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What Drives the Cost of a CGI Commercial?
The cost of a CGI commercial is driven by how many unique shots there are, how much has to be built from scratch, how much simulation is involved, how many formats you need, and how many approval rounds sit in the schedule. Duration barely matters: a five second shot with a cloth simulation can cost more than a thirty second film assembled from existing assets. This article explains the levers so you can shape a brief that fits a budget, rather than guessing at a number.
Written by Marco Mori, 3D artist, Lindau, Germany · Updated 2026-09-08
Why is there no price list?
Because the same brief line, "a thirty second CGI product film", can describe two projects that differ by a factor of ten. One is a single hero shot of an existing model with a camera move. The other is six environments, a cloth simulation, a character and nine deliverable formats.
A number on a website would be wrong in both directions, so what follows is the structure instead. If you know the levers, you can write a brief that fits your budget rather than discovering the mismatch after the first quote.
Which factors move the cost, and by how much?
| Cost driver | Impact | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Number of unique shots | Very high | Each needs layout, lighting, animation, render |
| Assets built from scratch | High | Modelling and look development are front-loaded work |
| Simulation and FX | High | Iteration loops measured in hours, not minutes |
| Character work | High | Rigging, animation, grooming, facial detail |
| Approval rounds | High | Both in work and in calendar time |
| Number of formats and cutdowns | Medium | Reframing plus a full re-render each |
| Photoreal vs stylised | Medium | Realism has no cheap shortcuts |
| Render resolution and length | Low | Mostly machine time |
| Total duration | Low | Extending an existing shot is nearly free |
| Existing CAD or assets supplied | Reduces | Removes the build stage entirely |
What is the difference between shot count and duration?
Duration is render time. Shot count is human time. A thirty second film built from three shots is cheaper than a ten second film built from eight, because every cut is a new setup: new camera, new lighting, new composition, new problems.
This is the single most useful thing to know before writing a brief. Cutting the shot list from twelve to six roughly halves a production. Cutting the duration from thirty seconds to fifteen saves almost nothing.
Why does simulation cost so much?
Because a simulation cannot be previewed the way animation can. You set it up, run it, wait, look at it, adjust, run it again. Each cycle costs hours of machine time and each round of art direction is another cycle.
That is why a five second shot of fabric tearing can outcost a thirty second product film. It is also why I iterate simulations at low resolution first and only cache at full quality after the behaviour is approved, the process for that is described under Houdini FX.
How do approval rounds turn into budget?
Two separate costs hide here.
The obvious one is implementation: every note is work. The less obvious one is latency.
The cheapest structural decision in any CGI project is shortening the approval chain. Two decision makers who respond within two days will produce a better film for less money than five who respond within a week, regardless of how good their notes are.
Where does the money go on a typical project?
Roughly, and with wide variation: asset build and look development take the largest share on a first project, animation and simulation the largest share on a repeat project, and rendering and compositing a smaller and fairly predictable slice throughout. Project management is small for a freelancer and substantial in a studio structure, that trade-off is covered in freelance 3D artist vs animation studio.
What makes a CGI commercial cheap without making it look cheap?
- Reuse assets. The second campaign with the same product is a different kind of project. This is why the asset-reuse argument for CGI matters financially, not just logistically.
- Decide formats before production. Adding a vertical version afterwards means reframing and re-rendering everything.
- Fewer, better shots. One striking idea executed well beats six hedged ones, and it costs less.
- Supply clean CAD and brand assets. It removes an entire stage.
- Approve at the cheap stage. Sign off camera and timing on a grey animatic, look on a still. Notes at those stages cost minutes; the same notes after rendering cost days.
- Be honest about the deadline. Compressed schedules cost extra because they remove the ability to sequence work efficiently.
How does this compare to a live action budget?
Differently shaped rather than simply higher or lower. Live action concentrates cost around the shoot day and locks the result afterwards. CGI spreads cost across the schedule and stays changeable, which is an advantage until nobody stops changing it. The full side-by-side is in CGI vs live action product commercials.
What should I put in a brief to get a realistic number back?
Shot count or a rough storyboard, whether product data exists, whether simulation or characters are involved, the list of deliverable formats, who approves, and the air date. With those six answers a scope can be estimated properly instead of padded defensively.
If you have them, send them over and you will get a scope.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest cost driver in a CGI commercial?
The number of unique shots. Every unique shot needs its own layout, lighting, animation and render, and unlike duration it does not scale for free.
Does a longer film cost more?
Much less than people expect. Extending an existing shot is mostly render time. Adding a new environment or a new setup is where the cost is.
Why is simulation expensive?
Because it has to be computed before it can be judged, and each iteration takes hours. Art direction on a simulation means repeating that loop, so the cost is in iteration count rather than in the final render.
Do approval rounds cost money?
Yes, in two ways: the work of implementing changes, and the calendar time between them. A four-round schedule with week-long response times can add a month without adding a single frame.
Is it cheaper if I supply CAD data?
Usually significantly, because modelling from scratch is removed and the geometry is already accurate. Clean CAD is one of the cheapest things a client can bring to a project.
How much do extra formats cost?
Reformats are cheaper than new shots but they are not free: each aspect ratio needs reframing, sometimes re-animating, and a full re-render. Deciding formats before production is far cheaper than adding them after.
Is CGI cheaper than a shoot?
It depends on scope. CGI removes crew, location, travel and product samples but adds asset build. It wins clearly on variants, impossible shots, unreleased products and asset reuse.
What makes a second campaign cheaper than the first?
Existing assets. A product already modelled and look-developed turns the next campaign into animation and rendering rather than a full build.
Why can't you just give a price on the website?
Because two thirty second films can differ by an order of magnitude in effort. Any number on a page would be wrong for most projects, and misleading for the rest.
What is the cheapest way to get a good CGI commercial?
Fewer unique shots, existing assets, decided formats, a short approval chain, and one strong idea instead of three hedged ones. All five are decisions you make before production starts.