How Much Does a Short-Form Video Agency Cost?

Pricing at a glance

• Freelancers: $100 to $3,000 per video. Best for one or two videos.

• Production companies: $3,000 to $10,000+ per shoot day. Best for a big one-time shoot.

• Traditional ad agencies: $10,000 to $50,000 per project, with national campaigns costing in the millions. Best for national TV campaigns.

• Content agencies: $4,500 to $25,000+ per month. Best for great videos every month, with strategy, creative, and production in one system.

Full transcript

The short answer

So, how much does a short-form video agency cost?

A content agency that handles strategy, creative, and production typically costs $4,500 to $25,000 or more per month. Freelancers charge $100 to $3,000 per video. Production companies often charge $3,000 to $10,000+ per shoot day. And traditional ad agency projects can run from $10,000 to $50,000, with national campaigns costing in the millions. Why such a ridiculous range? You’re not always buying the same thing.

I’m Alex Frecon, founder of COOL STORY, a short-form video agency in Minneapolis. And you shouldn’t need three sales calls and a proposal just to figure out whether someone’s in your budget. So let’s break down your options.

Your options and what each costs

Freelancers have the widest range. Some will shoot and edit your video on an iPhone for $100. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need. Usually, it’s not. Experienced pros often charge separately for shooting and editing, which is how you get to $3,000 per video.

Production companies are great at logistics: gear, crews, locations. They typically price by the shoot day, so the real question is whether ongoing strategy and ideas are part of the deal.

Traditional ad agencies are built for big brand campaigns, and that fee might only cover strategy and creative. Production, talent, and media can all cost extra. You’re also paying for a really cool office with pinball machines and unlimited kombucha. So keep that in mind.

Content agencies bring strategy, creative, and production together in one monthly system. Our very first pitch deck called COOL STORY “Netflix, but for business,” with a disclaimer at the bottom because we didn’t want to get sued. At COOL STORY, pricing starts around $4,500 a month for strategy, creative, a set of videos, and a dedicated account manager, and scales to $25,000 or more for national brands and campaigns.

Quick gut check. Need one or two videos? Hire a freelancer. Have a big one-time shoot? Call a production company. Creating a national TV campaign? An ad agency could be the right fit. Great videos every single month? That’s a content agency.

Here’s the big difference between all of them: some options include strategy and ideas, and most don’t. That’s usually the difference between a video that exists and a video that works.

What you’re actually paying for

Most buyers compare number of videos. That’s the wrong thing to compare. Thirty videos a month sounds like value. But so do thirty gas station hot dogs. Making videos is table stakes. What you should be paying for is four things:

Strategy. Do they understand your business and what you’re trying to accomplish?

Creativity. Can they come up with ideas that people actually want to watch?

Service. Are they reliable, responsive, and easy to work with?

Measurement. Can they show you what they’re doing and how people are responding?

Red flags at any price

At the cheap end, watch for the bait and switch: polished samples on the website, and a much less experienced person doing your actual work. And if they won’t get on a video call with you, that tells you a lot.

At the expensive end, notice what they talk about first. If it’s gear and equipment instead of your goals and ideas, keep looking. Nobody ever shared a video because they liked the f-stop. And if you don’t know what f-stop is, that’s perfect.

And at any price, read the contract. Check revision limits, where you’re allowed to use the content, who owns the finished videos and the raw footage, how hard it is to cancel, and what’s not included.

How to know a partner is worth it

So how do you know a partner is worth it? Ask to see their work. For Red Wing Arts, a small-town arts organization in Minnesota, we shot 13 videos in one day. With less than $10,000 in paid media, separate from production, the campaign reached more than a million people, generated nearly three million impressions, and drove nearly 10,000 clicks from a single film. That’s what success can look like when awareness is the goal.

After you meet with them, ask yourself: Did they ask good questions? Can they show you their results? Can they explain how they’ll measure success? And do you own the work when it’s done? If the answer is yes to all four, you’re off to a pretty good start.

I’m Alex with COOL STORY. There’s a link in the description if you want to see how we work. And if you made it to the end of a video about pricing, you’re exactly the kind of person who asks good questions. Thanks for watching.

Want to see how COOL STORY works? Visit cool-story.co.