Free tool
Video ad cost calculator: what DIY really costs you
How much does it cost to make a video ad yourself? The subscription price is only part of it. This video ad cost calculator adds up your apps, your extra credits and your hours, then puts the yearly total next to a flat price for the same number of videos.
Use the calculator below. It takes about a minute. Then scroll down for where to find your real numbers, the hidden costs people forget, and a worked example.
How to fill in each field honestly
The calculator is only as good as the numbers you give it. Here's where to find the real ones:
- Monthly app subscriptions ($). Open your bank or card statement and search for every app you use to make video: a video generator app, a voice app, an editing app, a stock music library, a caption app. Add them up. If you pay yearly, divide by 12. Your phone's app store also lists active subscriptions.
- Extra credits per month ($). Top-ups, credit packs and “pay as you go” charges. Look at the last three months and take the average, since some months are heavier than others.
- Hours spent per video. Count everything: writing the script, generating clips, re-dos, the voice, music, captions, exporting and posting. If you're not sure, time your next one. Most people guess low. Our guide on how long it takes to make a video ad breaks it down step by step.
- What your hour is worth ($). Use what you'd charge a customer for an hour, or what you'd pay someone to cover for you. If video happens at night, ask what that evening is worth to you.
- Videos per month. The number you actually finish and post, not the number you plan to make.
The hidden costs people forget
- Re-dos. The clip with a strange hand, the voice that mispronounces your business name, the caption that's a beat late. Each one costs credits and time. See common AI video ad problems.
- Learning time. Every app has its own buttons and quirks. The first few videos take much longer, and updates can change things again.
- Failed renders and exports. A render that stalls or comes out the wrong size still uses up time, and sometimes credits.
- Music licenses. Music that's fine for a personal post may not be cleared for paid ads. Check your library's license or pay for one that covers ads.
- Captions. Lots of people watch muted, so captions aren't optional. That's often another app, or another half hour fixing auto-captions by hand.
- Credits that expire. On some plans unused credits don't carry over, so a slow month still costs full price. More in what to do when AI video credits run out.
Add what you can to the fields above. Re-dos and learning time belong in “hours per video”; renders that eat credits belong in “extra credits”.
A worked example (made-up numbers)
Here's an example, not anyone's real bill. Say you use one example stack of five monthly plans we priced in October 2026, which came to about $116 a month. Assume no extra credits, 4 hours per video, your hour is worth $40, and you make 2 videos a month.
| Line | Math | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| App subscriptions | $116 a month x 12 | $1,392 |
| Extra credits | $0 a month x 12 (assumed) | $0 |
| Your time | 4 hours x $40 x 2 videos = $320 a month, x 12 | $3,840 |
| DIY total | 24 videos | $5,232 (about $218 per video) |
In words: the apps cost $116 x 12 = $1,392 a year. Your time is 4 hours x $40 = $160 per video, times 2 videos = $320 a month, or $3,840 a year. Together that's $5,232 a year for 24 videos, which works out to $218 per video. Add any extra credits and the number only goes up.
When DIY does make sense
Being honest: making video ads yourself is the better deal for some owners.
- You already have the skills. If an ad takes you one hour, not four, your time cost drops fast.
- You make a lot of videos. Subscriptions are a fixed cost. At ten or more videos a month, they get cheap per video.
- You enjoy it. If editing on a Sunday is fun, not a chore, those hours aren't really a cost.
- You need daily, quick, casual posts. Behind-the-scenes clips filmed and posted in minutes don't need a studio.
Where a flat price tends to win: you make a handful of ads a month, each one eats an evening, and you'd rather be running the business. Our comparison of DIY vs freelancer vs studio video covers the middle options too.
DIY cost vs flat prices, side by side
Using the same example of 24 videos a year and a DIY total of $5,232:
| Option | Price per video | 24 videos a year | vs the $5,232 DIY example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text ad | $99 | $2,376 | $2,856 less |
| Quick promo | $199 | $4,776 | $456 less |
| Product showcase | $299 | $7,176 | $1,944 more |
| Spokesperson ad | $349 | $8,376 | $3,144 more |
So in this example, flat-price Text ads and Quick promos cost less than doing it yourself, while a Product showcase or Spokesperson ad costs more per year than the DIY math. That's a fair comparison only if your DIY videos come out the same: a Spokesperson ad includes a friendly on-camera presenter and a written script, which is hard to get from an app at all. Your numbers will differ, which is why the calculator is here.
Every Storyhand Studio video is one flat price with music, an end card with your offer, post text and one revision included, and most also come with voiceover (or your own voice) and captions. There's nothing to subscribe to and nothing to cancel. Ads and reels are delivered in 3 business days. The Quick promo, $199, gives you 15 seconds of bold animated text, professional voiceover and music. For more on pricing across the industry, see how much a video ad costs.
See the Quick promo, compare everything on our pricing page, or order a video.