Photography & events
Wedding Videography Cost Calculator
Works videography cost, where the edit rather than the filming is most of the work.
Result
Wedding pricing varies by region, season and day of the week by more than most couples expect, so treat the defaults as placeholders and replace them with quotes you have actually been given. A Saturday in peak season in a major metro is a different market from a Friday in the off season. Editing is the part of videography that people do not see and it is usually the majority of the work. A polished highlight film takes many hours of editing per finished minute once footage is logged, audio synced from multiple sources, colour graded and cut to music, which is why a five minute film is weeks of work rather than an afternoon. That is also why turnaround times are long and why a cheap quote with a fast turnaround is worth asking questions about. Where a package bundles filming and editing, the editing figure here is shown to explain the price rather than added to it, since it is already inside the package fee.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
The package fee for the coverage hours and crew, plus additional shooters, plus the deliverables: a highlight film, a longer edit, raw footage, ceremony and speech audio. Editing consumes far more hours than filming, which is why deliverables rather than coverage hours drive the price.
What moves the number
- Coverage hours and number of shooters.
- Deliverables and their length.
- Whether raw footage is included.
- Delivery timeline.
Where this one goes wrong
Editing a wedding film takes many times the hours spent filming it, which is why a request for a longer edit or additional versions is a substantial addition rather than a small one, and why delivery timelines are measured in months. Understand the timeline before signing. A second shooter is the other decision worth making deliberately, since a single operator cannot cover both the aisle and the reaction, and some moments happen once.
Before you quote
- Confirm the deliverables and their lengths in writing.
- Understand the delivery timeline before booking.
- Decide on a second shooter for coverage that happens once.
Questions
About this calculator
Why does a wedding film take months to deliver?
Because editing consumes many times the hours spent filming. Culling footage, syncing audio, colour work and building a narrative from a full day is substantial work, and a realistic timeline is measured in months rather than weeks.
Is a second shooter worth it?
For moments that happen once, yes. A single operator cannot cover both the aisle and the reaction, or both the speech and the audience, and those are the shots couples most want. It is a coverage decision rather than a luxury.
Should raw footage be included?
It is worth asking about and it is frequently a separate item, since raw files are large and delivering them is extra work. Whether it matters depends on whether anyone will ever watch hours of unedited footage, which is worth being honest about.
The formula
hourly = hours x videographers x rate + editing hours x rate; editing hours = finished minutes x hours per minute
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How to use this calculator
- Priced as. Enter your own figure; the page starts at A package with set deliverables.
- Package fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $3,200.
- Hours included in the package. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8.
- Overtime per hour ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $250.
- Extra hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 0.
- Highlight film length (minutes). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 5.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total videography cost, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Priced as | A package with set deliverables |
| Package fee | $3,200 |
| Hours included in the package | 8 |
| Overtime per hour | $250 |
| Extra hours | 0 |
| Highlight film length (minutes) | 5 |
| Editing hours per finished minute | 6 |
| Full ceremony edit | Included as a separate deliverable |
| Full ceremony edit | $450 |
| Drone coverage | $400 |
| Raw footage delivery | $300 |
| Same day edit shown at the reception | $0 |
| Licensed music | $100 |
| Travel | $100 |
| Vendor meals | $90 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total videography cost main result | $4,640 |
| Filming on the day | $3,200 |
| Editing | $0 |
| Editing hours | 30 |
| Additional deliverables | $1,250 |
| Overtime | $0 |
| Cost per hour of coverage | $580 |
| Editing as a share of the total | 0.0% |
Videography comes to $4,640, or $580 per hour of coverage. A 5 minute highlight film is around 30 hours of editing on its own, and additional deliverables add $1,250.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only package fee, this is what happens to total videography cost. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Package fee ($) | Total videography cost |
|---|---|
| $1,600 | $3,040 |
| $2,400 | $3,840 |
| $3,200 example above | $4,640 |
| $4,800 | $6,240 |
| $6,400 | $7,840 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Priced as
- Choose from A package with set deliverables, By the hour plus editing.
- Package fee ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $3,200.
- Hours included in the package
- A number, between 1 and 24, starting at 8.
- Overtime per hour ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 5000, starting at $250.
- Extra hours
- A number, between 0 and 12, starting at 0.
- Highlight film length (minutes)
- A number, between 0 and 60, starting at 5.
- Editing hours per finished minute
- Editing is the bulk of the work. A polished highlight film takes many hours per finished minute.
- Full ceremony edit
- Choose from Not included, Included as a separate deliverable.
- Full ceremony edit ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 20000, starting at $450.
- Drone coverage ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 20000, starting at $400.
- Raw footage delivery ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 20000, starting at $300.
- Same day edit shown at the reception ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $0.
- Licensed music ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 5000, starting at $100.
- Travel ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 20000, starting at $100.
- Vendor meals ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 2000, starting at $90.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total videography cost | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Filming on the day | A money figure. |
| Editing | A money figure. |
| Editing hours | A number. |
| Additional deliverables | A money figure. |
| Overtime | A money figure. |
| Cost per hour of coverage | A money figure. |
| Editing as a share of the total | A percentage. |
Keep going
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