{"id":6937,"date":"2026-10-20T21:44:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/glossary\/hook-rate\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T21:44:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:44:37","slug":"hook-rate","status":"publish","type":"mona_glossary","link":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/en\/glossary\/hook-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"Hook rate"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

What is hook rate?<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Hook rate = 3-second video plays \/ Impressions \u00d7 100%<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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<\/a>). That’s why a hook rate calculated on TikTok can’t be compared directly with one calculated on Meta.<\/p>\n

Why does hook rate matter?<\/h2>\n

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<\/a>). Hook rate tells you whether you’ve managed that, much earlier than waiting for order data.<\/p>\n

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

Hook rate vs hold rate vs CTR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nCommon formula on Meta<\/th>\nQuestion it answers<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Hook rate<\/td>\n3-second plays \/ Impressions<\/td>\nDoes the opening make viewers stop?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hold rate<\/td>\nThruPlays \/ 3-second plays<\/td>\nDo people who stopped keep watching?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CTR<\/td>\nClicks \/ Impressions<\/td>\nDoes the video get viewers to act?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Hook rate calculation example (hypothetical)<\/h2>\n

Two video ads for the same air fryer, each with 50,000 impressions:<\/p>\n