Video budget for 2027: how much to allocate and how to divide it.

The safest way to define the 2027 video budget is to add up the videos the company needs, rather than starting with a percentage of the marketing budget. In this guide, we show you how to do this calculation, with three examples of annual budgets and the price ranges for each type of video.

We also explain how to divide the budget throughout the year, which costs are usually left out, and how to defend the amount at the budget meeting.

Quick summary:

• Create your budget from the bottom up: list of videos, cost of each one, and a reserve for unforeseen expenses.
• As a general idea, a lean plan (1 corporate video, 3 case studies, and cuts for social media, in 3 to 4 daily segments) costs between R$24,000 and R$65,000 per year. With production every quarter (20 to 40 videos, 4 to 6 daily segments), it costs between R$57,000 and R$175,000.
• Grouping recordings and purchasing a year-long package reduces the cost per video.
• Subtitles, versions, paid media and updates These are the most overlooked costs.
• During the approval process, link each video to a specific goal and metric.

Why start from the video list?

Many companies define video spending as a slice of their marketing budget. The problem is that there's no reliable standard percentage for video, and the same amount might be surplus in one company and insufficient in another.

The bottom-up approach solves this. You list the videos required by the year's plan, apply the cost of each type, and arrive at a number that allows you to explain each item individually.

If the total exceeds what the company can invest, the cuts become clear: the video with the least impact is removed, not a portion of all of them. The first step is to have a plan; we show you how to put it together in [link to video]. video planning for 2027.

How much does each type of video cost?

These are the market segments we used as a basis for the examples below. The values are per project, including taxes.

What determines whether each project ends up at the top or bottom of the range is... How much will a video cost in 2026?.

Three examples of an annual budget.

The examples below use the ranges from the table to give an order of magnitude. The actual budget depends on the scope of each video.

Lean plan: videos the commercial uses every day

This is ideal for small companies or those just starting out in video. With planning, both corporate videos and case studies can be done within the same daily schedule.

Intermediate plan: production every quarter

This profile is typical of B2B companies with structured marketing and a sales team. The wide range is determined by the number of days spent and the complexity of the campaigns.

Plan with training and e-learning.

Companies with corporate universities often offer several courses per year. In this case, it's worth separating the internal video budget from the marketing budget, because the two have different owners and metrics. To create a course plan, see [link to relevant resource]. How to plan video training and e-learning..

How to divide the budget throughout the year

Ahead. Separate brand, sales, relationship building, and team. It becomes easy to see if the budget is concentrated on videos that look good but deliver little result.

Quarterly. Distribute according to the recording schedule and dates. The first quarter focuses on sales conventions and corporate updates; the last, on end-of-year events and campaigns.

The dates for 2027 are in video calendar.

Reserve. Leave 10% to 15% without a destination. During the year, an event, an early release, or a client willing to record may appear.

Project by project, annual package, or recurring production.

We detail the recurring model in recurring video packages and we compared it to the internal team in in-house producer or videographer.

How to compare production company proposals for the year.

With your plan ready, request quotes from two or three production companies using the same video list. When comparing, look beyond the total:

• Estimated daily allowances. A cheaper offer might include fewer recording days than the plan requires.
• Itinerary included. Some proposals charge separately for the script or expect the company to deliver the finished text.
• Rounds of adjustment. See how many are included and how much each extra round costs.
• Versions and formats. Check if vertical cropping, subtitles, and short versions are included in the price.
• Usage rights. The soundtrack, stock footage, and cast must be cleared for the channels you will be using.
• Raw files. Ask if the recorded material will be available for future editing.
• Portfolio in your video type. A production company strong in advertising may not have experience in distance learning, and vice versa.

We have a guide to How to evaluate production company budgets. and a Checklist for hiring a production company.

How to organize payments throughout the year.

The annual budget rarely involves all payments at once. The most common ways to organize payments are:

• By design, Payment due upon approval of the script and the remainder upon delivery.
• Per quarter, Following the recording schedule for the annual package.
• Monthly, In the recurring production model, with a fixed value and combined volume.

Align the payment schedule with the finances before closing. Companies with quarterly budgets need to ensure that production fits within each period.

Budget spreadsheet template

A simple spreadsheet will do the trick. These columns cover what the board and the production company will ask:

Add a line item for reservations and one for paid media, and the budget is ready for the meeting.

Costs that are usually left out of the budget.

