What is cost per view?
Cost per view, or CPV, is what you pay for each view of a video ad. It is the headline efficiency number for view-based campaigns, the video equivalent of cost per click.
The catch is what a view means. Definitions vary by platform, so a CPV is only comparable against the same platform and the same view standard.
The formula.
Cost per view = ad spend ÷ views. This tool also calculates cost per completed view, spend ÷ views that finished, which is the fairer number when a full watch is the goal.
Cost per completed view is always higher than plain CPV, because fewer people finish than start. If completion is what you are paying for, it is the truer measure of efficiency.
A worked example.
You spend 300 and get 10,000 views. CPV is 300 ÷ 10,000, which is 0.03. If only 5,000 finished, cost per completed view is 300 ÷ 5,000, which is 0.06.
What is a good cost per view?
There is no universal target, since CPV depends on platform, format, and how a view is counted. Lower is cheaper, but cheaper is not always better, because a very low CPV can come from views that barely registered. Read CPV next to completion rate so you are not paying little for views that count for nothing.
A view is the cheapest unit; a customer is the one that funds the business. Tracing CPV down to the cost of a customer, not a view keeps cheap views honest.
How to improve it.
Tighten targeting, test hooks and formats, and favor placements that deliver engaged views rather than the most views. Cheaper, more attentive views beat a flood of shallow ones.
Paid views stop the moment the budget does. Video and content that rank keep earning views, which is how you get views you are not paying per click for.