Guide
Pricing explainer video: say the price in the first 4 seconds
A pricing explainer video says your price in the first 4 seconds, then explains what it covers and what it does not. Here is a 38-second structure and an example script.
In short
- A pricing explainer video is a short video where you say your price on camera and explain what it buys.
- The price should come in the first 4 seconds, because viewers who have to wait for it assume it is high.
- Saying what is not included makes the rest of your price easier to believe.
- A pricing video works best at 30 to 40 seconds, for services where buyers expect the price to be hidden.
- length of the example structure
- 38 s
- until the price is said
- 4 s
- parts, from price to call to action
- 5
What is a pricing explainer video?
A pricing explainer video is a short video where you say what you charge and what the buyer gets for it.
- It usually runs 30 to 40 seconds, in vertical 9:16, with you talking to the camera.
- It starts with the price, said out loud and shown on screen within 4 seconds.
- The middle explains what the price covers, then breaks it down per day, per use or per person.
- Near the end you say plainly what is not included.
- It ends by sending viewers to the page where they can see their own exact price. Put that link in your bio and in the first comment.
- Saying the number early puts off the people the price does not suit, and builds trust with everyone it does.
Who should make a pricing video?
It works best where buyers expect the price to be hidden, so hearing it said out loud gets their attention.
- Local services can use it when most enquiries start with "how much is it", as they do for cleaning, landscaping and coaching.
- Software founders can use it to explain their two or three plans.
- Coaches and agencies can use it to stop spending calls on people the price does not suit.
- Any business can show it as an ad to people who looked at their pricing page and left. They saw the number, not the reasons.
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 pricing video in 38 seconds
The price comes first. A viewer made to wait for a price assumes it is high.
- What the price covers gets about 9 seconds. Name the things the buyer would otherwise pay for separately: the people who turn up, the materials, the travel and anything they would have to buy themselves.
- The breakdown is the longest part, about 12 seconds. Divide the price by the day or by the visit, then compare it with something they already buy at that price.
- The price itself is about 9 words. If yours takes longer than 4 seconds to say, cut words out of it.
A pricing explainer video in 38 seconds
The price comes first. The breakdown comes third.
Price
0-4 s. The price, said and shown on screen
What it covers
4-13 s. Three things the price pays for
Breakdown
13-25 s. The price per day, per visit or per person
Not included
25-33 s. What the price does not cover
Call to action
33-38 s. Where to see your exact price
Example pricing video script
Here is an example script for a home cleaning service. It is 84 words, which takes about 38 seconds to say out loud.
Example script: a weekly home clean
One line for each part of the structure above.
| Part | Time | What you say |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 0-4 s | Weekly cleans with us are forty-two dollars an hour. |
| What it covers | 4-13 s | Most homes take three hours. That covers two insured cleaners, all products and equipment, and the same team every week. |
| Breakdown | 13-25 s | So a three-bedroom house is one hundred and twenty-six dollars a visit. Across the week that is eighteen dollars a day, what a household spends on coffee. |
| Not included | 25-33 s | It does not cover ovens or the insides of windows. Those are extras on the booking page. |
| Call to action | 33-38 s | Enter your postcode and see your exact price before you call. |
Part: Price
- Time
- 0-4 s
- What you say
- Weekly cleans with us are forty-two dollars an hour.
Part: What it covers
- Time
- 4-13 s
- What you say
- Most homes take three hours. That covers two insured cleaners, all products and equipment, and the same team every week.
Part: Breakdown
- Time
- 13-25 s
- What you say
- So a three-bedroom house is one hundred and twenty-six dollars a visit. Across the week that is eighteen dollars a day, what a household spends on coffee.
Part: Not included
- Time
- 25-33 s
- What you say
- It does not cover ovens or the insides of windows. Those are extras on the booking page.
Part: Call to action
- Time
- 33-38 s
- What you say
- Enter your postcode and see your exact price before you call.
Hook lines for a pricing video
The hook is your first sentence. In a pricing video, it is the price itself, said plainly, the way you would say it across the counter. Here are three the cleaning company could use, with your own numbers in place of theirs.
- A weekly clean is forty-two dollars an hour, and most homes take three hours.
