Average CPV on YouTube
The number everyone quotes is $0.024. The number that matters is where your vertical sits between $0.018 and $0.058.
Reading the band, worked
A $2,400 flight delivering 100,000 views is $0.024, dead on the blended average Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026. The same flight in a legal vertical at 41,379 views ($2,400 / $0.058) is also exactly on-band Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026. Neither buyer should touch anything. The band tells you whether the auction is treating you normally for your category, not whether the campaign is good.
What moves you inside the band
- Vertical: advertiser density sets the clearing price. CPG floors it, legal tops it.
- Targeting narrowness: tighter audiences bid against more competitors per user.
- Seasonality: Q4 retail auctions clear higher; January cools.
- Creative hook: view rate is the free lever. See lowering CPV.
What the band measures: a 30-second paid view Google Ads Help, video ad views, 2026.
YouTube skippable in-stream avg CPV $0.024; industry spread $0.018-$0.058 (Store Growers, Q1 2026)Solve your own flight: the YouTube CPV calculator. Shorts split: Shorts bands. Full spread logic: by industry. Worked launch: $10k DTC scenario.