Video Production Cost by City in 2026: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Austin, Chicago and Miami

How much does video production cost in each major US city in 2026?

As of 6 October 2026, published starting prices began at about $1,500 in Los Angeles, $1,200 in New York, $1,800 in San Francisco and Chicago, and $750 in Austin and Miami. The one seller pricing four cities in the same unit, LV Productions, lists corporate video at $7,000–$18,000 in Austin, $8,000–$20,000 in Miami and $10,000–$25,000 in Los Angeles and New York.

At a glance

• Cheapest way in: about $1,500 in Los Angeles, a $1,200 minimum in New York, $1,800 for a one-minute package in San Francisco and Chicago, $750 for a half day in Austin and from $750 for interviews in Miami.
• Where most projects land: five of nine sellers' own statements top out at $18,000–$20,000.
• Short-form: a one-minute package is $1,800 on four city-named sites; AD.JUST lists 15–60-second branded content at $2,500–$7,000.
• Animation: priced by the second or project, not by city.
• The bigger gap: two sellers in the same city differ more than LV's city bands do.

These figures come from 35 city pages where 28 sellers publish their own price, read on one day, not market estimates. Dream Aspect, which wrote this, went looking for sellers that publish, and many that do sell fixed packages, so the floors are probably lower than a typical studio would quote. Web Tonic, an agency, says only one of 20 studios it reviewed in New York, one in Chicago and none in Miami post a price, though it records Ball Media and Decade Pictures as "No public rate card" and both publish prices quoted here. Market-estimate guides such as C&I Studios', which says "We do not publish a rate card.", were left out.

How much does video production cost in Los Angeles in 2026?

Published Los Angeles-area prices started around $1,500 and ran past $50,000 as of 6 October 2026.

• AD.JUST (Whitley Ave): "Most professional projects with AD.JUST start around $1,500"; $2,500–$7,000 for 15–60-second branded content; $7,000–$15,000+ for commercial spots; $1,500–$3,500 a month for 4–8 edited videos — AD.JUST pricing
• Brandefy (Santa Monica): full-service projects "start around $5,000 and can scale up to $50,000+" — Brandefy FAQ
• KPI Creatives (Venice): retainers of $3,000–$10,000 a month on a six-month minimum, so at least $18,000 — KPI Creatives
• Sparkhouse (Costa Mesa): product videos from about $7,500 to $45,000, footer dated 2024 — Sparkhouse pricing
• LV Productions (San Francisco studio, LA crew network): corporate video $10,000–$25,000, commercial $20,000–$80,000+ — LV Los Angeles
• Dream Aspect (Beverly Hills mailing address): Dream Aspect's homepage says packages start at $3,000 per shoot; UGC is from $350 a video, minimum five, so from $1,750

Los Angeles shows why units matter: KPI's $3,000 a month and Dream Aspect's $3,000 shoot share a headline and are different purchases. LV says LA live-action commercial work "often runs 20–40% above San Francisco, driven by union minimums and competitive gear rental", yet its LA corporate band equals its New York one. For judging an LA agency beyond price, see how to choose a content agency in Los Angeles.

How much does video production cost in New York City in 2026?

New York sellers' own prices started at $1,200, and their "most projects" bands ran from $4,000 to $50,000.

• Corporate Photo & Video (West 42nd St): "Our minimum engagement is $1,200, which includes up to two hours of filming and basic post-production. Most of our current projects fall in the $4,000 to $20,000 range." — Corporate Photo & Video
• Raised Media Co.: video from $5,000; video and photo from one shoot day from $6,900; post-production only from $800 — Raised Media pricing
• BLARE Media (Third Avenue): "most projects falling between $7,000–$20,000" — BLARE New York
• Decade Pictures: "$10,000–$50,000 … This is where most of our work lives" — Decade Pictures
• LV Productions: corporate video $10,000–$25,000, TV commercial $40,000–$100,000+ — LV New York
• JLB Media (headquartered in Los Angeles): "Packages start at just $2,750" — JLB New York

How much does video production cost in San Francisco in 2026?

