- Google Ads
- video
- pricing
YouTube advertising: what it costs, and how you pay
On YouTube you pay per view, per thousand impressions or per conversion depending on the format. How billing works, the formats, and what drives the price.
Published on · Joh · 5 min read
YouTube advertising is managed from Google Ads. There is no fixed price: as on Search, the price is set by auction, and depends on the format, the audience and what you ask the campaign to achieve. What doesn't change is how you pay.
Three ways to pay
Per view (CPV). On ads that can be skipped after five seconds, you pay when the person watches 30 seconds of the video, or all of it if shorter, or clicks. If they skip before, you pay nothing. The first five seconds are therefore free for you: that is where the hook has to do everything.
Per thousand impressions (CPM). For short non-skippable formats, such as six-second bumper ads, you pay per thousand displays. Useful for awareness, less so for getting enquiries directly.
Per conversion. With results-focused campaigns, Google adjusts bids to get enquiries or sales at the best cost. Billing stays on impressions or views, but it is the cost per conversion you steer.
The main formats
| Format | Length | What you pay | What for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream | Any, skippable after 5 s | The view or the impression | Explaining, convincing, generating enquiries |
| Non-skippable | Usually 15 s max | Per thousand impressions | A short message you want seen in full |
| Bumper | 6 s | Per thousand impressions | Brand reminder, supporting a campaign |
| Shorts | Vertical format | Depends on the campaign | Reaching the short-video audience |
What pushes the price up or down
- The audience. A very precise, high-demand audience costs more than a broad one.
- Video quality. A video people watch is favoured. A weak hook gets skipped, and the campaign pays more for each useful view.
- The season. Year-end is more competitive, as on Meta.
- The goal. A conversion campaign costs more per view than an awareness one, but each view is worth more.
Is YouTube right for you?
For a local business selling projects to consumers, YouTube is rarely the first lever: Meta reaches people with more geographic precision and a more natural format, and Google Search captures those already searching. YouTube becomes interesting when you already have videos that work elsewhere, and want to show them longer to a wider audience.
That is the advantage of giving video and media buying to the same person: a video I edit for Meta can feed a YouTube campaign without starting over. Performance Max, which also runs on YouTube.
Further reading: What a video ad on Meta costs and What Google Ads budget to plan.
Wondering whether YouTube belongs in your plan? . We look at the videos you already have and where they would pay most.