r/MotionDesign • u/Impossible_Jump6303 • Aug 23 '26
Question How much should a charge?
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A client of mine (a B2B marketing agency with €1 million in annual revenue and about 25 employees) has asked me to create a video similar to this one for their company. I would handle everything myself—from the vision board and animations to the sound design. How much should I charge? (I am a freelancer based in Italy, with 4 years of experience in video editing and nearly 3 years in motion graphics.)
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u/HotTubJim Aug 23 '26
Personally if I were able to replicate this, which I probably can’t to this quality with an original vision tbh, I’d charge 10-15k for a 30 sec ad. Then I’d try to upsell cutdowns and resizes.
Your ability to charge this much (or more), depends on your geographical location, your business positioning, and your client’s faith in your expertise.
But for me, living in central US and working with clients coast to coast, if I got this request I would charge a 10-15k.
Never mind the day rate math comments, the real answer is: whatever a client is willing to pay.
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u/MikeMac999 Aug 23 '26
Your day rate x however long it took
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u/zdpa Aug 23 '26
doesn’t this method punish efficiency?
if OP can deliver this in 2 days isn’t him losing money?
I think per project is easier to rate
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u/SquanchyATL Aug 23 '26
If OP could deliver this in two days he wouldn't be on Reddit asking for advice.
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u/zdpa Aug 23 '26
okay bro, thanks for the input
now try thinking of someone else delivering this
either his daily rate goes to the moon or he gets fucked, right?
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u/SquanchyATL Aug 23 '26
At some point you have to apply your rate to the time it takes to do the job to figure out if their budget, deadline and your abilities are a match.
After you figure that out you know how to proceed. Because in that situation something has to give.
Us or them.
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u/AnnFinancialQs Aug 23 '26
I have no idea why you're getting downvoted. This sub seems so against project pricing. It blows my mind.
Charging day rates once you're experienced makes no sense to me.
Someone experienced could create this video in 2 to 4 days. If you bill a client at $5,000 per day it's unlikely they'll say yes as they'll compare you to other people charging per day. If you tell them this video will cost them $10k to $15k it's a much more compelling proposition.
So someone could charge $1k a day and get this done in 4 days and earn $4k, or they could price as a project and earn $10k+.
Maybe people think they're not being fair to clients or something.
Price as high as the market will allow, your time is valuable.
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u/Muttonboat Professional Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
having worked some high end studios and animators
Very few animators alone are getting this done in 2 to 4 days alone. Even then all prepro and boards need to have been preped and theyre working all nighters.
A team of animators maaaybe and theyll stil be working long hours to do it.
The fastesr turn around i saw for a piece was a week and it was a team of 6. They crunched and slept at the office
You might get a rough pass done in a week if youre lucky
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u/AnnFinancialQs Aug 23 '26
I admit I’m basing the 2 - 4 day prediction on how quick I work. I could definitely get this done in 4 days if needed (but yes it would 100% be long days and would need to be with a high trust client to fly through each stage).
Even so that’s not really the point I’m making. The point is that the more efficient and experienced you are, the quicker you get the work done, and charging a day rate doesn’t reward that experience or efficiency. Yes people can increase their day rates, but there’s a ceiling to that.
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u/Muttonboat Professional Aug 23 '26
You could charge a day rate then, tag on OT rate
or you could charge a flat rate
or you could charge hourly with OT past 10hrs
Also the only person who benefits from getting the gig done faster is the client and its at your expense.
You should stack every advantage in your corner you can as a freelancer
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u/SquanchyATL Aug 24 '26
HOT... FAST... or CHEAP Pick two. You can't have all three.
It's being down voted because the comment presents an either or situation. Dayrate, project rate, really doesn't matter. At some point your skill level dictates what YOU are WILLING to do the project for.
Budget. What is the clients budget? Are their eyes bigger than their wallet? You can't show me DUNE part one and tell me 2 days and 2k. The first thing out of my mouth will be you can't have that done for that money. I can take your 2k and work with you to get a product out the door in two days but you can't dictate the time line.
I reiterate, hot, fast, or cheap. Pick two.
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u/satysat Aug 23 '26
What day rates do is rate efficiency. If you are insanely fast, you can have a $1000+ day rate. So not really. Day rates with multipliers are genuinely the only way to quote your work in a way thats both respectful to you and your client.
