Broad 2026 market planning ranges in USD, not quotes or Garbanzo prices. Freelancer includes newer entrants through senior independents. Taxes and pass-through costs, including media, talent, licensing, travel, venues, permits, and projection hardware, are excluded unless stated otherwise. Budgets overlap; the columns describe delivery models, not quality grades. Compare scope, relevant experience, deliverables, and production responsibility when reviewing quotes.
Typical market examples
Example | Freelancer | Specialist studio | Large studio / Agency |
30-second custom 2D motion-graphics commercial | $500–$8,000 | $4,000–$20,000 | $15,000–$60,000+ |
30-second character-led 2D brand spot | $1,500–$12,000 | $10,000–$35,000 | $30,000–$100,000+ |
30-second live-action social commercial with one shoot day | $3,000–$10,000 | $8,000–$25,000 | $20,000–$60,000+ |
30-second regional broadcast commercial with one shoot day | $5,000–$15,000 | $10,000–$35,000 | $25,000–$75,000+ |
What affects the price
Style. Design-driven 2D and photoreal 3D have different costs, including the time needed for rendering.
Complexity. Characters, simulations, and built environments each add build and revision hours.
Licensed elements. Music, voiceover, and stock carry their own fees on top of production.
Versioning. A :30 usually needs :15 and :06 cutdowns, along with vertical reframes.
Commercial production cost, stage by stage
You pay for four stages: concept and script, design and styleframes, animation or the shoot, and finishing. Finishing includes the edit, sound, color, and delivery. Garbanzo prices all four together because cutting corners at any stage affects what you see in the final thirty seconds.
Design and production take most of the hours. Changing a concept is quicker and cheaper than changing the animation.
Animated vs. live-action commercial cost
Live action and animation spend the budget in different places. A live-action spot concentrates cost in the shoot: crew, cast, locations, equipment, and permits, all booked for fixed days. An animated spot spreads cost across design and build time, with no shoot to schedule. Neither is cheaper by default, and the examples above overlap. Animation keeps more control after production starts, since a shot can be rebuilt rather than reshot, while live action rewards a plan that is locked before the shoot day.
Questions we'd ask you first
Start with the audience, the idea, and where the spot will run. A working budget or unsettled date is enough context to compare approaches.
Where will it run?
How many versions?
Does a brand motion system exist ([motion branding → /products/brand-packages#motion-branding])?
What does the product need to do on screen?
Agency teams usually know the placement and version count already. Brand teams often need to settle the motion system and what the product will do on screen first.
FAQ
Why doesn't a 15-second cut cost half as much as a 30?
A :15 needs the same concept, styleframes, and approvals as a :30, so halving the length doesn't halve the work. The saving shows up in animation and finishing hours. That's also why studios quote cutdowns as a set instead of charging a fraction of the master for each one.
Does the price include airtime?
No. The ranges on this page cover making the commercial. Buying the TV, streaming, or social placements that run it is a separate media budget, usually planned and bought by a media buyer or agency.
Why list every placement before production starts?
Each placement brings its own length, aspect ratio, and delivery spec. Knowing them before production lets the team frame shots that survive a vertical or square reframe, which costs far less than rescuing shots in the edit.
Can we test the idea before full production?
Yes. An animatic, the storyboard timed to the voiceover and music, lets your team judge the idea and the pacing before animation begins. Changes at that stage cost a fraction of changes to finished animation.
Does a :30 for TV cost more than a :30 for social?
The creative can cost the same. TV adds delivery requirements that social placements rarely ask for: technical QC, loudness standards, each network's delivery spec, and clearance for every licensed element. Those costs land in finishing and licensing, not in the animation.