Why quotes are set in a stable currency, what usage rights add, and how many videos a first test needs.
What makes the price
Four variables, in order of impact.
Usage rights: duration, territory, channels. That is by far the first factor, and often the one doubling a quote.
The number of videos: the unit price falls sharply from three pieces shot in the same session.
The complexity of the shoot: number of shots, settings, people on screen, equipment needed.
And the language: an extra version is a recording, an edit and a proofread, therefore a real cost.
One variable that is not one: the creator's follower count. On a video meant for advertising or a product listing, it changes nothing in the result.
What should never appear as an extra
Four elements, to be considered included.
Burned-in subtitles in the language of the video.
The second format, vertical and square, recropped by hand.
One light revision: correcting a shot, adjusting a text, changing the music.
And delivery of the files in a usable quality, with no destructive compression.
If any of those four points is charged separately, comparison between two quotes becomes impossible, and that is often the intention.
How to compare two quotes
Three operations, in this order.
Bring both proposals to the same rights scope: same duration, same territory, same channels. Without that, you are comparing a single publication with a one-year licence.
Check what is included in the delivery: formats, subtitles, rushes, revisions.
And calculate the price per usable video, not the displayed price: a video delivered in one format only counts as half.
A fourth check, often decisive: the deadline. A video delivered three weeks late costs the price of the campaign it was meant to feed.
The reasonable first test
Three videos, and not one more.
Three different creators, one product, one problem: that is the test format teaching the most for the least.
One month of paid distribution, with an identical budget per variant.
And a decision written in advance: what will count as a success.
One frequent mistake at this stage: ordering one single very polished video. It allows no comparison, and its possible failure teaches nothing.
What costs most and is not visible
Four items invisible on the quote.
Internal approval time: it is the highest cost in most campaigns, and nobody counts it.
Shipping the product, and the delay it imposes on the calendar.
The rounds beyond two, which degrade the video as much as they cost.
And the video delivered but never published, a dead loss and a warning sign about the brief.
What makes up the real cost of a video
| Item | What it covers | Often forgotten |
|---|---|---|
| The creation | Shooting and editing | No |
| The licence | Media, duration, territory | Yes |
| Internal steering | Brief, approvals, chasing | Yes, always |
| The exchange rate | The gap between currency and payment | Yes, often here |
What lowers the cost per video without lowering the price
Ordering a batch rather than a single piece, providing a complete brief from the start, and limiting revisions to two. Internal time costs more than the discount obtained.
What costs the most in the end
A video that cannot be used because the product was wrong or a disclosure was missing. Two minutes of checking before the shoot avoid that entire cost.
What the price of a video covers
| The line | What it includes | What makes it vary |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Preparation, shooting, editing | The number of shots and revisions |
| Rights | Duration, media, territory | Paid advertising use |
| Expenses | Travel, props, shipping | Distance and required equipment |
What makes two quotes incomparable
The scope of the rights. A video meant for one post is worth less than a video run as advertising for a year, and comparing the two on price alone is like comparing a rental to a purchase.
What costs more than expected when nothing is written
Revisions. Two rounds included then billed is a line of ten words in a quote, and its absence regularly turns a three-day job into a three-week file.
What to write before accepting a price
Five lines in the purchase order.
The number of videos and the formats delivered.
The rights: duration, territory, channels, with an end date.
The deadline, counted in working days after the product arrives.
The number of revisions included.
And the currency in which the price is firm, with the applicable conversion date, a point checked with an accountant.
One last marker, valid for the whole category: the cheapest quote is almost always the one with the vaguest scope. A detailed proposal that looks expensive often costs less in the end than a round figure followed by four extras discovered along the way.
Sources
Checked on 26 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
