Motion graphics cost roughly €900 to €7,000 per finished minute in 2026, with premium work going higher. A 2D explainer runs about €1,800 to €6,300 per minute at most studios. 3D starts around €4,500 a minute and goes past €45,000 for cinematic work.
Those ranges come from three studio pricing guides published in August and September 2026, all in US dollars. We've converted at about $1.12 to the euro, so treat them as approximate.
Per minute is a handy yardstick, but nobody buys animation by the minute. A 30-second film isn't half the price of a 60-second one. Below: the ranges, the per-second maths, and what actually moves the number.
Animated video cost by style
| Style | Approx. € per finished minute | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Motion graphics | €900–7,100 | Type, shapes, icons, UI moving to a script |
| 2D explainer | €1,800–6,300 | Illustrated scenes, simple characters, voiceover |
| 2D character | €1,300–10,700 | Custom characters, lip sync, acting |
| Mixed media | €1,800–13,400 | Footage plus graphics, 2.5D |
| 3D, entry to mid | €4,500–13,400 | Product, objects, simple environments |
| 3D, high-end | €13,400–45,000+ | Photoreal, simulation, cinematic |
Ranges blend Broadcast2World (August 2026), Prolific Studio (August 2026) and Framesixty (September 2026), converted from US dollars. The low end of each row is basic or freelance work; the high end is standard studio work. Premium tiers for motion graphics and 2D go higher, up to about €13,400 and €22,000 a minute.
Motion graphics cost per minute
Motion graphics are the cheapest kind of animation to produce well. There are no characters to rig and usually no 3D to render.
The guides broadly agree:
- Prolific Studio: about €900–2,700 per minute for basic, €2,700–7,100 standard, €7,100–13,400 premium.
- Broadcast2World: about €1,800–4,500 per minute, stretching to €5,400 in its FAQ.
For a small business, the useful part is the middle: €2,000–5,000 per minute buys clean, branded motion with a proper script and sound. Below that you're usually getting a template.
Explainer video cost per minute
An explainer is a format, not a style. It can be motion graphics, 2D characters or 3D. Most are 2D.
- A standard 60-second 2D explainer costs about €4,500–10,700 all in, per Prolific Studio.
- Broadcast2World's own published tiers start at about €2,100 for 60 seconds of 2D and mixed media, €3,100 for custom 2D and €4,900 for 3D, plus a fee for every extra 30 seconds.
- A two-minute 2D explainer lands around €8,000–18,800.
Line items that sit inside those totals, per Prolific Studio: scripting about €450–2,700, voiceover €270–900 per minute, custom music €450–2,700.
3D animation cost per second
Per-second figures are just per-minute prices divided by 60. Framesixty says as much: it's a rough check, not a pricing unit.
| 3D tier | Approx. € per minute | Approx. € per second |
|---|---|---|
| Entry / motion-graphics 3D | €4,500–7,100 | €75–120 |
| Mid-tier product animation | €7,100–13,400 | €120–220 |
| High-end character / VFX | €13,400–26,800 | €220–450 |
| Cinematic / broadcast | €26,800–45,000+ | €450–750+ |
Source: Framesixty, September 2026, converted from US dollars. Framesixty cites about €8,900 a minute as a common mid-tier baseline.
Motion graphics price per second
Same maths, smaller numbers. Broadcast2World works its motion graphics range out at about €30–75 a second. Entry 2D comes to about €30, premium 2D about €45.
The catch is that short films aren't proportionally cheaper. Prolific Studio estimates a 30-second cut at about 65% of the price of the 60-second version. The concept, script, style frames and sound don't halve when the running time does.
So a 15-second motion graphics reel at "€50 a second" won't cost €750. The setup costs come first.
What drives the cost
Length matters less than people think. These matter more.
| Driver | Typical effect |
|---|---|
| Custom illustration vs ready-made assets | +30% to 70% |
| Each additional character | +15% to 25% |
| Lip sync and body language | +25% to 75% |
| Animated rather than static backgrounds | +30% to 50% |
| Simulation, liquids, particles | +25% to 75% |
| 4K delivery instead of 1080p | +20% to 40% |
| Rush delivery (under two weeks) | +25% to 50% |
| Each revision round beyond contract | +5% to 15% |
Source: Prolific Studio, 2026. Framesixty adds two 3D-specific ones: whether a clean 3D model or CAD file already exists, and whether one model can be reused across several films.
That last point is where most of the savings are. In the lab, we build a product model once and get a turntable, an exploded view, a still and a loop from it. Our perfume, sneaker, serum and headphones loops all came from models built for renders first.
Who makes it
| Provider | Approx. € per minute |
|---|---|
| AI and DIY tools | €0–450 |
| AI-assisted studio | €1,300–3,600 |
| Freelance animator | €900–4,500 |
| Small to mid studio | €4,500–13,400 |
| Production company | €13,400–54,000+ |
Source: Prolific Studio, 2026, converted from US dollars. Framesixty also notes regional labour rates matter; Eastern European rates sit well below US ones.
What a quote should include
Two quotes for "a 60-second animation" can describe very different jobs. Before comparing prices, check each one says what you get.
- Script. Is writing included, or do you supply it? Prolific Studio prices scripting separately at about €450–2,700.
- Style frames or storyboard. You should approve the look before animation starts.
- Voiceover and music. Professional voice and licensed or custom music are often extras.
- Revision rounds. How many, and at which stage. A change to a storyboard is cheap; a change after rendering is not.
- Formats. 16:9 for the website, 9:16 for reels, 1:1 or 4:5 for feed ads. Each extra format is extra work if it isn't planned in.
- Resolution. 1080p or 4K. Prolific Studio puts 4K at 20–40% more.
- Source files and the 3D model. Who owns them, and can you reuse them? Prolific Studio notes source files are often billed separately, at around €450–2,200.
- Usage. Organic social only, or paid ads, TV and trade shows too.
If a quote is much cheaper than the ranges above, one of these lines is usually missing.
How to get more for the same budget
- Decide where it will live first. A website loop, a launch film and a 15-second ad need different cuts. Plan them together and the extra versions cost less.
- Keep it short. For social, 15–30 seconds. See how long a reel should be.
- Fix the script before anyone animates. Changes after animation starts are the expensive kind.
- Reuse the 3D model. Commission one good model and ask for renders, loops and an animation from it.
- Use AI where it doesn't show. Backgrounds, early style exploration, still-to-motion. Keep people on concept, edit and final approval.
For live-action costs to compare against, see what a video ad costs to produce. For 3D product films specifically, see product animation: examples, uses and cost.
Our Motion, 3D & AI films service covers motion design, 3D, launch films and illustrated work, planned so one idea runs across your website, social and presentations.
