Video advertising on YouTube - skippable and non-skippable
Rough top-line math using platform averages. Real campaigns will vary with targeting, creative, and industry — see the by-industry table below for refined figures.
Side-by-side cost and use-case breakdowns against the most common alternatives.
Per-industry estimates derived by scaling YouTube Ads's baseline costs by each industry's multiplier relative to the cross-industry average. Click any industry to see the full side-by-side comparison.
Estimates derived from baseline platform cost × (industry metric ÷ cross-industry average). For exact figures from your account, run a search query report or campaign benchmark export.
The auction, the creative, the budget floor — the three things you actually need to know before picking a platform.
YouTube ads run through Google Ads on CPM (for TrueView and Bumper) or CPV (cost per view — you pay only when viewer watches 30s or engages). CPM averages $6–10; TrueView effective CPV is $0.05–0.15. Non-skippable pre-roll runs $15–25 CPM.
6s bumpers (non-skippable), 15/30s non-skippable, and TrueView (skippable after 5s, but you're only charged if viewer engages). 16:9 1920×1080; vertical 9:16 for Shorts inventory. Companion banners boost CTR.
$50–100/day covers TrueView on a defined-topic audience. Bumper campaigns can start at $30/day. YouTube's audience-based targeting means small budgets are viable for niche verticals.
Free, no-signup tools to model your YouTube Ads campaigns.