How to Choose the Right Explainer Video Company for Your Business

If you are considering an explainer video, you probably need to explain a product, service, platform, process, or idea more clearly.

But once you decide to make the video, the next question is just as important:

How do you choose the right explainer video company for your business?

There are many explainer video companies out there, and they differ in strategy, visual quality, pricing, industry experience, and the kinds of projects they take on.

From the outside, portfolios and pricing alone can make the differences hard to judge.

Since 2012, Yum Yum Videos has produced more than 1,000 custom videos for companies ranging from startups to global brands.

This guide is meant to help you compare explainer video companies and make a better decision.

Choose the company whose experience matches the job your video needs to do. Sales enablement, investor communication, product education, and brand awareness each call for different strengths.

Clarify the goal before comparing prices, animation styles, or production timelines.

1. Start With Your Goal

Start with one question:

What do I need this video to accomplish?

That question matters because different goals require different kinds of videos.

Do you need to explain a complex SaaS product to potential customers? Support a sales team? Prepare for a funding round? Build trust in a healthcare, financial, or technical solution? Launch a new product? Create something short and memorable for ads? Simplify an internal process for employees?

Those are very different situations.

And the right video partner for one may not be the right video partner for another.

Some explainer video companies are very strong at creating videos designed for views, engagement, and social media performance. Others focus more on visual experimentation and artistic execution. Others specialize in business driven videos for sales enablement, investor communication, product education, enterprise adoption, or brand trust.

These approaches serve different goals. A team focused on social performance may suit an ad campaign, while a studio experienced in complex B2B communication may be a better fit for product education or sales enablement.

Explainer video case studies show what the work was trying to achieve, while a portfolio mainly shows the quality of the finished video.

Match the examples you review to your own goal.

If your objective is to help customers understand a technical product, look for videos where the company simplified something complex. If your goal is to support sales, look for videos used in sales funnels, landing pages, demos, or presentations. In healthcare, fintech, SaaS, or another industry where clarity and trust matter, look for relevant industry experience.

And if the company does not have the exact case study published, ask about it in the first call.

A good question is:

Have you worked with companies facing a similar challenge?

You may learn more from that answer than from the homepage.

2. Look Beyond the Portfolio

The explainer video portfolio shows the quality and range of the company’s work.

But when you watch a video, try not to judge it only by how pretty it looks in the first five seconds.

That is part of it, of course. Your video should feel polished, credible, and memorable. But an explainer video has a job to do. It needs to make something clear.

Review each video on these points:

• Did I understand the product or service?
• Did the video keep my attention?
  
• Did the story feel simple or confusing?
  
• Did the visuals help the explanation, or did they distract from it?
  
• Did the animation feel alive and intentional?
  
• Would I remember the main idea the next day?

A good explainer video should leave the viewer with a clearer understanding of the value behind the product, service, or company.

Sometimes, very cinematic animation can look impressive but make the explanation harder to follow. Complex camera moves, long visual sequences, and highly detailed transitions can be beautiful, but if they require too much attention from the viewer, they may work against the purpose of the video.

Explainer videos are closer to design, storytelling, and communication than to pure cinema. They need to explain, synthesize, and persuade while still looking polished.

As Karina Sacco, Co Founder and Art Director at Yum Yum Videos, often says:

The problem with overly complex, cinematic shots is that they can force the viewer to spend extra mental energy just figuring out what they are looking at. In an explainer video, that is risky. It might look beautiful, but if it distracts from the core message, you lose the chance to explain the product clearly.

Your video can look distinctive, crafted, and visually ambitious while every creative decision helps the viewer follow the message.

3. Check for Relevant Industry Experience

Industry experience is not everything, but it helps.

A strong explainer video team should be able to understand a new product, ask smart questions, and turn a complex message into something clear. That is part of the job.

But if a company already has experience in your industry, there is a good chance they will move faster, understand the context better, and avoid mistakes that a less experienced team might not even notice.

This is especially important in industries where accuracy, trust, and clarity matter.

For example, in healthcare, a small detail can change the way people understand a treatment, a platform, a medical device, or a patient experience. In fintech or insurance, the challenge is often explaining something technical without making it feel cold, confusing, or too abstract. In SaaS, the goal is usually to simplify a product that has many features, use cases, integrations, or workflows.

