Key takeaways
- A view cap is the maximum number of views on one post that a campaign pays for; views past it earn nothing.
- Creators and brands can be capped separately on the same video, so a creator can be paid on fewer views than the brand is billed for.
- Caps protect brand budgets from a runaway post and set the real ceiling on what one clip can earn you.
- Always read the cap before you pick a campaign: a high rate with a low cap can pay less than a modest rate with no cap.
A view cap is the maximum number of views on a single post that a clipping campaign will pay for. Once a post passes the cap, extra views still happen, but they stop earning the creator money and stop billing the brand.
That is the whole definition. The rest of this entry is what it does to your pay or your budget, and how to read one before you commit.
Why view caps exist
Per-view pricing has one weakness: a single post can go absurdly viral. Without a limit, one clip could swallow a brand's entire budget in a weekend, and the campaign would end with one post and a lot of unused pages.
A cap fixes that. It makes cost per post bounded, which is what lets a brand spread money across dozens or hundreds of posts. Volume across many posts is the repeatable play. Single posts that clear 10M are rare, so a budget built around hoping for one is a bad plan anyway.
It also changes the flop math. Under a flat fee, a $300 post costs $300 whether it does 20K views or 2M. Under per-view pay with a cap, a 20K-view flop costs a brand about $5 at a $0.25 per 1,000 ceiling. Your cost is capped. Your upside isn't, because the brand still gets the attention from views past the cap when the cap applies to payment only.
How a view cap works in practice
Per post, the payout logic runs like this:
- Take the verified views on the post. (See verified views.)
- Apply the per-video minimum, if the campaign has one. Under it, the post earns $0.
- Cut the count at the cap. Anything above it is unpaid.
- Multiply what's left by the rate per million.
Rates are set per campaign and shown on the campaign card. A rate is quoted per million views, so $0.50 per 1,000 is $500 per million.
The two-cap setup
A campaign can run two different caps on the same video:
- Creator cap: the most views the creator is paid on.
- Brand cap: the most views the brand is billed for.
If the brand cap is left unset, it matches the creator cap. When they differ, they are independent. Changing the brand cap never changes creator pay.
Worked example: one viral clip
Say a campaign pays $120 per million to creators, caps creator pay at 2.5M views per post, and bills the brand at $300 per million with a brand cap of 4M.
A clip hits 4M verified views.
| Side | Capped at | Paid or billed views | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | 2.5M | 2,500,000 | 2.5 x $120 = $300 |
| Brand | 4M | 4,000,000 | 4 x $300 = $1,200 |
The creator is paid on 2.5M of the 4M. The brand is billed on all 4M. Neither number can blow up from a spike, because each side has its own ceiling.
Now the flop case on the same campaign: 20,000 views. Creator earns 0.02 x $120 = $2.40. Brand pays 0.02 x $300 = $6. Nothing breaks.
Worked example: why a high rate can lie
Compare two campaigns, same clip performance of 3M views:
| Campaign A | Campaign B | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate per million | $400 | $250 |
| Cap per post | 500K | none |
| Paid views | 500,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Pay | $200 | $750 |
Campaign A has the better headline rate and pays far less on a hit. The cap is the multiplier you cannot see on the rate line.
A decision rule for creators
Before you apply, compute your max post: cap x rate per million / 1,000,000. That is the most one post can ever pay you.
- If the max post is under what a good post of yours realistically makes in views, the cap is binding. You are leaving views unpaid on every hit. Prefer an uncapped or higher-capped campaign, or accept the cap and post more often.
- If your typical post lands well under the cap, ignore it. Rate matters more.
- If a campaign pays a lot per million but caps tightly, treat it as a volume campaign: more posts, each cheaper to the brand.
Your median post is a better guide than your best post. Check it with the clipping earnings calculator, and see how much clippers make for the broader picture. Rates are set per campaign and vary, and earnings are rate times verified views, with variance.
A decision rule for brands
The cap is a budget-shaping tool. Two moves:
- Set the creator cap near the views you would be happy to see on a very good post, not a miracle post. A tight cap pushes creators toward more posts across more pages.
- Consider a brand cap above the creator cap if you want the brand to keep the upside of virality. The spread between the two is how effective CPM ends up below the posted ceiling, and why delivered logo CPM can run as low as $0.08 on a higher ceiling. For the full cost picture, read what a clipping campaign costs and CPM in clipping. Brands who want to set one up can start at /advertise/.
Common mistakes
- Reading rate without cap. The most common one, shown above.
- Confusing cap with minimum. A minimum is a floor: with a 5,000-view minimum, a video at 4,000 earns $0, while the same video at 6,000 earns on all 6,000. A cap is a ceiling. Check the campaign for both.
- Assuming views past the cap were fake. They weren't. They are real views the campaign simply doesn't pay for.
- Expecting the brand's bill to match your pay. Different caps can apply to each side.
- Chasing one hit. Under a cap, the best plan is steady volume of on-brief posts, not hoping for one outlier.
- Posting from unverified pages. Capped or not, a post from a page you haven't proven you own pays $0 until you verify it.
How caps relate to other limits
Per-post caps are not the only limit. Campaigns can also cap what one creator is paid in total, and a campaign stops when its view goal or budget is reached. Budget divided by the brand price per million gives the goal: $25K at $1,000 per million is 25M views.
Related terms
- Cost per view: what a single view costs the brand.
- CPM: cost per 1,000 views, usually quoted as a ceiling.
- Verified views: the views a cap actually counts.
- Monetized views: the paid portion after caps and minimums.
- Clipper pay rates: what rates look like across formats.
If you are new and want to put this into practice, join free and read the cap on each campaign card before you post.
Frequently asked questions
What is a view cap?
A view cap is the maximum number of views on a single post that a clipping campaign will pay for. Once a post passes the cap, extra views still happen, but they stop earning the creator money and stop billing the brand. Caps are set per campaign.
What is the view cap meaning for creators?
For a creator, the cap is the ceiling on what one post can earn. Pay is the rate times the views up to the cap. A post that hits 4M views under a 2.5M cap pays on 2.5M. Check the cap on the campaign card before you post.
View cap explained: why do campaigns have one?
Caps keep a brand's cost predictable. Without one, a single viral post could eat a whole budget. With one, a flop costs little and a hit is limited, so budget spreads across many posts and many pages instead of one lottery ticket.
Is the view cap the same for the creator and the brand?
Not always. A campaign can set one cap for what the creator is paid on and a separate cap for what the brand is billed on. They are independent, so changing one does not change the other.
Is a view cap the same as a minimum views requirement?
No. A cap is a ceiling on paid views per post. A minimum is a floor: a video earns nothing until it crosses it, and then all its views count. Some campaigns use both.
Get paid for the views you already get.
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