YouTube Ads Benchmarks: CPM, CPV and View Rate (2027)

By Corey Frankosky · Last Updated October 28, 2026

Most YouTube ad campaigns pay somewhere between 1 cent and 19 cents per view, and somewhere between about $3 and $23 per 1,000 impressions, depending on the format, the audience and the time of year. Those are the ranges in the most current published data I could find, and every number in this post is labeled with its source and the year the data came from.

This guide covers what advertisers pay for YouTube ads going into 2027: average CPM and CPV by format, view rate and CTR benchmarks, what pushes costs up or down, a worked budget example and how to lower your cost per view. If you are new to YouTube advertising, start with my YouTube Ads guide first, then come back here for the numbers.

One warning before you start. If you searched "YouTube CPM" because you make videos and want to know what you will earn, that is a different number. I cover creator CPM and RPM in its own section near the end.

1YouTube Ad Rates at a Glance

Here are the headline numbers. Every one comes from a named source with a date. Google does not publish an official average CPM or CPV for YouTube, so all of these are from third-party datasets.

Notice how wide the ranges are. The low end and the high end of the CPM range are more than 20 times apart in the AdConversion data alone. That is why I would never plan a budget around one "average" number. I explain why the sources disagree in section 6.

In the video below I walk through how YouTube advertising costs work and how you get charged.

2How You Pay for YouTube Ads by Format

Before you compare benchmarks, you need to know which formats charge per view and which charge per 1,000 impressions. A CPV and a CPM are not interchangeable, and some formats can only be bought one way. This is how Google's video ad formats page describes it:

Source: Google Ads Help, About video ad formats, accessed October 28, 2026.

Keep in mind that a "view" means something different on Shorts (10 seconds) than on skippable in-stream (30 seconds). So a Shorts CPV and an in-stream CPV are not measuring the same thing.

These formats run through a few campaign types. Video campaigns cover goals like Video views and Video reach. Demand Gen replaced Video action campaigns (formerly TrueView for action) for conversion goals, and Performance Max can also serve video. I break down each in-stream format in more detail in my YouTube in-stream ads guide.

3YouTube CPM Benchmarks by Format

CPM is what you pay for 1,000 ad impressions. It is the main pricing model for bumpers and non-skippable ads, and it is how you get billed on skippable ads when you use Target CPM or a conversion bid strategy.

The Store Growers ranges are a compilation. The page credits them to Strike Social (2024 and 2025 data), inBeat Agency and Inceptly (2025), so treat them as secondhand. Strike Social's full reports are gated, and I could not check those exact ranges against the original.

The pattern still holds across sources. Bumpers and Shorts sit at the cheap end because the ads are short and the inventory is huge. Non-skippable ads cost more per impression because every impression is a guaranteed watch. B2B audiences sit at the top of the range because you are competing for a small, valuable group of people.

If you want to see how YouTube compares with Search and Display costs, my Google Ads benchmarks by industry post has CPC and conversion rate data for Search campaigns.

4YouTube CPV Benchmarks

CPV is what you pay per view on CPV-billed formats, mainly skippable in-stream ads in Video views campaigns. The best dated dataset I found is AdConversion's analysis of $1,041,978 in YouTube spend from B2B SaaS companies spending over $10,000 each, with data from 2023 to 2024.

• Average CPV: $0.05. Individual accounts ranged from $0.01 to $0.19.
• Average CPC: $3.56. Ranged from $0.05 to $10.71.
• View definition: at least 30 seconds watched, which matches Google's rule for skippable in-stream.

Strike Social's 2024 data does not publish an absolute CPV on its free page. It does say skippable in-stream CPVs ran 8.5% below its overall average, and that CPVs in APAC were up to 45% more efficient than the global average. That second point matters if you compare your US campaign to a benchmark built on global data.

Keep in mind that Target CPV is an average, not a ceiling. Google's CPV bidding page says some views can cost more or less than your target. The system aims to get you as many views as possible at that average.

