Guide
Comparison video ad format: two options, then a clear pick
A comparison video ad puts two options side by side and tells each type of buyer which one to pick. Here is how to structure one in 40 seconds, with an example script.
In short
- A comparison video ad compares two options your buyer is choosing between, then says who should pick which.
- A comparison ad works best at 35 to 45 seconds, filmed vertically with you talking to the camera.
- Viewers only trust your recommendation if you give the other option one real strength.
- This format suits buyers who have narrowed it down to two options and want help deciding.
- length of the example structure
- 40 s
- parts, from hook to call to action
- 6
- words in the example script
- 96
What is a comparison video ad?
A comparison video ad, also called an X vs Y video, compares two options a buyer is choosing between. It ends by telling each type of buyer which one to pick.
- It usually runs 35 to 45 seconds, in vertical 9:16, with one person talking to the camera.
- It opens with the choice itself, for example: gravel bike or road bike?
- The middle gives one honest strength of each option, then the one difference that decides it.
- It ends with a clear recommendation, such as pick X if this is you and pick Y if that is you.
- You can compare two of your own products, two kinds of product, or yours and the usual alternative.
When should you use a comparison video?
Use it when your buyers are already choosing between two options. People search X vs Y for bikes, mattresses, software plans, flooring and dog food.
- Shops and online stores can use it for two models that customers mix up.
- Software founders can use it to explain two plans, or two ways of solving the same problem.
- Tradespeople can use it for the either-or question they hear on every quote.
- It works best when you sell both options, because viewers can see you gain nothing from the advice.
- If you only sell one of them, say plainly what the other one does well and who it suits.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to structure a comparison video ad in 40 seconds
The example has six parts. Each option gets about 8 seconds before you say what decides it.
- The difference gets about 8 seconds. Make it something viewers can check for themselves, like how often they ride off-road.
- The recommendation works best as two matching sentences: pick X if this is you, pick Y if that is you.
- Each 8-second part holds about 19 words. If a part is longer than that, cut words out of it instead of taking seconds from the next one.
A comparison video ad in 40 seconds
Both options get an honest strength before the difference decides it.
Hook
0-4 s. The choice, in your buyers' words
Option X
4-12 s. What X does best
Option Y
12-20 s. What Y does best
Difference
20-28 s. The one thing that decides it
Recommendation
28-34 s. Who should pick X, and who should pick Y
Call to action
34-40 s. Where to see or try both
Example comparison video script
Here is an example script for a bike shop. It is 96 words, which takes about 40 seconds to say out loud.
Example script: gravel bike or road bike
One line for each part of the structure above.
| Part | Time | What you say |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | 0-4 s | Gravel bike or road bike? Here is how to choose. |
| Option X | 4-12 s | A road bike is lighter and faster on tarmac. If every ride is a paved loop, nothing beats it. |
| Option Y | 12-20 s | A gravel bike takes wider tyres and sits you more upright. It is a little slower on the road. |
| Difference | 20-28 s | The question is where you ride. If you often leave the tarmac, the road bike stays in the garage. |
| Recommendation | 28-34 s | Only roads? Pick the road bike. Towpaths, forest tracks or winter commuting? Pick gravel. |
| Call to action | 34-40 s | Both are in the shop this weekend, so come and ride them back to back. |
Part: Hook
- Time
- 0-4 s
- What you say
- Gravel bike or road bike? Here is how to choose.
Part: Option X
- Time
- 4-12 s
- What you say
- A road bike is lighter and faster on tarmac. If every ride is a paved loop, nothing beats it.
Part: Option Y
- Time
- 12-20 s
- What you say
- A gravel bike takes wider tyres and sits you more upright. It is a little slower on the road.
Part: Difference
- Time
- 20-28 s
- What you say
- The question is where you ride. If you often leave the tarmac, the road bike stays in the garage.
Part: Recommendation
- Time
- 28-34 s
- What you say
- Only roads? Pick the road bike. Towpaths, forest tracks or winter commuting? Pick gravel.
Part: Call to action
- Time
- 34-40 s
- What you say
- Both are in the shop this weekend, so come and ride them back to back.
Hook lines for a comparison video
The hook is your first sentence. For a comparison, it is the choice itself, in the words your buyers use. Here are four the bike shop could say, with your own two options in place of theirs.
- Gravel bike or road bike? Here is how to choose.
- I sell both, so here is who should buy which.
- You are choosing between a gravel bike and a road bike. One question decides it.
