Thinking about outsourcing your video edits?
Then it’s critical to know how much video editors cost.
That way, you can set your budget, compare options, and find the best prices.
How much exactly you can expect to pay for video editing varies, depending on different factors, including the pricing model, turnaround time, and the content you’re aiming to produce.
Let’s break it down.
Key Takeaways
- Freelance editors are sometimes cheaper than editors hired through a video editing company, but less reliable. Their pricing is hourly or project-based.
- For editors working at video editing companies, you either pay on a per-project basis or for a video editing subscription.
- For professional freelance editors, you can expect to pay $50-$150 per hour, or $300-$500 per project.
- For video editing services, expect around $300 per project or $2,000 per month for a subscription.
Keep reading for the full scoop!
How Much Does a Freelance Video Editor Cost?
One of the major upsides when you first start outsourcing your video edits is just how cheap freelance video editors can be. On platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, you can find editors for as little as $10-$20 per hour.
Beware.
While some of these editors are legit and can afford to charge such low prices because they live in places with very low costs of living, the vast majority are inexperienced or flat-out grifters relying exclusively on AI. Save yourself the headache.
For a decent, professional freelance editor, you can expect to pay $50-$150 per hour, depending on their level of experience and the complexity of the edits you require.
Many freelance editors also offer project-based pricing, that is, packages. Here, how much they charge depends on the length and quality of your raw footage, what kind of content you’re aiming for (short-form vs. long-form), and what turnaround time you expect. For solid edits, expect to pay $300-$500 per project (assuming something like a 5- to 10-minute YouTube video).
The major downside of working with freelance video editors, however, is that there are no guarantees for quality or turnaround time. Many clients end up getting ghosted.
That’s not necessarily the freelancer’s fault – that is, they’re not scammers. They may just be overwhelmed with work, caught up in a personal crisis, or out sick. Still, as soon as they can’t keep up, your project falls by the wayside.
The safer alternative is to hire a video editor through a video editing company. These have a pre-vetted team of professional editors on staff and usually provide guaranteed turnaround times and internal quality assurance. But how much do video editors cost through agencies?
How Much Does a Video Editing Agency Cost?
Video editing agencies have different pricing models: either subscription- or project-based.
Subscription-based pricing models are often promoted as “unlimited” video editing services. Spoiler alert – it’s a marketing trick. If not a flat-out lie. While these subscriptions allow you to submit an unlimited number of video projects, these projects only get edited one after the other.
When you factor in turnaround times and revisions, this means you can realistically get four or five pieces of content edited per month.
To fully take advantage of your subscription, though, your content production rhythm needs to be like clockwork.
If you produce fewer videos one month, you’ll still end up paying the full subscription, effectively losing money.
If you produce more, you’ll have to wait. So there’s a scaling limit on your content production.
In terms of pricing, some video editing subscriptions start for as little as $800/month. However, for decent services you can expect to pay around $2,000 per month.
The alternative is a project-based pricing model. Here, you pay on a per-video basis, with some companies offering bulk discounts.
The major upside of this model is that you get maximum flexibility. No matter whether you produce two or eight videos per month, you only pay for the edits you actually get done. Plus, companies with project-based pricing, such as Tasty Edits, often will also edit several videos in parallel, perfect when you want to batch-produce content.
For short-form edits, you can expect pricing to start at $80, and for long-form ones at around $300.
Trending Package
- 4 horizontal videos (7% discount)
Viral Package
- 8 horizontal videos (15% discount)
Trending Package
- 15 horizontal videos (7% discount)
Viral Package
- 30 vertical videos (15% discount)
The Bottom Line: How Much Do Video Editors Cost?
How much video editors cost depends on the kind of service level you want, the complexity of edits you need, and how you hire them.
While it’s possible to find very budget-friendly freelance editors to take on your project, they’re rarely reliable and often heavily depend on AI to produce fast results. Professional freelance editors worth their salt are more expensive, and still face limitations in terms of availability and scalability.
Video editing companies are a safer alternative that come with guaranteed turnaround times and quality control. They offer different pricing options, both subscription- and project based. While video editing subscriptions make budgeting easier, you also run the risk of losing money if you don’t take full advantage – or of hitting scaling limits if you produce more content than can be edited.
Project-based pricing gives you full flexibility to scale your output while aligning with your personal creative rhythm and content strategy.
Ready to get started? Tasty Edits offers all-round video editing services and YouTube channel management for professional creators. Check out our portfolio or start your first edit today!
FAQs
Is a video editing subscription worth it?
Usually, no. Once you take into account turnaround times and revisions, most video editing subscriptions will give you 4-5 pieces of content per month. This means your video production has to be incredibly regular to take full advantage – otherwise you end up losing money. You also can’t get more videos edited without paying extra, so you can’t scale up.
How much does unlimited video editing cost?
“Unlimited” video editing costs around $2,000 per month. However, these video editing subscriptions aren’t actually unlimited. While you can submit as many orders as you like, they’ll only get edited one after the other. Realistically speaking, that gives you 4-5 pieces of content per month. If you take full advantage of your subscription.
How much do video editors cost?
A decent freelance video editor will charge $50-$150 per hour, or $300-$500 per project. For solid video editing subscriptions you can expect to pay around $2,000. Video editing companies charging on a per-project basis start at $80 for short-form and $300 for long-form content.