San Francisco sellers published starting prices from $1,800 to $5,000, and LV Productions' typical corporate video is $18,000 inside a range of $6,000 to $80,000-plus. A Bay Area corporate video can be one interview or a launch film with cast, so ask what the typical project included.

• LV Productions: corporate video "Typical: $18K"; commercial typical $40K; "We take focused, single-deliverable jobs from $5,000." — LV pricing
• BLARE Media (Mission Street): "most commonly fall between $7,000–$18,000" — BLARE San Francisco
• Luma Creative: single-day corporate projects at $5,000–$30,000; retainer from $10,000 a month; reviewed 29 September 2026 — Luma Creative
• Crushpix (footer dated 2025): most one-to-two-minute productions have "a budget of between $3,000 – $5,000" — Crushpix
• JLB Media: corporate video "starts at just $2,750" — JLB San Francisco
• A city-named package site: one minute $1,800 (two hours on site, four hours of editing), two minutes $2,600, three minutes $3,300 — package list

How much does a corporate video cost in Chicago in 2026?

Chicago sellers published single-video prices from $1,800 to $10,000 and project bands up to $100,000; no multi-city seller printed a Chicago price to compare against. $10,000 is one studio's starting price and another's single-video ceiling.

• Click Play Films (North Clark Street): single video $3,000–$10,000; brand film $5,000–$20,000; campaign from $10,000 — Click Play Films
• INDIRAP (West Washington Boulevard): "Videos start at $2,500"; projects "typically range from $8K–$20K"; social retainers from $3K a month — INDIRAP
• Richter Studios (Highland Park): "Videos start for as little as $10K"; brand films and commercials $50K–$100K — Richter Studios
• Capture Video & Marketing: editing plans "Starting at just $2,250/month" — Capture
• A city-named package site: the same $1,800 / $2,600 / $3,300 list — package list

How much does video production cost in Austin in 2026?

Austin had too few published prices to call a market rate; one seller with an Austin street address publishes a general rate card. At Hen's Bread's rates, one full day with a three-person crew plus two finished minutes of editing starts at $4,000, a useful floor for a simple shoot but not evidence that Austin is cheap.

• Hen's Bread Productions (Congress Avenue): $750 half-day minimum; full production camera van from $3,000 a day; post-production $500 per finished minute — Hen's Bread pricing, cost page updated May 2026
• LV Productions: corporate video $7,000–$18,000, commercial $20,000–$60,000 — LV Austin
• Austin Video: "On-site filming & editing packages between $2-4k" — Austin Video
• Bennett Creative: event packages "start at $4,000 and range beyond $30,000" — Bennett Creative
• A city-named package site: the same $1,800 / $2,600 / $3,300 list — package list

How much do Miami video production companies charge in 2026?

Miami had the most price pages in the set, seven, with starting points from $750 to $4,500. Two Miami footers are dated 2025 and 2021, so check the date on any package.

• Visual Angle Media (Doral): "Our videos start at $4,500, with most commercial projects ranging between $8,000 and $20,000"; full-day package $8,500 — Visual Angle
• Zip In Media (Coral Way): $2,200 (up to one minute), $3,400 (two), $4,600 (three) — Zip In Media
• Ball Media Innovations: interviews from $750; corporate and social video from $1,200 — Ball Media
• Miami Video Production (footer dated 2021): $1,700, $2,200 and $3,200 for one to three minutes — Miami Video Production
• A city-named package site: the same $1,800 / $2,600 / $3,300 list — package list
• JLB Media: "packages starting at $2,750" — JLB Miami
• LV Productions: corporate video $8,000–$20,000; "Rates are close to San Francisco for most work" — LV Miami

Is video production cheaper in Austin or Miami than in Los Angeles or New York?

