Keep rate calculator
Keep rate is the share of the ads you produce that you actually publish, and it is the number that governs your real cost per ad. At a 60 percent keep rate, shipping 40 ads means producing 67, and every cost scales off 67. This calculator applies it across in-house, agency and generated production.
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The formula
Keep rate = published ads / produced ads
Cost per published ad = total production cost / keep rate / published ads
Keep rate is a divisor, which is why it beats every rate negotiation available to you. Moving from 40 percent to 60 percent cuts cost per published ad by a third without changing a single unit price, and no supplier discount does that.
How to read the result
- Review is the dominant cost once generation is cheap. That row is the one to act on: batch review, fixed reject codes, and no per-ad approval meetings.
- A keep rate above 90 percent is a warning, not a win. If nearly everything is publishable the briefs are too conservative to find a new angle.
- Below about 40 percent, the brief is the problem rather than the tool. Vague briefs produce vague ads at any price.
- Measure it, do not estimate it. Every team we have asked guessed high.
What people get wrong
- Comparing tool prices instead of cost per published ad, which is the only figure that includes the rejects.
- Assuming a 100 percent keep rate, which makes every option look cheaper than it is.
- Ignoring review time in the generated column, where it is usually most of the cost.
- Treating an editor's hours as free because they are already on payroll.
Frequently asked questions
What is keep rate?
The share of produced ads you actually publish. If you publish 40 out of 67 produced, your keep rate is 60 percent and your true cost per published ad is your cost per produced ad divided by 0.6.
What is a good keep rate?
Between roughly 50 and 80 percent. Below 40 the briefs are usually too vague; above 90 they are usually too safe to be exploring anything new.
Why does keep rate matter more than unit price?
Because it divides rather than subtracts. Raising it from 40 to 60 percent cuts cost per published ad by a third, which no supplier discount will match.