What I left out: I could not find a credible, dated CPV benchmark for Shorts or in-feed ads. Some sites quote Shorts CPVs, but they either do not name the underlying data or mix several sources together. Until a better dataset is published, use your own account data for those formats.

5View Rate and CTR Benchmarks

View rate is the number of paid views divided by the impressions that were eligible for a view. Google still labels it "TrueView view rate" in its help definition, a holdover from the old TrueView name. Bumper and non-skippable impressions are not counted, since those formats are not eligible for paid views.

The view rate gap is big: about 29% in one dataset and over 60% in the other. The AdConversion accounts were B2B SaaS companies, which usually target small professional audiences and care about leads, not views. Strike Social's view rate data comes from Video view, skippable in-stream and Shorts campaigns built to get views across APAC, EMEA and North America. A campaign optimized for views will post a higher view rate than one aimed at a niche buyer.

CTR follows the format. In-feed ads are a thumbnail people choose to click, so they get the highest CTR. Bumpers are 6 seconds long and get almost no clicks, which is fine because they are built for reach. If you want a refresher on how CTR is calculated, see my click-through rate glossary page.

6What Drives YouTube Ads Cost Up or Down

YouTube ads run in an auction, so your cost depends on how many other advertisers want the same viewer at the same moment. These are the factors that move the number the most.

1. Format. Bumpers and Shorts land around $3 to $4 CPM in the data above. Non-skippable and B2B in-stream run higher. Comparing a bumper CPM to an in-stream CPM is not a fair test.
2. Targeting. Narrow, high-value audiences cost more. The B2B SaaS data tops out at a $23 CPM. Google's own optimization tips say expanding your targeting lets the system find auctions where your bid is more competitive.
3. Region. Strike Social's 2024 data found APAC CPVs up to 45% more efficient than the global average. A global benchmark will look cheap next to a US-only campaign.
4. Season. Q4 brings more advertisers into the auction, and most people plan for higher costs in November and December. Strike Social's 2024 data is a useful reality check: costs in Q4 2024 came in more efficient than expected, December CPMs trended lower than forecast, and January CPMs then rose 25% globally to $3.98 to $4.35 across awareness formats.
5. Creative. Google says rising CPVs can be a sign of creative fatigue, and that shorter ads have higher view rates. An ad nobody watches past 5 seconds costs you reach, even when you are not charged for the skip.

The season point is worth repeating. There is no current, public, month-by-month YouTube CPM dataset from Google or a major benchmark firm. One year of Strike Social data showed the expensive month was January, not December. Your own account history from last year is the best guide to your next Q4.

This is also why sources disagree so much. AdConversion measured a small set of B2B SaaS accounts. Strike Social measured awareness and view campaigns across three global regions. Store Growers blended several datasets. Each is accurate for its sample. None is "the" YouTube average.

7A YouTube Ads Budget Example With the Math

Here is a simple way to turn a benchmark into a plan. I will use a $1,500 monthly budget, which is about $50 a day.

Example 1: skippable in-stream at the AdConversion average CPV of $0.05.

• Views at the average: $1,500 / $0.05 = 30,000 views.
• Views at the low end ($0.01): $1,500 / $0.01 = 150,000 views.
• Views at the high end ($0.19): $1,500 / $0.19 = about 7,895 views.

That is a range from about 7,900 to 150,000 views on the same budget. Each of those views is someone who watched at least 30 seconds or interacted with your ad.

Example 2: bumper ads at Strike Social's $3.24 to $4.37 CPM.

• Impressions at $4.37 CPM: ($1,500 / $4.37) x 1,000 = about 343,250 impressions.
• Impressions at $3.24 CPM: ($1,500 / $3.24) x 1,000 = about 462,960 impressions.

Keep in mind that bumper impressions and in-stream views are not the same thing. A bumper impression is a 6-second ad that played. An in-stream view is 30 seconds of attention. You are buying different things, so compare cost per result, not just volume.

