The cost of producing motion graphics videos is expected to range from $1,000 to $15,000 per finished minute by 2026. Most B2B SaaS projects cost between $2,000 and $6,000 for a video between 60 and 90 seconds long.
“At Zelios, motion graphics videos cost between $2,400 and $3,900, while multi-video packages cost between $9,900 and $18,900.”
Duration is only one factor. Design complexity, voice-over, revision policy, and localization have a greater impact on the cost than runtime.
This blog is a guide for B2B SaaS and AI founders and tech marketers planning their first or next animated video.
Motion Graphics Pricing at a Glance
Published 2026 rate guides put motion graphics between $1,000 and $15,000 per finished minute, with simple 2D work starting around $1,500 and design-heavy work reaching five figures. The spread reflects who is doing the work, not how long the video runs.
| Who produces it | Cost per finished minute | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Template or AI tools | $0 to $500 | Stock scenes, minimal customization, no strategy |
| Freelance motion designer | $900 to $3,000 | One person, usually no scriptwriting or project management |
| Specialist animation studio | $2,000 to $6,000 | Full pipeline, dedicated producer, custom design |
| Large full-service agency | $6,000 to $15,000+ | Research, brand strategy, multi-market rollout |
Zelios sits in the specialist studio band. A 60 to 90 second tailored motion graphics video is $2,400 to $3,900, including script, storyboard, illustration, voiceover, animation, and delivery.
Two reference points worth knowing before you set a number:
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $102,030 per year (about $49.06 per hour) for special effects artists and animators as of May 2025, with the top 10% above $177,110. Animation is skilled labor priced accordingly. (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook)
- In Wistia’s 2026 State of Video Report, based on a survey of 900+ marketers and 13 million videos, almost 40% of companies spent under $5,000 on video production in 2025, and just over 30% spent more. (Wistia)
Most teams are not buying one $30,000 brand film. They are buying two or three focused videos a year.
What You are Actually Paying for
A motion graphics quote covers five stages. Zelios publishes the working days for each on our pricing page. For a standard SaaS explainer:
- Scriptwriting: 1 day
- Storyboarding and illustrations: 4 days
- Voiceover: 1 day
- Animation: 4 days
- Audio and delivery: 2 days
That is roughly 12 working days end to end. Design and animation account for 8 of those 12 days, about two thirds of the schedule.
For a technically complex product, such as an AI or machine learning platform, the same five stages run closer to 21 working days. Scripting alone triples, because the writer has to understand the product before explaining it.
The pattern to take from this: you are paying for design and explanation, not for rendering time.
8 Factors that Move the Price
It depends on many factors, which we describe below.
1. Duration
Cost scales with animated seconds, but not linearly. A 30 second explainer video is not half the price of a 60 second one, because script, storyboard, and setup are fixed costs.
Shorter is often the better buy anyway..
2. Design complexity
The single biggest variable. Icons, shapes, and typography on brand-color backgrounds cost far less than bespoke illustration, isometric scenes, or animated UI replicas.
3. Number of unique scenes
Scene count drives illustration hours more than runtime does. A 60 second 3D animated video with 20 scene changes costs more than a 90 second video with 8.
Each new scene requires new illustrations, transitions, and timing. A 90-second video with eight well-crafted scenes often looks more polished than a 45-second video with twenty rushed scenes.
4. Character animation
Adding rigged characters pushes a project out of pure motion graphics and into 2D animation. Expect a meaningful jump once characters need to walk, gesture, or lip-sync.
5. Voiceover
A single English voiceover is usually one line item. Costs rise with accent or language choice, broadcast usage rights, and multiple takes for different markets.
6. Revisions
Cheap quotes cap revisions at one or two rounds, then bill hourly. Changes requested after animation starts are the expensive ones, because storyboard approval is where corrections are cheap.
The Zelios Premium package includes unlimited revisions with requests accepted for six months, which is a different risk profile from a fixed two-round cap.
