Most pricing articles are written by people who have never delivered a commercial to a paying brand. This one is written by a studio that produces AI commercials for brands like Samsung and Royal Canin — so these are real numbers, not estimates.
The short answer
In 2026, a professionally produced AI commercial costs between $1,000 and $10,000, depending on length, complexity and turnaround:
A 15–30 second social media ad (TikTok, Reels, Meta) typically runs $1,000–$2,500. A 30–60 second full commercial runs $2,000–$6,000. A 1–3 minute brand film or trailer runs $4,000–$10,000. Ongoing monthly retainers for brands that need a steady stream of creative range from $2,500 to $15,000 per month.
Compare that with traditional production, where a single broadcast-quality commercial starts around $30,000 and routinely passes $100,000 once you add crew, location, talent and post — and you understand why CMOs are moving budgets to AI production.
What actually drives the price
Three factors move the number more than anything else. Complexity of the creative — a single product hero shot is cheaper than a multi-scene narrative with consistent characters. Number of deliverables — most brands today order a hero spot plus 5–10 platform cutdowns (9:16, 1:1, 16:9) and A/B variations; AI production makes each additional variation marginal in cost, which is impossible in traditional production. Turnaround — standard delivery is 3–7 days; 24–48 hour rush carries a premium.
What should be included (demand this from any studio)
A serious quote always includes creative strategy and scriptwriting, AI video production, professional voiceover, licensed music and sound design, brand integration, a revision round, multi-format exports and full commercial usage rights. If a studio charges extra for usage rights or “platform versions,” you’re not comparing equal quotes.
When AI production wins — and when it doesn’t
AI commercials win on speed (days, not weeks), testing volume (ten variations for the price of one traditional shoot) and visual ambition — scenes that would be impossible or unaffordable to film. Traditional production still wins when a campaign legally requires real product demonstration footage or live celebrity talent.
The quality gap closed in 2025. Our animated commercial for CatRex passed 1.6 million organic views on TikTok, and our work has been recognized at the Burano AI Film Festival in Venice and shortlisted at London’s Saatchi Gallery — audiences respond to story and craft, not to how the pixels were made.
Frequently asked questions
A realistic 2026 range is $1.5K for a 15-second platform-native cut up to $80K+ for a fully directed 60-second TVC. The driver is craft depth — concept rounds, directed plates, color and sound work — not running tool fees. Most B2B SaaS commercials land between $5K and $25K because they need brand integrity but not broadcast finishing. The wider AI video production cost breakdown shows how the band shifts when scope, format, or distribution shifts.
Five drivers move the number: senior creative direction (single biggest), shot count and iteration depth, original music versus library, color and audio finishing spec, and language versions. AI generation itself is the smallest line in a premium budget — craft hours and revision rounds are the real cost. Our $500 vs $5K vs $50K AI video tiers article maps each driver to a price band so you can predict where your spec lands.
A 15-second AI commercial runs $1.5K–$6K in 2026. The floor delivers a vertical platform-native cut with templated structure and licensed audio. The ceiling delivers a directed concept with one signature hero shot, brand-tuned color, and a custom music sting. Anything below $1.5K is template SaaS, not finished work. The defined inclusions per band live inside ArcaneWiz packages so you can match a 15-second use case to a real number.
A 30-second AI commercial runs $4K–$22K. The floor is a single-narrative product spot for paid social. The ceiling is a multi-shot brand piece with directed plates, custom score, and broadcast finishing. Most Series A–C SaaS commercials sit at $8K–$15K — enough headroom for a real treatment, three or four distinct shots, and 16:9 plus 9:16 deliverables. Compare against the ArcaneWiz packages tiers to find the right slot for your campaign.
A 60-second AI commercial runs $15K–$80K, with premium TVC-grade work pushing to six figures. The 60-second band carries serious brand or fundraising weight, so finishing matters: directed plates, original score, full mix, broadcast-safe color, multilingual masters. Below $15K, scope compromises start to read on screen. The way a senior AI commercial production company budgets a 60-second piece end-to-end is mapped on that page.
A traditional 60-second TVC at agency rate cards is $150K–$500K and 8–14 weeks. The AI commercial equivalent at premium tier delivers comparable craft for $25K–$80K in 2–4 weeks because the cost stack moves from crew, locations, and post-house chains to senior creative direction plus an AI render pipeline. Logistics savings flow into iteration depth. See AI video vs traditional cost, speed, quality and the ArcaneWiz vs traditional production breakdown for line-by-line numbers.
At premium tier, yes — clearance, licensing, and multilingual masters are included in the fixed fee. At entry tier, music is licensed library and clearance is your responsibility. Multilingual masters are an upgrade everywhere because they touch script, voice direction, lip-sync correction, and on-screen typography. Each inclusion is line-itemed inside ArcaneWiz packages so you know what falls inside the quoted number and what gets quoted as an extension.
For broadcast-quality output we lean on Kling 3 for cinematic motion with directable camera moves, Veo for photoreal product and lifestyle plates, Seedance for character continuity across shots, and Midjourney for reference framing. None of these alone clears a broadcast bar — the human grading, sound mix, and direction layered on top is what gets the work into broadcast-safe color and mix. The Kling 3 broadcast-quality AI commercial case shows the full stack in action.
Almost always fixed-fee. Once your brief defines duration, format count, finishing spec, and language versions, we quote a single number. Pure custom hourly only enters the conversation on genuinely bespoke work — directing a custom AI training run on your brand IP, or a multi-territory campaign with regulated clearance per market. The packages page lists the four standard scopes that cover the bulk of premium B2B commercials inside ArcaneWiz packages.
48-hour delivery sits at premium tier under a dedicated track because the work is compressed, not skipped — our Creative Director with 20+ years in cinematography, color, and sound runs the concept and direction inside that window. Standard 30-second commercials ship in 10–14 days. Broadcast-grade 60-second TVCs run 3–6 weeks with directed plates and multilingual finishing. The brief to broadcast in 48 hours playbook and why the director still matters in AI video explain how the timeline compresses without dropping craft.
Get an exact number for your project
Every project is different, and a real quote takes one short conversation, not a calculator widget. Book a free 20-minute Vision Call and you’ll leave with a concrete scope, timeline and price for your commercial — whether you work with us or not.
ArcaneWiz is a premium AI video studio. Clients include Samsung, Royal Canin and Anipet. See our work →