So when you are choosing an explainer video company, look beyond the logo wall.

Ask yourself:

• Have they worked with companies in my industry?
• Do they understand the kind of audience I need to reach?
  
• Can they explain complex ideas without oversimplifying them?
  
• Do their videos feel credible for the type of market I am in?

Healthcare, fintech, internal HR, SaaS product demos, and brand awareness pieces call for different pacing, tone, and visual language because the audience and communication goal change from one context to another.

The style, tone, pacing, script, and visual language should all match the audience.

Cross sector experience can be useful when the team can handle your project’s complexity and audience expectations.

Use the industry pages, case studies, and client examples to see how the company approaches real business problems and why it chose a particular visual solution.

That context helps you judge whether the team understands the communication challenge behind the creative work.

4. Make Sure the Style Fits the Message

Explainer videos can take many forms, and the style should follow the message, audience, and goal of the video.

It should be based on the message, the audience, and the goal of the video.

A good explainer video company should be able to guide you here and recommend the format that makes the most sense for your product, budget, and audience.

For example, character animation is a strong choice when you need to create empathy, show a human situation, or help the audience see themselves in the story. It works very well when the video is about people, behavior, pain points, community, culture, or customer experience.

Motion graphics can be a better fit when the idea is more abstract. SaaS platforms, financial services, data products, cybersecurity tools, and enterprise solutions often need clean visual systems that simplify complex information without forcing a literal story.

Characters can create a human connection, while motion graphics can handle the more abstract parts of the explanation.

Then there are cases where a more specific style makes sense.

Whiteboard animation works well for process driven explanations, training content, internal communication, and topics where the viewer benefits from seeing the idea unfold step by step. It prioritizes clarity and pacing over visual complexity.

3D animation can be the right choice when you need to show a physical product, a device, a manufacturing process, a medical object, or something that depends on space, depth, or technical detail.

Live action can work well when real people, real locations, or trust are central to the message.

Mixed media can be useful for thought leadership, brand storytelling, awareness campaigns, or videos that need a more editorial or modern feel.

Choose the style that best supports the message, audience, and amount of information the viewer needs to process.

A strong explainer video partner should explain why a particular visual treatment fits the brief. Simpler approaches can keep attention on a dense message, while more elaborate animation makes sense when the story or product benefits from additional visual detail.

The visual treatment should help the viewer follow the idea with less effort.

5. Ask About the Process, Not Just the Final Video

Many companies spend more time reviewing finished videos than asking how those videos were made, even though the production process has a major effect on the finished result.

A strong explainer video production process usually includes research, creative direction, scriptwriting, visual development, storyboard, animation, voiceover, music, sound design, and revisions.

If the explainer video process is weak, the finished piece may depend too much on luck.

Before animation begins, ask about the company’s research, scripting, visual development, storyboard, and revision process.

• Do they help you define the message?
• Do they challenge the brief when something is unclear?
  
• Do they write the script, or do they expect you to provide it?
  
• Do they think about the audience and the use case?
  
• Do they explain why they recommend a certain style or duration?
  
• Do they have a clear revision process?
  
• Do they assign senior creative direction to the project?

These questions matter because an explainer video is a communication tool built through a series of creative and strategic decisions.

A strong explainer video needs a clear script, visuals aligned with the narrative, natural pacing, a voiceover that matches the tone, and transitions that guide the viewer through the explanation.

A good process keeps the script focused, connects the visuals to the narrative, controls the runtime, and keeps the finished piece aligned with the original objective.

The right team needs both talent and a reliable process.

A great explainer video company should be creative, yes. But it should also be organized, strategic, and honest enough to tell you when something will not work.

6. Understand Pricing, But Do Not Start There

Price matters. Of course it does. Every company has a budget, and every project needs to make sense financially. But I would not recommend choosing a video partner based on price alone.

That matters even more when the video has an important business role.

A video that will live on your homepage, support your sales team, explain your product to investors, help onboard customers, or represent your brand for years should not be treated like a small design task.

It is closer to a strategic communication asset.

Price alone does not tell you the quality of the work. Lower quotes often reflect tradeoffs in strategy, senior creative direction, custom illustration, animation quality, scriptwriting, project management, or production time.

