What is a ThruPlay?

What is ThruPlay? A ThruPlay is Meta's count of video plays that reached 15 seconds, or about 97 percent of the video if it is shorter. ThruPlay is also a performance goal in Ads Manager that delivers to people more likely to watch, with a 6-second or 15-second threshold. Rewatched seconds do not count.

Work it out: free ThruPlay calculator.

How does Meta define a ThruPlay?

Meta's About ThruPlay page describes ThruPlay as a performance goal with two thresholds:

Threshold Counts a ThruPlay when the video plays for
6-second At least 6 seconds, or 97 percent of the video if it is shorter
15-second At least 15 seconds, or 97 percent of the video if it is shorter

Meta treats 97 percent as a full view because people drop off as a video ends. It counts unique seconds watched, so rewinding and watching a section again does not add to the count. The ThruPlays column in Ads Manager is the 15-second measure, and Meta has a separate help article on 15-second ThruPlays. In the Marketing API the field is video_thruplay_watched_actions.

What is ThruPlay rate?

ThruPlay rate is ThruPlays divided by impressions, times 100. It shows how many impressions turned into a 15-second or near-complete view.

ThruPlay rate = ThruPlays ÷ impressions × 100

Worked example

These are the example numbers the hook rate calculator uses.

Input Value
Impressions 100,000
3-second video plays 30,000
ThruPlays 6,000
  • ThruPlay rate = 6,000 ÷ 100,000 × 100 = 6 percent.
  • Hold rate (ThruPlay definition) = 6,000 ÷ 30,000 × 100 = 20 percent.
  • Hook rate = 30,000 ÷ 100,000 × 100 = 30 percent.

How does video length change ThruPlays?

On videos shorter than 15 seconds, a ThruPlay needs only 97 percent of the video. A 10-second ad needs about 9.7 seconds of viewing; a 30-second ad needs 15. Short ads therefore tend to collect ThruPlays more easily, so compare ThruPlay rate only between ads of similar length.

How do AI ad makers use ThruPlay?

ThruPlays are the numerator of the most common hold rate formula, so they tell you whether the body of the ad held the viewers the hook brought in. When you make several versions of one script, check the ThruPlay count for:

  • Cuts and pacing. A slow second beat shows up as many 3-second plays and few ThruPlays.
  • Product moment timing. If the product appears after 15 seconds on a long ad, most viewers counted as ThruPlays may never have seen it.
  • Format. A podcast-style or drama version of the same script may run longer than a UGC cut, so compare like with like.

Buying on the ThruPlay goal optimizes for watching, not for purchases. For sales campaigns, ThruPlay is a diagnostic column, not the goal to buy against.

Sources

Checked: 12 Oct 2026