Video clapboard and money on the table... How much videos really cost? Video pricing guide.

How much does video production cost in 2024? [with real prices]

Video Production Jan 5, 2024

Video production costs vary from 2 500$ to upward to 200 000$+ per year in general.  For corporate and advertising level work.

Yes, it varies wildly!

This article will explain why the price can move so much between different video production companies.

Yes, your competitors are pumping videos, and you're not doing it yet?  You need to plan a budget and come up with ballpark numbers for your team? You're at the right place!

Since I published this article in 2020 it got a lot of traction, so for 2024 I'm keeping it fresh and up to date with a boatload of information! That will help you with budget preparation and make you look like a pro.

With what just happened to the world and the Coronavirus, it is now imperative to transform your website into your best salesmen.  Remote selling is the new norm. The goal is really to have your website keep on "selling" while you sleep.

Videos are by far the best way to reach that goal.  Businesses will have to transition from in-person to online selling to survive and adapt to the not so new customer behaviors.

In the past year, I’ve worked on various video projects as a producer, so I’ll break it down for you!

With the rise of video marketing and its impacts on business no wonder you start to question if your business should invest in videos.

You can ask several professional video production company about their pricing, you'll notice there are multiple answers and conflicting results. Some charge by the minute, some on a per-project basis.

Nonetheless, I'll share 10 common factors will bring the budget up or down. As video professionals, we know there are more than 30+ factors when we plan a shoot and video marketing campaign, but those are the most influential. We'll empower you with honest and reliable information on this page.

Whether you need a corporate video for your brand of a full video marketing campaign, this article will help! Creating video content can be an expensive game.  But there are ways to make it cost-efficient.

Okay, but what about AI video tools?

Since the advent of ChatGPT, Bard, Gemini, etc, AI is everywhere these days. Even the video production field has been transformed by AI.  The question is, do you still need to hire a professional video production crew when Ai could do it for you? Or is it?

Look AI is a fascinating technology.  But it still relies on human to "train" it selves.

As of now, in January 2024, there is no AI that can do a full 30-second commercial with the production level a human crew could do.  Some might look okay-ish, but there's always missing that organic sense. Companies like Synthesia, Digital People Uneeq, HeyGen can create very convinsing AI generated avatars...

But when you look closely or for a little bit, you see the lack of soul.  These types of videos might work for short training series, but are nowhere near working with real human.  They allow for tremoudous cost saving, it's true, but the results are not yet there.  I'll reassess my observations 3 or 4 years as technology get's better!

On the other hand, technical AI tools helps us, video producers, work faster and do higher volumes of production.  These savings are then transferred to our customers.

10 main factors that influence the total cost of video production services

  1. Number of shooting days
  2. Lenght of the video content
  3. Talents
  4. Filming location
  5. Accesories & Makeup
  6. VFX & animation
  7. Stock footage, music, and B-rolls
  8. Equipment
  9. Distribution & tracking
  10. Travel cost

Bonus: DIY Video Production: What You Need to Know

Tips: How to save on production cost


1. Number of shooting days & crew size

Brainstorming board for video ideas
Photo by Daria Nepriakhina

This is one of the most critical factors in price.

How long will it take to shoot your project?
Can we do it in one afternoon?
Do we have to shoot over multiple weeks or months?

The question seems obvious, but some concepts are more complex than others and might change your budget dramatically.

An interview, for instance, will be shot much faster than following a construction site over several months.

To optimize cost — since most video production agencies charge a day rate — it's something wise to combine multiple shoots the same day, rather than multiple smaller fragments and offset your video cost.  Keep in mind that each time you make the camera crew travel, your costs increase.

Also, as the crew expands, companies should expect to pay higher hourly rates. Usually for each additional camera, there's an extra cameraman, until it's a PTZ camera, but even those needs to be operated.

If there's a Teleprompter on set, this also requires an operator.

Average shooting cost for a camera crew:

  • Hourly rates: 50$ to 300$/h
  • Half-Day (5 hours): 250$ to 1 500$
  • Full-Day ( 10 hours): 750$ to 5 000$

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Number of cameraman and cameras - Crew size
  • Equipment used
  • Rental cost
  • DOP (Director of Photography) and Directors
  • Team experience

2. Length of the video content

Adobe Premiere Pro timeline colors edit with video editor.
Photo by Wahid Khene

Editing is another essential part of the cost of a video project. Editing a 30 seconds piece does not mean it'll be easier and cheaper than a 1-hour documentary. It depends on the depth and the editing style and visual effect required to meet the expected results.

That's why TV commercials, even though only 30 seconds, can cost hundreds of thousands. Also, editing a single-camera project is faster than a triple camera interview, but the triple camera interview is way more dynamic and pleasing visually.

