If you’re shopping around for a 3D animation and ask how much it costs for a video then expect to get an answer anywhere between a couple hundred bucks and tens of thousands of dollars. 

The real answer to how much a 3D animation will cost depends on 6 key factors: where you’re shopping, the current stage of the video (i.e. whether it’s still just a concept or a full written storyboard), length of the video and animation cost per minute, the technical specs, timeline, and the studio’s past work and experience.

Understanding the cost of 3D animation 

The short answer to any cost estimate in a business context is: it depends. And the cost of 3D animation is no different. Different animation studios will have different range of 

1. The most reasonable 3D rates

One of the reasons you’ll hear such a wide range of costs is that the rate of animators varies around the world. This rate rises considerably for a 3D animator. But 3D animators in Latin America can be a lot more reasonable. 

Video animation studios in Latin America and Asia have been exporting its talent to the US and Europe for many years. Animators living in countries where the cost of living is lower can charge a lot less than studios in expensive cities. 

The 2020 pandemic showed us how global companies that remote work is possible. And with more brands reassessing their strategies and tighter marketing budgets, it makes sense that more and more brands in the US and Europe are shopping around in Latin America for 3D artists. 

It pays to shop around and if you’ve already made the decision to contract video services in Latin America then it will help to go equipped with these 5 further factors in mind for pricing.

2. Where you’re starting from

The jumping off point for costs for 3D is at what stage the video is at. What we mean by this is the production stage of the video. If you’re looking for end-to-end production from concept to final video then the costs will rise. 

If you need a studio to create a storyboard from an idea or concept then it will take more time and will impact on costs. To keep your costs down then you can create your own storyboard. 

Even if you’re not a professional content creator or copywriter, creating a very rough draft for the animation company will help them speed up production and keep the cost of your video down. 

3. The length of the 3D animation

Most video studios will establish a cost on the overall length of the 3D animation. This may be the most important factor for estimating the cost but needs to be taken into account with the other factors. 

A 3D animator in the US hourly rate is between $150 to $250 and 3D animation cost per minute is between $8,500 to $14,500. Depending on the complexity of the video (and the other factors listed in this post) you’re probably going to end up paying between $4,500 to $7,500 for a 30 second 3D animation. 

3D animation costs per minute in Latin America can be 20-50% less than this. That means for a 30 second 3D animation made in Latin America may save you up to $3000 per video. But all of these costs cannot be evaluated in a vacuum. They will depend largely on the other factors in our list. 

 

4. The technical factors

An important factor for evaluating video costs is the quality of production and details. What we mean by production quality is whether the video is for a product launch, advertising, large broadcast, or internal purposes. 

Other more technical details like adding complex 3D characters, icons, shapes and shading will also impact on the amount of production time and varying levels of expertise. 

5. The experience of the studio

Contrary to what you may think, the more experience may bring down the costs of a 3D video. This is simply because they’re better equipped to tackle 3D animation projects and will have the resources available. 

Freelance 3D animators can charge differently depending on their current work loads and the proven experience may be hard to establish. 

6. Your timeline and internal deadlines

Changing standard delivery times will usually mean working overtime and pulling animators of other projects so they can work on yours. So if you’re working with a tight deadline and need your 3D fast then you might expect to pay more for production. 

The standard delivery times for a 3D video is probably a question for another post, but as a rule of thumb it will usually take between 4 to 6 weeks for a video of about 30 to 60 seconds. 

Interested in getting a quote for a 3D animation? Tell us about your video project and we can send a quote within 24 hours.