How to price video production
Video hides most of its cost in pre-production and the edit. Here's how to price it so crew, kit, revisions, and usage don't quietly eat the project.
What you're actually selling
A finished film that does a job — sells, explains, recruits, or convinces — plus the production machinery that got it made. Clients count the shoot days because those are the days they were present for.
Why videographers get this wrong
The edit is where video projects die. One shoot day can generate weeks of post, and if the quote doesn't cap revision rounds, a client with opinions can keep the project open indefinitely at your expense. Everything is fine until version seven.
How to work out your number
Quote the whole pipeline, not the shoot
Pre-production, scripting, casting, shoot, edit, colour, sound, music licensing, captions, and versioning are all part of the job. Break them out in the proposal so the client sees what they're buying beyond the camera.
Cap revisions and define what a revision is
Two rounds of edit notes, delivered in one consolidated batch each. State that a re-shoot or a structural rewrite after picture lock is a new quote, not a revision.
Pass through crew and kit at a proper rate
Camera operators, sound, lighting, grips, equipment hire, and insurance are real costs. Recover them with a coordination margin — you're carrying the risk and the admin of assembling the crew.
Price deliverables and usage as variables
One hero film, six social cutdowns, and vertical versions are three different volumes of work. Ad usage, paid media, and broadcast are different licences. Both should move the price.
Pricing models that fit videographers
Fixed project fee
The right shape for a defined film with a written treatment, deliverable list, and revision cap.
Tiered pricing
Good, better, best productions let clients pick a budget level rather than negotiate your number down.
Day rate
Fits crewing for someone else's production, where you're supplying skills and kit rather than owning the outcome.
Think twice about: Hourly rate
Video work doesn't happen in billable hours — it happens in shoot days and long edit stretches — and hourly billing makes every revision a negotiation about time.
Mistakes that cost you money
- Pricing the shoot and underestimating the edit, which is usually the bigger half.
- Agreeing unlimited revisions and losing weeks to version seven.
- Forgetting music licensing, captions, and social cutdowns in the deliverable list.
- Quoting crew and kit at cost, absorbing the coordination and the risk for free.
Ask these before you quote
- What's the finished film for, and where will it run?
- How many deliverables and formats do you need from the shoot?
- Who approves the edit, and how many rounds are we agreeing?
- Are we providing talent, location, and music, or are you?
Videographers: frequently asked questions
How do I price a video production project?
#
Cost the whole pipeline — pre-production, shoot days, crew and kit, edit, colour, sound, music licensing, and every deliverable format — then add your margin and the licence the client needs. Quote one project fee with the stages shown underneath it.
How much should I charge for editing?
#
Estimate the edit from the footage volume and the complexity of the cut, not from the length of the shoot. A single shoot day can produce weeks of post. Include a defined number of revision rounds and quote anything beyond them separately.
How do I handle a client who keeps requesting changes?
#
Define revisions in the contract: how many rounds, that notes come consolidated, and that changes after picture lock are a new quote. Then hold it. Unlimited revisions are a pricing failure, not a difficult client.
Get the deep dives
Worked examples and scripts for every pricing model. No spam.