AI Video Production Cost in 2026
A reviewed list of AI video production costs for hero films, product loops, social sets, explainers and music videos, each figure sourced.
A finished AI hero film from a production studio is typically quoted from USD 500 to USD 3,500 for a 15 to 60 second package, GBP 15,000 to GBP 45,000 for a single-market broadcast asset, and six figures for a global on-air commercial. Avatar explainers are sold by the 30-second increment or by monthly minutes. Tool plans start in the low tens of USD per month and meter credits or finished downloads, not a finished campaign.
This page is for marketing leads and producers who need a number before they send a brief. It is a cost benchmark, not a ranked studio list. We checked each company's own site and named work; rates are quoted only where the company or a public directory states them; reviewed 2026-09-05. Figures below are what those companies publish, not a market average. For a company shortlist, see Best AI Video Production Companies 2026.
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What AI video costs by deliverable
Studio quotes, tool plans and a few public job figures sit on different scales. A monthly credit plan is not a 60 second commercial. Read each band as the thing it sells: a package, a route, a retainer, a credit pool, or a reported production line.
Hero film
A hero film here is a 15 to 60 second cinematic commercial or brand film, not a talking-head avatar.
MAW AI Studios Spark is from USD 500 for one video up to 60 seconds, with human art direction and cinematic post. Named work: the Tooth911 AI commercial. ArcaneWiz in Ramat Hasharon: Spark from USD 2,500 for one 15 to 60 second hero, Studio from USD 8,000 for three to five videos, Enterprise from USD 25,000. Named work: the Samsung Galaxy S25 commercial. Gisteo in Miami: AI Cinematic from USD 3,500 for 60 seconds, with human concept, script and edit. Named work: a Netflix luxury car rental commercial.
Broadcast is a different band. Myth Labs in London quotes per route and per asset: boardomatic GBP 4,000 to 8,000, photoreal research GBP 4,000 to 15,000, single-market broadcast GBP 15,000 to 45,000 per asset, multi-market GBP 40,000 to 120,000+. Named as a PepsiCo AI video production partner. AGENT EP names Lufthansa Leave to Arrive; a podcast episode description puts a six-figure budget on a fully AI-generated global airline commercial. The Dor Brothers in Berlin cite larger advertising spots around EUR 200,000 in a studio post quoting Semafor, next to the eToro Times Square bull and bear spot. Genre.ai is reported at about USD 2,000 of AI production for the Kalshi NBA Finals commercial. That is a reported line, not a rate card.
Best for: a single campaign or broadcast hero where the quote buys direction and finishing, not a login.
Product loop
Product loops are the short repeating shots for a product page, retail media, or a demo.
ArcaneWiz lists product demos, so Spark (from USD 2,500) and Studio (from USD 8,000) sit next to that work. MAW AI Studios lists product films in Spark and Ignite. Ignite is from USD 2,000 for three to five assets, range USD 2,000 to 15,000.
If the job is UGC-style ads from a product URL, Creatify in Mountain View (founded 2023) sells credits: Starter USD 39 per month for 100 credits, Pro USD 99 for 300. Named work: DeNA mobile game ads. Runway in New York: Standard USD 12 per month billed yearly for 625 credits (52s of Gen-4.5), at 12 credits per second. Named work: the Chime national TV spot. Pika Standard is USD 8 per month billed yearly for 700 credits; a Pika 2.5 720p 5 second clip costs 20 credits (pricing page). Credit prices are not a product-loop quote.
Best for: repeating product shots, quoted as a studio package, or run on a credit plan if the team will edit in-house.
Social cutdown set
A cutdown set is three to five platform cuts from one campaign thought, not one hero.
MAW Ignite is from USD 2,000 for three to five assets (range USD 2,000 to 15,000). ArcaneWiz Studio is from USD 8,000 for three to five videos. Life Media UK in Bristol, founded 2011, lists AI retainers from GBP 500 per month for about 15 videos per quarter, after setup of GBP 1,000 (Enhance), GBP 3,000 (Create) or GBP 5,000 (Replicate). High-end AI films are GBP 4,000 to 5,000+. Named work: a Not Just Travel marketing video. ArcaneWiz retainers start from USD 15,000 per month with a three-month minimum. Named social work includes a CatRex TikTok commercial.
