Animation Cost

How Much Does Animation Cost Per Minute?

Table of Contents

To communicate marketing messages and engage audiences, several companies now use animated videos. Animation is undeniably a perfectly magical approach to holding attention and conveying your message in an easy-to-understand and entertaining manner.

You can use various animation techniques, from character animation and whiteboard animation to 3D architectural animation and explainer videos with captivating, fantastical characters and visuals. So, investing in an animation video to elevate your brand is a good idea. But do you know the cost of animation varies based on its type?

In this article, we will explain different factors influencing animation pricing and how much it costs per minute. So, let’s delve deeper to learn about it!

Key Factors That Influence Animation Cost

Here we have highlighted the factors that influence animation costs.

1. Animation Style

How much does animation cost? This question frequently comes into everyone’s mind. The animation style significantly impacts animation cost. It includes whiteboard, motion graphics, 2D and 3D animation, and explainer videos when we talk about them. These are the most typical animation genres or subcategories.

Compared to 2D and explainer videos, whiteboard and motion graphics videos are typically less expensive. The least expensive category of animation you can get is 2D animation. Compared to other forms of animation, it can be made more quickly and with less experience.

You can frequently choose to employ pre-made stock characters and visuals that can influence the overall cost of animation.

2. Concept Art

You do have an idea for your video, right? So, when you opt to take animation services, the experts first will inquire if you have any concept or strategy in mind. Well, usually, clients don’t have; therefore, this factor is crucial to consider.

Concept art includes character design, an environment of the animation, asset creation, visual development that sets the mood, tone, and feel of the animation, and other elements. So, if you don’t have already-made concept art, you will need to count it in your budget plan.

A pre-made template-based animated video won’t be as expensive to produce as one built from scratch and tailored to the client’s needs. Additionally, both will have different effects.

3. Video Length

The animation’s runtime will significantly impact the cost of production. It’s crucial to remember that most of the animation is priced per second or minute. It will cost more as its length increases.

4. Voiceover

If you already have voiceovers for your animated video, it’s a bonus! But what if not? Hiring a professional artist will impact your animation cost as you need a suitable voice for your video matching the type.

Your video animation price will increase with professional voiceover talent. Of course, you always want to ensure that the audio in your animation is of the highest quality.

5. Script And Storyboard

Do you already have a script, or will one be needed? If not, the price of your video may increase. Similarly, storyboarding can be a resource-intensive activity that calls for the participation of an illustrator, a creative director, and a concept artist. This all collectively influences the cost of your animation video.

6. Production Timeline

Your time or anticipated deadline may also affect the animation price. As the duration of an animation video increases, the cost will increase.

Usually, longer videos are not recommended when you aim to sell products or explain your brand, so better to keep your animation videos short and engaging and save more money!

7. Revisions

The majority of 2D or 3D animation service providers include the cost of revisions in the final price of the animation. Revision requests made after the animated video is completed will increase the price.

Moreover, the animation cost will increase if any changes are requested during the production stage because the concept and styling have already been decided. So, before starting the process, ensure you are satisfied with everything documented.

How Much Does Animation Cost Per Minute?

It should come as no surprise that there is as much varied pricing of animated videos available. Even less unexpectedly, the creativity and uniqueness of those videos tend to vary depending on their budget and production team.

So further, let’s examine in more detail and learn what pricing ranges you might anticipate from various categories to understand the cost of animation per minute.

· Amateur/Free Tools – $0 – $100 Per Minute

Yes, it is possible to create an animation for free; wondering how? Numerous free or low-cost web apps let you make your animated videos.

It’s crucial to realize that whatever money you save will be offset by time and effort. Additionally, the outcome probably won’t be as fantastic as you expected.

Your video-producing talents are admirable, but the low-cost video-making tools are quite constrained and frequently operate from templates with shoddy and generic artwork and subpar animation effects. You get what you paid for, as the saying goes.

· Freelance Level – $50 – $3000 Per Minute

Have you seen how wide the price range is at this level? That’s because the pros at each end of the range will be highly different, whether you need an explainer or 2D animation service.

If you start at the beginning, you’ll run with freelancers with limited expertise and basic animation abilities. The most expensive end of the price spectrum is where you’ll discover professionals that can create unique, high-quality animation videos.

Whatever the cost of animation, it’s essential to keep in mind that independent freelancers frequently manage every aspect of production on their own or just provide a small number of services. Therefore, it won’t be uncommon if some components of the video are given more attention than others or if you need to find other experts (like scriptwriters or voice artists) to finish the project. After all, a small team working on a significant project like an animated video can only deliver so much more than a single person.

· Mid-Tier Animation Studio – $3000 – $7000 Per Minute

These kinds of studios are a step up from freelance services; you can find them by exploring online marketplaces. They are frequently two or three people with a small-scale video production enterprise.

The crew is typically skilled and able to produce a strong customized video, but because of their small level, they may not be able to work on several projects at once. So, don’t be upset if they ask you to wait!

Moreover, some of these businesses contract out the services they are unable to deliver, but others may require you to handle this on your own. Remember to consider such further expenditure in addition to the initial animation expense if that is the case.

· Professional-Level Animation Company – $8000 – $25000 Per Minute

Hiring an animation studio eliminates the possibility of receiving subpar or even average service for your animation. You get something genuinely unique and creative with a fascinating viewpoint. They pay great attention to your brand’s voice and ensure that it receives the necessary exposure via that animation service. You get a skilled crew with assigned personnel performing various jobs.

Separate visualizers, animators, scriptwriters, storyboard artists, voiceover artists, and many more helpful people are included in this team. A professional animation company employs a team of animators, not just one. So, the animated video cost will be a bit higher than other animation teams.

· Broadcast-Level Animation Company – $25000 – $100000+ Per Minute

Here, we’re referring to top-notch animation studios that specialize in creating high-quality 2D, 3D, and motion graphics, among other things.

Aside from large international corporations aiming to develop long-form animations, such as series or movies, these studios are an undesirable choice for most businesses, even though their work is unquestionably excellent. This is why their 2D and 3D animation cost is usually higher.

Stages of Video Production

The cost of animation also depends on these three crucial stages of animation.

· Pre-Production

Pre-production is the stage where you decide what objectives your video will assist you to reach and how your video will appear. To accomplish that, you must write a narrative and a storyboard that will serve as the framework for the following two stages.

· Production

You get to really make your video throughout production. Here, you’ll draw the images and add animation and other effects to make them come to life.

· Post-production

In post-production, everything is painstakingly pieced together, and the last elements are polished. To produce the finished piece, you’ll add any music and sound effects and perform any required editing to smoothen your animation pipeline.

Wrap Up!

The cheapest price isn’t always the best value, as you’ve seen here. At times, the worst outcomes frequently correspond to the lowest prices – but that is not always the case!

Though, the priciest production companies may not always produce the best video for your brand. So, how much an animation cost depends on various factors you should consider before starting a project.

Finding a video animation provider like Anideos can give the finest-quality guarantee and the best cost for 2D animation and 3D videos that fits your budget. Thus, contact Anideos today to get exceptional animation solutions.

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Adam

Adam

Adam is a copywriter and content strategist with years of experience covering the latest trends in technology and digital industry. Adam brings a fresh and creative approach to his writing. With his passion for writing as well as amazing research skills, he shares valuable knowledge on multiple trends.