7. Localization and resizing
Subtitles, dubbing, and aspect-ratio variants are separate deliverables. They are also worth budgeting for.
Captions matter for compliance too, not just reach. The European Accessibility Act took effect in 2025, and 90% of teams now take accessibility steps on their videos.
8. Timeline
Standard delivery is about 2 to 4 weeks. Compressing that means reassigning animators, and rush work carries a premium at every studio.
Why Per-minute Pricing Misleads Buyers
Per-minute rates are useful for rough comparison and bad for budgeting.
- A 40 second motion graphics video with 25 custom-illustrated scenes can cost more than a 3 minute video built from 10 reused scenes.
- Pre-production is a fixed cost. It does not shrink when the video does.
- Longer videos have a lower per-minute rate because assets get reused, which makes cheap-looking rate cards on long projects misleading.
Ask for a project quote with stage-level line items instead. If a studio cannot break the number into script, design, animation, and delivery, the number is a guess.
When two quotes differ by $3,000, the gap is usually hidden in the revision terms or scene count. I advise all my clients to compare the prices after the second round of changes, instead of focusing on the initial price.
Packages vs Single Videos
Buying one video at a time is the most expensive way to buy video production services. Assets built for the first project (illustration library, brand motion rules, character set) get rebuilt every time.
Zelios package pricing bundles the assets that get reused:
| Package | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $9,900 | Explainer video, demo video, cutdowns and resize, distribution strategy and plan |
| Basic | $12,900 | Everything in Starter, plus how-to videos for FAQ and localisation |
| Premium | $18,900 | Everything in Basic, plus deep-dive demo, short brand awareness videos, unlimited revisions with requests accepted for six months |
Each package is priced below the combined list price of the same items bought separately. Starter is listed at $9,900 against $11,800, a $1,900 difference. Basic is $12,900 against $15,400. Premium is $18,900 against $22,600.
The stronger argument is coverage, not discount. A Starter package gives you a top-of-funnel explainer, a mid-funnel product demo, and social cutdowns from one production cycle. Buying those three separately means three briefs, three kickoffs, and three rounds of brand alignment.
One explainer video rarely covers the entire sales funnel. Teams that get results plan the product demo and social cutdowns together, creating assets that work for specific stages.
7 Ways to Lower the Motion Graphics Video Production Cost Without Lowering Quality
You don’t have to pay a high price to create high-quality motion graphics videos. Here are seven practical ways to reduce production costs without compromising quality.
- Lock the script before storyboarding. Script changes cost hours. Animation changes cost days.
- Cap scene count, not seconds. Ask the studio how many unique scenes your budget buys, then write to that.
- Commission an asset library on the first project. Reusable icons, characters, and transitions cut the price of videos two and three.
- Order cutdowns with the master. Requesting 9:16 and 1:1 versions six months later means reopening the project file.
- Decide languages upfront. Localisation planned at script stage is cheaper than localisation retrofitted after mixing.
- Get the revision policy in writing. Number of rounds, what counts as a round, and how long the window stays open.
- Book the production slot early. Studio capacity, not animator speed, is what creates rush fees.
Scope Checklist for Your Quote Request
Copy this into your email to any studio. Answering these six lines upfront usually turns a two-week quoting process into two days.
- Target video length and where the content will be published
- Primary audience role (economic buyer, evaluator, end user)
- Style reference links, plus one example you dislike and why
- Whether you have brand guidelines and existing illustration assets
- Number of aspect ratios and languages needed
- Hard deadline, and what it is tied to
You can also review comparable projects before you brief, so the style conversation starts from real work instead of adjectives.
Key Takeaways
Motion graphics video production costs $1,000 to $15,000 per finished minute in 2026, and $2,400 to $3,900 at Zelios for a standard 60 to 90 second video. Design complexity, scene count, and revision policy move the price more than duration does.
Packages from $9,900 to $18,900 cost less than buying the same videos one at a time, because the design system is built once.
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