TikTok, Instagram and YouTube don’t publish a “good” number of views, and they count views in their own ways. Here’s what we know about how each counts, what we’ve seen for local businesses, and how to compare views you pay for.
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How many views is good: the short answer
A good number of views is one that beats your own usual. No platform publishes a benchmark, and the averages in marketing charts come from other people’s accounts, cities and kinds of business. Your own recent posts are the only fair comparison: same followers, same place, same kind of film.
Your usual = the middle of your last ten posts’ views (put them in order and take the middle; with ten posts, halfway between the fifth and sixth).
A post’s multiple = its views ÷ your usual
Example, round numbers
| Your last ten posts, in order | Views |
|---|---|
| Lowest five | 250, 260, 280, 300, 320 |
| Highest five | 330, 350, 400, 410, 500 |
| Your usual (halfway between 320 and 330) | 325 |
A new post with 1,300 views has a multiple of 1,300 ÷ 325 = 4.0: four times your usual. That post travelled. A post with 3,250 views is 3,250 ÷ 325 = 10.0, and worth studying closely. The middle is better than the average here because one unusual post would pull an average up and hide what a normal week looks like.
What counts as a view on each platform
| Platform | A view is | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Shorts | Since 31 March 2025, “the number of times a Short starts to play or replay, with no minimum watch time requirement”. The older count, of viewers who chose to keep watching, is now “Engaged views” | YouTube Analytics |
| Instagram Reels | “The number of times your reel starts to play or replay”. Meta’s own definition for developers: “Total number of times IG Media has been played on Instagram” | View insights, on the reel |
| TikTok | Shown in each video’s analytics. TikTok doesn’t publish its rule for a view | Analytics, which “may take 1 to 2 days to update” |
Source: YouTube Help; Instagram Help Center; Meta for Developers; TikTok Support.
Because each counts differently, compare each platform only with itself. Instagram also separates views from viewers: viewers are “unique accounts that have seen your reel on screen at least once”, and one person watching three times is three views and one viewer.
Followers set your starting point, not your ceiling
Icon Auto Centre had fewer than 2,000 Instagram followers, and its videos drew a few hundred views at a time. Our films for it passed 10.11 million views on Instagram and TikTok in four months. Da.Si.Mar Shawarma had 1,760 followers; our films for it reached 3.88 million on the same two in under four weeks.
That fits what the platforms say. TikTok: “neither follower count nor whether the account has had previous high-performing videos are direct factors in the recommendation system” (TikTok Newsroom). Instagram shows each eligible post first “to a small audience that we think will enjoy it, regardless of whether they follow the account that posted it or not”, and widens it as people engage (Instagram for Creators).
Why one post does far more than the next
Views don’t spread evenly. Da.Si.Mar’s beef wrap film went viral; our films for the shop around it drew thousands to tens of thousands. Icon Auto Centre’s first film came close to a million, and the two posted the next day each passed two million. At Da.Si.Mar alone, in the same month, one film drew millions and the films around it thousands to tens of thousands. That’s why a single post is a poor measure, and a month of posts a fair one.
Beyond views: watch time, skips and follows
Views tell you how often a film started. These tell you whether it held people:
- Average watch time. Instagram’s sum: watch time ÷ initial views. For example, round numbers: 4,000 seconds of watch time over 500 initial views is 4,000 ÷ 500 = 8 seconds, most of a ten-second reel.
- Skip rate. Meta defines a reel’s skip rate as “The percentage of views from people who skipped during the first 3 seconds of the reel”: the share of initial views that skipped in the first three seconds. Meta lists it as estimated and in development. A high one can suggest the opening needs work.
- Follows. On Instagram, “how many accounts started following you as a result of viewing your reel”.
- Watching to the end. TikTok gives finishing a video “from beginning to end” as its example of a strong signal of interest.
Views, likes or visits?
Views tell you how often you were seen. Comments, shares and saves tell you whether it landed. Visits and orders are what you’re after, and you count those at the till. Views come first: nobody visits a place they’ve never seen.
Judging views you pay for
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| On which platforms? | Each counts its own way; a total across four is not the same as four on one |
| Counted how? | On Shorts, any start or replay, with no minimum watch time; on Reels, each start or replay |
| Over what period? | A month’s guarantee and a lifetime total aren’t the same promise |
| What if it isn’t reached? | A number with nothing behind it is a forecast, not a guarantee |
Our answers: on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts; we count every post, on each platform’s own numbers, until a month after the month ends. The number is guaranteed on every plan:
| Plan | Posts a month | Guaranteed views a month | Price a month | Per 1,000 views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 20 | 250,000 | $3,599.99 | $14.40 |
| Growth | 30 | 500,000 | $4,999.99 | $10.00 |
| Premium | 60 | 1,000,000 | $9,999.99 | $10.00 |
Common mistakes
- Comparing with a big brand’s account, whose followers, budget and city aren’t yours.
- Comparing TikTok views with Instagram views as if they were counted the same way.
- Judging a post in its first hour, when TikTok’s analytics can take a day or two.
- Adding views across platforms without saying so, which makes any number look bigger.
- Chasing views from anywhere: a view from someone who will never visit doesn’t fill a table.
“Why your videos get no views” covers what to change when a post stalls.
Questions owners ask
How many views is good for a new TikTok account?
There’s no official benchmark. Compare each post with your own usual: the middle of your last ten. A post that does several times that has travelled further than most of yours.
Do replays count as views?
On YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, yes. Since 31 March 2025 YouTube counts every start or replay of a Short, with no minimum watch time, and Instagram counts each time a reel starts to play or replay.
What’s the difference between views and viewers on Instagram?
Views count every play, replays included. Viewers are the unique accounts that saw the reel on screen at least once, so one person watching three times is three views and one viewer.
Can a small account get a million views?
Yes. Icon Auto Centre had fewer than 2,000 Instagram followers; two of its films from us each passed two million views. TikTok says follower count isn’t a direct factor in its recommendations.
How are the views counted on your plans?
We count every post, on each platform’s own numbers, until a month after the month ends.
Keep reading
- ViewsWhy your TikToks and Reels get no views
- ViewsHow to go viral on TikTok and Reels as a business
- CostWhat does social media management cost?
- Making videosPost the same video on TikTok, Reels and Shorts?
Sources
- YouTube Help, Get started creating YouTube Shorts (how Shorts views are counted), read
- Instagram Help Center, View insights on your Instagram reels, read
- Meta for Developers, Instagram media insights, read
- TikTok Support, My posts aren’t getting views, read
- TikTok Newsroom, How TikTok recommends videos #ForYou, 18 June 2020, read
- Instagram for Creators, Recommendations and originality, 30 April 2024, read
Updates
- : Lengthened: your own usual as the measure (a worked example), what counts as a view on each platform side by side (YouTube Help, Instagram Help Center and Meta for Developers re-read; TikTok Support read), average watch time and skip rate, why one post does far more than the next, and common mistakes.