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u/MikeMac999 Aug 23 '26
I charge a rate that I'm comfortable with, one that earns me a decent living. I work hard and efficiently. If a project takes me a week, it's a week's pay, and I am fine with that; if someone else can drag it out for two weeks that doesn't mean I have lost money, it means my services are a better value and my clients recognize that.
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u/ThisSpaceForRent45 Professional Aug 23 '26
I prefer time based billing because some clients will dick around otherwise.
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u/ThexDream Aug 26 '26
NEVER ever charge by hour or day with one exception: you have a pre-paid monthly retainer for at least 6 months, preferably a year, with 60 day renewal options before the end of the contract. Also don't forget to track engagement, revenue, and other metrics to make your case for contract renewals and ask for more.
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u/PrimeCodes Aug 23 '26
I just finished recreating this exact typography frame by frame, and it’s way more tedious than it looks. Easily $30k
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 23 '26
come mai posti i commenti, li cancelli e li sostituisci con altri commenti in cui dici altre cose? Avevi inviato un commento simile ma con altre parole un minuto fa. Qualcuno sta raccontando un mucchio di cavolate qui...
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u/PrimeCodes Aug 23 '26
I was rephrasing the comment, not a native speaker :)
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 23 '26
Va bene allora in caso mi scuso, non sono da tanto su Reddit e ho iniziato da poco a consultarlo spesso e se c’è una cosa che mi apre di aver capito, è che su questa piattaforma ci sono un sacco di persone che fingono di avere vite piene di successo (nel nostro campo del Motion design spacciando per loro, lavori di altri ad esempio). Chiedo scusa ancora se non è questo il tuo caso. Comunque complimenti!
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u/PrimeCodes Aug 24 '26
No worries at all. There are a lot of fake posts out here. Totally get it.
I'm usually not on Reddit myself and only about 3 months into motion design, definitely nowhere near ultra-successful yet haha. Just saw your post and thought I'd share since I spent the last few days grinding through this exact frame by frame match. Good luck with your journey too!
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 24 '26
Cavolo in 3 mesi lavori già a un progetto di Motion design così avanzato! È possibile vedere qualche altro fotogramma o il video completo? Sono molto curioso dell’animazione. Grazie anche a te buona fortuna!
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u/PrimeCodes Aug 24 '26
Yeah, I just finished the opening typography section which is only ~a second long, but it feels like the most interesting and complex part of the entire ad. There is so much going on with all the morphing, match cuts, etc. I haven't tackled the rest of the video yet. I'll make sure to drop it in the sub once it's done.
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 24 '26
Molto bravo complimenti! Lo stai facendo con la sagoma originale sotto?
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u/PrimeCodes Aug 24 '26
Thanks! Exactly. I prep all the typography vectors in Illustrator. Feel free to hit me up in DM, happy to chat more about it.
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u/Ronaldvallejos Aug 24 '26
When it comes to SaaS clients, the answer is always "more"—you can charge more.
The marketing director probably doesn't even understand half of what you are doing. If you are able to figure out their product and make them a killer SaaS product video, you are a wizard to them.
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u/Noise_Various Aug 23 '26
is this video an apple original or some tiktok content?
Anyway, with my ~1 year motiondesign skill I would probably need 2 months, working full time and bruteforcing most scenes ^^
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 23 '26
Originale dal canale YouTube di Apple
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u/Noise_Various Aug 23 '26
buddy, I see you use the auto translater from reddit, but this is an english sub and not everyone here speaks your language ^^
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u/Fit_Cranberry7159 Aug 24 '26
Wow, that seems like a lot of work. Please let us know after you set the price, I’m curious as a freelancer myself
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u/Useful_Dog3923 Aug 25 '26
of topic but does anyone know how to the dock animation smoothly without an effector just keyframes
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u/Muttonboat Professional Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Only you can determine that and there are too many factors to account for to give a answer.
I only say this as reference for my market, but the artists in my area charge 600-750 a day.
Use that information as you will.
