What Does Custom Motion Design Cost for a SaaS Company?
Custom motion design for a SaaS company typically starts around $4,000 per project and scales up from there based on length, complexity and revisions. A 30-second product explainer costs less than a 90-second campaign film with custom illustration and sound design — but neither should cost you a blind guess.
What actually moves the price
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Length | More seconds means more frames and more animation hours, even at the same style. |
| Style complexity | Flat 2D motion graphics is faster to produce than custom 3D, character animation, or a mixed-media look. |
| Asset creation | Reusing existing brand assets is cheaper than building illustrations or 3D models from scratch. |
| Voiceover & sound design | Scripting, recording and music licensing add cost on top of the animation itself. |
| Revision rounds | Every round beyond what's scoped adds time — this is the most common source of budget creep. |
Freelance vs. agency pricing
Agencies typically charge more for the same deliverable — not because the animation itself costs more to produce, but because the rate also covers account management, project coordination and overhead that a solo freelancer doesn't carry. That's not a knock on agencies; it's a real trade-off between more layers of process and a more direct relationship with the person actually doing the work.
How I price projects
I quote after a discovery call, once scope, references and timeline are actually clear — not off a generic price list. Projects typically start at $4,000 depending on scope, with one round of revisions built into that estimate from the start, so it's not an extra line item later.