What is CPV in influencer marketing?
CPV, or cost per view, is the cost of a single video view: what was spent, divided by the views it bought. It is typically used on platforms (e.g. YouTube ads) that bill by the view rather than by the impression, and a view is whatever that platform says it is.
GlossaryBuying and measurement3 min read
How it is worked out
Divide the spend by the number of views. Unlike CPM there is no thousand in the sum: CPV is the price of one view, which is why it reads as a small number and why a report should never set it beside a CPM as though the two were the same scale.
The hard part is the view itself. Each platform sets its own threshold for counting one (a few seconds of watching, or a share of the video), and can change it without notice. A CPV from one platform and a CPV from another are two measurements that share a name, so compare them within a platform and say which definition applied.
CPV is a price only where the buy was made by the view, as with a video ad run from a brand’s channel or a creator’s. A creator’s organic post was bought as a deliverable at a fee, so a cost per view on it is a calculation after the event: useful for comparing posts, but not what anyone was charged.
In India
A brief that runs one video in several Indian languages earns views in each version separately. Work out a CPV for each version before looking at any overall figure, because an average of rates is not a rate, and a strong Tamil cut can hide a weak Hindi one. The way such a launch is cast and approved is in running a regional launch in four languages.
No Indian rule or rate card defines a view; the platform’s own definition applies, and its help pages, not a media kit, are the place to check what was counted in the window you paid for.
How the desk uses it
CPV is not a column on the desk’s Monday sheet, which carries reach, engagement rate, cost per acquisition, CPM and the next move. The reason is the view: the desk treats views as plays counted on definitions that differ by platform and change without notice, so a cost per view means little without the platform’s definition beside it, and it is never added to another platform’s (what we count when we count reach).
Where a brand wants to buy views of a creator’s video as paid media, the right to run it is a separate line. Usage, whitelisting and exclusivity are agreed per deliverable, in writing, before the shoot: the platform, the dates and the fee for each.
Questions brands ask
What is the difference between CPV and CPM?
CPM is the cost of a thousand impressions or views; CPV is the cost of a single view. CPM suits a buy priced by exposure and CPV a buy priced by the view, and neither is the fee a creator charges for a post.
Can CPV be compared between YouTube and Instagram?
Not directly. Each platform sets its own rule for counting a view, so a CPV on one and a CPV on the other measure different things. Compare CPVs within one platform, and name the definition used.
