Last updated on 4th March 2024
Ever wondered how much you can expect to pay for an explainer video? You’re not alone. Explainer video production costs are often shrouded in secrecy. And with a massive range of pricing options in the market, it’s hard to get an idea of what’s a fair and realistic price for a high quality explainer video.
That’s why, in Q4 2022, we set out to evaluate the benchmark cost of a 1 minute animated explainer video across the industry.
We contacted 242 explainer video production companies and asked them a few simple questions. We pooled and anonymised the data – and the results are laid out below. (All prices were converted to USD, and – naturally – data, while correct as of Q4 2022, may change over time.)
The Rules
We set a number of rules to make sure this was a fair and ethical experiment:
2. We provided 2 animated explainer videos as examples so that everyone was pricing against the same level of work, based on animation style and detail. See the 2 examples we provided here: Example 1, Example 2
3. We didn’t want to take up too much of the companies’ time so we asked for a price by return of email – and didn’t take any calls to discuss the project.
Our Findings
We contacted 242 companies. 147 of them replied. 116 gave us a ballpark price, and 82 gave us an idea of turnaround time.
The Cost of an Explainer Video
We received prices from 116 out of the 242 companies we contacted. Where a price range was given, (e.g. ‘This might cost between $x – $y’) we have recorded the higher, ‘$y’ value to ensure we collected the clearest possible picture of the true cost of an all-inclusive package.
Note: We have removed the $250,000 price data point we received from this chart to make it easier to view.
- The lowest price quoted for an animated explainer video was $600.
- The highest price quoted was $250,000.
- The average (mean) price was $10,983. We calculated this by adding all quotations received together, and dividing the total by the number of responses.
- Where the outliers – the lowest and highest 5% of quotations – were removed, this value fell to $8,457.
- The median price – the ‘middle value’ of all prices received – was $5,400. This shows that there were many more lower prices than higher prices provided as the median price is below the average price by a significant amount.
Explainer Video Pricing: Our Conclusions
Based on the data we collected, we’re concluding that the average price of an explainer video in 2024 is $8,457. We believe this gives the most accurate representation based on the lowest and highest prices being removed.
Explainer Video Timeframes & Turnarounds
We asked each company how long it might typically take to produce a 60 second video – from starting the project, to taking delivery of a completed video.
We received turnaround forecasts from 82 out of the 242 companies we contacted. All companies were keen to point out that these were only estimates and a range of variables might result to a video being created sooner, or later, than this estimate.
Where a time range was given, (e.g. ‘This might take between x weeks and y weeks) we have recorded the higher, ‘y weeks’ value to ensure we get a realistic impression of how long a video might take to complete, rather than an optimistic best-case scenario.
Response Time
As well as recording the pricing estimates and turnaround times, we also logged how long it took to receive a reply from each company, in days. Where we received a reply the same day, we logged this as a ‘zero’ – and, as you can see, this accounted for the vast majority of responses.
The longest it took for us to receive a reply was 7 days…and the quickest response actually came within just 7 minutes!
Add-ons, Extras & Caveats
On top of the baseline quote offered by each company, a small minority of them offered extras, such as…
- A surcharge for a faster turnaround.
- Extra fees for things like sound design – bespoke music/sound effects (which we wouldn’t typically include as being part of the core video production process.)
- A ‘cheaper’ package delivered by a more junior team.
- Undefined discounts for projects where certain elements – e.g. script, character design assets – were already done in advance.
- A ‘discounted price’ for extra video content beyond the first minute. For example, some explainer video companies offered a fixed price for the first 60 seconds – and then a lower, per-second price for anything beyond this.
How Much Does Animated Video Production Cost? Our Thoughts…
But this data demonstrates just how widely explainer video pricing and timelines can vary. That’s why it’s so important to do your homework before getting started.
When it comes to creating your own video, we recommend speaking to a number of different companies – being crystal clear about your requirements and budget – and shopping around to make sure the quality of product matches the price tag.
Check out examples of their work and make sure they can deliver what you need.
Ultimately, choosing the right explainer video company, you’ll be in the best possible position to achieve your goals: a high quality video, a great experience, great value for money – and without getting bogged down with time consuming amends and complaints!