It's all about balance.

While some video production companies may charge a cost per-minute fee on editing, most often, it'll be an hourly rate.  That's why an 11 minute video may end up costing exactly the same price as a 12 minute video because it's not that much longer to edit.

Average video editing price:

75$/h to 150$ per hour

Things you need to consider in pricing:

  • Length of the final video(s)
  • Editing time and color grading
  • Amount of videos (single or series)
  • Delivery formats and conversion
  • Editing style and VFX

3. Talents

Dual camera interview setup, with a boom mic and softbox light.
Photo by Sam McGhee

In most corporate videos, we recommend you use your staff or clients as talents. Not only it saves you cost but, it also builds trust towards your audience and gives a face and spirit to your business.

When working on case studies videos, customer success, or testimonials, obviously, forget about actors, your clients are king.  They are the heroes that you helped.  Show how your services helped them reach new height of success.

While working with actors, there are many ways to do it. You can either work with a union or non-union actors. Some project type requires union actors, like TV Commercial for instance. For web projects, you have way more options and less restrictions.

Also, an essential factor is the actor training and renown. If you wish to work with Will Smith or Brad Pitt to represent your brand, you can forget the prices below – and add a few zeros...

Make sure to take into account agents and casting fees in your budget.

Average talent pricing:

150$ to 2 500$/day or more...

Things you need to consider in pricing:

  • Union or Non-union
  • Talent popularity and vanity metrics
  • Casting fees & auditions
  • Agents

4. Filming Location

Steadicam operator with camera and matte box.
Photo by Jakob Owens

Generally, shooting at your office or facility is way cheaper than renting a film studio. But then again, it depends. Will shooting at your manufacturing plant impact your production that day? How much is that worth? If not, those are the best footages!

These kinds of details need to be discussed beforehand. Again, to build trust and really show your business, using your premises is usually the best solution.

For interview shots, we can use a hotel lobby, a breather space, restaurants, any location really. Public areas may require permits, this will increase pre-production time.

With world crisis like the COVID-19 recently we saw a surge of remote shooting.  This is a solution that more and more companies get used to.  We can then edit the Zoom call and make it look more appealing.

We sometimes send "Remote filming kits" in which there's an easy-to-use camera, light and usb microphone setup, this way, we can record guests with higher quality video and audio than if they were to use their laptop internal webcam.

Average location pricing:

Hourly to daily rates.  It depends on what location...

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Location popularity
  • Permits & insurance
  • Possible production disruption or not
  • Should we shoot on-site or remotely?
  • For remote shoot; Cost of remote kits & shipping

5. Accessories & Makeup

Accessories on gray. These are important to improve the look of your videos.
Photo by Vadim Sherbakov

Having your crew looking good on camera is amazing, isn't it? On set, you can have makeup professionals or even wardrobe and stylist. Of course, this applies more for advertising projects or creative projects like music videos than for corporate, but it is still to take into consideration in the total production cost.

Most companies won’t mention this, but accessories and set dressing can add to a production budget pretty fast. Those are part of the contingencies expenses.

Average makeup pricing:

50 to 100$ per person or daily rate from 200 to 450$/day

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Experience of the makeup artist
  • Makeup style - Interview or Cirque du Soleil?
  • Accessories and styles

6. VFX & Animation

Adobe After Effect timelie for motion design and animation.
Photo by Jacob Miller

For premium projects, VFX (Visual effects) and animation can be necessary. This budget line is one of the most impactful on the total production budget and also the most difficult to price.

Some VFX specialists charge per day other per minute and finally, some per hour. It can range from simple stuff, like hiding a license plate to very complex technical drawing or alien invasion scenes.

Remember that adding VFX significantly increases video rendering time, that may also impact on post-production rates.

Average Motion Graphics pricing:

250 to 1 000$/day

Average 3D Animation pricing:

250 to 2 500$/day

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Experience of provider
  • Complexity of project
  • # of scenes to work on

7. Stock Footage, Music And B-Rolls

Audio mixer equipment. Sound is an important part of any video.
Photo by Samuel Ramos

These days stock footages are everywhere. They can save a shoot when missing some elements, at the same time you lose uniqueness on your project since all videographers around the world has access to the same libraries.

If the message is more important than uniqueness in your project, then stock footages are a fantastic addition to existing live-action videos. Same for music, you can use royalty-free music from known sound banks for a fraction of the cost of an original production.

If your videos need voice over recording, you'll have to go to a local recording studio or podcast studio to get it done with an actor/narrator.

Great Things Studios • Montreal Recording Studio
Video production company and Recording Studio in Montreal

‍B-Rolls are extra footage of your business, product, or people in action that amplify a message visually. It's not only telling it's now showing.

