Most B2B companies should spend 10% to 20% of their marketing budget on video, which works out to roughly 1% to 1.5% of annual revenue. Marketing budgets average 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, according to Gartner, so a B2B company with $10 million in revenue should plan on roughly $80,000 to $160,000 a year for video. Per video, expect about $2,000 to $5,000 for a spokesperson or educational video and $6,000 to $15,000 for a polished product demo from a good agency.

I get asked some version of this question on almost every first call. Someone has been told to "do more video," they have a number in a spreadsheet that somebody else picked, and they want to know if it is enough, too much, or completely made up.

Usually it is made up. That is not a criticism, because almost nobody publishes a clear answer. So here is mine, with the math shown, the sources linked, and a method you can run on your own numbers in about ten minutes.

The short answer

• Total marketing budget: the average company spends 7.8% of revenue on marketing in 2026 (Gartner CMO Spend Survey). For B2B specifically, The CMO Survey reports 7.0% for B2B product companies and 10.1% for B2B services companies.
• Video share: a sensible default is 10% to 20% of the marketing budget, or about 1% to 1.5% of revenue. Go lower if you are only testing video, and higher if video is your main demand channel.
• Per video cost: short social videos run $1,500 to $5,000 and brand films $15,000 to $50,000 or more (Vidico, 2026), and most B2B teams spend $5,000 to $15,000 on a customer testimonial (Vidico, 2026).
• Volume matters more than polish: 76% of companies now make at least one video a month (Wistia State of Video 2026). Budget for a steady cadence first and one hero piece second.
• Keep money for distribution: hold back 20% to 30% of your video budget for promotion, repurposing and ads, because a video nobody sees has a return of zero.

How much B2B companies spend on marketing in 2026

Before you can size a video budget, you need the total marketing budget, and the most cited benchmark says it is 7.8% of revenue in 2026. That figure comes from Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey of 401 marketing leaders, fielded January to March 2026, which found budgets "effectively flat, rising only slightly to 7.8% of company revenue in 2026 from 7.7% in 2025."

The longer view is more interesting. Gartner's number was 11% in 2020 and 6.4% in 2021, then bounced to 9.5% in 2022 and 9.1% in 2023, before settling at 7.7% in 2024 and 7.7% in 2025.

In plain English: marketing teams have been asked to do more with a smaller slice of the company for three years running. That is exactly why video budgets need a method, because nobody is getting a blank check.

One caution about Gartner. Its sample leans heavily toward large companies, with the vast majority reporting more than $1 billion in annual revenue. If you are smaller, two other sources are closer to your world:

• The CMO Survey (Spring 2026): marketing is 9.0% of revenue overall, 7.0% for B2B product companies and 10.1% for B2B services companies, based on 308 US marketing leaders (The CMO Survey, sponsored by Duke's Fuqua School of Business, Deloitte and the American Marketing Association).
• SaaS Capital (2026): the median private B2B SaaS company spends 8% of annual recurring revenue on marketing, and equity backed companies spend 100% more on marketing than bootstrapped ones (SaaS Capital, survey of 1,000+ companies).

So for most B2B and software companies, a marketing budget between 7% and 10% of revenue is normal. Venture funded companies in growth mode often sit well above that.

How much of the marketing budget should go to video

I recommend 10% to 20% of the marketing budget for video, and here is how I got there. There is no official benchmark for "video share of budget," so this is my rule of thumb from five years of running a video agency, checked against what the surveys say marketers actually do.

The surveys point in the same direction:

• Wyzowl (2026): "Most marketers (46%) allocate a third of their budget (or less) to video content," and 17% do not track their video spend at all (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2026, 266 respondents surveyed in late 2025).
• Wistia (2026): almost 40% of companies spent under $5,000 on video production last year, just over 30% spent more than $5,000, and the rest had no exact video budget because it was lumped into general marketing (Wistia State of Video 2026).
• HubSpot (2026): 37.1% of marketers plan to increase their investment in video marketing this year, and short form video (48.6%) and long form video (28.6%) are the top two content formats for ROI (HubSpot State of Marketing 2026, 1,500+ marketers).
• Content Marketing Institute: 58% of B2B marketers said video produced the best results of any content type, and 61% expected to increase video investment (CMI B2B Benchmarks, 980 respondents, 2024 fieldwork).

