Find a calculator ↗Video Editing Project Cost Calculator
Estimate a video editing budget from finished runtime, editing effort, review hours, and fixed project charges.
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What is this video editing project cost calculator?
A video editing project cost calculator translates final runtime into an estimated editing workload. It adds separate review hours and fixed charges to produce a post-production budget. The hours-per-minute input represents your project assumption, not a standard editing speed.
How to use the calculator
Estimate finished runtime, then choose editing hours per finished minute using comparable projects. Add revision or review time outside that estimate. Enter the hourly rate and fixed expenses, keeping separately quoted items out of labor to avoid duplication.
Check the input assumptions
Review the help text beneath each field before calculating. Enter amounts in US dollars where shown and use consistent units. Change one assumption at a time to understand which inputs affect your result.
Formula and worked example
Example calculation
An eight-minute video at two editing hours per finished minute needs 16 editing hours. Four extra review hours bring the total to 20. At $60 per hour plus $200 fixed costs, the estimate is $1,400, or $175 per finished minute.
These numbers illustrate the calculation; they are not recommended rates or industry benchmarks.
How to interpret your result
Use the budget to discuss deliverables and revision limits before work begins. A project with animation, complex sound, or many stakeholders may require more effort even when final runtime is short.
What the estimate leaves out
The model does not inspect footage or estimate creative complexity automatically. It excludes production and distribution costs unless entered. Finished runtime alone is not a reliable pricing basis without an appropriate effort assumption.
Frequently asked questions
Should I enter the length of all raw footage?
No. Enter the final edited runtime. Use the effort-per-minute assumption to reflect the work of reviewing and assembling the raw material.
Are revision rounds included?
Only through the hours you enter. Add expected extra review effort when it is outside the base editing estimate.
Where do captions and motion graphics belong?
Include their time in editing or review hours, or their quoted cost in fixed charges. Count each expense once.
Is two hours per minute an industry benchmark?
No. It is an illustrative input. Actual effort varies widely with format, footage, and review requirements.
Can I use a fixed-price quote?
Use this tool to compare the implied workload with the quote, but confirm scope, licenses, and revision limits separately.
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