How much does an explainer video cost in 2026?
Prices run from $15 a month to $250,000. Here is what studios, freelancers and video tools charge, read from their own pricing pages, and what decides where your video lands.
By Ammar Rayes, founder of HeroReel · Updated
The short answer
A 60- to 90-second explainer video costs roughly $1,000 to $25,000 from a studio, and surveyed quotes cluster near $10,000: Yum Yum Videos' 2026 study found a median of $9,680. Freelancers on Upwork list $800 to $2,500 for a standard 2D explainer. DIY tools cost $15 to $99 a month, plus your time. HeroReel makes a 45- to 60-second product film from your URL for $99.
Explainer video prices at a glance
Who makes your video decides most of the price. These are the published prices for a 60- to 90-second animated explainer, by kind of maker.
| Who makes it | Published price | Turnaround | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium studio | $16,000 to $150,000+; live action from about $250,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Calls, briefs and a review at every stage |
| Mid-market studio | $2,400 to $10,000 | 2 to 12 weeks | A brief, then reviews of script, storyboard and animation |
| Budget or AI-assisted studio | $497 to $1,000+ | 48 hours to 7 weeks | A brief and a review or two |
| Freelancer on Upwork | $300 to $10,000+ by scope | Depends on the person | Hire, brief, manage and judge the work yourself |
| DIY video tool | $15 to $99 a month | Your own time | Write, design and edit it yourself |
| HeroReel | $99, paid once | Concepts in 1 business day, the film 3 business days after you pick | Paste your URL and pick one of two concepts |
Prices from each maker's own pages, read October 28, 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
What explainer video studios charge
Most studios that publish a price put a 60- to 90-second animated explainer between about $2,400 and $10,000, usually with the script, voiceover and music included and at least two rounds of changes. Premium studios start around $16,000, and live-action launch films cost far more.
Surveys put the middle of the market near $10,000. In July 2026, Yum Yum Videos sent the same brief for a custom 60-second animated explainer to 125 companies. The 61 usable quotes ran from $2,800 to $27,000, with a median of $9,680 and a median timeline of 7 weeks.
| Studio | Published price | Length | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Explainers | $497, AI-assisted | Up to 60 seconds | 48 hours |
| Breadnbeyond | From $1,000 | 60 seconds, then extra per 10 seconds | 5 to 7 weeks |
| B2W | $2,400, $3,500 or $5,500 by style | 60 seconds, then $750 to $1,500 per extra 30 | 2 to 12 weeks |
| Wyzowl | From $2,500 | 60 to 90 seconds | 4 to 6 weeks |
| MyPromoVideos | From $5,000 for 2D | 60 seconds | Not stated |
| Kasra Design | $5,000 to $10,000 for 2D; $10,000 to $25,000 for 3D | 90 seconds | 4 to 12 weeks |
| Epipheo | $5,000 to $150,000+ | Depends on the project | 5 to 6 weeks for 2D |
| Demo Duck | $16,000 to $25,000 animated; $35,000 to $50,000+ live action | Up to 2 minutes | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Sandwich | About $250,000 to start, mostly live action | Depends on the project | Not stated |
Each studio's own published price, read October 28, 2026.
What freelancers charge
Upwork lists explainer video specialists at a median of $17 to $32 an hour, with senior specialists at $100 or more. By project, its table puts a short whiteboard video at $300 to $800, a standard 2D explainer at $800 to $2,500, premium motion graphics at $2,500 to $5,000 and a full-service package at $5,000 to $10,000 or more.
A freelancer costs less because you do the producer's job: you write the brief, keep the schedule and judge each draft. Quality depends on the person, so their past work matters more than their rate.
Making it yourself with a video tool
Animation and AI video tools are the cheapest way to get a video, as long as your time is free. The subscription is the small part: you still write the script, choose the scenes and edit until it works.
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Renderforest | $15 a month | $9 a month |
| InVideo AI | $20 a month | $10 a month |
| Animaker | $27 a month | $15 a month |
| Powtoon | $49 a month | $15 a month |
| Vyond | $99 a month | $58 a month |
Prices on each tool's pricing page, October 28, 2026. Some yearly prices are current promotions, and some tools charge different prices by country.
What decides the price
- Length. Studios price by the minute and charge for every extra 10 or 30 seconds: B2W adds $750 to $1,500 for each extra 30 seconds.
- Style. Whiteboard costs least, and 3D and live action cost most. Per 90 seconds, Kasra charges $4,000 to $5,000 for whiteboard, $5,000 to $10,000 for 2D, $10,000 to $15,000 for motion graphics and $10,000 to $25,000 for 3D.
- What's included. Script, storyboard, voiceover, music and sound design are usually in a studio's price. Check, because some charge for each.
- Rounds of changes. Two rounds is common. Kasra charges $300 to $500 for each extra round.
- Speed. A rush job under two weeks adds 20 to 30% at MyPromoVideos.
- Formats. A vertical cut for social and a 4:5 cut for feeds are separate edits of the film. Ask whether they're in the price.
How long should an explainer video be?
Most explainers run longer than the advice. B2W measured 671 of its own explainers: the median is 88 seconds, and only 15% are 60 seconds or shorter. Yet in Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 51% of marketers said 30 to 60 seconds works best.
Our view: on a landing page or in a launch post, people decide in the first few seconds whether to keep watching. A film of 45 to 60 seconds that shows one moment your users know works better there than a two-minute tour of every feature. Save the walkthrough for onboarding.
Where HeroReel fits
HeroReel makes concept-led product films of 45 to 60 seconds from your product's URL, for $99, paid once. We read your site and write two concepts within a business day; you pick one, and the film arrives within 3 business days with a vertical 9:16 cut, a 4:5 feed cut, four covers, captions, embed code and one round of changes.
The films are made with AI tools and original music, and a person checks every one before it reaches you. They have no voiceover, no live action and no custom character animation. If you need a long walkthrough or a filmed shoot, a studio is the right call. These two were made from the products' websites alone:
How to choose
- You need a walkthrough of two minutes or more, for onboarding or sales: a mid-market studio or a strong freelancer, from about $2,400.
- You need a brand campaign, 3D or live action: a premium studio, from $16,000.
- You have more time than budget and want full control: a DIY tool, $15 to $99 a month.
- You need a short film for your landing page, launch or feed this week: HeroReel, $99.
Sources
- Yum Yum Videos: How much does an explainer video cost? (July 2026 pricing study), checked October 28, 2026
- Video Explainers: explainer video cost, checked October 28, 2026
- Breadnbeyond: packages, checked October 28, 2026
- B2W: explainer video cost, checked October 28, 2026
- Wyzowl: best explainer video companies (its own prices and turnaround), checked October 28, 2026
- MyPromoVideos: explainer video production cost and pricing guide, checked October 28, 2026
- Kasra Design: how much an explainer video costs in 2026, checked October 28, 2026
- Epipheo, checked October 28, 2026
- Demo Duck: explainer video production, checked October 28, 2026
- Demo Duck: startup video production, checked October 28, 2026
- Sandwich: FAQ, checked October 28, 2026
- Upwork: hire explainer video freelancers, checked October 28, 2026
- Renderforest: pricing, checked October 28, 2026
- InVideo AI: pricing, checked October 28, 2026
- Animaker: pricing, checked October 28, 2026
- Powtoon: pricing, checked October 28, 2026
- Vyond: plans, checked October 28, 2026
- B2W: explainer video length and statistics 2026 (1,368 videos), checked October 28, 2026
- Wyzowl: video marketing statistics 2026, checked October 28, 2026