How much does an explainer video cost? Agency vs freelancer vs DIY vs AI

An explainer video costs anywhere from nothing (DIY, paid for in your own time) to several thousand dollars (an agency), and the spread comes from who writes, voices and animates it. Freelancers sit in between, and quotes vary too much to give one number. Kadapt Creator, which does the research, narration and drawing for you, shows a maximum video quote based on the selected target and script beats, with optional research charged separately beforehand.

Creator pricing clarification: 8 November 2026. Prices can change. Agency and freelancer figures are rough orders of magnitude, not sourced survey data: get written quotes before you budget.

Cost questions about explainer videos usually get one number and no breakdown. There are four ways to get one made, and they spend different resources: money, your time, or credits.

The four routes

Route	Typical cost (rough)	What you do	What you wait for
Agency or studio	Often the high hundreds to several thousand dollars per finished video	Brief them, review drafts	Weeks, usually
Freelancer	Wide range, commonly from a few hundred dollars up	Supply a script or have them write it	Days to weeks
DIY	$0 in cash plus your hours	Everything: script, voice, visuals, edit	Your own evenings
AI (Kadapt Creator)	Maximum video quote based on target and beats; optional research charged separately	Review the script and the pieces	Minutes to render, then your review

The agency and freelancer figures are orders of magnitude from how the market commonly quotes, not survey results; we have not tied them to a published study, and individual quotes will fall outside them. Treat them as a reason to ask for itemised quotes.

What drives the price

Scope of the job. Scriptwriting and research are often separate line items from animation. A quote that starts from your finished script is not comparable to one that includes research.

Voice. A human voice actor, a recorded voiceover of your own, or generated narration are three different costs and three different turnarounds.

Style and length. Hand-drawn, motion graphics and character animation are priced differently, and cost generally grows with length.

Revisions. Rounds of changes are where freelancer and agency quotes diverge most.

Creator’s real prices

Kadapt Creator charges in credits, the same credits as Kadapt photo reels. The planner offers 3, 5, 8, 12 or 15-minute targets, with 8 selected by default. Finished duration can differ from that target.

Research and script: optional, 6 credits per started target minute, charged separately before the video quote when you ask Creator to research a topic.
Planning: 18 credits per video.
Narration: 0.3 credits × planned beat count, rounded up to a whole credit.
Drawing: 4 credits per started minute, with a reserve based on the selected target.

The video quote is a maximum based on the target and planned beats. Its drawing reserve still uses the selected target even if your own script is shorter, and you need the full quoted balance to start. Actual drawing settlement uses frame-rounded finished duration, capped at the reserve; any difference is returned. Shorter finished duration can reduce settlement, but it does not make a shorter script a lower upfront quote.

Starter is $14.99 per month for 200 credits. It does not promise a fixed number of videos; check each maximum quote and allow separately for any research already charged. The pricing page covers plans in full.

You can see what the output looks like before spending anything: Creator’s page has three examples (why the sky is blue, how stock prices move, how a truss bridge carries load). They are short pieces in the hand-drawn style, written, voiced and drawn by Creator.

Which route fits

Pick an agency or freelancer when you need a bespoke look, custom characters or a brand film with a person accountable for the result. Pick DIY when you enjoy the craft or have time and no cash. Pick the AI route when the goal is a steady stream of faceless explainers, such as turning a post into a video each week, and its quoted credit costs fit your budget. If you are turning an existing article into video, the step-by-step guide follows Creator’s flow from topic to download.

Common questions

Why do explainer video quotes vary so much?

Because the word covers very different jobs. Length, whether the quote includes scriptwriting and research, voiceover, the style of animation, the number of revision rounds and the turnaround all move the price. Two quotes for 'a 2-minute explainer' are only comparable if they list the same inclusions.

Is the cheapest option the DIY one?

In dollars, yes; in time, usually no. Writing, recording or generating narration, finding or drawing visuals and syncing them is a multi-step job, and the hours are the real price. That is the trade DIY makes.

What does Kadapt Creator charge?

Planning is 18 credits per video, narration is rounded up from 0.3 credits per beat, and drawing is 4 credits per started minute. Optional research costs 6 credits per started target minute, charged separately before the video quote. Starter is $14.99 per month for 200 credits. The video quote is a maximum based on your selected duration and script beats. Its drawing reserve uses the selected target even with a shorter own script, and you need the full quoted balance to start. The final drawing charge is based on the finished video duration, capped at that reserve; any difference is returned.

Does the AI route replace a professional animator?

It is a different product. Creator produces hand-drawn-style explainers with a host character from a script you approve, and you review the facts before publishing. A brand film with custom characters and art direction is a job for a studio.