Explainer videos are one of the most efficient ways to get a message across — which is exactly why they’ve become standard, and why quotes for them can be intimidating.
The good news: most of what makes an explainer expensive is optional. Here are seven ways to keep the cost down without the result looking like you did.
1. Start With a Clear Plan and Script
The single biggest cost saver happens before anyone opens editing software. Planning means a written script, a decided visual style, and a clear statement of the one thing the video has to communicate.
Keep the script tight. People watching an explainer want the point quickly — 60 to 90 seconds is usually enough. Every extra thirty seconds adds animation time, voiceover time, and revision time.
Worth knowing: if writing isn’t your strength, a freelance scriptwriter is one of the cheapest interventions available and improves the finished video more than any tool upgrade.
2. Use Affordable Tools
Professional editing suites like Premiere Pro and Final Cut are not the only route to a professional-looking result.
Some options worth knowing:
- Canva — better known for design, but capable of straightforward animated video
- Animaker — purpose-built for animated explainers, template-driven
- InVideo — browser-based, with pre-made templates for common formats
- DaVinci Resolve — genuinely professional editing and colour, free for most use cases
For a first video, the tool matters far less than the script.
3. Use Free Stock Media
If shooting footage or commissioning illustration is out of range, free stock libraries fill the gap. Combined with even a small amount of original material, they produce a video that looks considerably more expensive than it was.
Reliable sources:
- Pexels — free high-quality video and photography
- Pixabay — stock photos, illustrations, and video
- Mixkit — free clips and music tracks
- Bensound — royalty-free music for video
Check the licence terms for commercial use before you build a campaign on any of them.
4. Keep the Animation Simple
Animation is what makes an explainer engaging, and it’s also where the cost sits. The fix isn’t skipping it — it’s scoping it.
Simple transitions, animated text, and a few moving elements produce a polished result without a full character rig. Template-driven tools like Powtoon and Animoto make this reachable with no animation experience.
You need far fewer effects than you think. Clean and simple usually reads as more professional than elaborate and slightly off.
5. Record the Voiceover at Home
Narration transforms a video, and a professional voice actor is one of the larger line items. A home recording can be perfectly usable.
You don’t need expensive equipment — a decent USB microphone, or even a modern smartphone, is enough.
- Find a quiet space. Soft surfaces kill reflections; a clothes-filled wardrobe genuinely works better than a large empty room.
- Speak clearly and slow down. Almost everyone reads a script faster than they should. Deliberately slow is usually correct.
- Edit with free tools. Audacity handles noise reduction, level correction, and trimming without costing anything.
If your own voice isn’t right for the brand, freelance marketplaces have professional narrators at a fraction of studio rates.
6. Keep It Short and Focused
Runtime is the most direct lever on cost. A longer video means more script, more animation, more voiceover, and more revision — the expense scales with every one of them.
Most explainers that perform well run under two minutes. Cutting to the core message reduces production time and improves the video, because a tighter edit holds attention better.
Worth doing: storyboard before you animate. Catching a structural problem on paper costs an hour; catching it after animation costs days.
7. Repurpose What You Already Have
You almost certainly have material to build from — blog posts, decks, product photography, unused footage.
For example:
- Turn a strong blog post into an animated summary
- Reuse existing charts and diagrams as animated graphics
- Cut unused B-roll into new sequences
Repurposing cuts the production time and extends the life of content you’ve already paid for.
Conclusion
A good explainer video does not require a big budget. It requires planning, disciplined scope, and a willingness to keep things simple.
Start with a strong script, use tools that fit your budget, and cut anything that isn’t carrying the message.
And remember what the video is for: helping someone understand something. Clear beats expensive, every time.
If you’d rather have it produced properly, tell us your budget — we’ll be straight with you about what’s achievable at that number.