- Everyone asks me which of the two to get. The answer depends on one thing.
Where to put captions and b-roll
Viewers have to keep two names apart, often with the sound off. Captions and b-roll do most of that work.
- Show a clip of each option while you talk about it. Those clips are your b-roll.
- If you do not stock the other option, search the free clip library in Cutroom for it, or film the one a customer rode in on. A photo held up to the camera also works.
- Come back to your own face for the difference and the recommendation. That is where viewers decide whether to trust you.
- Cutroom decides where each caption line breaks, so keep every sentence about one option only. That way the two names never end up in the same line.
- Select the option's name in the editor and give just those words their own colour, so X and Y never blur together.
Caption styles that keep two names apart
Four caption styles that keep two names apart. Duotone puts the second line in a colour you pick. DuoStack sets the two lines in two different fonts. Chip draws a rounded box around the word you are hearing. Frame puts an outline around each line.
Duotone
DuoStack
Chip
Frame
Common comparison video mistakes
Viewers judge a comparison on fairness. If it feels rigged, they doubt all of it, even the true parts.
- The most common mistake is a rigged comparison. Give the other option one real strength and say it plainly.
- Claims about a named competitor have to be true and provable today, in a paid ad most of all. If you cannot show it, compare two of your own models or two kinds of product instead.
- A price or a spec you quoted last year goes out of date quietly. Check both options again before you put money behind the video.
- Five differences turn the ad into a spec sheet. Pick the one difference that decides it.
- Ending on "it depends" leaves viewers where they started. Say who should pick which, in one sentence each.
Comparison videos on Reels, TikTok and Shorts
You can post the same 9:16 video on all three apps. What changes is who finds it.
- On YouTube people type X vs Y into the search box, so the title does most of the work and the video keeps earning views for months.
- On Reels and TikTok nobody is searching, so you put it in front of people who already looked at both products.
Where a comparison video works
| Platform | How to use it |
|---|---|
| YouTube Shorts | People search X vs Y on YouTube. Use their exact words in your title. |
| Instagram Reels | Run it as an ad for people who already looked at both products. |
| TikTok | Post it as a normal video too. People argue about the two options in the comments, and the replies tell you which difference to lead with next time. |
Platform: YouTube Shorts
- How to use it
- People search X vs Y on YouTube. Use their exact words in your title.
Platform: Instagram Reels
- How to use it
- Run it as an ad for people who already looked at both products.
Platform: TikTok
- How to use it
- Post it as a normal video too. People argue about the two options in the comments, and the replies tell you which difference to lead with next time.
Making a comparison video in Cutroom
Cutroom edits the video for you. You film yourself talking, add a clip of each option, and get a finished vertical ad back.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long, plus a clip of each option.
- You highlight the sentence about each option, and Cutroom puts that option's clip over exactly those words.
- Captions are timed to your voice and burned in, and your first line goes on screen as a headline.
- You get a 9:16 MP4 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts. A 30-second video costs about 110 credits.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
Questions people ask
- How long should a comparison video ad be?
- 35 to 45 seconds. That is enough for one strength of each option, the difference that decides it and a clear recommendation. The example on this page runs 40 seconds and 96 words.
- Can I compare my product with a competitor in an ad?
- Yes, if every claim is true and you can prove it. Comparison ads are legal in most markets, but the rules differ by country. Comparing two kinds of product, or two of your own, carries less risk.
- Should a comparison video pick a winner?
- Yes, one for each type of buyer. End with "pick X if" and "pick Y if". A video that does not recommend anything leaves the viewer where they started.
- What if my product is the wrong choice for some buyers?
- Say so. Sending the wrong buyer to the other option saves you a return and a bad review. It also makes your advice believable for everyone your product does suit.
- Can I make a comparison video if I only sell one of the two options?
- Yes. Say plainly what the other one does well and who it suits, then show why yours fits everyone else. For a clip of the option you do not stock, search the free clip library in Cutroom, film a customer's with their permission, or hold a photo up to the camera.
- Can Cutroom edit a comparison video?
- Yes. Upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes, and a clip of each option. Cutroom puts each clip on the sentence you highlight, adds captions, puts your first line on screen as a headline, and exports a 9:16 MP4. Your first video is free.
- When is a comparison video the wrong format?
- When your viewers are not choosing between two options yet. Someone who has never heard of either needs the problem explained first, so use a problem-agitate-solve ad or a demo for them.
Film the comparison your customers keep asking you about, and let Cutroom edit it. Your first video is free.