Put simply, video is the format marketers say works best, yet a big chunk of companies still spend less than $5,000 a year on it. That gap is the opportunity.

Why 10% to 20% and not a third? Because in B2B, a large part of the marketing budget is already committed before you touch video. Gartner found paid media takes 31.4% of marketing budgets in 2026, and headcount, software and events take much of the rest. Within the content line, though, video should be one of the biggest items, and it can also feed your paid media with better ads.

What a B2B video costs in 2026, by format

A single B2B marketing video costs anywhere from about $1,500 to $50,000 or more, and the format decides most of that range. The table below pulls from public pricing pages and cost guides. Most of these are agency sources, including ours, so treat them as market signals, not neutral survey data.

If you want the broader market picture, Clutch's review data puts the average video production project at $42,281 and the typical agency rate at $100 to $149 an hour, while noting that most projects on the platform cost less than $10,000. That average is pulled up by big campaign projects, so the "less than $10,000" line is the more useful one for a single B2B video.

For reference, our own published pricing sits in the middle of this table: $2,000 to $2,500 per video on a monthly plan and $5,000 for a single one off video, with scripting, a spokesperson, a custom set and social cuts included. We can price there because we own our studios, so there is no studio rental or crew booking margin stacked on top. Which formats earn their place in a B2B plan is a separate question, and I cover it in the best B2B video formats.

How many videos a B2B company actually needs

For most B2B companies, the right volume is two to four videos a month, plus the short social cuts you get from each one. One video a month is the floor where video starts to feel like a channel rather than a campaign.

The market has already moved there. Wistia reports that 76% of companies make at least one video a month, and most work on a monthly or weekly cadence (Wistia State of Video 2026). Vidyard's platform data is even more striking: in 2024, mid market companies on Vidyard created an average of 267 videos each, although that figure includes quick sales and internal videos, not just produced marketing content (Vidyard Video in Business Benchmark Report 2025).

The pattern we see most often is simple. Teams that make one beautiful video a year get one spike of attention. Teams that publish every week build an audience, a search presence and a sales library that compounds. If YouTube and AI search are part of your plan, consistency matters even more, and I explain why in how AI search uses YouTube for B2B software.

The Video Budget Ladder: three tiers by company stage

The easiest way to size a video budget is to pick the tier that matches your stage, then check it against the percentage math. I call this the Video Budget Ladder. Each tier has a job, a budget range and a typical output.

These ranges are my recommendations, based on what each stage realistically needs to produce, and they sit inside the percentage math for most companies in each band. For example: at 8% of revenue on marketing, a $3 million company has a $240,000 marketing budget, and 10% of that is $24,000, which lands in Tier 1.

How to move up a rung: you move from Tier 1 to Tier 2 when you can point to videos that drive pipeline, and from Tier 2 to Tier 3 when video is feeding several teams at once (marketing, sales, customer success). Tracking that properly is its own skill, and our guide to video KPIs covers what to measure.

The four step sizing method

1. Find your marketing budget. Use your real number. If you do not have one, multiply revenue by 7% to 10% (or 8% of ARR for SaaS, the SaaS Capital median).
2. Take 10% to 20% for video. Start at 10% if you are testing, 15% if video is a core channel, and 20% if video is your main way of reaching buyers.
3. Split it 70/30 to 80/20 between production and distribution. Distribution means paid promotion, repurposing, thumbnails, YouTube optimization and ads.
4. Divide production by a blended cost per video. Mix one or two expensive formats with a steady stream of affordable ones, and check that the result gives you at least one video a month.

