vCPM (Cost per 1000 Viewable Impressions)
vCPM (viewable Cost Per Mille) is an advertising payment model where the advertiser pays for 1,000 viewable impressions of an ad.
Unlike standard CPM, which counts all impressions, vCPM only counts impressions that were actually viewable to the user.
What counts as a “viewable impression”?
An impression is considered viewable if it meets certain standards, for example:
- For a banner: typically at least 50% of the ad unit is visible on screen
for at least 1 second (for display) or 2 seconds (for video, depending on the platform).
How is vCPM calculated?
vCPM=Ad spendNumber of viewable impressions×1000
vCPM=
Number of viewable impressions
Ad spend
×1000
Example
If:
- the ad campaign cost €200;
- you received 50,000 viewable impressions;
then:
vCPM=20050000×1000=4vCPM = \frac{200}{50 000} \times 1000 = 4vCPM=50000200×1000=4
Cost per 1,000 viewable impressions = €4
How is vCPM different from CPM?
- CPM – payment for 1,000 all impressions (even if the ad was not seen).
- vCPM – payment only for impressions that were actually viewable to the user.
vCPM is considered a more accurate and higher‑quality effectiveness metric.
Where is vCPM used?
- programmatic advertising (DSP/SSP);
- display advertising (banners);
- video advertising;
- branding campaigns (brand awareness).
Why use vCPM?
- improves the quality of ad impressions;
- reduces payment for “invisible” ads;
- improves the effectiveness of brand campaigns;
- helps compare real reach.
Key takeaway
vCPM is a payment model for 1,000 viewable ad impressions, counting only those impressions that the user could actually see.
It allows advertisers to more accurately evaluate the effectiveness of display campaigns.
