When you start researching options for outsourcing video editing, you’ll immediately come across unlimited video editing offers.
But what is this pricing model exactly? Exactly what it says on the tin? Or are there hidden catches?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Contents
What is unlimited video editing?
“Unlimited video editing services” is typically just a better-sounding synonym for a video editing subscription. The premise is simple: In return for a monthly fee, you can submit as many video orders as you like.
How high your monthly subscription rate is usually depends on the complexity of edits you can expect, guaranteed turnaround times, your raw footage length, and whether you want additional services such as thumbnail design or vertical or square reformats. These factors influence the pricing of the plans or tiers.
Typically, subscription pricing options for unlimited video editing start at around $600 per month and go all the way up to $5,000. Above that, you’re usually looking at custom enterprise services anyway.
Broadly put, though: The more complex your edits, the faster your required turnaround times, and the longer your usual raw footage duration, the higher you can expect your subscription cost to be.
Are video editing subscriptions really unlimited?
That said, is “unlimited” video editing truly “unlimited”? Will that single subscription cover all your video editing needs?
You probably already suspect the answer.
Nope.
Because while these subscriptions promise you can submit an unlimited number of video orders, they’ll still only be edited one after the other. After all, you typically only get one editor assigned to you.
Unless, of course, you’re willing to pay an massive extra fee to have several orders edited at the same time. That’s when we’re looking at the higher end of the spectrum – think $3,000 and above.
Some subscription video editing services make this limitation pretty clear going in. It makes sense for them – their editors have a certain capacity that they need to plan for.
Often, the video editing teams of those services are small and they need to schedule pretty precisely who will be working on how many client orders at what time. Taking the risk of having a dozen orders come in from the same client, to be edited ASAP, and facing total overload is just not worth it.
Other subscription video editing services, though, are much less transparent. They stick to the “unlimited” misdirection and then stab you in the back with the fine print.
Do video editing subscriptions pay off?
So the real question is – do “unlimited” video editing subscriptions pay off?
As with so many other things in content creation, it depends. In this case, it depends on the kind of videos you produce, and at your content creation pace.
Say you subscribe to an unlimited video editing service that charges $900 per month for basic edits, and guarantees turnaround times of 48 hours during business days (Monday-Friday) and 24 hours to revisions. Their editors are based abroad, so you have to take the time difference into account.
That puts a realistic limit of four videos per month on your content – five, max, if you’re lucky to get an editor you vibe with and don’t need to request many revisions. That’s for your average 10-minute YouTube video. You’ll get more if it’s all shorts, less if you make longer videos.
If that’s your typical monthly video output, and you work at a steady pace where that rarely varies, a video editing subscription could be a great choice for you.
However, if your edits are a little more complex, or if your video production rate varies, you’re going to end up either wasting money or losing time.
Are there months when you only produce one or two videos? You’ll be paying half your subscription for nothing.
Or are you planning to batch-produce content? A new year’s yoga series for your fitness channel or a series of travel vlogs after a multi-week road trip? Vlogmas? It’s going to take months for all your videos to get edited. And you’ll be paying your subscription for nothing while you’re busy filming, or traveling.
The Bottom Line:
Unlimited vs. Project-based Video Editing
If you want truly unlimited video editing services, the most straightforward thing to do is opt for a video editing service with project-based pricing. Here, you can purchase video credits – and even get a discount if you buy in bulk – and then submit your projects at your own pace. If you want multiple orders edited in parallel, that’s not an issue.
Video editing subscriptions really only pay off if your content production rhythm is very predictable, and the complexity of your edits limited. Otherwise, you’ll be better off with project-based pricing in the long run.
