Video costs

Price video by the view
or by the thousand

Turn a CPM and completion rate into cost per completed view, and see how many full views your budget buys.

Budget

CPM

View rate (optional)

Completion rate

Currency

Cost per completed view (CPCV)

$0.04A $0.04 CPCV at 25% completion equals a $10.00 CPM. $5,000.00 buys about 125,000 completed views.

Impressions: 500,000
Completed views: 125,000
Views: 200,000
Cost per view (CPV): $0.025

CPCV = CPM ÷ (1,000 × Completion rate) · CPV = CPM ÷ (1,000 × View rate) · Both rates are shares of impressions.

About video costs

Same spend
three ways to price it

CPM buys exposure

With CPM pricing you pay for every 1,000 impressions, whether people watch one second of your video or the whole spot. It is the standard way to buy most programmatic video and CTV.

CPV and CPCV buy attention

Cost per view divides spend by the people who watched long enough to count as a view. Cost per completed view divides it by the people who watched to the end, which suits storytelling and big-screen formats where finishing the ad matters.

CPCV = CPM ÷ (1,000 × completion rate)
CPV = CPM ÷ (1,000 × view rate)
Completed views = Impressions × completion rate

Both rates are shares of impressions, the way DV360 reports them.

Compare options fairly

A higher CPM with a strong completion rate can beat a cheap CPM nobody finishes. Convert both offers to cost per completed view before you choose, and keep the creative length in mind: shorter ads usually complete more often.

See typical video, YouTube and CTV prices in the CPM calculator, check banner and video sizes in the ad size guide, or learn how AdGeeks buys YouTube and CTV through DV360.

Frequently asked questions

What is CPCV?

Cost per completed view: what you pay for each person who watches your video ad to the end. It equals your spend divided by completed views.

What is the difference between CPV and CPCV?

CPV counts views, which platforms define by a minimum watch time. CPCV only counts views that reach the end of the ad, so it is always the same or higher than CPV.

How do I convert CPM to CPCV?

Divide the CPM by 1,000 times the completion rate. A 10 USD CPM with a 25% completion rate is a CPCV of 0.04 USD.

Is CTV video bought on CPM or CPCV?

Most programmatic CTV is bought on a CPM basis, but because CTV ads usually play full screen and are hard to skip, completion rates tend to be high, which keeps the cost per completed view competitive.

What completion rate should I expect?

It depends on ad length, skippability and placement. Use your own past campaigns or your DSP’s reporting as the benchmark for your market.

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