Retention rate is how much of your video people actually watch — read as a curve, not a number. The diagnostic power is in where it drops: a cliff at 1–2s is a hook problem; a slide at 5–8s is a pacing problem (nothing new happened); a drop right before the CTA means the pitch overstayed. Platforms price delivery on watch behavior, so retention isn't just analytics — it's your CPM. Short-form target: keep 25–40% to the final beat; the fix for most curves is cutting, not adding.
Reading the curve like a editor
Overlay the curve on the video: every drop maps to a moment. Fix the moment (cut it, move it, replace it) and re-run — with $2.44 regeneration, curve-fixing is an iteration loop, not a post-mortem.
Retention vs hook rate
Hook rate is the entry gate (first 2–3s); retention is the whole journey. Great hook + bad retention = curiosity bait; fix the body.
Paste a product link. The brief builds itself.
Generate product videos, UGC-style ads and hooks in about 5 minutes.
Try v4vFrom $7 · no subscription, ever · credits never expire
FAQs
What's a good retention rate?
Above ~30% completing a 15–30s ad is strong; but the curve's shape matters more than the endpoint.
Does retention affect cost?
Directly — algorithms reward watch-time with cheaper distribution on every major platform.
Facts checked July 16, 2026. Competitor claims from public pricing pages; verify before relying on them.