Hook rate

Hook rate (sometimes called thumb-stop rate) is the percentage of video ad impressions in which the viewer stops and watches for at least 3 seconds. On Meta, the usual formula is 3-second video plays divided by impressions.

What is hook rate?

The “hook” is the opening of a video, the part whose job is to make someone who is scrolling stop. Hook rate measures whether that opening does its job. It’s a name used by people who run ads, not a metric that comes ready-made in Ads Manager, so you need to calculate it yourself or set up a custom column.

Hook rate = 3-second video plays / Impressions × 100%

Meta counts a 3-second video play when a video plays for 3 seconds, or for 97% of its length if the video is shorter than 3 seconds. Time spent replaying within the same impression isn’t added (Meta Business Help Center, 3-second video plays).

TikTok has no 3-second metric. Its reports include 2-second video views and 6-second video views, and a 6-second view also counts when the viewer interacts within the first 6 seconds (TikTok Business Help Center, Video play metrics, November 2025). That’s why a hook rate calculated on TikTok can’t be compared directly with one calculated on Meta.

Why does hook rate matter?

Until a viewer stops, the message later in the video never gets heard. TikTok recommends introducing the core content in the first 3 seconds and placing the hook within the first 6 seconds (TikTok, Creative best practices for performance ads, June 2025). Hook rate tells you whether you’ve managed that, much earlier than waiting for order data.

Hook rate is also an early signal of creative fatigue. When the same video’s hook rate slides down week after week, viewers have usually seen it too many times.

Hook rate vs hold rate vs CTR

In Meta’s video reporting, ThruPlays counts the times a video is played to completion or for at least 15 seconds (Meta Business Help Center, About video ad metrics).

Hook rate calculation example (hypothetical)

Two video ads for the same air fryer, each with 50,000 impressions:

• Video A opens with someone cutting chicken and a voiceover introducing the brand: 7,500 3-second plays, a hook rate of 15%.
• Video B opens with used oil being poured into a bowl and the on-screen text “How much does a month of deep-frying cost you in oil?”: 14,000 3-second plays, a hook rate of 28%.

B holds viewers better at the start. That doesn’t mean B sells better. If B’s CTR and cost per order are worse, the body of the video or the landing page is what needs fixing.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good hook rate?

Neither Meta nor TikTok has published a benchmark for this metric. The 20% or 30% figures you see on blogs reflect individual agencies’ experience and vary by industry, placement and format. A more reliable benchmark is your own account’s average hook rate for each campaign type.

What if hook rate is high but there are no orders?

Usually the opening sparks curiosity but has nothing to do with the product, so it pulls in the wrong viewers. Keep the hook focused on the problem the product actually solves.

If you want to set up a tracker for the hook rate and hold rate of the videos you’re running, Adtek’s Creative Strategy team can work through it with you via our contact page.