Budget & Pricing
How campaign money works on Wayo Ads: CPC and CPM, budget locking, platform fees, spend pacing, and when unused funds return to your wallet.
Overview
On Wayo Ads, you pay only for validated clicks (Link) or validated views (Video/Shorts). There is no monthly subscription — you fund campaigns from your advertiser wallet. This page explains how pricing and budget work after you create a campaign.
To add funds, see Billing & Wallet. To walk through the form, see Create Campaign.
Budget lifecycle at a glance
How Campaign Pricing Works
Each campaign type uses one performance price. You set the rate. Link bills a click after fake traffic is filtered. Video and Shorts bill new views YouTube shows on the approved video — from 24 August 2026, YouTube counts a view when the video starts playing, even if it starts on its own.
| Campaign type | You pay for | You set | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link | Each validated click (CPC) | A CPC in $ | $0.50 CPC → $5.00 for 10 validated clicks |
| Video / Shorts | Each 1,000 new views YouTube shows on the approved video (CPM) | A CPM in $ | $5 CPM → $5.00 for 1,000 of those views |
Fake Link clicks are not billed. Video and Shorts follow the views YouTube shows on that video. Creator Trust Score affects creator earnings, not the CPC/CPM you set.
Choosing CPC or CPM
The campaign form shows a hint when your rate looks unusually low or high. Typical starting ranges:
Link (CPC): often between $0.01 and $50
Video / Shorts (CPM): often between $0.10 and $100
Tighter geo targeting or competitive niches may need higher rates to attract creators
Extremely high values may be rejected to prevent accidental pricing errors
Campaign Budget
Your campaign budget is the envelope for creator payouts from validated performance. It is not a daily auto-cap — the campaign spends until the budget is used, you stop it, or the end date is reached.
| Minimum budget | $10 |
| Maximum budget | Your available wallet balance |
| Wallet required | Balance must be above $0 to open the campaign form |
The generic editor cannot lower or replace the total once a campaign is active or paused. Use Add budget from campaign actions to increase it from available wallet funds.
Cost at Activation
When you choose Create and Activate, your Available balance is charged in one step:
How Budget Is Consumed
After activation, the locked campaign budget is spent on validated performance:
Budget locked
Campaign budget is locked from Available into In campaigns. Activation fee and tax were already charged separately.
Validated events
Each validated click (Link) or block of views (Video/Shorts) deducts from the locked campaign budget.
Creator vs platform share of spend
Of each billed event from the locked budget, creators receive ~95% (net) and Wayo Ads takes ~5% as platform share — separate from the one-time activation fee.
Campaign ends
When the budget is fully spent, you cancel, or the end date passes — billing stops for new events. Unused locked budget returns to Available.
When the budget is exhausted, the campaign no longer pays for new clicks or views. Any leftover money is handled in Remaining Budget below.
Draft vs Active
Budget behavior depends on campaign status:
| Draft | Active / Paused | |
|---|---|---|
| Budget locked | No | Yes |
| Edit total budget | Yes | No |
| Edit CPC / CPM | Yes | Yes (via campaign editor) |
| Creators earn | No | Yes, on validated events |
| Pays for new traffic | No | Active only (paused = no new traffic) |
What Affects My Spend?
Actual spend can be slower or faster than your estimate because of:
- The CPC or CPM you chose
- How many creators join and publish
- How much Link traffic is accepted (vs. dropped as fake)
- Fraud or duplicate signals detected on traffic
- Campaign duration and end date
- Pause status — paused campaigns do not pay for new traffic
Remaining Budget
Unused campaign budget is not lost. When a campaign stops, any remaining locked funds are automatically returned to your advertiser wallet:
Campaign finished
The end date passes and the campaign completes, or the budget is fully spent.
Manually stopped
You cancel an active campaign. Remaining budget is released back to your wallet.
Budget not fully spent
You end the campaign before all locked funds were consumed — for example when cancelling or when the end date arrives with budget left.
Before You Launch
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pause a campaign without losing my remaining budget?
Yes. Pausing stops new paid traffic, but your remaining budget stays reserved on the campaign. Resume anytime to continue spending. Unused budget is only returned when the campaign completes, is cancelled, or reaches its end date.
Can I change my CPC or CPM after launch?
The generic editor cannot change total budget while active or paused; use Add budget to increase it. You can update CPC or CPM in the editor for future validated events.
Why isn't my campaign spending?
Common reasons: the campaign is paused or still a draft, few creators have joined, traffic is still validating, fraud filters rejected traffic, or your CPC/CPM is too low to attract creators. Check Analytics for validated vs. pending performance.
Why is my budget still locked?
Active and paused campaigns reserve budget on your wallet until the campaign completes, is cancelled, or reaches its end date. Locked funds that were not spent are then released automatically.
When is unused budget refunded?
Automatically when the campaign completes (including at end date), when you cancel an active campaign, or whenever locked funds remain after the campaign stops. See Remaining Budget above.
What happens if my campaign reaches its end date?
The campaign completes at the end of the chosen day. New paid traffic stops, status moves to Completed, and any remaining locked budget is returned to your wallet.