What does an explainer video cost?
A 60-second animated explainer costs anything from about $100 with an AI tool to $50,000 and more at a full-service agency. Small Slovak studios sell fixed packages from €490, and specialised studios charge a few thousand. The price follows the script, custom illustration, animation style and language versions. Ours start at €4,500 for 60 to 90 seconds, script to final cuts, in 4 to 6 weeks.
What does an explainer video cost in 2026?
It depends mostly on who makes it. Here's the market for a video of about 60 seconds.
| Who makes it | Price for about 60 seconds | Time | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|---|
| You, with an AI or DIY tool | $99 to $1,500 (Vidico, May 2026) | Days | Templates, stock characters, your script |
| Fixed-price package from a small studio | Slovakia: €490 to €529 for up to 60 seconds (Creativum, Ubunlo, October 2026). Czechia: from 32 000 Kč (Grafika v pohybu, February 2026) | About 1 to 2 weeks | Script, animation, music and voice, a licence for online use |
| Freelancer | $500 to $3,000 per minute (Vidico, May 2026) | Depends on the person | One animator. The script and voice are often yours |
| Specialised studio | Czechia: 50 000 to 80 000 Kč for 60 to 90 seconds (VideoAnimace, October 2026). Slovakia: from $1,850 (Moodive, October 2026). US studios: $5,000 to $15,000 (Vidico, May 2026) | 3 to 8 weeks | Custom script, storyboard, illustration and animation |
| Full-service agency | $10,000 to $50,000 and more (Vidico, May 2026). A US studio's basic tier: $10,000 to $15,000 (Broadcast2World, October 2026) | 4 to 12 weeks | Strategy, custom characters, several versions and languages |
Most of these numbers come from studios' own price pages and guides. Treat them as orientation, not as a quote. And a "from" price is always the shortest, simplest version.
Why are quotes so far apart?
Because "an explainer video" can mean very different work. Vidico calls animation style "the single biggest cost variable" (Vidico, May 2026). In our experience, five things move the price:
- The script. Written from your sales calls and customers, or pasted from your website. A good script is most of a good explainer.
- Custom or ready-made visuals. Illustrations drawn for your brand cost more than a library of templates and stock characters.
- Style. Simple motion graphics cost less than character animation or 3D.
- Voice and languages. Professional voice talent and extra language versions add to the budget (Broadcast2World, October 2026).
- Versions and licence. Square and vertical cuts for social, a short loop for your homepage and TV rights are often priced on top. Broadcast2World bills extra formats separately, and one Czech studio's prices cover online use only (Grafika v pohybu, February 2026).
So when you compare two quotes, check who writes the script, whether the visuals are made for you, and which versions you get at the end.
How long does it take to make one?
Four to eight weeks for a custom explainer of 60 to 90 seconds. Vidico puts a standard animated explainer at 4 to 8 weeks: 1 to 2 weeks of script, about a week of storyboard, 2 to 3 weeks of animation and about a week of revisions. Rush projects under three weeks typically cost 30% to 50% more (Vidico, May 2026). Fixed-price packages promise delivery within 7 working days (Ubunlo, October 2026).
Ours takes 4 to 6 weeks:
- Call and brief · week 0.
- Fixed quote within about 3 working days.
- Script · week 1.
- Style frames and storyboard · weeks 2 to 3.
- Animation and sound · weeks 3 to 5.
- Cuts and delivery · week 6.
We spend the early weeks on the script and the frames on purpose. Changing a still takes minutes. Changing a finished animation takes far longer.
AI tool, package or custom: which one fits?
| What you need | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A quick internal demo or a test ad | AI tool | Cheap and fast. Nobody expects it to carry your brand |
| A local business with one service to explain | Fixed-price package | A set format at a set price |
| A SaaS homepage, sales emails and a launch | Custom explainer | The video sells the product, so the script and the look have to be yours |
| A product that changes every quarter | Custom, built in code | Screens are rebuilt as web pages, so an update is a new render, not a new film |
| Ads in several markets and languages | Custom, planned for translation | Timing and on-screen text are planned so every language fits |
What do our explainer videos cost?
An explainer video of 60 to 90 seconds starts at €4,500. A hero or product animation of 10 to 20 seconds starts at €2,900. An extra language version is quoted per project.
Every explainer includes:
- A script built from your sales calls and best customers, written to work with the sound off.
- Three or four style frames in your brand before anything moves.
- A timed storyboard you approve before the animation starts.
- Animation in After Effects or in code, depending on where it will play.
- Voice, music and sound design.
- A full version, a 15-second hero loop, and square or vertical cuts for social.
You get two revision rounds per phase and pay half on signing, half on delivery. You own all the files. We made an animated explainer for LobbySpace, a digital-signage platform from Hamburg, and a product film for involve.me, built in code with Remotion.
We're not the cheapest option on this list, and we don't try to be. We're the option where the people who write the script also design and animate every frame.
What we'd do
If the video is for an internal demo or a one-off ad, try an AI tool or a fixed-price package first. If it sits on your homepage or in every sales email, pay for the script and the style frames. That's where a cheap explainer shows. Make the 60 to 90 second version for your website, and cut the 15-second loop and the social versions from the same work.
See our explainer videos and motion design, or book a call and tell us what the video has to explain.