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CPV Calculator (Cost per View)

Work out cost per view, the views a budget buys or the budget for a view target.

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The CPV calculator works out cost per view, the amount you pay each time someone watches your video ad. It also answers two related questions: how many views a budget buys, and how much budget a set number of views needs. It is free and runs in your browser, so you enter your numbers and see results straight away.

Searching for a cost per view calculator usually means one of two things: checking what a campaign cost per view, or planning a budget before you spend. This page covers both. It also explains the CPV formula, how cost per view differs from CPM, and how a YouTube view is counted, so you can read your results with confidence.

Cpv calculator example

How to use the CPV Calculator

  1. Open the “What do you want to find?” list and choose one of three modes: cost per view (from spend and views), views a budget buys (from budget and CPV), or budget for a number of views (from views and CPV).
  2. For cost per view, enter your Ad spend and your Views.
  3. If you have impression numbers, enter them in Impressions. If you do not, enter 0 to skip this field.
  4. For views a budget buys, enter your Budget and your Cost per view (CPV).
  5. For budget for a number of views, enter the Views you want and your Cost per view (CPV).
  6. Read the results. Each one appears as a card, with a short text summary below the cards.

The page opens with an example filled in, 500 of spend for 25,000 views, so you can see the cards before you type anything. Small costs per view are shown with up to four decimals, so a CPV such as 0.0042 does not turn into 0. Fill every field of the mode you chose, because an empty field falls back to its example value. Use Copy to copy the summary text, or Download to save it. Spend and budget can be in any currency, but use the same currency in every field so the results match.

How to calculate cost per view

Cost per view (CPV) is the amount you spend for each view. The formula is CPV = spend / views. For example, if you spend 300 and get 12,000 views, the CPV is 300 / 12,000 = 0.025.

To see the cost per 1,000 views, multiply the CPV by 1,000. In this example, 0.025 x 1,000 = 25. The calculator uses the same two formulas to work the other way round. Views a budget buys = budget / CPV, rounded down. Budget needed = views x CPV.

Plan ahead with the same numbers: if an earlier campaign cost 0.02 per view and you want 40,000 views, the budget is 800. If you have 600 to spend at that CPV, you can expect about 30,000 views. Treat both as estimates, because the cost per view changes with audience, timing and competition.

Views depend on the platform. For YouTube in-stream video ads, Google Ads counts a view when someone watches 30 seconds of the ad (or the whole ad if it is shorter) or interacts with it, whichever comes first. A CPV from another platform may use a different rule, so compare like with like.

The same formula is a good way to compare ads. Run two creatives with the same budget and compare their CPV: the one with the lower figure bought more views for the money. Only compare ads that were shown to similar audiences for a similar length of time, because the audience and the timing change the price of a view more than the video itself does.

What is the difference between CPV and CPM

CPV and CPM measure different things. CPV divides your spend by views, which are the people who watched. CPM divides your spend by impressions, which are the times your ad was shown. CPM = spend / impressions x 1,000.

The view rate links the two: view rate = views / impressions. Using that, CPV = CPM / 1000 / view rate. For example, a CPM of 6 with a view rate of 0.3 gives 6 / 1000 / 0.3 = 0.02.

Because the view rate is always below 1, CPV is always higher than CPM / 1,000. That is why you need impression numbers to convert between the two. If you leave Impressions at 0, the calculator works only from spend and views.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good CPV?

The calculator does not give a benchmark, because a good CPV depends on the platform, your audience and the length of your ad. The most useful comparison is with your own earlier campaigns. Look at the CPV you achieved last time and judge new results against it.

How many views can I get for my budget?

Divide your budget by your CPV, then round down. For example, a budget of 1,000 at a CPV of 0.03 buys 33,333 views. Enter the budget and CPV in the “views a budget buys” mode to get this figure.

How much budget do I need for 30,000 views?

Multiply the number of views by your CPV. At a CPV of 0.06, 30,000 views need a budget of 1,800. Choose the “budget for a number of views” mode to check your own figures.

How is a YouTube view counted?

For in-stream video ads on YouTube, a view counts when someone watches 30 seconds of the ad, or the whole ad if it is shorter, or interacts with it. The first of these to happen counts. Other platforms may use different rules, so check the definition before you compare CPV figures across them.

Why are views a budget buys rounded down?

You cannot buy part of a view, so the calculator rounds the result down to a whole number. This keeps the estimate from promising more views than your budget can cover.