CPV vs CPE
A view is time; an engagement is an action. Platforms bill both, define both differently, and neither is automatically the better buy.
Definition table
| Unit | What triggers it | Definition anchor |
|---|---|---|
| View (YouTube) | 30s watched, full ad if shorter, or interaction | Google Ads Help, video ad views, 2026 |
| View (LinkedIn) | 2s continuous, 50% on screen | LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, 2026 |
| Engagement | Click, like, comment, share, follow (platform-defined per format) | LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, 2026 |
Note the overlap: YouTube's view definition already includes interactions, so a CPV buy there quietly buys some engagements. LinkedIn separates them and offers engagement-billed formats through its auction LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, 2026.
Recommendation block
- Buy views for reach and message depth at consumer scale, judged against the bands.
- Buy engagements when the action is the point: B2B audience building, social proof, community growth. A 2-second B2B view LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, 2026 predicts little; a comment from a decision-maker predicts a lot. Context: the LinkedIn solver.
- For downstream conversion, neither metric is evidence on its own. Completed views correlate better than started views: CPV vs CPCV.
Click-side version: CPV vs CPC. Definitions in one place: what CPV is.