As soon as the time to produce an informative, attention-grabbing video for your brand comes, you naturally start worrying about the explainer video cost. Few companies have a video production team on board, so they have to order these services from external agencies. Thus, at the moment of starting the search for a video producer, you may encounter huge price fluctuations, from something around $500 to $50,000+.
So, what’s a fair price for an explainer video? What does it depend on, and how can you arrive at a reasonable quote with a reliable, experienced provider? Let’s break the cost down in this article to show you what to focus on in the cost estimation process.
Why Bother with Ordering an Explainer Video?
First, a short disclaimer for those doubting the need to create such videos altogether. It’s so expensive, you might think, that I will deal without explainer videos and will be fine. But let’s take a realistic look at accurate figures:
- If you have explainer videos, your chances to be located online or via search engines grow 50x.
- Visitors will stay on your page longer if they have an engaging video to watch. This way, you increase the users’ visit time from a couple of seconds to up to 2 minutes – a great indicator for Google ranking.
- Your conversions may improve twofold (and even more).
- Interesting explainer videos double the click-through rates if sent via e-mail.
So, with all these stats in mind, you’re sure to want to have an explainer video for your company. Now, it’s time to calculate the cost wisely and avoid overpaying for the brand’s name.
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Explainer Video: Variables to Include in the Cost Estimate
Your explainer video may cost you under $1,000 or may steal $20,000+ from your budget. So, how to plan the cost and what affects it? Let’s consider a couple of criteria to keep in mind.
Length
A standard price label is one minute of an explainer video. Most companies will charge from $500 to $10,000 per minute; as you can see, the difference is huge. But the truth is that you can order less than one minute; 30 seconds will also be enough if the video is informative and involving. Besides, the latest marketing analyses show that videos under one minute are more engaging for users and have a higher chance of being watched until the end.
Animation
When you decide on the explainer video’s cost, your provider will necessarily ask you about the preferred animation style. The complexity of chosen animation is a decisive element in the video’s price, as, for example, drawing some whiteboard animation or creating a full-time 3D movie involves different resources and costs differently. Here is an overview of the animation styles you can choose from:
- Whiteboard animation. This animation style involves placing animated objects onto the whiteboard or accompanying their emergence with a hand that draws all elements and lets them emerge. This animation is relatively simple, so it may be the most affordable variant for your explainer video.
- 2D and 3D animation. This approach includes characters moving in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space, respectively. 3D animation is more complex, requiring more object rotations and twists. However, you should think that 3D animation is at the top of the animation world; modern explainer videos often make skilled use of 2D images and create great visual effects with their help.
- Kinetic typesets. Here, you get text animation. Though it may seem plain at first sight, the explainer video with animated text may be powerfully engaging if complemented with an interesting story.
- Stop-motion animation. This form of animation requires physical manipulation of images or their fragments to imitate motion with a series of snapshots. It’s pretty costly to create, but its visual effect is compelling.
- Motion graphics. It’s about computer graphics that have no visual or creative boundaries and is not related to specific objects. It can be simple or overly complex, and the price will range accordingly.
How Many Experts Should Explainer Video Production Involve?
Depending on your video’s length and complexity, a team with a different number of experts will be involved in its production. The number of staff may also affect the final price quote, as every designer’s and illustrator’s work needs to be paid. As a rule, your explainer video will be a product of the collaborative work of:
- A producer. Every project requires managerial oversight, and your video shouldn’t be an exception. It is likely to be overseen by a producer/director assigned by the production company.
- A story lead. This expert is responsible for the overall visual concept of your explainer video. They choose the style and imagery, building the preliminary concept you approve before sending it to production.
- An illustrator. This artist is responsible for illustrations (hand-drawn or digital).
- An animator. This person animates the illustrations created by the illustrator.
- A sound designer. The final touch is combining your video’s visual part with sound, which the sound designer does.
Final Cost Estimations
As you can see, no explainer video is identical to another one, so this work escapes unified cost estimation. However, you can simplify the calculation task by comparing the rates of several companies whose works you like and who you consider for ordering your videos. A well-known, top-tier company often names a price 5-10 times higher than the market average just because it is famous and needs to finance its huge marketing budget.
At the same time, opting for the lowest price is also not a good idea, as you may risk wasting money on a substandard, amateur video. So, we recommend doing extensive market research, contacting several companies, and comparing the average rates for your type of work; most providers are ready to produce a free cost estimate based on your technical specifications. Take advantage of this opportunity and work with those who offer a tangible price-quality balance, thus avoiding a waste of money and time.
