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.
What counts as a view
- YouTube Shorts. Since 31 March 2025, a view counts each time a Short starts to play or replay, with no minimum watch time. The older count, of viewers who chose to keep watching, is now called engaged views, in YouTube Analytics (YouTube Help).
- Instagram. A reel’s views are the number of times it starts to play or replay (Instagram Help Center), and Meta defines any post’s views as the total number of times it has been played (Meta for Developers).
- TikTok. Each video’s analytics show its views, counted on TikTok’s own rules.
Because each counts differently, compare each platform only with itself.
So what’s a good number?
Start from your own account. Take your last ten posts and their usual views. A post that does several times that has travelled further than most. On Instagram, a reel’s insights also count its follows: the accounts that started following you after watching it.
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, Facebook and TikTok in four months. Da.Si.Mar Shawarma had 1,760 followers; our films for it reached 3.88 million on the same three in under four weeks.
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
If someone sells you views, ask four things: on which platforms, counted how, over what period, and what happens if the number isn’t reached.
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 |
“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 recent ones. A post that does several times your usual has travelled further than most.
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.
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.
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.