Average stock footage and music pricing:

80 to 300$/each

Things to consider in pricing:

  • License type (web use, TV, national, international)
  • Resolution (720p, 1080p, 4K or more)
  • Rarity of footage

Average Original music pricing:

350 to 2 000$/each

8. Equipment

An Arri Alexa Mini camera with Arri Ultra Prime Lenses.
Photo by Daan Stevens / Unsplash

Shooting with a DSLR will be way cheaper than shooting on a RED Camera or ARRI – Of course.

But these days, the message, especially in video marketing is more important than the gear you use.

Especially now, lots of camera manufacturers amped their game quite high in terms of quality. A 2 000$ camera can easily compete with a 15 000$ on some aspect.

Video equipment will affect the price a bit. Like the numbers of shooting days, they are all linked together and exponentially. If you want to shoot interviews using 3 cameras, but suddenly would like to change 3 DSLR for 3 ARRIs, that budget line will triple the price and make it go up to 9x.

To that, you'll have to factor in lighting. LED, HMI, Classic tungsten, all these different light types are used in different scenarios and will impact pricing.

What about Camera movement and support systems, such as gimbal, jibs, and dollies.

Oh, and sound? Lavalier and shotgun microphone.

What about a drone for those crazy aerial footages?

The list goes on, we can have a full article on this topic alone – But you get the point.

Average Equipment pricing:

  • Top Tier camera (RED, ARRI, etc.) 1 500$/day
  • Second Tier (High-end DSLR, Blackmagic) 100 to 300$/day

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Sensor Quality (resolution, color rendition)
  • Lens kit (prime and/or zoom)
  • Light kit
  • Support, grip, rig need
  • Sound kit

9. Distribution & Tracking

Phone with the YouTube app.  Where will you distribute your videos?
Photo by Sara Kurfeß

This is where the rubber meets the road for video marketing practices. Putting a final video on your home page is one thing. But real and powerful results also reside outside of your owned platform.

There are social media and paid media platform. From a simple landing page embed to full advance video programmatic advertising, this will change your investment requirements.

After choosing your distribution channel, you need to track your results so you can prove ROI on your videos.

MarTech (Marketing technologies) stacks vary depending on industries and requirements. It can range from free software to multiple thousands per month.

For instance, you could have video views and behavior tracked on your website, feeding data to your CRM, then scoring each leads accordingly and trigger automations. Hence helping your sales team make more informed decisions on which lead to pursue.

At the bare minimum, you'll need a video hosting platform.  Some are "Free" like YouTube or Vimeo.  Others are paid platform, but with more advances tools and integration possibilities – sharing video data & analytics across multiple systems.

Average Distribution pricing:

From Free to Unlimited...

  • Free - YouTube/Vimeo
  • 50-1000$/month - Wistia/Vidyard/Brightcove/SproutVideo
  • 10 000 to Millions$ - TV Distribution and Events

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Platform type - free/paid
  • Automation features
  • Martech price (CRM/CMS/Analytics/SEO)
  • Reach and audience
  • Your desired monthly budget

10. Travel Cost

Camera crew of 3 people.  Cameraman, Director and sound mixer.
Photo by Stephane YAICH

Where is the crew shooting? This question will also impact on the budget. Some clients fly teams to a specific location to capture interviews or facilities, while others are just around the corner next to our offices.

Sometimes, it's wiser to hire an offshore crew and have them send the footage back in and edit locally. There are multiple options.

This budget line is also tightly linked to the numbers of shooting days, since moving back and forth to a places multiple times will increase the distance log.

One vital factor in determining location expenses in your video production rates is the total amount of time that will be required for production.

Average Travel cost:

50$ to 5000$

Things to consider in pricing:

  • Travel distance
  • Lodging needs (how long?)
  • Car or Truck rental
  • Plane tickets price
  • Equipment cargo cost

DIY Video Production: What You Need to Know

What is the price difference between DIY video production and hiring a professional crew?

Well, making videos can be super fun, but it's also a lot of work. If you want to make a video yourself, you'll need to think about things like what equipment to use, what kind of shots to get, and how to edit it all together.

Plus, you'll need to spend time learning how to do all of that stuff! But if you hire a professional team, they'll take care of all of that for you. It might cost more money, but it could save you a lot of time and hassle in the long run.

There are 2 DIY approaches.

  1. Do everything yourself. Like really.
  2. If you have a budget, you might hire a full-time videographer in-house. It’ll cost between 50-100k/yr depending on their experience and hourly rates, and you’ll have to purchase equipment. The more experience they are the more high-end equipment you’ll have to acquire. Equipement wise we’re talking between 5000$ on the low end kit up to 100k+ if you’re really trying to build a video factory in house and build your own studio.

