1. Demo Duck
Although explainer videos haven’t been around that long, Demo Duck was right there at the beginning, back when explainers were more commonly known as demo videos. Hence their name. They’ve since moved on to expand their portfolio to include live action and traditional commercial videos. They’re a small crew, but that’s a benefit. You’ll get good work from a tight-knit team.
2. Explainify
Another of the original explainer video companies, Explainify work with a wide range of clients from startups to large corporations. They specialize in taking complex messages and simplifying them, incorporating researched marketing techniques and strategies into their videos.
3. Switch Video
Switch Video is a respected explainer video production company based out of Canada. Known for their work with big tech clients such as IBM and HP, they stand by a promise to unlock the potential of every idea, product, and business they work on. They also are known for excelling at setting reasonable delivery deadlines and sticking to them.
4. Thinkmojo
If you’re a tech company, you may want to consider Thinkmojo. Their specialty is creating videos for brands in the tech space such as Google, Twitter, Slack and Square. Creating visually impressive video that blends well with tech brands is what they do best.
5. Epipheo
Epipheo is another production company that has been around since the early days of explainer videos. Now expanded to both animation and live action video, they are a good option for either. They’ve scaled their team since the beginning, and still pride themselves on getting to the truth of your brand, then building an engaging story around that.
6. ILLO
Illo is the first video production team on our list that is known as much for their distinctive style as they are for the great work that they do. Once you see an Illo video, you’ll recognize their work any time you see it after. Simple and delightful, they’re worth checking out just to enjoy the art they create.
7. Cub Studio
Another agency known for their distinctive art, Cub Studio shows what can be done with animation when a larger budget for detail is involved. Founded by an animator and marketing strategist, Cub Studio has won several awards, and is definitely worth checking out if you’ve got a larger budget to spend.
8. Explainly
Explainly is a San Francisco Bay Area-based animation company that specializes in 2D and 3D animated explainer videos. If you’re looking for a solid pattern you may want to consider Explainly. They have delivered animated videos to the world’s leading enterprise and consumer-facing companies, including Visa, HubSpot, University of San Francisco, Morning Brew, PinPoint Predictive, and Impact Mapper.
9. Toondra Studio
Based out of Russia, Toondra not only creates explainer videos but will be more than happy to create animations for you for whatever you need. They can make videos, characters, icons, avatars, and a la carte animations for websites or apps.
10. We Are Alive
While We Are Alive creates fantastic explainer videos, they are also known for audio. Few small production companies actually create their own music and sound effects, but these guys do, offering them independently, or packaged with their videos. Based out of Dubai, We Are Alive deserves serious consideration for full-service explainer video work.
11. Planet Nutshell
Around since 2008, Planet Nutshell specializes in creating videos for tech, non-profits, healthcare organizations, and educators. If you’re working in one of those sectors, their vast expertise will be a benefit in helping you reach your target audience.
12. Ydraw
Ydraw is a whiteboard video animation company like no other. You may have seen plenty of whiteboard videos, but you haven’t seen any like theirs. That’s because they use extremely talented cartoon artists to create detailed, artistic, next-level whiteboard drawings that are as fun to watch as they are informative.
13. Rocketwheel
Explainer video company based in San Francisco. While they create animated explainer videos, rocketwheel is more known for their hybrid “screen animation” style videos, combining live action with animations.
14. Wyzowl
The team at Wyzowl has a lot of experience to back them up, and I do mean a lot. They’ve created over two thousand videos in the past seven years in every industry imaginable. They also include unlimited revisions with their packages, so if you get the feeling you’re going to be changing your mind a lot, they could be a good choice for you
15. Studio Pigeon
Continuing our bird theme, Studio Pigeon is next on our list. They use more of a cartoon style for their work, and it’s excellent. The way they tell stories with their characters is top-notch, and they are another agency worth looking into if your budget allows.
