How much does an explainer video cost?
About $1,000 to $15,000 for a custom one- to three-minute explainer from a freelancer or agency, and far less with AI. Real prices and what drives them.
By the Chasca team 6 min read
A custom explainer video usually costs about $1,000 to $15,000 for one to three minutes, depending on whether a freelancer or an agency makes it. Making it yourself with whiteboard software costs a software fee plus a lot of your time, and AI explainer video generators charge a monthly plan, with some letting you make a few videos free first. The ranges are wide for a simple reason: most of the price is skilled hours, and each route uses a very different number of them.
Below are published prices for each route, what pushes a quote up or down, and how to spend less without ending up with a worse video.
What does each option cost?
| Option | Typical price | What you get | The trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | $17 to $32 an hour, or about $1,000 to $3,500 for a scripted one- to three-minute video | Custom drawings and a voice-over, made to your brief | You write the brief, manage the feedback and keep the schedule |
| Agency | $100 to $149 an hour, or $1,500 to $15,000 for one to three minutes | Script, custom illustration, voice, music and project management | The biggest budget, and every change goes back through the studio |
| Whiteboard software | A subscription or license, plus your time | Full control over every drawing and every timing | You write, record, place and time everything yourself |
| AI video generator | A monthly plan, sometimes with free videos to start | An editable draft, usually in minutes | Less custom art direction: you pick a style rather than commission one |
The freelancer figures come from Upwork’s published rates and the agency figures from Clutch’s pricing data. Both are explained below.
How much do freelancers charge?
On Upwork, explainer video specialists typically charge $17 to $32 an hour and animators $20 to $38, based on the platform’s past contracts worldwide. Upwork’s own pricing table for video producers puts an explainer or product video at about $1,000 to $3,500 for a scripted one- to three-minute video with a voice-over, background music and custom animation.
- Good for: one important video with a custom look, when you have time to brief someone and review drafts.
- Watch out for: who writes the script, how many rounds of changes the price includes, and whether you get the source files so someone else can update the video later.
How much do agencies charge?
Clutch, a business review site that collects verified client reviews, reports that most video production agencies charge $100 to $149 an hour, whether the job is 2D animation, an explainer or a training video, and that most projects on its platform cost less than $10,000. Its budgeting guide puts an explainer video at $1,500 to $15,000 for one to three minutes, and 2D animation at $1,000 to $3,000 per finished minute.
- Good for: a launch video, a brand film, or anything with paid media behind it, where strategy and a distinctive look are worth paying for.
- Watch out for: scope. A quote for “a 90-second explainer” can hide very different amounts of illustration, revisions and extra versions.
What does it cost to make one yourself?
Whiteboard animation apps charge a subscription or license fee, and the software is the small part of the bill. The large part is your time: you still write the script, record a voice or buy one, place every drawing and time each one to the narration. Our guide to making a whiteboard animation video walks through what each of those steps involves.
- Good for: people who enjoy the craft and want manual control over every frame.
- Watch out for: the hours. They are easy to underestimate, especially on the first video.
How much do AI explainer video generators cost?
AI generators write the script, draw the scenes and narrate them for you. You give up hand-picked art direction, because you choose from a set of styles instead of commissioning one. In return, a draft takes minutes, and you can change it yourself.
Chasca is one of these tools. You type a prompt or drop in a document (a PDF, a Word or PowerPoint file, Markdown or a link to an article), and it writes the script, splits it into scenes and draws each scene stroke by stroke in time with the narration, usually in about a minute. Afterwards you can change the subtitles, the style or the music for free, and the narration stays as it was.
On price, the first two videos are free (up to a minute each, watermarked, no card required). After that, plans start at $9.99 a month, billed monthly, and paid plans make videos of up to 30 minutes. Custom branding with your own logo, colors and fonts starts on the Pro plan. The pricing page has every plan, and the examples page shows what the videos look like.
What drives the cost of an explainer video?
Whoever makes it, the same seven things move the price:
- Length. Animation is often priced per finished minute (Clutch’s range for 2D is $1,000 to $3,000 a minute), so the cheapest saving is a shorter script. Most single ideas fit in 60 to 90 seconds.