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u/RogithG Aug 24 '26
https://reddit.com/link/p5ji87r/video/gn8lpddh59lh1/player
Saw this on Instagram
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u/YaMrAj_Bhai Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
how much time will u take to edit this type of video x hourly rate in your country(in ur field and acc to experience) add few more bucks if it feel less
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Aug 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 23 '26
Certo hai ragione. Diciamo che con loro è stata una situazione particolare, mi spiego:
A dicembre ho iniziato la collaborazione con loro in cui per 1100€/mese erano inclusi 4 video youtube long form e dai 20 ai 25 video reel verticali, ogni mese, entrami con un determinato stile di editing e animazioni in linea con il branding dell'azienda. Poi con il passare dei primi 2-3 mesi, loro avevano "fatica" a registrare i cotnenuti, quindi continuavano a pagarmi, ma magari invece di fare 4 video youtube al mese ne facevo 2/3 e invece di fare 20-25 video reel al mese ne avevo da fare la metà. In questo loro continuavano a pagarmi senza problemi comunque. Poi mi hanno alzato il retainer mensile da 1100€ al mese a 1500€, con una leggera responsabilità in più (ovvero che ogni settimana avevamo 30 minuti di call io e i due founder in cui discutavamo dei contenuti fatti e di eventuali idee di contenuti futuri). Inoltre verso aprile/maggio, si è aggiunto il fatto che i founder non sentivano propri i colori del brand e in generale l'estetica dell'agenzia, quindi abbiamo iniziato a pensare insieme nelle chiamate, un nuovo "rebranding" (hanno chiamato una graphic designer e io invece mi sono occupato di pensare a uno stile di editing il più in linea possibile con il risultato desiderato dal cliente per questo rebranding). Adesso hanno da ormai 1 mese circa trovato il modo di essere costanti con la registrazione dei video, ma ora (dopo il rebranding) lo stile di editing è uno stile leggermente più complesso e preciso/dettagliato rispetto a quello che facevo inizialmente, dunque mantenere lo stessa mole di contenuti long form Youtube e reel instagram per lo stesso compenso non sarebbe corretto (difatti anche per questo sto pensando a come sollevare la questione e parlargliene, per riuscire a creare dei "paletti" per questo nuovo stile di editing, con un numero o un range fisso di contenuti mensili, un po' come avevamo fatto all'inizio della nostra collaborazione). Cosa ne pensi? Consigli?
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Aug 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Impossible_Jump6303 Aug 24 '26
Grazie mille. Sì ho fatto un po’ di brainstorming con Claude per questo tipo di cose e mi ha dato consigli simili anche lui. Penso che farò proprio così!
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u/TheMultiTapper Aug 24 '26
I thought you made THIS one. I was about to say, they should just sign a blank check for you lol.
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u/vagnor11 Aug 24 '26
Basically, how did they make this video and sync it with the music/sfx? Did they first create the storyboard, then animate it, and finally do the sound design? or whole new thing? make the animation according to the music?
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u/nessprod Aug 29 '26
I’ve learned that pricing your work depends a lot on the type of client and the project. In my experience, there’s a minimum price I’m not willing to go below, because otherwise I might end up affecting my delivery for other clients or simply losing money.
If I were you, I’d figure out what the minimum amount is that would make you genuinely happy to take the job. I think pricing can be a pretty personal thing. Obviously, more money is always better, but figuring out your own value and what you’re comfortable charging is also a good experience.
I also often just ask clients directly: “What budget are you working with for this video?” I don’t think it needs to be a taboo question. It’s actually better when both sides are upfront about it, because then you can see if you’re aligned from the beginning.
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u/xXRazorWireXx Aug 23 '26
A video like that is easily over 5k. Lot of work, but also art direction and vision. Hard to price that.
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Aug 23 '26
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u/GC_Novella Aug 23 '26
Don't you think that software engineers should eventually get paid? I think companies that can afford it sure. But I don't like free software because there is no guarantee it will have longevity. Humans cost money. Unless we are pro AI and Slavery to make our creative software.
I'm not for that.
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u/PsychoticChemist Aug 23 '26
Davinci does not remotely replace Logic Pro, also this is not relevant to the post
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u/Douglas_Fresh Aug 23 '26
Ah, similar… I was going to say. You know how much to charge if you made work at that quality. As for your question, that’s for you to figure out. That video you showed as an example was probably like 50K and had a team of people on it lol.