The Hidden Cost of Revisions
Three rounds of changes, priced on all four routes to a finished video.
Revisions are the line item buyers forget and every route charges for differently. Agencies include a set number of rounds and bill the rest. Freelancers bill by the hour, at US$35 to US$75 for most US-based motion designers. Canvas software charges nothing and costs hours. On AutoScribble, script edits before rendering are free and a remake costs credits.
The short answer
Three rounds of changes on a 60-second explainer cost roughly nothing extra at an agency if your contract includes three rounds, US$105 to US$450 with a freelancer at typical hourly rates, one to two hours of your own time per round on canvas software, and on AutoScribble either nothing — if you edit the script before rendering — or 100 credits per remake after it, which is GBP 9 or US$12.
The number that surprises people is never the first round. It is the third.
Why revisions are the real price
Quotes are written around a first version. Projects are finished on the third.
The first cut almost always reveals something: a claim that reads wrong out loud, a product name that changed last month, a scene that lands flat. Our judgement: budgeting for one version and then discovering that changing a single sentence means paying again, or re-timing an entire canvas by hand, is the most common way a video project stalls halfway.
How to price revisions before you commit
Ask these questions before money changes hands, not after the first cut.
- Ask how many revision rounds are included, in writing, and what counts as one round.
- Ask what a round beyond that costs, as a number.
- Ask what counts as a change of scope rather than a revision — usually a new script, not a new sentence.
- On software, test it yourself: make a short video, change one sentence, and time how long a new file takes.
- On any route, ask whether changing narration alone forces the visuals to be rebuilt.
- Multiply by three. That is your realistic revision budget.
Three rounds on a 60-second explainer, by route
Round one is a wording fix, round two changes a statistic, round three drops a scene. Figures sourced and dated below the table.
- Our judgement: the cheapest revision is always the one made before anything is rendered, on every route. Read the script out loud before you commit to it.
| Route | Round 1: change a sentence | Round 2: change a figure | Round 3: cut a scene | Three rounds total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency or studio | Included, if your contract covers three rounds | Included, if covered | Often billed as scope change once a scene is cut | Nothing extra within the included rounds; extra rounds are charged and the rate is set in the contract |
| Freelance motion designer | 1 to 2 hours billed | 1 to 2 hours billed | 1 to 2 hours billed | US$105 to US$450 at US$35 to US$75 an hour |
| Canvas whiteboard software | Your time: re-record narration and re-time the affected scenes | Your time: replace the element and re-time | Your time: delete and re-time everything after it | No cash cost; our judgement is one to two hours per round |
| AutoScribble | Free before rendering: edit the script and render once | Free before rendering | After rendering, remake at 100 credits for 60 seconds | Nothing if changes are made before rendering; 300 credits, GBP 27 or US$36, for three remakes after it |
Where the money actually leaks
Three quiet leaks account for most of the overspend.
Rounds that are not really rounds. Sending three separate emails on a Tuesday can be counted as three rounds. Collect all your notes, then send once.
Narration changes that force a rebuild. On some routes, changing the voiceover means the visuals have to be re-timed to it. Ask about this specifically.
The version that is nearly right. Approving something you are not happy with, then paying for a fourth round a month later when it starts to bother you, is the single most expensive pattern here.
How revisions work on AutoScribble
The script is yours to edit, line by line, before anything is rendered — that stage costs nothing, however many times you rewrite it.
Once a film is rendered, an edit-and-remake produces a new version and uses credits, at the same rate as any other film of that length: 50 credits for 30 seconds, 100 for 60 and 200 for 120. The credit cost is shown before you confirm, so a remake is never a surprise.
Next step
Before you approve any quote, ask for the price of a fourth revision round in writing. Then price the same three rounds here: editing the script before rendering costs nothing, and your 100 welcome credits cover the first finished minute.
See what your video would cost
Free to write and rewrite. Credits are only used when you generate.
Common questions
- How much do explainer video revisions cost?
- With a freelancer, typically US$105 to US$450 for three rounds at US$35 to US$75 an hour (Damongo 2026 rates, published 29 August 2026, checked 13 September 2026). With an agency, rounds included in the contract cost nothing extra and further rounds are billed at the contracted rate. On AutoScribble, script edits before rendering are free and a 60-second remake is 100 credits, GBP 9 or US$12.
- How many revision rounds should an explainer video quote include?
- Ask for the number in writing rather than assuming. Our judgement is that three rounds covers most real projects: one for wording, one for facts, and one for structure. The figure that matters most is the price of the fourth round, because that is the one you did not plan for.
- Are revisions free on whiteboard animation software?
- There is no extra fee, but there is a real cost in time. On canvas-based tools a change means re-recording narration and re-timing the scenes around it, which our judgement puts at one to two hours per round. On AutoScribble, editing the script before rendering costs nothing at all, and remaking a rendered film costs credits for the new film.
- What counts as a revision rather than a new video?
- Generally, changes inside the agreed script and structure are revisions: wording, a figure, a scene trimmed. A new script, a different audience or a change of length is usually treated as new work. Confirm the boundary in writing before the first cut, because that is where most disputes start.
- Does changing the narration mean rebuilding the visuals?
- On some routes, yes, because the visuals are timed to the audio. Ask directly before you buy. On AutoScribble, a remake with different narration produces a newly drawn film, so it uses credits in the same way as any other film of that length, and the cost is shown before you confirm.