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Thumbstop Rate

Thumbstop rate is a creative metric for paid social that estimates how many users stop scrolling and pay attention to your ad (definitions vary by platform).

Updated 2026-01-24

Definition

Thumbstop rate is a creative metric for paid social that estimates how many users stop scrolling and pay attention to your ad (definitions vary by platform).

Example

If 10,000 people see a video and 2,200 watch long enough to count as a thumbstop, the rate is 22%.

How to use it

  • Treat it as an input to CTR; it is not the business outcome.
  • Use it to detect creative fatigue before CPA worsens.
  • Compare thumbstop across similar placements and formats.

Common mistakes

  • Optimizing for thumbstop while ignoring conversion quality.
  • Comparing rates across platforms with different definitions.

Why this matters

This term matters because it affects how you interpret performance and make budget decisions. If you use inconsistent definitions or windows, ROAS/CPA can look "better" while profit gets worse.

Practical checklist

  • Write a 1-line definition for "Thumbstop Rate" that your team will use consistently.
  • Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
  • Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
  • Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
  • Read the related guide (e.g., Frequency and creative fatigue: diagnose performance decay and fix it) for context and common pitfalls.

Where to use this on MetricKit

Calculators

  • Incrementality Lift Calculator: Estimate incremental conversions, incremental ROAS, and incremental profit from a holdout test.
  • Marginal ROAS Calculator: Estimate diminishing returns and find the profit-maximizing ad spend from a simple response curve.
  • Target CPA from LTV Calculator: Translate LTV and contribution margin into a target CPA (and break-even CPA) for paid acquisition.
  • MER Calculator: Calculate MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio / blended ROAS) and estimate break-even and target MER from margin assumptions.
  • Max CPC Calculator: Compute break-even and target CPC (and optional CPM) from CVR, AOV, and contribution margin assumptions.

Guides