# Hook rate: what it is and how to track it in Ads Manager

Source: https://rhythmads.com/learn/hook-rate

By Emma Hollis (A pen name for the RhythmAds team. The photo is AI-generated.) Updated October 30, 2026.

Hook rate is the share of people who watched at least 3 seconds of your video ad out of everyone it was shown to: 3-second video plays divided by impressions. It tells you whether the opening stops the scroll. It doesn't tell you whether the ad sells. Meta doesn't show it by default, so you build it as a custom metric.

## From RhythmAds

RhythmAds shows hook rate for every ad in a connected Meta account, worked out as 3-second video views divided by impressions. Our hook scenes run 2.5 to 4 seconds: 3 seconds in problem-solution, listicle and offer ads, 2.5 in showcase and before-after, 3.5 in comment reply, and 4 in the UGC and founder formats. So a 3-second view means a full hook in only three of our nine formats.

## The formula

Hook rate = 3-second video plays ÷ impressions. If an ad had 10,000 impressions and 2,500 three-second plays, its hook rate is 25%. (Those numbers are only an example of the math.)

Meta's developer docs describe a 3-second view as the video being watched for an aggregate of at least 3 seconds, so it doesn't have to be 3 seconds in one go. Hook rate is not a Meta metric name. It's a name advertisers gave this ratio, and you'll also see it called thumbstop rate.

Sources: [1]

## How to add it in Ads Manager

1. In Ads Manager, open the Columns menu and choose Customize columns.
2. Click Create custom metric, next to the search box.
3. Build the formula: 3-second video plays divided by Impressions. A formula needs at least two metrics and one operator.
4. Name it Hook rate and set the format to percentage.
5. Choose whether it's just for you or shared with everyone in the business, then save and add the column to your view.

Sources: [2]

## What it tells you, and what it doesn't

Reading hook rate:

| Hook rate can tell you | Hook rate can't tell you |
| --- | --- |
| Which opening lines and first frames stop people | Whether those people buy |
| Which of two ads with the same body has the stronger start | Whether the rest of the ad holds them (that's hold rate) |
| Whether a new placement or audience reacts differently to the opening | How your ad compares with other brands' ads |

A high hook rate with poor sales usually means the opening promises something the rest of the ad or the product page doesn't deliver. A low hook rate with good sales can be fine: the ad may be filtering for real buyers.

## Why we don't give a good hook rate number

Meta doesn't publish a benchmark for this ratio, and the numbers that circulate online come from agencies' own accounts with different products, placements and audiences. Compare your ads against each other, and against your own past ads, instead.

## Limits

Hook rate only covers the first 3 seconds and says nothing about sales. It also depends on placement, since Reels, Stories and Feed autoplay differently, so compare ads on similar placements. We don't publish hook rate results for our own ads yet.

## Questions

### What is a good hook rate for Facebook ads?

There's no Meta benchmark, and published figures come from individual agencies' accounts. The useful comparison is your ads against each other in the same ad set and placement. Keep the hooks that beat your own average.

### Is hook rate the same as thumbstop rate?

Yes, they're two names advertisers use for the same idea: 3-second video plays divided by impressions. Neither is an official Meta column, which is why you create it as a custom metric.

### Why use 3 seconds and not 2?

3-second video plays is the standard view column in Ads Manager, so it's easy to build on. Whatever you pick, keep the same formula across ads so your numbers stay comparable.

### How do I improve hook rate?

Change the first second, not the whole ad: a different opening line, a sharper first frame, the problem shown instead of described, captions on screen from frame one. Test two or three openings with the same body so you know the hook made the difference.

## Sources

1. Meta for Developers: Video and carousel ads guide: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/ads-commerce/marketing-api/guides/videoads (checked October 30, 2026)
2. Jon Loomer Digital: A guide to custom metrics in Meta Ads Manager (updated Mar 2025): https://www.jonloomer.com/custom-metrics/ (checked October 30, 2026)