Explainer Video Production: What It Includes and Costs
Explainer video production is the work of turning a product that is hard to describe into a short video that a stranger understands in about two minutes. It covers the script, the visuals, the voice, the sound and the delivery files. For a SaaS or AI product, the strongest versions animate your real screens instead of showing generic stock scenes. Below you will find what the process includes, which formats fit which job, what drives the price, and how to judge a finished video.
TL;DR
- An explainer is a short video, usually 1 to 3 minutes, that explains one idea or product with visuals and voice-over.
- Good production covers message strategy, script, storyboard, animation, voice, music, captions and every format you need to publish.
- Format follows job: a launch film, an explainer, a product demo and a social ad each have a different length and a different goal.
- AI speeds up production, but the choices about what to say and what to cut still need a human.
- Our fixed packages start at $1,500 for a Launch Short and $3,500 for an Explainer, with delivery in 10 working days.
Table of Contents
- What an explainer video is, and what it is for
- What explainer video production services include
- Explainer video formats and when each fits a SaaS product
- Can AI make an explainer video?
- What explainer video production costs
- How to choose an explainer video production company
- Perspective: why we start with the message, not the animation
- How to tell whether your explainer is working
- Where our service fits
- FAQ
- Sources
What an explainer video is, and what it is for
An academic review of online explainer videos defines them as short videos that explain abstract concepts and relationships through storytelling and relevant visualizations. The same review notes they typically run 1 to 3 minutes and combine animation, illustrations, graphics, photographs or text with a voice-over.
In business, the job is narrower and more practical. Atlassian describes an explainer as a kind of video elevator pitch that answers the audience’s biggest questions and shows how a product helps users. Shopify notes that companies share them on websites, social accounts and email newsletters.
For a software company, that usually means one of four moments:
- A visitor lands on your homepage and cannot tell what the product does.
- A prospect needs to see a workflow before booking a demo.
- A launch needs a film people will actually share.
- A new user needs a fast first win during onboarding.
If your product is easy to explain in one sentence, you may not need a produced video yet. If it takes three sentences and a whiteboard, you do.
What explainer video production services include
Packages differ, but a complete engagement moves through the same stages. Knowing them helps you compare quotes line by line, because the cheapest quote often leaves a stage out.
1. Brief and message strategy
This is the most undervalued stage. Someone has to decide who the video is for, what they already know, the single thing they should remember, and what they should do next. A video that tries to cover every feature explains nothing. The review above makes the same point in academic terms: explainers work by focusing on relevant facts rather than exhaustive detail.
2. Script
A two-minute video holds roughly 250 to 300 spoken words, so every line has to earn its place. A good script opens with the viewer’s problem, not your company history, and moves to the product within the first 15 to 20 seconds.
3. Storyboard and creative direction
The storyboard maps each line of script to a visual: a screen, a diagram, a motion, a text card. This is where you approve the look before any animation is built, so changes are cheap.
4. Animation and design
For software, this means animating the real product interface: zooming into the feature that matters, highlighting the click, hiding the clutter. Done well, it is clearer than a raw screen recording because the viewer’s eye is always told where to look.
5. Voiceover, music and sound design
Voice sets the tone more than any visual. Music and sound effects give the cuts and clicks a rhythm. Poor audio is the fastest way to make a polished video feel cheap.
6. Captions and multi-format delivery
Most social video is watched without sound, so captions are part of the video, not an add-on. AI speech-to-text can automate captions and make content more accessible, though a human should still check names and product terms. You also need the right aspect ratios: widescreen for your site and YouTube, square or vertical for social feeds.
7. Revisions and handoff
Ask how many revision rounds are included, at which stages, and whether you receive the project files. Those three answers separate a clean engagement from a slow, expensive one.
Explainer video formats and when each fits a SaaS product
“Explainer” is often used as a catch-all, but the format should match the job. These are the formats we produce for software companies.
| Format | Typical use | Where it lives | Length guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch film | Announce a new product or major release | Launch page, social, press | Short and punchy, often under 60 seconds |
| Explainer | Explain what the product does and why it matters | Homepage, landing pages | 1 to 3 minutes |
| Product tour or demo | Show a workflow or feature in action | Product pages, sales emails, onboarding | 1 to 3 minutes per workflow |
| Social video ad | Earn attention and a click from a cold audience | Paid and organic social | Cut-downs of 15 to 30 seconds |
Length is a judgment call, not a rule. Wistia’s guidance puts the recommended range for educational or explainer videos at 1 to 5 minutes, which matches the 1 to 3 minute norm from the academic review. Our rule of thumb: if the video has more than one job, split it into two videos.
Animated screens versus live action
Live action suits a brand story with real people. For software, animated product screens usually win because they show the product itself, they can be updated when the interface changes, and they do not need a shoot day. The trade-off is that animation needs strong design so it does not feel like a slideshow.
Story-led versus feature-led
A story-led explainer starts with a person and a problem. A feature-led one walks through the product. Early-stage startups with an unfamiliar category usually need story first. Mature products with a known category can lead with features.
Can AI make an explainer video?
Yes, in part. AI video generators now handle drafts, voices, translations and quick variations. A HubSpot piece on AI video reports that localization costs had fallen to around $500 per video, cutting production time from weeks to days. That is a real change.
What AI does not do well is decide. It will not tell you that the second feature in your list confuses people, that your opening line sounds like every competitor’s, or that the demo should stop before the settings screen. Those are editorial calls. A video made by pressing a button tends to be accurate and forgettable.
