When getting an explainer video made, do you want to go with a freelancer or go with an established explainer video company? Let’s explore the two options and compare the differences.

The two most common ways to get an explainer video made is by hiring a freelancer or an explainer company. You can also do it yourself, but we’re not covering that in this article. If you wanna know all the options you have in order to get an explainer video, and how much each option costs, check out this article.

Also as a quick disclaimer, we run an explainer company, so you could say we’re a little bit biased, but just hear me out and decide for yourself if what I say makes sense for you.

Alright, let’s get straight to it!

You might see a lot of freelancers with great portfolios and think to yourself, if one person can single-handedly produce this, then why even consider an agency with multiple people in the first place?

It might look like that on the surface, but explainer videos put together the work of people from various areas of expertise, so his or her portfolio might not even be made completely by him or her alone.

As a comparison, try to think of building a house. Sure, one person could technically do it by himself, but normally you would get an architect, maybe an engineer, plumbers, electricians, the actual workers, an interior designer, and so on.

So let’s look at a few points and compare the two options:

Communication

In terms of communication, sure you might be able to communicate with the freelancer directly and not through a project manager, but you also cannot expect the freelancer to be easily available for calls, meetings and to check their emails and messages often, because you want them to actually be busy working on your project, not checking their notifications all the time and disrupting their creative flow.

On the flip side, working with a company means you have a dedicated project manager that’s available for you at any time to answer questions, get on meetings and discuss various aspects of your project. Basically, someone whose job is to live in their emails and on their phone.

Availability

A great and reputable freelancer will usually be quite busy and working on multiple projects, so most likely won’t be available when you need them. Schedule will have to be negotiated and planned from both sides to find something suitable.

On the other hand, a company will most likely always be available to start your project straight away as they have multiple people on their team and can juggle schedules with way more flexibility.

Expertise

As we said before planning and producing a great explainer is a complex and multi-staged process that involves different skill sets in different areas. Sure, there might be freelancers that can do a little bit of everything, but as the saying goes, jack of all trades, master of none.

A company will have a bigger team available with people that are all experts in their own fields, so this way they can go deeper and master their individual skillset even better. Usually, that means a dedicated scriptwriter, a creative director, illustrators, motion graphics designers, and sound designers, for example.

Budget

This is where things can get a little bit tricky and complicated. On a first look, you might think that freelancers are always more affordable than an established company and you’d be half correct. But you also have to keep in mind that as a freelancer, you’re sometimes hustling for projects and you might go for weeks or even months without work, but you still need to put food on the table which means that the price can actually be higher to make up for all the time you’re not working. Also, you need to account for the fact that most freelancers work on freelancing platforms which handle all the payments, but also keep a hefty commission of around 20% usually.

That being said, a company also has to take care of multiple people’s salaries so on average it might still be more expensive than just a one-man team.

End Product

The end results can vary quite significantly. There’s only so much you can achieve and so far you can go as a one-man team trying to combine different skillsets to produce a great explainer video. I’m sure there are great freelancers out there that are the exception to the norm, but generally, there’s a limit to how good your video is going to be.

With an established company that produced videos for clients all over the world and has big brands in their client list and experts from different fields on their team all working together and bringing their collective experience to your project, you can definitely expect the end result to be world-class.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, is there a clear winner between freelancers and companies? Hard to say, but that’s up for you to decide depending on what’s important for you.

If you want the absolute best explainer video money can buy, the answer will always be going with an established company that has a bigger team of experts.

To find out more, check out our entire Explainer Series on YouTube for free or check out our blog Explainer Guides where we go even deeper and cover everything related to Explainer Videos.

And if you want to get an amazing explainer video for your company to stand out from all the noise, produced by a professional and experienced team with over 10+ years in the industry and more than 400+ videos produced for clients all over the world, then browse our website, check out our portfolio and get in touch!