Waymark in Detroit meters finished downloads: Starter USD 350 per month billed annually for four final downloads, or USD 399 monthly for two. Team from USD 1,125 per month. Named work: Skullcandy video ads. Gisteo sells an unlimited yearly plan at USD 20,000 covering AI videos one at a time (unlimited plan).
Best for: always-on social volume, or a suite of three to five cuts, where the quote states how many finished files you receive.
Explainer
Explainer work splits into directed films and avatar minutes.
Gisteo lists AI Avatar at USD 1,000 for the first 30 seconds plus USD 500 for each extra 30 seconds. Life Media UK lists high-end AI films at GBP 4,000 to 5,000+. MAW Spark (from USD 500) includes explainers in the studio's stated output.
Avatar platforms sell minutes and credits. HeyGen in Los Angeles (founded 2020): Creator USD 29 per month with 600 credits. Named work: Salesforce AI avatar videos. Synthesia in London: Starter USD 18 billed yearly for about 10 minutes, Creator USD 89 per month for about 30 minutes, Studio Express-1 avatar USD 1,000 per year. Named work: Heineken AI avatar videos. Colossyan in London: Professional USD 59 per month billed yearly (30 min NEO, 10 min NEO2), custom avatar USD 1,000 per year. Named work: Sonesta AI training videos. Elai: Creator USD 23 billed yearly for 15 minutes, extra minutes USD 2 each. Named work: Sigma Software L&D videos. DeepBrain AI Studios in Seoul: Personal USD 24 per month billed yearly for unlimited AI videos up to 30 minutes. Named work: Samsung AI avatar videos. Pictory: Starter USD 25 per month billed annually for 2,400 video minutes per year. Named work: Christian Wentz subscriber-growth videos. InVideo: Plus USD 17 per month billed yearly for 750 credits. Named work: a 2-minute brand promo on invideo agent.
A yearly minute cap is not a 60 second directed explainer. Script, concept and edit live in the studio column.
Best for: training and spokesperson films, once you have chosen minutes versus a directed cut.
Music video
Published music-video rates are thin.
MAW AI Studios lists music videos among the films it directs. The packages next to that list are Spark (from USD 500) and Ignite (from USD 2,000 for three to five assets). Those are package prices, not a labelled music-video line.
Metascope in Gdansk makes AI-native advertising films, product videos, music and cultural IP. Wirtualne Media (13 Nov 2025) reported about PLN 156,500 net if a 3.5-minute AI Coca-Cola musical were a commissioned Metascope job. Named work: the Coca-Cola Holiday AI Musical. That figure is a would-be commission, not an invoice. The Dor Brothers list music videos. The EUR 200,000 figure on their row is for larger advertising spots, not a music-video rate.
Best for: long-form musical or video work that needs a custom quote.
How to read a quote
Four questions. The pricing-model shapes behind these numbers (per increment, per route, retainer, credit pack) are easy to mix on one spreadsheet. Do not.
What is the deliverable, in files and seconds? MAW Ignite is three to five assets. ArcaneWiz Studio is three to five videos. Waymark Starter is four final downloads per month when billed annually, or two when billed monthly. Gisteo's unlimited yearly plan is one project at a time. Life Media UK's GBP 500 retainer is about 15 videos per quarter. If the quote omits finished length, aspect ratios and file count, it is not comparable to the table below.
What is the turnaround, and what is a revision? Studio packages rarely publish a day count on the pages we checked. Ask for first-cut date, included revisions, and whether a new prompt direction is a new job. Credit-based tools make another take a credit spend. Myth Labs broadcast quotes (GBP 15,000 to 45,000 per asset) should say whether a second route is a new research fee (GBP 4,000 to 15,000).
Who holds rights, likeness and model releases? Avatar tools (HeyGen, Synthesia, Colossyan, Elai, DeepBrain AI Studios) sell a presenter licence as much as a video. Synthesia Studio Express-1 and Colossyan custom avatars are both USD 1,000 per year. Ask whether that avatar is yours after the year. For cinematic commercials, ask who owns the film and the intermediates. Disclosure and AI labelling sit on you as the advertiser in most markets. Write the label into the statement of work.