As a general reference, experienced explainer video companies often start around $6,000 to $7,000 per finished minute for simpler animated productions. More complex projects can range from $15,000 to $25,000+ per minute, depending on the style, length, timeline, team, and production requirements. For a deeper breakdown, you can read our guide on how much an explainer video costs.

If your budget is below $5,000, you can still find good people. There are talented freelancers and smaller teams out there. But the tradeoff is usually in the depth of the process, the level of creative direction, the complexity of the animation, or the number of specialists involved.

And that is fine, as long as you understand what you are buying.

A lower budget can work when the scope matches it. A full production team, senior direction, custom visuals, and more complex animation require a budget that supports that level of work.

So instead of asking only, How much does it cost? ask:

• What is included in the price?
  
• Who writes the script?
  
• Is the visual style custom or template based?
  
• How many revision rounds are included?
  
• Who will direct the creative work?
  
• What level of animation should I expect?
  
• Will the team help me think strategically, or only execute?

That is how you compare value, not just price.

A good explainer video is an investment. Not because agencies like saying that, but because the video may be seen by customers, investors, employees, partners, and decision makers for a long time.

You do not always know who is watching.

And sometimes, one clear explanation can make a bigger difference than you think.

For Accelerant, we produced nine videos between 2021 and 2024 for different audiences and communication needs. During the broader period of our work together, the company raised more than $340 million in private funding and later raised another $724 million when it went public at a valuation of approximately $6.4 billion. Those are company milestones, not results we attribute to the videos. You can read the full Accelerant case study here.

7. Watch for Red Flags

Not every explainer video company is the right fit for every project. That is normal.

But there are some red flags I would pay attention to before making a decision.

One is when a company says yes to everything too quickly.

If your product is complex, your audience is specific, or your goal is important, the team should ask questions. They should want to understand the product, the audience, the use case, the tone, the timeline, and what success looks like.

If they jump straight into style and price without asking about the message, I would be careful.

Another red flag is a portfolio where everything looks the same.

A consistent level of quality is good. But if every video has the same pacing, same characters, same transitions, same structure, and same tone, it may mean the company is fitting every client into the same formula.

Explainer videos need structure, yes. But they should not feel copied and pasted.

Also, be careful with companies that focus only on animation and ignore the script.

The script defines the message, structure, and logic of the video. Strong animation works best when that foundation is already clear.

Other red flags to watch for:

• They cannot clearly explain their process.
• They do not show relevant examples.
  
• They avoid talking about strategy.
  
• They promise unrealistic timelines.
  
• They are vague about who will actually work on the project.
  
• They focus more on awards or style than on whether the video will actually solve your problem.

Awards, style, and production quality matter. But they should support the business goal, not replace it.

8. Use a Simple Checklist Before Choosing

Use this checklist to compare the factors that affect the final result when you choose the right explainer video company.

Goals:
Does the company understand what you need the video to accomplish?

Case studies:
Do they have examples that connect with your objective, industry, or type of challenge?

Quality:
When you watch their videos, do you understand the message clearly? Do the videos hold your attention? Do they feel polished and intentional?

Industry experience:
Have they worked with companies similar to yours, or at least with the same level of complexity?

Style:
Can they produce the style you need, and can they explain why that style makes sense?

Process:
Do they have a clear way to move from strategy to script, visuals, storyboard, animation, and final delivery?

Team:
Do you know who is actually doing the work and who is leading the creative direction?

Price:
Does the budget match the level of strategy, quality, and production you expect?

Trust:
After speaking with them, do you feel they are trying to understand your business, or just trying to sell you a video?

That last one is not very technical, but it matters.

A good explainer video project requires collaboration. You are going to share your product, your goals, your feedback, your concerns, and probably a lot of internal context.

Choose a team you trust and feel comfortable collaborating with throughout the project.

Use the Checklist to Compare Your Finalists

Once you know what the video needs to accomplish, compare companies on the same criteria: relevant case studies, quality of explanation, industry experience, style, process, team, price, and trust.

For the final decision, shortlist two or three companies and score each one against the checklist above after the first call. Compare the same criteria for every candidate, especially relevant case studies, process, team, price, and how clearly they explain the creative choices they would make for your project.