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By Benchmarketing Research Team Reviewed by Performance Marketing Editorial Reviewed March 2026 · observations Q1 2023 – Q4 2024Cross-industry averages · YouTube Shorts Ads · 2026
$5.20
Avg CPM, lowest on YouTube
Entertainment, beauty, and food see the highest VCR and CTR on Shorts — content-native verticals where short-form video is already part of the discovery behavior. Financial services and home services see weak performance, reflecting audience-format mismatch.
| Industry | CTR | CPM | VCR | CPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment / Gaming | 0.62% | $4.80 | 52% | $0.014 |
| Beauty & Fashion | 0.58% | $5.00 | 48% | $0.016 |
| Food & Beverage | 0.54% | $4.60 | 51% | $0.015 |
| Fitness & Health | 0.51% | $5.20 | 44% | $0.018 |
| Ecommerce | 0.47% | $5.40 | 40% | $0.019 |
| Technology / SaaS | 0.38% | $6.10 | 34% | $0.022 |
| Education | 0.46% | $5.30 | 43% | $0.018 |
| Travel | 0.52% | $5.10 | 46% | $0.017 |
| Financial Services | 0.31% | $7.20 | 27% | $0.028 |
| Home Services | 0.34% | $6.40 | 30% | $0.024 |
Shorts has the lowest CPM on YouTube. Use it for top-of-funnel reach. Use TrueView for consideration. Use non-skippable for guaranteed brand recall. Layer them across the funnel.
| Format | CPM/CPV | VCR | Skip | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shorts Ads (≤60s) | $0.018 | 41% | After 5s | Reach, Gen Z, TOFU |
| TrueView In-Stream (skippable) | $0.026 | 31% | After 5s | Consideration, demos |
| Non-Skippable In-Stream (15s) | $12.40 | 100% | None | Brand recall, launch |
| Bumper Ads (6s) | $6.20 | 100% | None | Frequency, reminder |
| In-Feed Discovery | $0.034 | High intent | Opted-in | Search-intent audiences |
YouTube Shorts reaches 2B+ monthly users — primarily mobile-first
YouTube Shorts launched as a direct TikTok competitor and now generates over 70 billion daily views globally. Shorts audiences skew 18–34, mobile-first, and increasingly include Millennial users who shifted from long-form YouTube consumption. For brands targeting younger demographics with video creative, Shorts CPM ($5.20) is 33% lower than TrueView ($7.80) and significantly lower than TikTok ($9.40) for comparable vertical video formats.
The 5-second skip window drives an extreme first-second hook requirement
YouTube Shorts ads are skippable after 5 seconds. Unlike TikTok (where users can skip almost instantly) or Meta Reels (similar 5-second window), Shorts users are conditioned to wait for the skip button. Your first 3–4 seconds must either (a) hook curiosity so strongly the viewer wants to continue, or (b) deliver the full brand message for viewers who will skip. Design the first 5 seconds as a complete micro-ad.
Cross-format synergy with YouTube's long-form content
Shorts ads run adjacent to both Shorts and long-form YouTube content depending on targeting settings. This creates a unique cross-format retargeting opportunity: serve Shorts ads to viewers of relevant long-form YouTube videos. A viewer who just watched a 20-minute 'best running shoes 2026' review is a prime target for a 15-second Shorts ad for your shoe brand. YouTube's audience signal data is uniquely strong for this type of content-context targeting.
Lower CPM makes Shorts the top-of-funnel volume play on YouTube
At $5.20 CPM, Shorts delivers the cheapest YouTube impressions. For brand awareness campaigns where impression volume matters, Shorts is the efficient choice vs. TrueView or non-skippable. Use Shorts to build large video completion audiences (25%, 50%, 75% viewers) that you retarget via TrueView or Google Display with a more direct conversion message. The TOFU → retargeting sequence typically achieves 20–35% lower blended CPA than TrueView-only campaigns.
Shorts performance is driven by content-native creative and TOFU funnel positioning.
Lead with motion and curiosity in the first 3 seconds
Shorts users are conditioned to skip — the first 3 seconds determine whether you get watched or skipped. Open with movement (not static logo), a bold visual statement, or an incomplete thought that demands completion ('I tested every running shoe under $100 and the winner is...'). The skip button appears at 5 seconds for skippable formats, so your hook must land before the button even appears.
Design 9:16 with safe zones for UI elements
YouTube Shorts UI overlays the bottom 20% and top 10% of the screen with like buttons, comments, and channel info. Place your key visual and text in the middle 70% of the frame. Unlike Instagram Stories where full-bleed design reads as brand, Shorts users expect content in the YouTube UI wrapper — design accordingly. Center-weighted composition with text overlays at 60–80% screen height performs best.
Use Shorts to build video completion audiences for retargeting
Shorts ads at $5.20 CPM are efficient impression generators. Set up video completion custom audiences (viewers who watched 25%, 50%, 75%, 95% of your Shorts ad) in Google Ads Audience Manager. Then retarget engaged Shorts viewers with TrueView In-Stream ads ($7.80 CPM) featuring more detailed product information or an offer. This two-step funnel typically achieves 20–30% lower blended CPA than single-format YouTube campaigns.
Target by YouTube content topic and channel placement
YouTube's content targeting lets you serve Shorts ads on videos in specific topic categories (fitness, cooking, gaming) or on specific YouTube channels. This content-context targeting is uniquely powerful — a Shorts ad for a protein supplement running on fitness channels reaches an audience mid-content-consumption in the right mindset. Layer content targeting with demographic targeting for precision, not just demographic alone.
Repurpose from TikTok but remove watermarks and adjust pacing
TikTok content can be repurposed for YouTube Shorts but requires three adjustments: (1) Remove TikTok watermarks — YouTube deprioritizes watermarked content. (2) Adjust pacing — Shorts audiences tolerate slightly slower pacing than TikTok's frenetic cuts. (3) Ensure captions are legible on YouTube's UI. Test repurposed TikTok content first; if VCR falls below 25%, produce YouTube-native Shorts with the same creative concept but adapted format.
15–30 seconds is the sweet spot. Under 15 seconds is too short for most messages (and gets grouped with bumper ad mental models). Over 30 seconds sees sharply declining completion rates on Shorts. The 15s non-skippable version is a popular format for brand recall campaigns. For skippable Shorts ads, structure 5 seconds for skippers + 10–25 additional seconds for engaged viewers — total 15–30 seconds.
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These benchmarks are drawn from a multi-source benchmark cohort aggregated across industries and regions, covering the period Q1 2023 – Q4 2024. Figures on this page come from the Benchmarketing benchmark dataset: thousands of curated benchmark observations spanning channels, industries, and US metro areas, refreshed on a published schedule. Every statistic traces to a named source — no anonymous “studies show.” Data is sourced from:
The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method reads every marketing metric against four percentile bands — P25 (bottom quartile), median, P75 (top quartile), and elite (top ~10%) — for a specific industry and channel, instead of a single cross-industry average. Averages blend brand and non-brand campaigns, $500/month and $500,000/month accounts, and unrelated industries into a number almost nobody actually has.
Benchmarks reflect median values across large sample sets. Your industry, business model, and account maturity will cause variation. Use P25/P75 ranges to understand realistic distribution.
Read full methodologyWritten by
Benchmarketing Research Team
Data & Analytics
Reviewed by
Performance Marketing Editorial
Senior Review
Last updated
Reviewed March 2026
Observation period: Q1 2023 – Q4 2024
YouTube Ads Hub
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TikTok In-Feed Ads
Competitive short-form platform
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