A worked example: a $10 million B2B software company

Here is the method applied to a typical growth stage SaaS company with $10 million in annual recurring revenue. The numbers are illustrative, but every benchmark behind them is linked above.

1. Marketing budget: 8% of $10 million ARR is $800,000 (the SaaS Capital median).
2. Video budget: 15% of $800,000 is $120,000 a year, or $10,000 a month.
3. Split: $90,000 for production and $30,000 for distribution.
4. Production plan: one hero product demo at about $12,000, four customer testimonials at about $6,000 each ($24,000), and 24 educational spokesperson videos at about $2,250 each ($54,000). Total: $90,000 for 29 videos, a little over two a month, plus dozens of social cuts.

Now compare what the same $90,000 buys through different routes:

• Premium agency, one project at a time: at $10,000 to $15,000 per video, you get six to nine videos a year. Beautiful, but not a channel.
• Volume or subscription agency: at $2,000 to $2,500 per video, you get 36 to 45 videos a year.
• One in house hire: the median US film and video editor earns $75,420 a year (BLS, May 2025) before benefits, gear and software, which uses most of the budget on one person who still needs someone on camera and a producer.

None of these routes is always right. In house wins when you have constant volume and deep product context, and agencies win when you need range, speed and a spokesperson. I lay out the full tradeoff in in house video team vs agency.

Where video budgets usually go wrong

The most common mistake is spending the whole budget on one hero video and having nothing left for the other eleven months. A launch video matters, but buyers in B2B research for months, and they need a steady stream of useful content to find you.

The other mistakes I see again and again:

• No distribution money. Wistia found that 48% of companies plan to increase their video promotion budgets this year, and 41% spent under $20,000 on promotion in 2025 (Wistia State of Video 2026). Production without promotion is a very nice file on a hard drive.
• Buying editing and calling it production. Freelance editors on Upwork have a median rate of $35 an hour, which is great value if you already have footage, a script and someone on camera. If you do not, the cheap option gets expensive in your own team's time.
• Replacing people with avatars to save money. AI avatar tools start at $29 a month on Synthesia's Starter plan, and they are fine for internal training. For marketing that needs trust, I think a real presenter is worth the difference, and I explain why in AI avatars vs real presenters. For the record, we do not use AI avatars at Videodeck.
• Not tracking spend at all. Wyzowl found 17% of marketers are unsure how much they spend on video. You cannot defend a budget you cannot see.

The five question budget check

Before you sign off a video budget, run it past these five questions:

1. Does it produce at least one video a month for the whole year?
2. Is 20% to 30% held back for distribution and repurposing?
3. Does every video have a named job (pipeline, sales enablement, onboarding, brand)?
4. Do you own the final files, and can you cut them into social clips?
5. Do you know which metric will tell you, in 90 days, whether to keep going?

If you are hiring outside help, the questions to ask any agency, including us, are in working with a video production agency.

What it is like to work with Videodeck

If the numbers above point you toward working with an agency, here is what you get for your budget with us, and why teams that start with one video tend to stay for many.

How a project runs

1. A 30 minute call. We learn what you sell, who buys it and where the videos will live. You can book one here.
2. A content plan and scripts. We write them, you approve them. Nothing gets filmed until the words are right.
3. Your presenter and your set. You pick from more than 10 in house spokespeople, and we build a set in your brand colors in our own studios.
4. Filming and editing. The first version lands in 5 to 10 business days, with motion graphics, product screens, captions and thumbnails.
5. Revisions until it is right. Revisions are unlimited and each round takes about two days. You own every final file.

Why software brands choose us

• Real people on camera. We never use AI avatars. Buyers can tell, and trust is the whole point of a video.
• Prices you can see before the call. Our plans are published: $2,500 a video at 4 a month, $2,300 at 8 and $2,000 at 12, or $5,000 for a single video.
• Speed without chaos. Owning the studio and keeping the team in house is what makes 5 to 10 business days realistic.
• Consistency. Many of our clients work with us month after month, because one video is a campaign and forty videos is a channel.
• We think past the edit. Titles, thumbnails, YouTube optimization and social cuts come with every video, so it gets found after launch day.

