Probably the number 1 question we get all the time is how much does an explainer animation cost?
And it’s a pretty complicated question to answer, because it’s like asking how much does a car cost?
A simple answer that’s probably not so helpful is that a video can cost you anywhere between $50 all the way up to $50,000 or more.
But let’s break that down a little, and explore all the options you have.
#1 Do It Yourself
The first option of pricing is making the video yourself. This can be done by using some online video software that’s very simple to use, but quite limited in what it can achieve. For example, softwares like Powtoon, Animoto, Animaker, Doodly, Toonly and so on.
Or you can use ready-made animated assets called stock animation from websites like VideoPlasty, where all you have to do is drag & drop the items in a software and put them in the right order.
Both options are a bit limited, but they are very affordable.
#2 Freelancer
Second option of pricing is hiring a freelancer, and here prices can vary significantly. There are freelancer prices starting from around $500 all the way to $2,500 or more.
We’re not against freelancers, but two things to keep in mind when hiring freelancers is that one, they might actually cost more than a studio, because as a freelancer, you don’t always have steady work and you have to hustle for every gig while still putting food on the table, and sometimes you might go for weeks or months without any projects, in which case they have to charge more.
And two, a freelancer can usually only do one part of your video, so when hiring multiple freelancers and trying to get them to work together, that can get quite messy fast because the quality of work can be so different and the collaboration might not be as smooth as you’d like it to be.
#3 Explainer Company
Option number 3 is hiring an explainer company. And here you’ll probably pay anywhere from $2,000 all the way to $10,000 per minute or more.
The advantages of working with an established studio are that they have a ton of experience working together, things will go very smoothly with very little hassle on your end and the quality of work that you can expect is very predictable based on their portfolio.
Just to get a better idea, here at The Explainer Company our smallest package starts at $2,000 per minute and goes up from there.
Novatiq Consumer Explainer Video – Starter Package Example
#4 Full Service Marketing Agency
Number 4, full service marketing agency. I’m just going to briefly mention this one as this is where the big money goes. Bigger clients usually want to get the full package that includes a marketing team as well for a full strategic plan to get the best ROI on their explainer video. This can go anywhere from $10,000 all the way to $100,000 or more.
What else affects pricing?
There are two major things that drive pricing for a video. One is the duration and the other one is the style and complexity of the video.
As you can easily imagine, a shorter video will be easier to produce and take less time, thus it will cost less.
Same with the style and complexity, a simpler video with just motion graphics or infographics will be easier to produce than a more advanced 2D or even 3D video that includes character animation as well.
Darwin Concierge Explainer Video – Character Animation Example
I hope that gives you a little bit more context and understanding of the pricing behind an explainer video. I know it can get quite diverse and maybe even a little confusing, but one very important thing to keep in mind is that you usually get exactly what you pay for. So if you wanna make sure you get a good ROI on your investment, I would suggest you don’t go with the cheapest options.
That being said, if you’re just a startup or low on budget, I don’t wanna discourage you from getting a video because a lower-quality video might still be better than nothing, but just know that lower prices usually mean you’re making sacrifices in quality somewhere.
To find out even more about pricing and why explainer videos actually cost so much, check out this article, where we explore the complex work that goes into making an awesome explainer video and you’ll see how prices are actually justifiable.
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!
