A ThruPlay is Meta's measure of a meaningful video view. It counts a play when someone watches a video under 15 seconds to the end, or watches at least 15 seconds of a longer video. ThruPlay is a column in Ads Manager, a performance goal for video campaigns and, in some setups, the event you pay for.
ThruPlay as a metric
ThruPlays show how many people stayed with your video past the opening. Two ratios make the number useful:
- ThruPlay rate = ThruPlays ÷ impressions. The share of impressions that became a real view.
- Hold rate = ThruPlays ÷ 3-second plays. Of the people your hook stopped, how many stayed.
A strong thumbstop ratio with a weak hold rate means the opening works but the middle loses people.
ThruPlay as an optimisation goal
In Engagement or Awareness campaigns built around video views, you can ask Meta to optimise for ThruPlay. Meta then shows your ad to people it expects to watch for 15 seconds or to the end, and you can choose to be charged per ThruPlay rather than per impression where Meta offers that option.
That's useful for building video viewer audiences cheaply, for example people who watched a founder story, to retarget later with a sales ad. It is not a way to buy sales. People who watch videos are not the same as people who buy, so for a store the main campaigns should still optimise for purchases. See campaign objective.
Worked example
Example: a 30-second product demo.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Impressions | 60,000 |
| 3-second plays | 15,000 |
| ThruPlays | 3,000 |
| Spend | ₹4,500 |
- Thumbstop ratio = 15,000 ÷ 60,000 = 25%
- Hold rate = 3,000 ÷ 15,000 = 20%
- Cost per ThruPlay = 4,500 ÷ 3,000 = ₹1.50
If a recut moves the key benefit from second 20 to second 5 and the hold rate rises, more viewers see the part that sells.
How to improve ThruPlays
- State the benefit early and show the product within the first few seconds.
- Cut pauses, slow intros and repeated shots.
- Keep short videos short. For a sub-15-second video, a ThruPlay means the whole thing was watched.
- Use captions so sound-off viewers can follow.
For when video is worth the effort over images, read static vs video ads.
Frequently asked questions
What is a ThruPlay on Facebook?
A ThruPlay is a video play that reaches the end of a video under 15 seconds, or at least 15 seconds of a longer video. Meta uses it as a reporting metric, a performance goal and a billing option for video view campaigns.
What is the difference between ThruPlay and a 3-second video play?
A 3-second play counts anyone who watched three seconds, so it measures how well the opening stops the scroll. A ThruPlay needs 15 seconds or the full video, so it measures whether people stayed. Dividing ThruPlays by 3-second plays gives your hold rate.
Should I optimise for ThruPlay to get sales?
No. ThruPlay optimisation finds people likely to watch, not people likely to buy. It is useful for building cheap video viewer audiences to retarget, but sales campaigns should optimise for purchases.
Why is my cost per ThruPlay so low?
Some placements, such as rewarded video in Audience Network, can produce cheap but low-quality views. Break your results down by placement, and judge video campaigns on what the viewers do next, not on cost per ThruPlay alone.