I would not stack several averages from different datasets into one forecast, for example multiplying an average CPV by an average view rate and an average CTR. Those numbers come from different accounts, so the result looks precise but is not. Run the campaign for two to four weeks, then plan from your own CPV. For the Search side of your budget, my Google Ads budget calculator does the same math with your own CPC and conversion rate.

8How to Lower Your CPV

Most high CPVs come from one of two things: an audience that is too narrow or an ad people do not want to watch. Here is the process I use, based on Google's tips for optimizing Video campaigns and its ABCDs of effective video ads.

1. Hook people in the first 5 seconds. Viewers can skip at 5 seconds, so that is your window. Google's ABCD guide says to grab attention from the start and introduce your brand early.
2. Cut the ad shorter. Google says shorter ads have higher view rates and suggests trying 20 seconds if your message fits.
3. Rotate two or three ads. Google recommends rotating 2 or 3 ads to fight creative fatigue. A rising CPV on a campaign that used to be cheap is often a tired ad.
4. Loosen your targeting. Each extra layer of targeting shrinks the auction. Test a broader audience, since with skippable in-stream you only pay when people choose to watch.
5. Check the targeting report. Look for topics, placements or demographics with a high CPV and a low view rate, then exclude or lower bids on them.
6. Start from Google's recommended bid. Google shows an estimate in the campaign setup screen. Setting Target CPV far below it usually just limits delivery.
7. Upload vertical and square versions. Google suggests uploading several aspect ratios and notes that vertical video suits mobile, full-screen viewing.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is judging a YouTube campaign on CPV alone. A 2-cent view from someone who will never buy is not a win. If your goal is leads or sales, run Demand Gen with conversion tracking and judge it on cost per conversion. I cover that setup in my guide to promoting a YouTube video with Google Ads, and my Smart Bidding page explains how conversion bidding works.

9Creator CPM and RPM: What YouTubers Earn

This section is for creators, not advertisers. A lot of the "YouTube CPM" searches come from people who make videos, and the number they see in YouTube Analytics is not the same as what an advertiser pays.

Here is how YouTube defines the terms in its revenue metrics help page:

• CPM: what an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. This is the advertiser side, before YouTube takes its share.
• Playback-based CPM: what an advertiser pays for 1,000 video playbacks where an ad was shown.
• RPM: how much the creator earned per 1,000 video views, after YouTube's share. RPM counts every view, including views where no ad played.

So RPM is usually much lower than CPM. The YouTube Partner Program terms pay creators 55% of net ad revenue on long-form videos. On Shorts, creators get 45% of the revenue allocated to them based on their share of views.

I left creator RPM averages out on purpose. The numbers floating around online come from blogs and creator tools with no dated, published dataset behind them, and RPM swings a lot by niche, audience country and season. Your own YouTube Analytics Revenue tab is the only number that matters for your channel.

10Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• AdConversion, "Insider Benchmarks From $1,041,978 In YouTube Ads Cost Data". Silvio Perez, published August 2026. B2B SaaS accounts with over $10,000 in YouTube spend, 2023 to 2024 data.
• Strike Social, "YouTube Ads Statistics, Data and Insights to Guide Your Next Campaign". 2024 campaign data across APAC, EMEA and North America. Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Pixability, "What CTR Can I Expect on YouTube? A Guide for Advertisers". November 4, 2025.
• Store Growers, "YouTube Ads Benchmarks (2026)". Dennis Moons, last updated February 19, 2026. Compiles Strike Social, inBeat and Inceptly data.
• Google Ads Help, "About video ad formats". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, "About YouTube's cost-per-view (CPV) bidding" and "TrueView view rate: Definition". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, "Tips for optimizing your Video campaign" and "Video Action Campaigns are being upgraded to Demand Gen". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google, "ABCDs of effective video ads". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• YouTube Help, revenue metrics (CPM, playback-based CPM, RPM) and YouTube Partner Program revenue share. Accessed October 28, 2026.