What YouTube ads cost: how you pay and what drives the price

This guide is built from Google Ads Help: About video ad formats, About YouTube's cost-per-view (CPV) bidding, Create a Video campaign and Set up a reservation video campaign. How campaigns, formats and set-up work is in our YouTube video ads guide, and who you can reach in our YouTube ads targeting guide.

There is no fixed price

Most YouTube campaigns are bought in the Google Ads auction. Google's comparison of buying plans says auction pricing "Fluctuates based on bid and auction conditions for a given campaign", while a reservation is "Secured at the time of the reservation". Any cost per view you read elsewhere is someone else's result, not a rate card. You control the budget, the bid strategy and, if you want, a target cost. While you build a campaign, the estimates panel shows the views or impressions Google expects for your settings.

What you are billed for, by format

Google's formats page answers "How will I be charged?" for each format:

• Skippable in-stream: with CPV bidding, "you pay when a viewer watches 30 seconds of your video, or the entire duration of the video if it's shorter than 30 seconds, or interacts with your video, whichever comes first." With Target CPM, Target CPA and Maximize conversions, "you pay based on impressions."
• Non-skippable in-stream and bumper: both use Target CPM bidding, so you pay based on impressions.
• In-feed: "You'll only be charged when someone clicks to watch the ad", or, in a Video views campaign, when it autoplays for at least 10 seconds.
• Shorts: you are charged for an impression, a TrueView view or an engagement. With CPV bidding Google charges only one TrueView view per ad impression, even if the ad loops. More on Shorts in our YouTube Shorts ads guide.

What counts as a TrueView view

With CPV bidding you pay for TrueView views and interactions such as clicks on call-to-action overlays and cards. Google counts a view differently per format:

• In-stream: 30 seconds watched (or the whole ad if shorter), or an interaction, whichever comes first.
• In-feed: a click on the thumbnail, or at least 10 seconds of autoplay (or the whole ad if shorter).
• Shorts: 10 seconds watched (or the whole ad if shorter), a click on the call to action, or a click on Like, Comments or Share.

Bumper and non-skippable in-stream ads "aren't eligible for TrueView views".

Target CPV: paying per view

Target CPV is the bid strategy of Video views campaigns, and Google's CPV page says it is also available for Ad sequence campaigns. You set "the average amount that you're willing to pay for each TrueView view", and Google bids to get as many views as possible; "Some TrueView views may cost more or less than your target." The amount you actually pay per view is the actual CPV, and Google says it tries to charge "only what's necessary for your ad to appear on the page."

Google suggests basing the bid on the estimate shown while you build the campaign, and warns that "Using a bid that is too low will inhibit your campaign from effectively participating in the auction."

Target CPM: paying per thousand impressions

Target CPM is the bid strategy of Video reach campaigns (efficient reach, non-skippable reach and target frequency), Ad sequence and Audio reach. Google's tCPM definition describes it as setting "how much on average you're willing to pay every thousand times your ad is shown"; Google tries to keep the average CPM at or below your target while reaching more unique users.

Google's Video reach page adds that a bid that is too low may perform poorly in the auction and, with several formats enabled, "may also result in your ads not serving in all selected formats." Limiting repeat views is covered in our frequency capping guide.

Automated bid: no target at all

Google now lets Video views and Video reach campaigns run without any target. Its automated bid page says Google Ads "automatically manages and dynamically adjusts your bids in real time to ensure your campaign spends its entire budget efficiently." It is the default; Google suggests setting a Target CPM or CPV instead when you "have strict cost-per-unit constraints", and allowing 24 hours after launch before big changes.

Conversion bidding: tCPA and tROAS

If the goal is sales, leads or website traffic, the set-up page lists the Drive conversions subtype with Maximize conversions or Target CPA bidding; "Target ROAS and Max conversion value become available after you've built up enough conversions". With these you pay by impressions. Google has moved conversion-focused video into Demand Gen, covered in our Demand Gen guide and in Google Ads budgets and bidding. They need conversion tracking in place first.

Reservation and Masthead: fixed CPM quotes

A reservation campaign buys "an approximate number of impressions" at a fixed CPM and spends the whole budget over the campaign dates. Google's table puts the auction at a "Slightly lower CPM than reservation" and reservation at a "Slightly higher CPM than auction"; you pay a little more for a guaranteed price and delivery. Google's reservation page adds:

• Google generates a CPM quote when you plan the campaign. If you like it, "book or hold the campaign right away to prevent a change in CPM."
• Once saved, a reservation campaign can't be paused or switched back to auction.

For CPM Masthead, Google's Masthead page says your account may need to be allowlisted by a Google representative, and that "You'll only be charged for impressions actually delivered in all reservation campaigns".

Budgets: daily or campaign total

Video campaigns take either a daily budget or a campaign total budget, which needs start and end dates. With a total budget, Google spreads spend over the dates, and "You'll only be billed up to the amount you enter for a campaign, even if Google Ads serve more views or impressions than your budget allows." Google's average daily budget page sets the limits for most campaigns: up to twice the daily budget on any one day, and up to 30.4 times it in a month. To turn a monthly amount into a daily budget, divide by 30.4. To see what a budget could buy, try Reach Planner.

What raises or lowers the cost

Google doesn't give a formula, but its pages name these factors:

• Your bid. A higher Target CPV or CPM raises your chance of showing; one set too low limits delivery and can stop the ad serving in some formats.
• Audience size against budget. Google warns that "Combining extremely narrow audience targeting with high budgets can result in elevated average CPMs or CPVs" under automated bid.
• Buying plan. Auction CPMs move with competition; reservation is slightly higher but fixed.
• Format mix. Google says opting out of multi-format ads in Video views "may reduce the number of views for your budget."

How we budget YouTube campaigns

This is our own practice, not Google's guidance:

• We start from a monthly figure the client is comfortable losing while we learn, and divide by 30.4 for the daily budget.
• For a first campaign we use automated bid, then set a target once we have a few weeks of actual CPV or CPM to base it on.
• We judge cost against the goal: cost per TrueView view for Video views, cost per thousand unique people for reach, and cost per lead only for conversion campaigns.

Weighing YouTube against Facebook and Instagram? See YouTube ads vs Facebook ads.

If you want help planning or running YouTube ads, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

How much do YouTube ads cost?

Google doesn't publish fixed prices. You set a budget; the cost per view or impression comes from the auction, or from a fixed CPM quote if you reserve.

Do I pay if someone skips my YouTube ad?

With CPV bidding, only after 30 seconds (or the whole ad if shorter) or an interaction. With Target CPM or conversion bidding you pay for impressions.

What is the difference between CPV and CPM on YouTube?

CPV is a cost per TrueView view (Video views campaigns). CPM is a cost per thousand impressions (reach, bumper, non-skippable and reservation).

Is there a minimum budget for YouTube ads?

Google's pages don't state one for auction campaigns, but a bid set too low can limit delivery.

Can YouTube ads spend more than my daily budget?

On some days, up to twice the average daily budget for most campaigns, but not more than 30.4 times it in a month.

For costs on other platforms, see our guides to what Reddit ads cost and what Snapchat ads cost, Spotify's minimum budgets in our Spotify ads guide, and for creative sizes our YouTube ad specs guide.