How much does a commercial video cost in the UK? (2026 guide)

Updated for 2026.

If you employ a commercial videographer, how much will it cost for them to produce you a commercial video in the UK? That's a good question, and one which I find myself answering a lot. Businesses are asking for video more and more and rightly so. It's absolutely vital to have it.

But if you know you need it for your business it could be the cost is quite prohibitive. Without trying to scare you, you need to know there's a lot of businesses providing this service and their quotes will probably vary quite a lot.

So if you've put any of the following questions into Google: 'how much does a product video cost', 'how much does a 30 second instagram reel cost to make', 'video production cost calculator', 'product video price sheet' then you've likely come up against an almost infinite number of different results making you none-the-wiser and quite possibly put off by what you're seeing.

To help explain this, let's take a look at what kind of organisations you might come across so you can appreciate where the numbers are coming from. I'm going to talk about three different categories of video production companies so you can identify who you might be dealing with. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and it's not just about what their commercial video production rates are.

1. Those who turn up and shoot

In the case of this first type there are lots of videographers who operate this way and are fantastic people to work with. However, if they're doing that they're likely able to charge more and should be in the second category. So it begs the question 'Are they actually that good?'. The much more likely answer is that they're not. I'm not trying to dismiss these individuals - I was once one of them, but you'll need to have your eyes open when you work with them so you can lower the risk to your investment.

Things to look out for

• They don't mention a planning/pre-production phase
• They might not ask you to sign a contract - because they probably don't have one.
• If you were to ask if they have public liability and professional indemnity insurance they might not.
• They might not ask the right questions to allow them to make a more appropriate video for your needs e.g. what are your marketing objectives for this content?
• There's limited detail in the quote, offering a project cost and no indication of what's included in the fee.
• Their portfolio of previous work may look nice but the questions to ask them should tell you if the client's marketing objectives were achieved.
• As their prices are so low you may find them trying to get the job done as quick as possible so they can get on to the next client
• [2026 addition] They may lean heavily on A.I. editing templates and stock-style output — fine for volume social content, but ask to see work that was made for a strategy, not just a feed.

Pros

• Cheapest option
• The shortest production time
• 'Quick and dirty' but is it good?

Cons

• They're probably not the most experienced / best film makers
• They'll use minimal kit to get the job done, sacrificing image quality and raising their margins
• They typically produce 'pretty' videos which might get you social likes but may fall short on your ROI.

Typical budget

£250 – £1,100 for a 3 minute video, £50 – £75 for a social reel

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2. The middle-ground hero

As you start spending more money, the value you should receive should also increase. This may mean an increase in video quality but it should definitely mean more thought is put into what to create and how that will benefit ROI rather than how good it looks.

Things to look out for

• This company type asks the right questions to ensure the marketing objectives are achieved.
• They'll have a contract, insurance and the ability to take payments online, possibly also offering payment plans.
• Offer solutions which will help save you money whilst still providing you with what you need.
• Will be better business-people because they've been doing things longer. Can answer tough questions on cost and can demonstrate their value.

Pros

• These folk offer a lot of 'bang for your buck'
• They have enough equipment and know-how to produce higher quality video suitable for all but TV and film
• Their number may be more than one and could include a second camera operator, an assistant and/or an editor.
• This is the best for those looking for a balance of quality and cost

Cons

• It may be difficult for you to see the value a single individual can make which aligns with the prices they're charging - experience and a thorough interrogation will help you identify who's worth their salt.
• Things may take a little longer to produce because they're working on their own or with one helper during the shooting phase.
• They may be specialists in their particular niche but might not have the infrastructure to offer services at the next level.

Typical budget

£1,300 – £5,500 for a 3 minute video and £220 – £1,100 for a 30-second social video. Retainer packages with predefined monthly outputs typically start around £1,650 pcm.

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3. The large production company

If you've got deep pockets or great ambitions then the large production company is probably more your thing.

Things to look out for

• They'll have people who are called the 'DOP', 'Producer' and 'Gaffer'.
• If they invite you to their offices and have an in-built studio then you know your budget is paying for that too.
• Projects they take on will typically require a tender process — a client creates a brief and vendors submit proposals, possibly with a bespoke example showing how they'd achieve the objectives for the film.
• They will introduce you to more than one individual in the initial meeting so you have the experience in the room when discussing the project.

Pros

• Everything that can be done will be done to get the best quality and ROI
• They will be specialists in their niche with the kit to do whatever is necessary for the job
• They will most likely be able to produce TV or big-screen films, or at least have the capability to do so
• They'll have a team of people, each with a specific role, working together to achieve big outputs efficiently
• They'll be able to simultaneously capture photo and video, meaning you get a lot of products in a time-efficient manner

Cons

• You'll probably not get a video out of them for less than [FLAG: verify] £11,000 and the sky really is the limit
• You may not need to invest in such grandeur to achieve the results you want.

Typical budget

You won't get much change from £11,000 and will probably need a lot more.

Pricing structures

There are a few different types of pricing structures that video production companies tend to offer:

• Priced by time - either per hour or by half and full day rates. The most transparent: you know how much time they'll invest and you can see how the quote is built. Helpful if you want to scale the requirement up or down to suit your budget.
• Priced as a project - usually built on a time-based quote plus a margin for what the company thinks the work is worth. The advantage is containment: if they quote £15k all-in, expect no nasty surprises. Their portfolio and client history are what justify the margin — if they can't show excellent work overlapping your goals, they can't command top-spec prices.
• Priced as a package - a set list of options, each with predefined outputs for a fixed fee (e.g. 50 photos and 3 reels for a monthly fee). You know exactly what you'll get; the vendor gets efficient at delivering it. The only real negative is lack of flexibility — need more? You'll likely be pushed to a bigger package.

Each has its merits, and the provider you like might not offer the structure you'd ideally want — in which case you'll be trading off who they are against how they charge.

Which type of provider do you choose?

• If you're a new business, or have a smaller budget, then option 3 is clearly not going to be suitable.
• Ask yourself: 'Are we doing this for brand awareness or do we need a return on investment?'. A brand awareness campaign needs to do one thing — be seen — so a cheap and cheerful option may be all you need, as long as your distribution tactics are sound. If you're looking for tangible outputs, such as sales or leads, invest a little more to ensure a better ROI.
• There's a lot to be said for option #1 since not everyone has a lavish budget, but you'll spend more time verifying you've found a 'diamond in the rough'.
• Option #3's big-budget solutions will give you the returns, but the barrier to entry is significantly higher.
• So is #2 the 'Goldilocks' solution? Absolutely — and it's the one you should give serious thought to regardless of your budget.

The bigger question: does the video fit your strategy?

Here's what a decade of producing commercial video taught me: the most expensive mistake isn't overpaying for a video. It's paying anything at all for a video that has no job to do.

Before you commission anything, you should be able to answer: what is this video for, who is it reaching, where will it live, and what does success look like in numbers? If those answers don't exist, the smartest money you can spend is on getting them — not on another piece of content.

That's the work I do now. I help businesses build the strategy, story and systems that make decisions like this one obvious — including whether video is even the right investment, what to brief, and how to judge the quotes that come back.

If you're weighing up a video project and want a second pair of eyes on the brief — or you suspect the real gap is the strategy behind it — let's talk.