For corporate video from LV Productions, the one seller pricing all four in the same unit, yes: its band is 28–30% lower in Austin and 20% lower in Miami than in Los Angeles and New York. Austin's floor is $3,000 below and its top $7,000 below; Miami's are $2,000 and $5,000 below. BLARE prints the same $7,000 floor in San Francisco and New York, with a top $2,000 lower in San Francisco. LV's stated percentages have no method, and Shootsta's claim that New York and LA are "30% to 50% more expensive than mid-tier US markets like Chicago, Atlanta, or Austin", on its NYC-vs-LA page, has none either.

Dream Aspect's reading is that the city gap is real for crewed live action but smaller than the gap between two sellers in one city. In New York alone, Corporate Photo & Video's typical projects start at $4,000 and LV's corporate band at $10,000. Of nine sentences in which a seller says where its own projects mostly land, five top out at $18,000–$20,000 (BLARE twice, Corporate Photo & Video, INDIRAP, Visual Angle); the rest top out at $5,000, $15,000+, $30,000 and $50,000.

Why do some sellers publish the same price for different cities?

Because the price describes one package, not a local market rate. JLB Media prints the same $2,750 starting figure on its San Francisco, New York and Miami pages, the three of its six city pages that show a price, and four city-named sites print an identical list: one-minute video $1,800, two minutes $2,600, three minutes $3,300, with identical inclusions. A price that does not change between Miami and Manhattan describes a fixed scope, here two hours on site and four hours of editing, so compare scope line by line. Dream Aspect did not check whether the four package sites share an owner and does not suggest they do.

Does CGI or animation cost less in a cheaper city?

No: animation is priced by the second or the project, not by the postcode. LV Productions says on its Austin page: "Animation pricing does not change by city." Dream Aspect's CGI page prices simple 2D at about $70 a second and complex 3D at about $300 to $1,000 or more a second, with no city attached. At those rates, a 30-second simple 2D piece works out to about $2,100 and a 30-second complex 3D piece to about $9,000 to $30,000 or more, in any of the six cities, because a cheaper city saves no crew or location cost.

Can a brand in New York, Chicago or Miami hire a Los Angeles video production company?

Yes, but ask how the shoot will be crewed, because that decides what you are paying for. Dream Aspect is based in Los Angeles and is not currently travelling to shoots; for live action in another city it sends or sources a local crew and quotes per brief. Its homepage says "The pricing depends on a project scope, shoot complexity, and deliverables" and names no city, and Dream Aspect publishes nothing on what a crewed shoot outside Los Angeles costs, so a local studio with a printed rate card tells you more up front. CGI needs no crew, and the UGC price names no city. LV Productions, by contrast, uses local crew networks (20 people in LA, five in New York, eight in Miami) and may add travelling crew on larger shoots. Whoever you hire, ask who is on set, who pays for travel and what a second day costs.

What do published city prices leave out?

Published city prices leave out most of what separates a real quote from a price page: permits, insurance, talent, usage rights, travel and the number of finished videos. A starting price is the floor of a scope, not a forecast. Three gaps matter most:

1. Permits and location fees, set by each city's film office; LV estimates street and park permits in SF, New York or LA at $300–$2,000.
2. Union and talent costs, which LV names as a reason LA live action runs higher; ask whether talent and usage fees are in any package.
3. Deliverable count: a $3,000 shoot that yields ten edits and one that yields one are different prices, the question behind how many videos a month a brand actually needs.

Pricing a video in one of these cities? See what it costs before you call anyone

Dream Aspect is a Los Angeles content production agency making social video, UGC in batches of at least five, CGI priced by the second and paid ad creative. The Dream Aspect pricing calculator lets you choose a one-off shoot or a monthly plan, add or remove deliverables and see the price on the page. For a shoot outside Los Angeles, send us the city, the format and the date, and we will say in writing who would be on set and what it costs.

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