The strength of the format is completion rate — people on a TV screen watch ads all the way through at rates that don’t exist on mobile. Skippable in-stream ads on CTV run 10–20% higher view rates than the same ads on mobile (Strike Social Q1 2024), and CPMs are more stable than premium streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, which can charge $20–$40+.
How To Use These YouTube Ads Benchmarks
The goal of providing these benchmarks is to provide some perspective on what’s going on in your YouTube campaigns.
Do you need to be at or higher than all of the averages presented here?
No. Sometimes scoring worse or better at one of these metrics can indicate a different problem.
I once had a YouTube Ads campaign with an extremely low cost per view, about 6 times lower than the benchmark here. But when I dug deeper, it turned out that there was a problem with the targeting of the campaign, which resulted in the wrong audience seeing our ads.
These YouTube Ads benchmarks won’t turn you into a world-class advertiser overnight,but by noticing which of your ads or ad groups under or outperform your baseline or the benchmark, you can guide your optimization efforts!
Other benchmarks
Besides YouTube Ads, we also collect benchmarks on other types of advertising:
Found something helpful for your campaigns? Let us know in the comments.
