How to Price Animated Explainer Videos Created with Vyond for $50, $500, and $5000 - Freelancing Tips

From 2012 to 2020 I ran a service called Animation 4 Business that created animated explainer videos for businesses and educational organizations world wide. It started as a group of three freelancers (including myself. obviously), then became just me for a couple of years, and then expanded to me and three other subcontractor animators until 2020.

For me it was a very successful side hustle that could have been a full time job if I hadn't subcontracted quite as much of the work out, or charged more per animation. My base fee per two minute animation was just under USD$500.00 using Vyond as my animation studio.

I know a considerable number of animators that say Vyond isn't real animation in the sense that you, personally, don't animate everything from scratch. However, it's not all modifying templates with your own information either. 

Vyond's content library is quite vast at this point. A good Vyond animator, who is very familiar with the library, can run circles around a casual Vyond User who signed up thinking they'll make their own animated videos. That's why there is a market for Vyond Animators in the business and education sectors.

What's more, it's possible to charge some pretty serious money for Vyond Animations, upward of USD$5000 dollars, as demonstrated in Rued Riis video below, How to Sell Animation for $50, $500 and $5000. Rued Riis is a Vyond Expert and Solopreneur from Denmark and, if you browse his Youtube Channel, you'll see he uses Vyond animation quite extensively in his videos.

The key take away from the video are the key features of the three pricing structures.

The $50.00 Model

• Race to the bottom pricing model where clients choose the cheapest option with the best rating.
• Per video cost doesn't cover the additional fees associated with using Vyond to create videos for clients. Will need to look at alternate platforms like Powtoon, Animaker, or Toonly (or you could use Cartoon Animator 4 since it has no short term ongoing fees).
• Be sure to check Reseller rights regardless of the platform you use or risk account closure or other legal issues.
• Need to stick to using templates as much as possible in order to maximize your time working on each animation. You'll lose money on over delivering (if you don't use templates) because you won't have time to work on the volume of animations you'll need to be profitable.
• Difficult to build a sound business around this price point.

The $500 Model

• Make animations a commodity by offering a full service that includes scriptwriting, voice over, and animation. Clients will love you for handling everything and will happily pay $500.00.
• Work with a selection of the same voice over artists on Fiverr.
• You'll need to customize templates and animation a lot more to stand out and build a reputation for quality animation using Vyond.
• Sticking with one animation tool, such as Vyond, will build consistency within your portfolio.
• Build up a portfolio of strong animations and develop a 'wall of logos' on your website of clients you've worked for - this will help you when you want to level up to the $5000 model.
• Also get your service reviewed on social media sites like FaceBook, Google, TrustPilot etc.
• $500 model is a highly competitive space with lots of freelancers and agencies in the mix.

The $5000 Model

• Need to do everything you do in the $500 model extremely well!
• Continue to build up your portfolio, 'wall of logos' and focus on it in all your marketing. This is your number one asset in demonstrating credibility and gaining new clients.
• At this point you should be well known enough to be gaining clients through word of mouth, which is key to getting away from competing with other freelancers and agencies on price. Businesses are likely to hire you from a recommendation from someone they trust.
• Provide personal service meeting clients, where you demonstrate that you have strategic understanding by showing you understand their business, as well as asking about, and listening to, their needs for the animation.
• Quote a price model with upsells (don't just have a set fee of $5000) e.g. $2000 base price for 60 seconds of animation with a $15 dollar fee per additional second of animation.
• Think about other upsells such as offering to make a video in different languages.
• Quoting a pricing model helps clients understand what your service does and that additional work comes at a price. Demonstrating your pricing makes sense means clients will have no problem paying higher prices.
• Need to learn 'Brand Guide Proficiency' which is aligning everything in the animation to match with the client's branding e.g. matching exact colors, fonts, and other visuals they use in their marketing.
• At this price level you may even consider subcontracting animation work which can lead to even higher pricing per animation. 

From my own personal experience, I started charging USD$199 per two minute animation in 2012 as a base price. At that time services like Vyond (which was known as GoAnimate in 2012) were relatively new and the perception that anyone could make good animation with them was very high.

Over the years I bumped up the price until I eventually reached just under USD$500 per 2 minute animation. At all stages I used a pricing model with upsells for additional minutes and scriptwriting (90 percent of the time clients already had scripts ready to go). I never included voice artists as part of the deal. Instead I'd refer clients to Fiverr, or even give them tips on how to record their own voice overs.

Typically I would offer clients a 14 day turnaround time on a two minute video that, in reality, would only take about six to eight hours to make. The extra days allowed for client communication such as reviewing storyboards, organizing voice artists, reviewing the animation etc. This meant I could take on several animations at a time, though I would limit myself to three at most within a 14 day period so I'd have time for my own projects too.

Animation 4 Business is still operational but I haven't actively pursued clients since 2019. Largely because I wanted to pursue my own animated projects full time.

However, if you're looking for a way to make money in animation that isn't going to take weeks of your time animating 1 to 3 seconds per week, services like Vyond are well worth utilizing in your toolbox.