Hook rate calculator
Paste impressions and 3-second views for each hook. You get hook rate, hold rate, and a plain answer on whether the leader is really ahead or still too close to call.
Free, no sign-up. Updated 2026-10-18.
Compare your hooks
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| Variant | Impressions | 3-second views | ThruPlays (optional) | Hook rate | Hold rate | Versus leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.0% | 25.0% | Leader | ||||
| 22.0% | 27.7% | Likely real gapp = 0.000 | ||||
| – | – | Enter numbers |
The formulas
Hook rate = 3-second video views ÷ impressions. Measures the opening only.
Hold rate = ThruPlays ÷ 3-second video views. Measures whether the body keeps the people the hook earned.
Read them together. High hook, low hold: the opening over-promises or the middle drags. Low hook, high hold: the ad is good but the first line is not doing its job, so test new openings from the UGC hook library and keep the body.
Test one change at a time. Same body, same call to action, different first three seconds. The AI UGC ad testing guide covers how to structure the test.
Hook rate questions
What is hook rate?
Hook rate is the share of impressions where someone watched at least the first three seconds of your video ad: 3-second video views divided by impressions. It isolates how well the opening stops the scroll.
What is the hook rate formula?
Hook rate = 3-second video plays ÷ impressions × 100. In Meta Ads Manager, use the “3-second video plays” column (also labelled video plays at 3 seconds) and divide by impressions. On TikTok, use 2-second or 6-second views consistently, since TikTok reports those instead.
What is a good hook rate?
There is no universal benchmark: it moves with placement, audience temperature and category. Many media buyers treat roughly 25–30% on Meta as strong, but your own account’s baseline is the better yardstick. Beat your current best ad, then raise the bar.
What is hold rate?
Hold rate is how many of the people you hooked kept watching: ThruPlays (15-second or complete views) divided by 3-second views. A high hook rate with a low hold rate means the opening promised something the body didn’t deliver.
How does the calculator decide if one hook really wins?
It runs a two-proportion z-test between each variant and the leader. A p-value under 0.05 means a gap that size would be unlikely from chance alone. “Too close to call” means keep spending until the gap is clear, or call it a tie.
More hooks, faster tests.
FireplaceUGC renders every hook as its own AI actor take, so you can launch the next test without another shoot.