- Here is what a weekly clean costs, and what you get for it.
- People ask why we charge forty-two dollars an hour. Here is where the money goes.
Where to put the price, captions and b-roll
Put the price on screen at the moment you say it, so it reads with the sound off.
- Stay on your own face when you say the price and what is not included. Those are the moments viewers decide whether to trust you.
- Use b-roll while you list what the price covers, such as the team and the equipment, and during the per-day breakdown.
- Show the price as large text at the top of the screen in the first seconds.
- Give the words of the price their own caption colour, so the number stands out.
- Put the link to your pricing page in your bio and in the first comment. The call to action only works if that page is one tap away.
B-roll on the per-day breakdown
A clip of takeaway coffee plays over the sentence that compares the daily cost with something the viewer already buys.
Common pricing video mistakes
Most mistakes come from being uneasy about your own number. Viewers read a delay, a vague answer or an apology as a warning.
- Saying "from" a price with no typical total leaves viewers guessing. Give the price most customers actually pay.
- Hiding the number until the end makes it sound high. Say it in the first 4 seconds.
- Apologising for the price makes viewers doubt it. Explain what it pays for, and let the people it does not suit move on.
- A daily figure the viewer does not believe does more harm than saying nothing. Divide by something they recognise: a weekly clean at one hundred and twenty-six dollars is eighteen dollars a day.
- An old price on a pinned video leads to arguments at the door. Record a new version the week your price changes, and take the old one down.
Pricing videos on Reels, TikTok and Shorts
You can post the same video on all three apps. What changes is how people arrive at it.
- On YouTube people type how much does a weekly cleaner cost, so the number goes in the title and the video keeps being found.
- On Reels and TikTok nobody is searching, so you show it to people who opened your pricing page and left.
Where a pricing video works
| Platform | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | Run it as an ad for people who visited your pricing page, and post it for local customers. |
| TikTok | Post it as a normal video. Saying a real price gives people something to comment on, and their questions tell you what to explain next time. |
| YouTube Shorts | People search questions like how much does a weekly cleaner cost. Put the number in your title. |
Platform: Instagram Reels
- How to use it
- Run it as an ad for people who visited your pricing page, and post it for local customers.
Platform: TikTok
- How to use it
- Post it as a normal video. Saying a real price gives people something to comment on, and their questions tell you what to explain next time.
Platform: YouTube Shorts
- How to use it
- People search questions like how much does a weekly cleaner cost. Put the number in your title.
Making a pricing video in Cutroom
Cutroom edits the video for you. You film yourself saying the script once, and get a finished vertical video back.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long.
- You type the price as the headline at the top of the screen, and pick one of 15 styles for it.
- You select the words of the price and give only those their own caption style and colour.
- You highlight the per-day sentence, and a clip lands on those words from your own uploads or the free library.
- You get a 9:16 MP4 with captions burned in. Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it.
Questions people ask
- How long should a pricing explainer video be?
- 30 to 40 seconds. The example here runs 38 seconds and 84 words, with the price said in the first 4 seconds. If you have three plans, make one video per plan, or one comparison video for the two plans buyers mix up.
- Should I say my price in a video?
- Yes, if your price is stable and you would tell it to anyone who asked. It removes enquiries from people it does not suit and builds trust with the rest. If every job is quoted separately, give the usual range and the two things that change it.
- How do I explain a price that is higher than competitors?
- Show where the money goes. List what you include that cheaper options leave out, such as insurance, the same team each week or a guarantee, then give the per-day cost. Do not name or attack the cheaper option.
- What if my prices change often?
- Explain how you charge instead of the exact figure: what you charge for, what changes the total and where the current price is shown. Record a new version when that changes.
- Can Cutroom edit a pricing explainer video?
- Yes. Film the script as one video of up to 3 minutes and upload it. Cutroom returns a captioned 9:16 MP4 with the price as the headline on screen and a clip on each phrase you highlight. Your first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it.
- When should I not make a pricing video?
- When your viewers do not want the product yet. Someone who does not want the thing hears only the cost. Show new viewers the problem or the result first, with a problem-agitate-solve ad or a before and after video, and save the price for people who are already interested.
Say your price to the camera once, and Cutroom puts it on screen. Your first video is free.