16. Idearocket
Idearocket is another solid option if you’re a tech company or have a complicated product to market. Their expertise in taking complex ideas and simplifying them, often by using metaphors to help explain big concepts, helps with those data and info heavy services and products.
17. Blinktower
With a one-eyed octopus as a mascot, what’s not to love? Seriously, though, Blinktower creates cool animations and serves a global client list from their home base in South Africa.
18. Kasra Design
With a focus on 2D, 3D, and motion graphics, Kasra Design has created over 500 videos since its inception. They are especially experienced in working with startups and in the corporate video space.
19. Loose Keys
From the windy city of Chicago comes Loose Keys. Another art-focused video production studio, they create explainers in animation and motion graphics and are known for producing music videos for some big name artists. Worth a look just for that!
20. Simple Story
Simple Story prides itself on building relationships with its clients, something we value highly ourselves. Putting emphasis on customer service, they go the extra mile to make sure your questions are answered and feedback is listened to.
21. Explain Ninja
Be it for a Facebook video campaign or to go to YouTube, a great video ad always pays off well.
And talking of the best campaigns of all time, here’s a list of 5 Christmas Video Campaigns that we can all learn from.
22. Renderforest
One of the newest trends in video production is template videos you create yourself. Renderforest is one of the leaders in the field, with many package options. Keep in mind that everything is based on stock footage and templates, and you’ll be doing all the assembly work yourself, but if you’re working with a tiny budget, this is worth checking out.
23. Breadnbeyond
If you’re on a budget and tight on time, Breadnbeyond might be an option for you. While you won’t get the most detailed animation, amount of options, or level of customization, you will get a decent video at a good price in a fairly quick time frame.
24. Demoflick
A fairly standard option for explainer videos, Demoflick is still worth investigating if you’re budget-conscious. They’ve got some big clients in their portfolio, and offer a quick response if you reach out to them.
25. Wienot
Wienot is another whiteboard video production company. They’re big on storytelling and have a lot of experience with many clients. What we really like about them, though, is their promise of giving back and the work they do with charities and non-profit organizations.
26. Yum Yum Videos
Winning the award for video production company that makes us crave ice cream, Yum Yum Videos offers a wide range of videos, including explainer videos, whiteboard videos, animated videos, and motion graphics videos. They also provide a variety of options for customization and revisions, proving to be one of the more flexible explainer video companies.
27. The Explainer Guys
The Explainer Guys… well, they’re guys, and they make explainer videos. Sometimes the best names are obvious names. Combining marketing strategy with creativity, they stand by a promise that their videos are designed to increase sales and elevate your brand.
28. Nerdo
Nerdo comes to us from Italy, with a passion for storytelling that goal of creating distinctive visuals for every video that they produce. Another great option to check out if you’re looking for a unique art style.
29. Gisteo
From Miami, Gisteo has been around since 2011. Founded by a marketing exec, they create videos with advertising strategy in mind. Gisteo also has an in-house Spanish speaking team, which makes them a great asset if you’re planning on video for the Spanish language market.
New Picks: More Great Explainer Video Companies
30. 3rd Floor
With offices in Oslo and Cape Town, 3rd Floor is a small, yet dedicated team that provide both live action and animated video options.
31. Hound Studio
Hound Studio comes with 10+ years of experience in the explainer video production industry.
Since they started they have created over 500 animated videos and explainer videos in a range of industries. Their major focus is on building brand awareness and helping clients attract potential customers with well thought out animated explainer videos.
Although based out of Ukraine, they have a global clientele and continue to produce excellent work.
32. The DVI Group
The DVI Group offers a variety of video solutions for businesses. Whatever you want to communicate, they can help you create a strategic video to put your message across effectively.
Their noteworthy work is best evidenced by their huge portfolio of big companies – including Revlon, AT&T, and Shoprite – and the 65+ awards they have won in the industry.
33. Commotion Engine
Commotion Engine is an explainer video company that offers so much more. They do everything from explainer videos, promo videos, educational videos to brand videos and content marketing videos.
