How Much Does it Cost to Produce a YouTube Video?

How Much Does it Cost to Produce a YouTube Video? The use of YouTube videos for corporate brands is a rapidly growing trend. Almost every big brand has its own YouTube channel and most small businesses have their own YouTube campaigns too. There’s little question as to the power or effectiveness of YouTube videos, but there happens to be a lot of question as to the price. How much does it cost to produce a YouTube video? Is the cost worth it? Are there ways to get around the expense or to cut costs for early YouTube video production while we get our feet wet and gain a feel for what works?

Businesses naturally want to know how they can save on their marketing efforts, especially when those efforts are into something relatively new and never before done. YouTube video production is new when you first start out, it’s new to everyone that first starts. But how much does it cost to produce a YouTube video for the first time? The answer is — it depends. YouTube production costs depend on the video, style, quality, length, location, and so many other factors. Most cost between $1,000 and $20,000 per minute to produce, but as a good rule of thumb you can have a video produced for about $5,000 or less if that’s what your budget it.

YouTube Video Production Costs

Why does it cost so much? Do we really have to spend $2,500 per minute? Is it worth it?

These questions quickly come up even for a larger business with plenty of marketing dollars to invest. Have you ever looked into YouTube video production, been quoted a price, and turned away? There’s a misconception that video is just plain expensive– but that’s not always the case. However, high quality video will come at a cost, but that cost can be reasonable. First, it’s important to discuss with your production crew what your budget is like. This way they can help to define a vision for a video that will achieve your goals and stay within your budget. Otherwise, the natural creativity of your production crew will have their mind set to achieve advanced visions with creative energies that perhaps are out of budget — at least for now.

When you invest in YouTube video you’re really putting your money into an entire team of professionals. You’re working with a creative department, a script writer, and a camera crew as well as an editor and several others who bring your video vision to life. Hourly wages vary as will the amount of time it takes to produce your YouTube video. Here’s what to expect:

• Film Director – >$250 per hour
• Script Writer – >$150 per hour
• Cameraman – >$400 per hour
• Editor – >$175 per hour
• Actors – >$500 per hour
• Equipment – up to 100s per hour
• Studio Shooting – up to $400 per hour
• Narrator – >$400 per hour
• Audio Files – up to $1000
• Video Rendering – up to $75 per hour
• B-Roll – expect to pay a percentage between 10 and 50% of your total cost
• Miscellaneous Fees – can cost very little up to 1000s extra

Average Cost to Produce a Youtube Video

So what’s the average cost to produce a YouTube video? That’s a great question — and the answer is, it depends. First, most YouTube videos are an average of 6.8 minutes long. However, most marketing videos are 1-2 minutes long. Take this into consideration as you plan the production of your YouTube video, keeping in mind that anything over 2 minutes has less chance to be fully consumed.

The average cost of video production for a corporate industry is between about $1,000 and $3,500 per finished minute. This is exclusive of advanced graphic productions which can range over $5,000 and sometimes up to $20,000 per finished minute.

Thus, at $1,000 per minute, and a video that is 6.8 minutes long, the cost would be around $6,800. Keep in mind that things like script, voice talent, locations, and animations will all cause this rate to increase.

Need more information about what it cost to produce a YouTube video? Give Beverly Boy Productions a call today!