Animated Video Costs

Animation is possibly the type of videos in which there’s the most scope for price variation. If you think of each scene of an animation being a drawing. Then every item in that and every movement in the animation is a single piece of work; the more details, layers, complexity and movement, the longer it takes and therefore the more it costs.

Additionally, complex animation can require some fairly pricey computers and software to handle it, so again, the cost goes up for these.

But how much does animation cost?

In all honesty, every project has a different fee attached as no two briefs are the same, but here are some indicative price ranges for three different options.

Please get in touch with us to discuss your requirements and get a tailored quote.

Basic (£1k – £5k)

• Would include some of the following:
• 10-30 seconds
• Simple 2D animation, either using bespoke design or library assets.
• 2 initial design options
• Static storyboards.
• Scriptwriting.
• Simple voiceover.
• 2 rounds of amendments at 3 stages of production – initial design, storyboarding and final animation.
• ‘Flat’ character design with limited detail and movement.
• Animated brand logo
• Accompanying music
• Cutdown versions
• Subtitles in original language

Standard (£5k – £25k)

Would include some of the following:

As per Basic plus

• 10 – 120 seconds
• Still likely to be 2D, or if 3D will be very simple.
• Copywriter/scriptwriter
• More details/layers to design – potentially some 3D elements brought in towards the higher end of this price range.
• More movement in animations.
• Overall length slightly longer.
• Cut-down versions.
• Translated versions subtitled in different languages.
• Up to 3 rounds of amendments at each stage of production (design, storyboard, animation)

Premium (£25k – £150k+)

Would include some of the following:

As per Standard plus:

• 10-120+ seconds
• More complex animation – think 3D recreation of products, or more feature-film like character animation.
• Likely to require animators with very specific (and consequently more expensive) expertise.
• Requires higher-end broadcast/feature-film standard hardware and software.
• Additional cut-down versions and translations.

What increases cost?

• Complexity of overall design
• Detail and ‘layers’ needed in any design
• Complexity of the animation – the more there is, the longer it takes to do.
• Number of different ‘scenes’
• Uncertain brief
• Additional amendments at any stage.
• Voiceover recording – studio hire and talent. Can get very expensive, depending on how the film will be used.
• Using commercial music tracks.
• Multiple voices for voiceover.
• Use of commercial music tracks.

What decreases cost?

• Simplicity of the animation.
• No character animation or movement.
• ‘Flat’ characters.
• Very specific brief
• Less amendments.
• No voiceover.

Here are some examples of animated videos we’ve produced: