Outsourcing your video editing will save you massive amounts of time and brainspace.
But how much will it cost?
Comparing video editing prices is critical.
They vary considerably, depending on the kind of video editing you need, and on what kind of editor you hire.
Here’s everything you need to know – and a worked example to give you real-world insights.
Key Takeaways
- For solid freelance video editing services, expect to pay around $50/hour or $300 per project.
- For video editing companies, prices are subscription-based (expect $2,000+ per month) or project-based (starting at around $260 per project).
- Video editing prices vary massively depending on turnaround time, raw footage length and quality, editing complexity, and the target length of your video.
- Freelancers often offer cheaper video editing prices than companies, but are less reliable and you may end up losing money or get substandard results.
- Video editing companies provide quality control and editor pre-screening. Their video editing pricing models are either project- or subscription-based.
- Subscriptions sometimes pay off for low-volume, regular content production. For more flexibility and higher volumes, project-based video editing prices are more economical.
Keep reading for the full scoop!
What Factors Influence Video Editing Prices?
To start with, video editing prices depend on a few key factors, including:
- the turnaround time you need
- the length and quality of your raw footage
- the length of your final video
- the complexity of edits
Usually, the faster the turnaround time you want, the higher your video editing prices. Some video editing companies offer standard 24h-48h turnaround times to first draft, while freelance editors regularly take up to five working days or charge premiums for faster delivery.
The longer your raw footage is and the lower its quality, the more you can expect to pay an editor. After all, they have to take the time to sort through everything and implement audio enhancements, color correction, and so on. On the upside: Sorting through your raw footage before you hand it over to an editor can help you save significant amounts of cash!
The shorter the final video length you aim for, the lower the video editing prices will be. In fact, many video editing companies and freelancers tier their pricing by video length. It’s pretty common to see separate pricing for vertical short-form content.
Finally, there’s the complexity of edits. Video editing prices vary massively depending on whether you’re looking for straightforward jump-cuts, or advanced VFX and motion graphics. You should also carefully read offers to see what’s included, and what might be an add-on service, or not offered at all.
That said, all of these factors vary between freelance video editors and video editing companies.
Video Editing Prices for Freelancers vs. Companies
Freelancers bill their video editing services either on a project basis or on an hourly basis. If it’s project based-pricing, they typically offer different tiers, or video editing packages, depending on video length, edit complexity, and turnaround time. If it’s hourly, these factors contribute organically to how long they’ll spend editing your content.
On platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, freelance video editors are easy to find and you even get to check out reviews and testimonials by previous clients. You can certainly find editors for as little as $10/hour, though those worth their salt start at around $50/hour. Looking at project-based pricing, you can find basic short-form edits for around $40, while more complex long-form projects cost around $250 – $500 when you have a decent editor working on them.
However, working with a freelance editor has several downsides that can lose you money. Most of all, there’s no quality or delivery guarantee. Too often, freelance editors end up ghosting clients or delivering sub-standard work. In many cases, that’s not their fault – they may be overwhelmed with orders or simply out sick. Still, you’ll be left hanging.
(Check out this case study, hiring a top-rated freelance editor on Upwork, only to have him deliver work late and then cancel the order.)
Plus, most low-priced video editors heavily rely on AI these days to churn out edits, so you can expect bland, mediocre edits. And, on some platforms, that content may get flagged.
In contrast, video editing companies usually offer guaranteed turnaround times and quality control. They have a pre-vetted team of professional video editors on staff, so if the editor working on your project is out of office unexpectedly, one of their colleagues will step in and make sure the job gets done.
Video editing pricing by agencies varies, depending on whether it’s project- or subscription-based.
Video Editing Prices for Projects vs. Subscriptions
The video editing subscriptions companies offer are often advertised as “unlimited” video editing services. This is misleading. While they do allow you to submit an unlimited number of editing orders, your projects will still only get edited one by one. For more about this, check out our deep-dive article on video editing subscriptions.)
The upshot is this: When you factor in turnaround times and revisions, this means you’re facing a real limit of 4-5 videos edited per month. And to take full advantage of that contingent, you have to maintain a regular rhythm of content production and submit orders on time. Often, this may mean you adjust your content calendar to your video editing subscription. After all – if you don’t take full advantage, you still have to pay, and ultimately lose money.
In contrast, project-based video editing pricing is flexible. You pay only for the edits you need and your output volume can vary between months without you leaving any money on the table. This is a major upside if you want to batch-produce content, or if you’re a solo creator who needs to factor in downtime to recharge creatively.
Plus, some video editing services offering project-based pricing also edit multiple videos in parallel to accommodate video marketing pushes or creative bursts.
For video editing subscriptions, pricing depends on how many videos you want edited per month and how complex the edits are. Low-end subscriptions start at around $800, but for solid services you can expect to pay $2,000 and up.
For project-based pricing, you’re looking at professional services starting around $100 for short-form and around $350 for long-form content.
Example: Comparing Video Editing Prices
One good way to compare video editing prices is to basically simulate your output for a longer period.
To demonstrate this calculation, we’ll do a a very brief case study. For this, we’re assuming you’re an established creator or perhaps a business owner. The point is, in this scenario, you’re laying out your production plan for the whole of the next year, and you want to upload 24 long-form videos during it.
That’s two videos per month on average – except they’re not spread out that evenly. Your production is actually seasonal – between holiday seasons and sales, you want to vary your upload cadence.
You’re planning a big push in late spring next year, though. Think a new marketing campaign, or a series of travel vlogs. So, 7 of these 24 videos need to get edited in May and June.
You take July pretty much off and start back up in August.
Next, the parameters for the video editing itself: You pick services with 48-hour turnaround times and 24 hour revisions, which is fairly standard. We’ll assume two revisions per video on average before you declare it good. Typically, though, once you’ve worked with an editor for a few videos you often won’t need more than one round for minor feedback.
Next up, you’ve picked a video editing subscription at $1,999 per month (that’s with a pay-annually discount). The project-based video editing prices are $278 each (with a batch discount).
That year, you would end up paying $23,988 with a video editing subscription. That’s not all, though: During the spring batch, it takes a month longer to have all your edits done, since they’re completed sequentially.
Meanwhile, using the project-based pricing, the same content volume would have taken only $6,672 to edit. Without any unnecessary delays.
What difference does all this make? It’s not just the cost savings of $17,361. It’s also the plain flexibility the model gives you.
At the same time, you still get the peace of mind that comes with relying on a professional service, rather than any single freelancer.
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
What do video editing prices depend on?
Video editing prices vary depending on turnaround times, raw footage length and quality, editing complexity, and the target length of your video.
How to find the best video editing prices?
To find the best video editing prices for your needs, stick to video editing companies as they offer guaranteed turnaround times and quality control. Focus on project-based pricing as it offers greater flexibility. It also makes it easy to trial different services before you stick with the one that works best for you.
Do freelancers or agencies have better video editing prices?
Freelancers often offer cheaper prices than video editing companies, but they are also less reliable and there is no quality guarantee. You may ultimately end up losing money when they ghost you or deliver sub-standard work. Video editing agencies cost a little more, but have a pre-vetted team of professional editors, guaranteed turnaround times, and quality control.