The practical split looks like this:
- Good for AI: rough cuts, alternate voices, caption drafts, resizing, language versions.
- Needs a human: the message, the script’s first 15 seconds, the order of scenes, what to leave out, and the final quality check against your actual product.
That combination is how we work: human creative direction on top of AI-backed production, so you get speed without the generic result.
What explainer video production costs
Cost depends on length, how much custom design and animation is involved, how many formats you need, and whether you want one video or a steady stream. Be cautious with any single “average price” you read online; a $0 to $50 monthly AI tool and a fully directed studio film are different products solving different problems.
To make this concrete, here is what we publish. These are our prices as listed on our pricing page:
| Package | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Short | A short launch or announcement video | From $1,500, one-off |
| Explainer | A full product explainer | From $3,500, one-off |
| Launch Kit | A launch film plus supporting assets | From $7,500, one-off |
| Release | Monthly video production plan | $3,500 per month |
| Growth | Monthly video production plan | $6,000 per month |
| Scale | Monthly video production plan | From $9,500 per month |
For a breakdown of what moves a quote up or down, see our guide to SaaS explainer video cost.
One-off project or monthly plan?
Choose a one-off project when you have one clear need: a launch, a homepage explainer, a single demo. Choose a monthly plan when you ship often and need a steady supply of release videos, feature demos and social cut-downs. The plan is cheaper per video over time and keeps the visual style consistent.
How to choose an explainer video production company
There is no universal checklist, but these criteria separate good partners from risky ones.
- Do they understand software? Ask whether they have explained products like yours. A studio that makes lifestyle ads may struggle with a dashboard.
- Who writes the script? If the answer is “you send us a script,” you are buying animation only, and the hardest part falls on you.
- Is the price fixed and itemized? Look for what is included: script, voice, music, captions, formats, revisions.
- What is the timeline in writing? Production that drifts for months usually means unclear scope.
- Who will you actually talk to? Large teams can mean handoffs and diluted feedback. Smaller teams can mean direct access to the person making decisions.
- Do you get usable formats? One widescreen file is not enough if your plan includes social ads.
If you are weighing a freelancer, an agency or a studio, our comparison of freelancer vs agency vs studio for SaaS video walks through the trade-offs of each model.
Perspective: why we start with the message, not the animation
Most explainer videos that disappoint do not fail at animation. They fail at the sentence at the start of the project: what exactly should a viewer understand after two minutes?
We built DreamJuiceAI around SaaS and AI startups because their products are hard to explain quickly, and founders are usually too close to the product to see what a newcomer cannot. So we begin with message strategy and script, and we animate real product screens rather than invented ones. AI helps us move fast on production. It does not choose the story.
Every project is led by the founder, and delivery is 10 working days. We think speed matters for software teams because the interface changes, the pitch changes, and a video that arrives three months late is explaining last quarter’s product. Since 2020 we have delivered over 6,200 videos, and the main lesson is simple: cut more than feels comfortable. A video that shows three things clearly beats one that shows ten things quickly.
You can see the approach in practice in our case studies, such as an AI assistant demo and a home cooling explainer.
— flavio
How to tell whether your explainer is working
The academic review says an explainer should make content comprehensible, not just present information. That gives you the first test, and it costs nothing.
The five-second and two-minute tests
Show the finished video to someone outside your company. Afterward, ask them to say in one sentence what the product does and who it is for. If they cannot, the script needs work, not the animation.
Placement and playback
Where you place the video matters as much as the video. Wistia’s data shows that videos on homepages, galleries and product pages get the highest play rates. For 1 to 3 minute explainers, the same report finds the best call-to-action placement is in the last quarter of the video, so end with a clear next step rather than a logo.
Calls to action
Wistia reports that video CTAs convert at about 16% on average across its platform. Treat that as a loose reference rather than a target, since your audience and offer will differ. Track your own numbers: play rate, watch-through, and clicks on the CTA, compared with the same page before the video.
Where our service fits
If you build software or AI products and need a video that explains them clearly, we handle the full job: message strategy, scriptwriting, creative direction, animation of your real screens, voiceover, music, captions and multi-format delivery. Start with the Explainer package from $3,500, or look at our launch videos for AI startups if the goal is a product release. Product tours, demos and social ads are also available; details are on our homepage.
FAQ
How long should an explainer video be?
Most run 1 to 3 minutes, and recommended ranges for explainer content go up to 5 minutes. Shorter is better when the product is simple. Split the video if you find yourself covering two separate jobs, such as what the product is and how to set it up.
What is the difference between an explainer and a product demo?
An explainer answers what the product is and why someone should care, usually with a story and light visuals of the interface. A demo shows the product working, step by step. Many SaaS teams need both: an explainer for the homepage and demos for product pages and sales follow-ups.
Should I use an AI video tool or hire a production company?
Use a tool for quick internal clips and early drafts. Hire a production partner when the video will carry your homepage, launch or paid campaigns, because message, pacing and polish are what viewers judge. A hybrid approach, with AI-backed production and human direction, gives you speed and quality together.
How long does production take?
It depends on scope and on how fast feedback comes back. Our projects are delivered in 10 working days. Ask any provider for a written delivery date before you sign.
Sources
- Frontiers: Online explainer videos, features and benefits
- Atlassian: How to create effective explainer videos
- Shopify: Explainer videos for ecommerce
- Wistia: Marketing video length
- Wistia: Video marketing statistics
- Wistia: Using video CTAs
- HubSpot: How AI video is transforming business communication
- Adobe: Crooked Media and Adobe partner on accessibility