Almost nobody in this business publishes prices. Ask three production companies for a quote on the same video and you will get three numbers that are not comparable, because each includes a different set of things and none of them says which.
Here is what the work actually costs in New York, broken down enough that you can compare quotes against each other.
Why the ranges are so wide
A video is not a product with a price. It is a number of people, working for a number of days, with a number of hours of editing afterward. Those three variables move independently, and that is the entire reason “how much is a video” has no single answer.
A useful way to think about it: the shoot is usually the smaller half. People assume the camera day is the expensive part. Often the editing takes longer than the filming, and on animated or heavily-graphic work there is no shoot at all and it is still expensive.
Rough ranges by type
These are realistic New York numbers for 2026, for work that is competent rather than cheap or extravagant.
A single talking-head video. One person, one location, one day or less. Roughly $1,500 to $4,000. This covers testimonials, founder statements, welcome videos, most training content.
A brand or promotional video, 60 to 90 seconds. Multiple setups, some b-roll, music, graphics. Roughly $4,000 to $12,000. The range is wide because “some b-roll” can mean two hours or two days.
A commercial. Anything with talent, styling, a crew of more than four, or a location that has to be secured. $10,000 and up, and up quite far.
Event coverage. A day of filming plus a highlight edit. Roughly $1,500 to $5,000 depending on crew size and how fast you need the edit.
A batch of social videos in one shoot day. Ten to twenty short vertical pieces filmed together. Commonly $1,500 to $4,000 for the day plus post. This is by far the best value per finished piece, and it is the one most businesses do not know to ask for.
Animation and explainers. $2,000 to $10,000 per minute, depending on style. Character animation costs much more than motion graphics over text.
If a quote comes in far below these, it is not a scam. It usually means fewer people, less editing, or a much faster turnaround than you are picturing. Ask which.
The five things that actually move the number
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Shoot days. The single biggest lever. Two half-days at different locations cost more than one full day at one location, even for the same amount of footage, because of setup and travel.
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Crew size. One person with a camera is a different price from a camera operator, a sound person and someone running lights. More crew is faster and safer, and it costs more per hour and less per problem.
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Post-production hours. A rough guide: a finished minute of edited video takes somewhere between four and ten hours of work, more if there is motion graphics, color grading or a music search. This is the line people most consistently underestimate.
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Number of deliverables. One 90-second video is one thing. The same footage cut into a 90-second version, a 30-second version, a 15-second version and six vertical clips is four or five times the editing work, from the same shoot. Worth planning for, because it is cheap compared to shooting again.
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Location. Filming in your own space is the cheapest. Filming somewhere that requires permits, insurance certificates or building approval adds cost and, more importantly, adds time before anyone can shoot.
What is usually not in the quote
Ask about each of these before you sign, because each has turned a friendly number into an argument:
- Revisions. How many rounds are included, and what counts as a round. “Change the music and re-edit the whole thing” is not the same request as “fix a typo in the lower third.”
- Music licensing. Whether the track is licensed for the use you intend, including paid advertising. Using a library track outside its license is a real risk that most people never think about.
- Talent. If you use actors or voice-over, are they paid for the usage you plan, or only for the shoot day.
- Captions and versions. Captions are near-mandatory now, since most social video is watched with the sound off. In New York, ask whether Spanish captions or a Spanish version are included.
- Raw footage. Whether you get it and in what format. This becomes expensive later if you want to re-edit with somebody else.
- Travel and parking. Small, but real in this city.
Where the money is best spent
If your budget is fixed, this is the order that produces the most usable video:
First, audio. Bad audio makes a video unwatchable in a way that bad picture does not. This is the cheapest big improvement available.
Second, one very good day rather than two rushed ones. Rushing produces footage nobody wants to use.
Third, more deliverables from the same footage. Ten clips from one shoot beats one polished film you use once.
Last, gear. Camera choice matters far less than most vendors imply. Lighting and framing decide how expensive something looks, not the sensor.
How we work
We shoot video in New York out of a studio in the Bronx, and we quote by project rather than publishing a fixed price, because the honest answer for video genuinely does depend on the day count and the deliverables.
What we will do is tell you the number before you commit, itemized, so you can see which part is the shoot and which part is the edit. And we will tell you when a smaller version of the idea gets you most of the result, because a client who spent their whole budget on one film they used twice does not come back.
We work with four cameras on a live switcher for multi-camera work, we handle the full post-production, and we deliver in English, Spanish or both. There is also a makeup artist on set for shoots where people are on camera, which sounds like a detail until you see the difference on someone who was not expecting to be filmed.
Before you ask anyone for a quote
Have these four answers ready. They are what any competent producer will ask, and having them cuts your quote turnaround from a week to a day:
- What is the video for, and where will it play? A video for a trade show and a video for Instagram are different products.
- How long, roughly? And is that a hard limit.
- Where does it film, and does anyone need permission for that space?
- When do you need it? Rush costs money, and knowing early is free.
Tell us what you need and we will come back with an itemized number. If we think you should spend less than you were planning, we will say so.
You can also see what a shoot day of social videos involves, or the questions worth asking any production company.