- The script. If the studio researches and writes it, you pay for the writing and the rounds of approval. If you arrive with a finished script, you don’t. Our script guide has a fill-in template.
- Illustration. Custom characters and scenes are drawn from scratch for you. Simple drawings in a clean style take far less time than a fully illustrated world.
- Voice. A professional voice-over is its own line item. In its 2023 rate guide, the voice-over marketplace Voices put the average non-broadcast job of up to two minutes at $325, with ads on TV, radio or online priced higher, by usage.
- Revisions. Every round of changes is more hours. A line changed after the animation is done means redrawing and retiming, so agree on the script before any drawing starts.
- Versions. Each extra language needs a new voice-over and new captions, and each extra format (landscape, vertical, square) needs its scenes laid out again.
- Updates. A finished video is fixed. When the product, price or policy in it changes, someone has to redraw and re-record that part, so budget for it, or make sure you can make the change yourself.
How can you spend less without making a worse video?
- Write the script yourself. You know the subject best, and a finished script is the clearest brief anyone can get.
- Explain one idea per video. Three ideas in one video cost more and teach less. Make a short series instead.
- Lock the script before the pictures. The most expensive changes are script changes made after animation.
- Spend on the few, automate the many. A commissioned film can make sense for your flagship video. The dozens of training, support and product videos behind it rarely justify the same budget.
- Plan for updates. Ask a freelancer or agency for the source files, or use a tool that makes a fresh version from an updated script in minutes.
Which option should you choose?
| If you need… | Choose |
|---|---|
| One flagship video with a look nobody else has | An agency, or an experienced freelancer |
| A custom video on a modest budget, and time to manage it | A freelancer |
| Full manual control, with more time than budget | Whiteboard software |
| Many clear videos, made often and kept up to date | An AI explainer video generator |
Sources
- Upwork. Explainer video specialist hourly rates. Accessed October 2026.
- Upwork. Animator hourly rates. Accessed October 2026.
- Upwork. How much does hiring a video producer cost? Accessed October 2026.
- Clutch. Video production pricing guide. Accessed October 2026.
- Clutch. Downloadable video production budget template. Updated April 2026.
- Voices. Rate guide 2023 (PDF).
Video transcript What the narrator says in the 1:12 explainer above.
About $1,000 to $15,000 for one to three minutes if you hire a freelancer or agency; far less with AI. It's like baking a cake: hiring help costs money; doing it yourself takes time. The big cost here is skilled hours.
Upwork puts freelancers at $17 to $32 an hour, or about $1,000 to $3,500 for a scripted one- to three-minute video. Clutch puts agencies at $100 to $149 an hour, or $1,500 to $15,000. Agencies also handle the script, art, voice and project management.
Like baking the cake yourself, whiteboard software costs a fee plus your time writing, recording and timing drawings. AI generators make editable drafts in minutes. Chasca's first two videos are free; plans start at $9.99 a month. Why do these routes cost different amounts? Each route uses a different number of skilled hours.
Questions people ask
It depends on who makes it. Upwork's pricing guide puts a scripted one- to three-minute explainer from a freelancer at about $1,000 to $3,500, and Clutch puts agency explainers at $1,500 to $15,000 for one to three minutes. AI generators cost far less. In Chasca, the first two videos are free, up to a minute each, and paid plans start at $9.99 a month.
Because the price is mostly skilled hours. Someone writes the script, illustrates and animates every scene, records the voice and times the pictures to it. Clutch reports that most video production agencies charge $100 to $149 an hour, so extra length and extra rounds of changes add up quickly.
For videos you need often, need in several languages or need to keep up to date, usually yes. A draft takes minutes and costs a fraction of a commission. For one flagship video with a fully custom look, a human illustrator still gives you more control over the art direction.
In its 2023 rate guide, the voice-over marketplace Voices put the average non-broadcast job of up to two minutes at $325. Ads with paid media behind them are priced by usage and cost more.