They offer a variety of production styles including 3D animation, 2D animation, live action, whiteboard, and mixed media.
They keep you highly involved in the project through their multi-stage production process which allows you numerous opportunities to offer your feedback.
Commotion Engine also offers a range of other services including video analytics, dynamic presentations, video ad campaigns, GIF/web graphics, and video content strategy. They are a great option for anyone looking for all-round video production solutions.
34. BluBlu Studios
Having worked with big companies and corporations like Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Forbes, IKEA, Subaru, Sensei, Cambridge University Press, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, MultiSport, TEDx, Euro Net, and Macmillan Publishers, BluBlu Studios’ portfolio says a lot about the kind of quality you should expect when you work with them.
They thrive on crafting sophisticated animated stories that are united in communicating your brand’s message in the most compelling and effective way. BluBlu Studios is an animated explainer company suitable for those with a big budget.
35. Lemons Studio
Founded in 2013, Lemons Studio has completed more than 500 explainer videos and animation video projects for notable companies and organizations like Fiver, Unicef, and Google.The Lemon team prides itself on creating unique visual stories and they also ride the wave for the hyper minimalistic story. If minimalism is top on your objectives, you most definitely have to check them out.
What To Consider When Choosing An Explainer Video Company
Quality
Related to the portfolio, but one step deeper.
If you’re looking at a wide range of examples from a video production company but they’re all awful, that’s no good.
More often though, you’ll see a wide range that doesn’t necessarily look bad,but doesn’t necessarily look great either. This might not be a deal-breaker though, especially if the price is right.
Design.
How does the work look?
Will your video be custom-created from scratch? Or will you be getting recycled art and stock images?
Template productions are cheap, but they also look the same across every video, with no real customization or connection to your brand tone and style.
This often goes hand in hand with the next point.
Price
When we’re talking about explainer video pricing, you should keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Always, and in every industry.
If you think you’re going to get an amazing explainer video for two hundred dollars anywhere on the planet, you’re not.
Not unless your cousin starts an animated production company for fun because he won the lottery and only wants enough to pay the electric bill.
Otherwise, you need to take your budget into account.
Most vendors will have a variety of packages. Cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean lower quality, but it will always mean lower detail in the design.
For example, 3D graphics will cost more than 2D (visuals need to be modeled, rendering takes more time, etc.), and the more art that has to be created, the higher your cost will be.
Communication
This may be more important than any other factor.
None of your choices mean anything if the vendor doesn’t listen to your needs and goals. And that’s actually part of the reason why we can charge such a great price here at Yans.
We start with a full discovery process to learn everything we can about your company and product, and we listen to you every step of the way. This allows us to make the right decisions the first time, saving everyone time and money in the end.
Flexibility.
Some video production companies take your money and make all the decisions for you.
And honestly, some are really good at that.
Those are also the teams that cost fifty grand (and more) to work with.
But outside of the elite agencies making videos for multi-billion dollar companies, you’re better off finding a vendor who knows what they’re doing and isn’t afraid to recommend suggestions but will also listen to your feedback. It is, after all, your brand at the end of the day.
Now that we’ve covered the key items to remember when shopping around for someone to partner with to create your explainer video, let’s take a look at the best explainer video companies working in the market today. While we feel this list represents the top 30 options, it’s in no particular order.
Conclusion
As you can see, when it comes to picking an explainer video company, there are a plethora of choices to choose from, and our list is only scratching the surface.
There are scores of styles, specialties, methods, and strategies at hand. And that’s not even taking into account the other must-haves, like working with people you actually enjoy talking to, and who expertly communicate with you to discover, implement, produce, and deliver your brand message in the best way possible.
We know you probably have more questions, and we’re happy to answer them for you. Even if you’d just like to chat about animated video options, we’d love to talk. Reach out to us any time, and best of luck with your search!