AI Video Client Rate Calculator
Price an AI video project for a local business and see what you keep.
- Free Free
- 45 sec
- No signup
Enter your target project price and pick how the client pays you
Compare a direct invoice against a referral or marketplace cut
See what you take home and how much to set aside to reinvest
You get: Your take-home per AI video project, so you know what to charge.
Your client project
"Target project price" is what you charge the client before any cut. Most direct clients pay you in full - a referral or lead source can take a share. Local business AI videos commonly run $1K to $5K each.
Left to take home or reinvest
Take-home
$1,500
Set aside to reinvest
$400
Referral cut
$0
Net after cut + costs
$1,900
Return on that reinvest
27%
Project price
$2,000
What you keep at different cuts
Billing a client directly keeps the whole fee, while a marketplace lead can take around 30% off the top. Landing clients yourself is the easiest money.
What to charge a local business for an AI video
The most common question a new AI creator has is what to charge. In the AI ad agency path, local businesses pay $1K to $5K per video, and most of them have never hired anyone for AI video, so the field is wide open. The key is to sell the end result - more customers walking in the door - not the video file itself. This calculator takes your target project price, any cut a referral or lead source takes, your production cost, and the share you set aside to reinvest, and shows you exactly what you take home per project. That turns a nervous guess into a number you can quote with confidence. The $1K to $5K range is an example from real creators, not a guarantee.
How the client pays you is the biggest lever on what you keep. A business paying you directly by invoice takes no cut, so the whole fee is yours before costs. A referral partner or a marketplace lead source takes a share - sometimes around 10 percent, sometimes closer to 30 - in exchange for handing you the client. That is a fair trade early on when you need the work, but landing clients yourself keeps the whole fee. The comparison rows show what you keep at each so the trade-off stops being abstract.
How your take-home is calculated
The math is simple once you see it. Start with your target project price - what you quote the client, before anyone takes a cut. Subtract any referral or lead-source cut, because that comes off the top. Subtract your production cost - the tools and renders for that specific project. What is left is the net. From there you decide how much to set aside to reinvest into growing the agency versus take home now. Everything no one else takes is yours to direct.
- Project price minus any referral cut minus your production cost equals your net.
- A direct client invoice takes no cut, so the whole fee reaches you.
- A referral or marketplace lead can take around 10 to 30 percent for bringing you the client.
- The lower the cut, the more of every project you keep to grow or take home.
- Sell the end result, not the video - that is what supports a $1K to $5K price.
Land the client yourself and keep the whole fee
The most reliable way to keep more per project is to land the client directly. A local business paying $2,000 by invoice hands you the whole $2,000 before costs, while a marketplace lead on the same job could take around 30 percent. Referral sources are worth it early when you need the work, but the moment you can find clients yourself - a niche to serve, three sample videos to show, and one outreach list - every project keeps its full fee. That is the client-getting spine of the AI ad agency path.
Why the cut moves so much money
Notice how much more reaches you when you switch from a marketplace lead to a direct invoice. With no cut off the top, the whole fee flows through to you, which means more to reinvest in landing the next client and more to take home now. This is why building your own client pipeline is one of the highest-leverage moves in the agency path. The share a lead source would have taken is money you keep once you can find the work yourself.
Using this to set your price
The calculator only helps if you use it while you decide what to quote. Before you name a price, run it at the way this client will pay you and see what actually reaches you after your production cost. If the take-home is too thin, you need a higher price, a lower-cut channel, or a leaner production - and it is far better to learn that before you send the quote than after. Model a conservative and an optimistic price so you know the range you can work within, then quote the number that reflects the result you deliver.
A note on real numbers
What this calculator gives you is only as trustworthy as the price you feed it. Do not plan around a hopeful number - quote based on the value the video creates for the business, or run several scenarios. Pick the cut that truly applies, and enter your real production cost, not a guess. The $1K to $5K per video figure is an example of what creators in the course charge, not a promise of what any one client will pay. Honest inputs keep every other figure here honest too.
Frequently asked questions
What should I charge a local business for an AI video?
In the AI ad agency path, local businesses commonly pay $1K to $5K per video, because most have no AI vendor and you are selling the end result, not the file. That range is an example from real creators, not a guarantee. Enter your target price here and the calculator shows what you actually take home after any cut and your production cost.
How does the way a client pays me change what I keep?
A direct client invoice takes no cut, so the whole fee is yours before costs. A referral partner or marketplace lead takes a share - often around 10 to 30 percent - for bringing you the client. The comparison rows show your take-home at each, so you can see exactly what a lead source costs you versus finding the client yourself.
Why is landing clients myself worth so much more?
Because a lead source takes its share off the top of every project. On a $2,000 video, a 30 percent marketplace cut is $600 gone before you touch it. Referral sources are worth it early when you need the work, but building your own pipeline keeps the whole fee - which is why client-getting is the core of the agency path.
What price number should I enter?
Use a realistic figure based on the value the video creates for the business, not a hopeful one. If you are unsure, run several scenarios from conservative to optimistic rather than a single number. Quoting from the result you deliver is what supports a $1K to $5K price without flinching.
What production cost should I include?
Enter what that specific project actually costs you - tool time, renders, and any extras beyond your standard monthly tools. If a project runs almost entirely on tools you already pay for monthly, enter a small number or zero. Including real production cost keeps your take-home figure honest per project.
How much of each project should I set aside to reinvest?
Early on, setting aside a share of each fee to reinvest - into outreach, better samples, or tools - is how the agency grows. The calculator lets you model 20 to 50 percent so you can see your take-home now against what you are putting back in. There is no single right number; it depends on how fast you want to scale.
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