Who owns the prompts, seeds, references and project files? If you change vendor you will need the prompt stack, seeds, reference stills and edit project, not only an MP4. Credit-plan tools may not give you a project file. Do not assume a Myth Labs boardomatic (GBP 4,000 to 8,000) includes handover of the generative setup.
Published rates
Studio and reported-job figures from the pages we checked. Tool plans that sell credits or minutes are in the sections above.
| Company | Figure covers | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gisteo | AI Avatar, first 30 seconds | USD 1,000, then USD 500 per extra 30 seconds | services page |
| Gisteo | AI Cinematic, 60 seconds | from USD 3,500 | services page |
| MAW AI Studios | Spark, one film up to 60 seconds | from USD 500 | homepage |
| ArcaneWiz | Spark, one 15 to 60s hero | from USD 2,500 | pricing page |
| Myth Labs | single-market broadcast, per asset | GBP 15,000 to 45,000 | pricing page |
| Life Media UK | retainer, about 15 videos per quarter | from GBP 500 per month | cost page |
| Genre.ai | Kalshi NBA Finals, AI production | about USD 2,000 | The Verge |
| The Dor Brothers | larger advertising spots | around EUR 200,000 | studio blog citing Semafor |
| Metascope | 3.5-minute musical, hypothetical commission | about PLN 156,500 net | Wirtualne Media |
| AGENT EP | fully AI-generated global airline commercial | six-figure budget | podcast episode description |
Doing it in-house
A producer, an editor and a brand stills folder are enough to attempt the same five deliverables without a studio invoice. Versely is an AI content studio for image, video, voice and music generation from 50+ models, with a video editor and its own agent, a workflow canvas, trend analysis and social scheduling. The Android app and the web app share one account. iOS is coming soon.
For a hero or social cutdown, generate in the AI video generator on Kling 3.0 or Veo 3.1, then cut 9:16 and 1:1 versions in the editor. For product loops, send packshots through the AI product video generator on the same two model families. Voiceover can use ElevenLabs v4, then sit under the picture in the editor. Do not treat a first generation as the master. Budget time for selects, captions and a rights pass the same way you would with an external cut.
FAQ
How much does an AI commercial cost?
Package spots on this page start at USD 500 (MAW Spark) and USD 2,500 (ArcaneWiz Spark). Gisteo lists AI Cinematic from USD 3,500 for 60 seconds. A Myth Labs single-market broadcast asset is GBP 15,000 to 45,000. Reported outliers sit at about USD 2,000 of AI production (Kalshi NBA Finals, The Verge) and around EUR 200,000 for larger advertising spots (The Dor Brothers, citing Semafor). See How much does an AI commercial cost for the commercial-shaped version of this question.
How much does an AI explainer video cost?
Gisteo lists AI Avatar at USD 1,000 for the first 30 seconds plus USD 500 for each extra 30 seconds. Life Media UK lists high-end AI films at GBP 4,000 to 5,000+. Avatar platforms sell minutes instead: Synthesia Starter is about 10 minutes at USD 18 billed yearly, HeyGen Creator is USD 29 per month, Elai extra minutes are USD 2 each. Minute plans do not include a human concept, script and edit unless you add that labour.
Is a monthly AI video tool cheaper than an AI studio?
The published tool plans sit below the published studio packages. Runway Standard is USD 12 per month billed yearly. Pika Standard is USD 8. HeyGen Creator is USD 29. Waymark Starter is USD 350 per month billed annually for four final downloads. A studio package is a finished film with direction. A tool plan is a credit pool or a download cap. The edit and the failed takes move onto your team.
What should an AI video production quote include?
Finished length, aspect ratios, file count, first-cut date, included revisions, and whether a new prompt direction is a new job. Rights: who owns the film, the intermediates, the prompts and the seeds. Likeness: model releases and avatar licence term, including the USD 1,000 per year custom-avatar add-ons at Synthesia and Colossyan. Labelling: who puts the AI disclosure on the file.
Get listed
Studios and tools that publish a rate or a named film can apply for a free listing on this page. Featured placements are paid, marked as sponsored, and reviewed by us before they go live. How to apply, and the terms for a featured slot, are on how listing works. Companies already listed across these pages are on the index of listed companies.