• Versions. Subtitles, vertical format, English version, and sign language interpretation window. Planned from the start, they will be cheaper.
• Paid media. Promoting the video has its own budget, separate from the production budget.
• Update. Videos featuring system screens, numbers, or people become outdated quickly. Set aside some time to review what was produced in previous years.
• Usage rights. Soundtrack, stock footage, and cast fees can cost more for TV or paid media than for internal use.
• Internal team time. Someone needs to handle the briefing, scheduling, and approval process. This time isn't included in the budget, but it defines the deadline.

When the company has multiple cities or units

Travel expenses are the fastest-growing cost for companies with diverse locations. Each new city can add travel, accommodation, and a daily allowance just for the team's transit.

Three ways to control this cost:

• Focus recording by region. A trip that passes through two or three nearby locations is cheaper than separate trips throughout the year.
• Record with a local crew. In remote cities, a remotely managed regional team can handle interviews and supporting images.
• Use a master film with individual versions. The concept and most of the recording are shared, and each unit gets a version with its own scenes.

Where to cut first if the budget is smaller

When the approved budget falls short of the plan, cut in this order:

1. Single-view videos, such as the opening of a small event, which can be resolved with existing materials.
2. Holidays that are not directly related to the business.
3. Isolated daily allowances, combining the remaining recordings into a single day.
4. Finish, Replacing custom animation with simpler motion graphics where the video is internal.

The last ones to be removed should be the videos used every day: case studies that the sales team sends in proposals, corporate videos from the website, and training videos repeated for each group.

How to defend the budget at the meeting

Present the list of videos, not a fixed price. For each item, show the goal it addresses, where it will be used, and how the results will be measured.

Some arguments that help in securing approval:

• Continuous use. A video case study that the sales representative sends with every proposal works all year round. Divide the cost by the number of times it will be used.
• Time saved. An onboarding or training video replaces hours of repeated presentations for each class.
• Reuse. Show how many pieces are produced from each recording. A day's work that yields corporate videos, case studies, and cuts for social media has a low cost per piece.
• Result for 2026. If any video from this year helped close a sale or reduced rework, use that case as evidence.

See also how to think about return on investment in video.

Video Budget Checklist 2027

• List of videos related to the 2027 goals.
• Estimated cost of each video, using the market segment as a reference.
• Recordings grouped by quarter.
• Versions, subtitles, and accessibility features included.
• Media budget separate from production budget.
• Reservations from 10% to 15%.
• Metrics defined for each video.
• Those responsible for approval in each area.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should a company invest in video per year?

It depends on the videos the plan requires. A lean plan, with 1 corporate video, 3 case studies, and cuts for social media over 3 to 4 days, costs between R$ 24,000 and R$ 65,000.

A plan with quarterly production, around 20 to 40 videos and 4 to 6 training days, costs between R$1,000,000 and R$1,000,000 per ton. Companies with corporate universities invest more because of the volume of training.

Is there a right percentage for video marketing?

There's no single reliable percentage that works for every company. Build your budget based on your video list and compare the total to your marketing budget to see if it fits.

Is it cheaper to buy videos as a package?

In most cases, yes. In the package, the recordings are grouped together, the visual identity is created once, and the entire package is negotiated at once.

How can you cut the budget without cutting important videos?

Combine recordings, review scripts before filming, plan versions from the start, and repurpose old videos with new editing. Cut the one-time-view videos first.

How do you justify the investment in video to the board of directors?

Show each video linked to a business goal and a metric, and divide the cost by the number of times it will be used. Examples from 2026 where a video helped close a sale or reduced rework are the strongest argument.

Does the video budget include paid media?

No. Production and paid distribution are separate expenses. Plan them together so that the video reaches a wider audience once it's finished.

A number that can be explained item by item.

Built from the list of videos, the 2027 budget is easy to defend: each value has a video, a goal, and a metric next to it. The reserve covers whatever unexpected events the year brings.

If you're finalizing your video budget for the year, Send a list of what you need. And we responded with a budget for the entire year.

Published on September 27, 2026 · updated on October 13, 2026

Samuel Silva

Samuel Silva is the co-founder and Creative Director of Silvertake Vídeo, a video production company in Belo Horizonte. He leads a team that combines creativity and technology, delivering over 7,000 videos for more than 100 companies. A graduate in Advertising from PUC Minas, Samuel specializes in marketing, creative automation, and audiovisual production.