How to Choose Animated Explainer Video Production Companies

If you’re trying to find a trusted team to create an explainer video for your startup, I get it. Overwhelming, isn’t it?

There are dozens (if not hundreds) of production companies out there, all claiming to be “creative,” “affordable,” or “fast.”

But when you’re investing in a video that’s meant to tell your brand story and drive results, good enough won’t cut it.

As the leader of an explainer video company that’s worked with startups, SaaS platforms, and enterprise teams, I’ve been on both sides of the process.

I’ve pitched and produced, but also listened to clients who’ve had less-than-ideal experiences elsewhere.

That’s why I wrote this article: to help you cut through the noise and recognize the green flags that a studio truly knows what they’re doing and can deliver a video that actually works for your brand.

And yes, I’ll also share a quick behind-the-scenes look at one of our own projects, so you can see what those green flags look like in action.

What Should You Consider When Choosing Video Production?

There are several key aspects to consider when selecting the right explainer video company for your business.

I highly recommend that you look after these four aspects carefully: price, specialty, uniqueness, and expertise.

Affordability

I’ve worked with enough founders to know that every dollar counts, especially when you’re investing in something as important as an explainer video.

One of the most common questions I hear is, “How much should a good explainer video really cost?”

My honest answer: It should be reasonable enough not to consume your entire marketing budget, yet still high enough to reflect genuine creative work, strategy, and production quality.

Yet, that doesn’t mean you have to splurge just to get results.

In fact, I’ve seen plenty of startup companies spend more than they needed to, chasing flashy visuals that didn’t actually speak to their audience.

On the flip side, some of our most effective videos were built on simple animation paired with a strong script and innovative storytelling.

Here’s the truth most studios won’t say out loud: pricing isn’t always a direct reflection of quality.

Location, team size, in-house vs. outsourced talent, and production process—all these factors affect what a studio charges.

In our case, for example, we’re able to offer competitive pricing because of where we’re based.

Our operational costs are lower, but our standards are global.

That’s why we work with startups all over the world who want quality without burning through their runway.

So when you’re evaluating affordability, don’t just ask, “Is this cheap or expensive?” Instead, answer these questions:

• Does this studio understand my goals?
• Do they have a transparent process and pricing structure?
• Can they deliver real value within my budget?

At Breadnbeyond, we also came up with an innovative solution to give transparent estimated pricing for our global clients.

You may want to try our newest tool, the video calculator, to know the best pricing for your needs.

Try it here:

Video Genre Specialty

Not every video production company is equipped to make animated explainer videos, let alone do it well.

Animation is its own craft, and explainer videos sit in a very specific niche within that world.

I’ve seen businesses make the mistake of hiring a generalist production studio—one that might be great at filming commercials or live-action content, but struggles to write a clear, concise script for an explainer or deliver animation that actually connects with a product’s value.

That’s why I always advise clients to dig into the studio’s genre specialty.

Have they done explainer videos before? Do they understand how to blend storytelling, marketing, and design into a 60-second format that holds attention and drives action?

If the answers checked all those questions, then that’s a green light.

Another way to find out is to look at their portfolio and customer reviews to know how they handle different industries, tones, and visual styles.

At Breadnbeyond, we make our online portfolio easily browsable. Find our successful projects and a bit of our behind-the-scenes on Behance and YouTube.

Uniqueness

If you want your brand to stand out, your explainer video has to look like it was made for you, not pulled from a template or patched together with stock illustrations.

I’ve seen brands spend decent money on videos that felt generic and forgettable, simply because the studio leaned too heavily on pre-made assets.

At our studio, we create each project from scratch, from custom characters to bespoke motion graphics, because we know that visual originality makes your story easier to recognize, remember, and trust.

A distinct visual style signals quality. Here’s an example of an explainer video we’ve created from scratch, specially for our client.

I’ve also written a blog post rounding up 20+ explainer videos that stand out, some from our own portfolio, and others we admire. Feel free to check out!

Expertise Across Roles

Producing an effective explainer video requires expertise across multiple roles, not just creativity.

We’ve learned this through experience, after producing hundreds of explainer videos for startups, enterprises, and everything in between.

Over time, you develop a deep understanding of what each client needs, how to deliver it, and how to guide them through the process.

Here’s what real expertise looks like behind the scenes:

• Creative directors who understand how to structure a script that informs, entertains, and converts.
• Illustrators and animators who can translate abstract concepts into clear, engaging visuals (especially important for SaaS, fintech, or other complex industries).
• Sound designers who know how to balance voiceover, music, and effects without overpowering the message.
• Account and project managers who keep communication flowing, update clients at every stage, collect feedback, and make sure the final product aligns with both vision and deadline.

If the team doesn’t understand that, you risk ending up with a flashy video that says nothing meaningful.

When every role in the team knows what they’re doing, you’ll feel it in both the process and the final cut.

What are the Factors Affecting the Cost of an Explainer Video?

How much should you pay for a professional explainer video production? Let me give you the short answer.

An average 60-second animated explainer video from a top company may cost you more than $20,000 per minute, a figure that still surprises some people.

However, the costs for such videos are not set in stone, even if you buy from the same studio for a second or third time.

The truth is, pricing can vary widely depending on a few key factors, including the characteristics of the video and the production company you’ve commissioned.

So, what could be the factor affecting the cost of an explainer video? In a nutshell, it follows:

• Video length
• The complexity of the storyboard
• Quality of voiceover ( the more professional-sounding the voice, usually the higher the voice rates)
• Experience of the professionals involved in the making of the video (including Illustrators, animators, marketing experts, voice actors, and scriptwriters).