Outsourcing vs DIY Video Production Cost Comparison

If we compare both options, honestly, they’re quite similar.

The real difference lies in the management aspect. Do you really want to handle a new “video division’ within your organization?

For some businesses, this might be the best option, especially if you have a very seasoned marketing team that knows why and how to use videos.

Few CMOs these days are conscious of the importance of videos for business. They know it in their back mind, but few act on it. While it’s been proven times and times again, that the world’s best companies all have a very serious video strategy in place.

Case 1 You hire internally.

Videographer 1; 70 000$/yr
Videographer 2; 70 000$/yr

Equipment; 20 000$

Total for year 1 = 160 000$

Then each year, you’ll have to renew and/or repair some of the equipment on top of the salaries. Eventually, also grow the man power.

You might wonder why two? If you’re serious about pumping quality content at scale, 2 videographers is the bare minimum if you don’t want to burn them. Coming up with video concepts, prepare them, shooting them and edit them is more than a full-time jobs, and requires a team.

Pros:
You control the team
You own the crew and the gear

Cons:
More expensive
Need to manage more people
Narrow vision, less experience than

Case 2 You outsource to a video production company

Consulting / pre-production : 5000 to 15 000$
Production : 5000 to 50 000$
Post production : 5000$ to 30 000$

Total for year 1 = 15 000$ to 95 000$

Pros:
Immediatelly brings years of experience to the table
Brings in fresh mind and external views
No need to maintain equipement
No HR management

Cons:
Requires a bit more external communication
Price volatility
Sometime requires a contract

Quality Matters: Corporate Video Production is not to take lightly

At the end of the day you want to create videos to increase your sale, attract talent or transfer knowledge.

Quality of work and messaging is key. And by messaging we mean, hyper-relevance. The right message, to the right audience at the right time.  This is the motto by which videos are created at Great Thingd Studios.

When you hire a professional crew to create your video, you can be sure that the final product will be of the highest quality. They know all the ins and outs of video production, so they can create something that looks amazing and really captures your brand's message.

Plus, when you work with professionals, you'll save time because they know exactly what they're doing and can get the job done quickly. Another great thing about working with a professional team is that they've worked with many other businesses before, so they have a wealth of experience and ideas to draw from. They can help you come up with creative concepts that will make your video stand out and really grab people's attention.

When you have a professionally produced video, it shows the world that you take your company seriously and are willing to invest in high-quality marketing materials. This can help you build credibility with potential customers and make them more likely to choose your business over your competitors.

So if you want to make a great impression and stand out from the crowd, hiring a professional team to create your video is definitely the way to go!

How to save on video production costs?

Here are a few tips to save on your marketing video budget.

  • Shot as many videos as you can in a single day rate and save time
  • Have a yearly arrangement with your video production agency.  Long term relations yield better results and best average cost of video production.
  • Use DSLR instead of dedicated camcorders, these days the quality is on par.
  • Use your staff and clients instead of actors — it  increases the trust factor
  • Use fewer motion graphics elements in the video
  • Use your office space instead of renting a location
  • Negociate on high volume video production — the more, the cheaper cost per video

Don't forget, videos are an investment, not an expense.

Marketing videos are an investment. The real question is, what objectives are you trying to achieve with the videos?  What would success look like, and what's the value of it?

If you spend 25 000$ on a video marketing campaign, and that campaign brings you an additional 320 000$ in sales, this is an outstanding return on investment of 1180% in that 1st year of use!  Crazy I know, it sounds like the crypto craze...

Since some videos are evergreen and may last for a few years, you can count on those to keep generating sales for your business even when you sleep.

A video is like a salesman that never sleeps and works 24/7 on your website or social medias.

Why Video Works and its Benefits
Video production company and Recording Studio in Montreal

Imagine if your current website site has a conversion rate of only 2%.  By adding a few videos on it, in your sales funnel and newsletter, you could bring that conversion +2%; you're now at 4%.

You technically doubled your sales in only a few months and a smart video investment to clarify your product or service.  Keep in mind that videos clarify your message, your products, your services, thus increasing the trust factor of your leads toward your brand.  Clarity drives sales... Remember, if you confuse, you lose.

The more video types you have to adress your different customer persona, the higher your chances of success.

Conclusion

As you can see, video production rates vary wildly depending on many factors.  The best way to come up with a precise total cost is to discuss your project with video professionals and request a detailed video project proposal.

Proposals are always free and will help you better understand the nature of a video project and its cost. Make sure the plan is fully detailed, clear, with no vague terms. This way, you'll know what you get for your money and the return to expect on this powerful investment.

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N'tchidjè Doumbia

Video marketer and producer for more than 10 years. I love videos, video gears, studio gears, and helping businesses crush their competitors using the power to moving images and sound.