The 14 minute video we made for ActiveCampaign on AI marketing tools. It reached number one for its target search on YouTube.

"Today I searched 'what are top AI marketing tools in 2024' and our video is #1 in the video tab. That's amazing and a huge win."

Casey Hill, Senior Growth Marketing Manager, ActiveCampaign

You can see more on our work page and read what clients say on our wall of love.

FAQ

What percentage of the marketing budget should go to video?

A good default for B2B companies is 10% to 20% of the marketing budget, or about 1% to 1.5% of revenue. There is no official benchmark, but Wyzowl's 2026 survey found most marketers (46%) allocate a third of their budget or less to video. Start near 10% if you are testing video and move toward 20% once it drives pipeline.

What percentage of revenue should a B2B company spend on marketing?

Most B2B companies spend 7% to 10% of revenue on marketing. Gartner puts the 2026 average at 7.8% of company revenue, and The CMO Survey reports 7.0% for B2B product companies and 10.1% for B2B services companies. Private SaaS companies spend a median 8% of ARR on marketing, according to SaaS Capital.

How much does a corporate video cost?

A corporate or live action explainer video typically costs $4,500 to $20,000, and a brand film or commercial $15,000 to $50,000 or more, according to Vidico's 2026 cost guide. Clutch reports that most video production projects on its platform cost less than $10,000. Length, locations, talent and animation are what push the price up.

How much does a one minute video cost?

A one minute B2B video usually costs $500 to $5,000 for social clips, testimonials and product demos, and $3,000 to $15,000 for animated explainers. Those per minute ranges come from Vidico's 2026 pricing breakdown. Premium US agencies can charge $18,000 to $40,000 or more per finished minute for SaaS demos, according to ContentBeta.

How many marketing videos should a B2B company make per month?

Two to four a month is the sweet spot for most growth stage B2B companies, and one a month is the minimum to build momentum. Wistia's 2026 State of Video found 76% of companies already make at least one video a month. Each long video should also be cut into several short clips for social.

How much should a startup spend on video marketing?

An early stage B2B startup can do meaningful video for $15,000 to $50,000 a year. That covers a product demo, two or three customer stories and a handful of educational videos. Spend on the videos your sales team will use every week before you spend on a brand film.

Is it cheaper to make videos in house?

In house is cheaper only at high, steady volume. The median US film and video editor earns $75,420 a year (BLS, May 2025) before benefits, equipment and software, and one person rarely covers scripting, filming, presenting and editing. Below roughly two videos a week, an agency or freelancer mix usually costs less per finished video.

Are AI avatar videos a cheaper alternative?

AI avatar tools are much cheaper, with plans starting at $29 a month on Synthesia, and they work well for internal training and quick updates. For customer facing marketing, a real presenter usually builds more trust, which matters when you are asking a buyer to spend serious money. Many B2B teams use avatars internally and real people externally.

Where to start

If you remember one thing, make it this: take 10% to 20% of your marketing budget, keep a quarter of it for distribution, and spend the rest on a steady rhythm of useful videos instead of one expensive one. That single rule will put you ahead of most B2B teams.

If you want a partner for that rhythm, we have delivered more than 1,000 videos for B2B and software companies from our own studios, with real spokespeople and a custom set for every client. Our prices are public on the Videodeck pricing page, so you can plug them into the method above before we ever talk. And if you would rather just compare notes on your budget, say hello. I am always happy to look at the numbers.

More from Heleana

• What Working With a Video Production Agency Actually Looks Like, From Brief to Final File
• The B2B Video Formats That Actually Work in 2026
• In House Video Team vs Agency vs Freelancers: What It Really Costs in 2026
• AI Avatars vs Real Presenters: What the Trust Data Says in 2026