1. The Complexity

An explainer video takes a lot of work to make, even for just one minute (or maybe less!) of animated video.

Creative talent, including animators and illustrators, is a must, and an hour or two with a scriptwriter will help you to create a piece of art.

Other than that, you still need an art director to direct the animation, voice talent to narrate the story, and with some luck, a sound engineer to produce sound effects and a composer for a custom music score for your video.

Sounds like a lot, huh? Well, don’t think that’s all.

You also need to factor in the hardware and software necessary for production, as well as rent, electricity per hour, and other expenses.

The cost of an explainer video is also affected by other factors, such as quality, level of detail, demographic location, and taxes.

Considering the complex process of producing a high-quality animated video, it is reasonable to estimate that a video will require approximately 100 man-hours to produce.

It is difficult to say that the cost is expensive without knowing the specific processes involved.

2. Designer’s Hourly Rate

The fact that creating an animated explainer video is such a long process is a key factor in the overall cost.

North American and Western European countries house some of the best agencies in the world. Still, they also charge premium rates to get the job done (see the $20,000 example above), as they have expensive living costs, which means an increased salary for the artists.

Agencies and animation studios based in developing countries, however, charge less than those in first-world countries, such as the US or the UK.

But that doesn’t mean that they produce lower-quality videos.

The difference in their living costs makes it easier for explainer video experts from developing countries (such as Breadnbeyond) to charge less for a similar service.

However, there are always cultural differences that you’ll need to be aware of.

Not all Asian countries are cheaper, though; designers from Japan or Korea might cost you an arm and a leg because of their high living costs.

3. Software and Computer Hardware

To deliver a professional result, a production company must use professional design software.

The most popular software used by professional content creators is Adobe Illustrator and Adobe After Effects.

The price of the software is accounted for in the final cost of an explainer video.

Adobe Illustrator is used to draw cartoon characters and other images, while Adobe After Effects is used to animate those drawings.

A single Adobe After Effects license costs $999, and an Adobe Illustrator license costs $599.

This expensive software is necessary, and its cost needs to be factored into the end product.

Adobe After Effects also requires high-end computer hardware to run smoothly and render animations swiftly.

At a minimum, you’d need an i5 quad-core processor, 16GB of RAM, and a graphics card to run the software. Typically, it would cost $1,000 to $1,500 to build a computer meeting these requirements.

4. Elements in the Animated Video Production Process

This is the process of producing an animated explainer video and should help you define the approximate timeframe.

You’ll know how long it will take to finish an animated clip and measure how much you’re likely to spend on it.

Needless to say, the production makes up a big part of the explainer video costs.

Script

Writing an explainer video script template is the first step of creating an explainer and is vital to ensure it turns out well.

The script is the key to achieving an explainer video’s ultimate goal: explaining things, mainly products or services.

It does take time for a writer to write an engaging message for your video.

The writer needs to take some time to research your business and products, so they are able to write a powerful script for you.

Illustration

An animated video requires illustrations to be made. You may need to assess several different illustration styles before you start and pick one that suits your brand.

Some explainer video companies offer a wide range of styles, while some stick to only a few.

Examples of illustration styles include whiteboard animation, motion graphics, kinetic typography, and 3D animation.

Once a style has been chosen, the illustrator will start visualizing the script with the chosen style. If there are no further revisions, the process advances immediately.

Voice Over/Sound

The voice-over is the audio version of the script. It needs to be recorded by a professional voice actor in a closed and soundproof vocal booth to avoid room ambiance.

A high-end audio recording device is used to ensure the crispness of the voice being recorded.

We don’t set separate voice rates. It’s all included in the overall project cost.

Animation

The animation stage takes up the most time when producing an explainer video.

After everything is in place, the animator animates all the illustrations carefully, assembling every movement and blending them with voice, music, and sound effects.

Why Breadnbeyond?

We’ve worked on over 2,000 corporate video projects for various products and services, but surely there are studios that have more experience than we do.

If you find any explainer production companies that meet the above criteria, create a list of them.

Then choose one that you think works the best for you, or a company with a high number of portfolios you like most.

The hardest part of starting an explainer video project is choosing the talent who will make it.

It’s the toughest process of all the stages of creating an explainer video — the rest is rather easy for you.

Going straight to big corporate production houses, high-end marketing agencies, or top professional animators might be a good option to speed things up.

Their technology and workflow are supposedly seamless. But as crazy as it may sound, it’s highly possible that their video-style productions aren’t really what you want.

For all you know, new and small companies might offer what you desperately need for a great bargain.

Watch some of the explainer videos on the web to start collecting ideas as to what styles you think will work for your company.

A 2d animation and graphics? 3d animation? Whiteboard? Motion graphic? Don’t rush this selection.

The Infographic: Choosing The Best Explainer Video Production

Remembering the whole article, perhaps, is impossible.

Yet, reading it again and again can take a considerable amount of your time.

Our team has created a handy infographic that you can download and share with your team anytime.

The embed code for this infographic can be found at the bottom of this page. Enjoy!

Those are just some of the factors that affect the production of an explainer video. Every production house has its own standard workflow, style, and production system.

Some production houses may charge more, some less.

Ultimately, supply and demand will also have a huge impact on price.

As a result of their ability to increase conversion rates, everyone is in the market to create an animated video for their product or organization.

So, still interested in a budget-friendly explainer video? Take a peek at our portfolio of videos for our previous clients, and don’t be shy to contact us once you’ve made your choice. Click on the banner below!

At Breadnbeyond, we offer a wide range of animated explainer video packages that are tailored to boost your company’s sales in the next campaign. Click on the banner below!