Hiring an animation studio in the US: formats, costs and 9 studios clients rate

“Animation studio” covers several different crafts. The format decides the price and who you should shortlist.

We read the 127 reviews of the 9 ranked studios that describe animation or motion work and counted the formats they name. A review can name several, so the columns do not add up.

Sortlist’s local expert for the US gives two ranges: for startups and small businesses, $5,000 to $20,000 per project, typically with mid-sized studios; for mid-sized and large enterprises, $20,000 to over $100,000 for detailed, ongoing work that includes storyboards, detailed animation and post-production. Studios themselves state a minimum project budget on Sortlist: of the 205 US profiles we evaluated, 173 state one, and 127 start at €1,000, 1 between €1,001 and €2,999, 15 between €3,000 and €4,999 and 26 at €5,000 or more.

The leaders matrix gives a summary view of the strongest animation agencies in this ranking. Each of the 9 agencies is placed on two axes and falls into one of four quadrants: Leaders, Proven, Specialists or Emerging. The size of each dot reflects the size of the agency’s team.

Horizontal axis – track record: the number of verified client reviews, on a logarithmic scale. Vertical axis – focus on animation: the share of the agency’s reviews that describe animation work. The dashed lines mark the median of the agencies shown.

1. The sample

Sortlist lists 550 animation providers on this page. We evaluated the 220 agencies on the first three pages of the listing, in its relevance order. 32 of them have at least 3 verified client reviews – our threshold for a rating to be meaningful. None of them pays for a sponsored placement. Of these, 9 agencies with a US office and at least 3 client reviews that describe animation or motion work (explainers, 2D and 3D animation, motion graphics) were ranked, with 206 verified reviews between them and an average rating of 4.98; the 23 others are listed separately.

2. The score

3. Independence

• Sortlist is a marketplace, not an agency: it does not appear in its own ranking.
• Agencies cannot pay to enter the ranking or to move up. Agencies with a sponsored placement on this listing are excluded from scoring and shown separately.
• The order of the listing page, subscriptions and badges play no part in the score – only the three criteria above.

4. Limits

Reviews reflect each agency’s work across all its services, and agencies with few reviews may be excellent but are not yet scored. That is why every entry says what it is best for – and when another agency would suit you better. The ranking is updated regularly.

1. 1

   Say where the video will run

   A 30-second ad, a landing-page explainer and a trade-show loop need different lengths, aspect ratios and sound. Give the channels and the duration.

2. 2

   Provide a script, or a one-page message and the audience

   Studios price from the script. If you have none, ask whether script writing is quoted separately.

3. 3

   Choose the style with references

   Send three videos you like and one you do not. Words such as “modern” or “clean” mean different things to each studio.

4. 4

   Ask for the storyboard before animation starts

   TimeFrame’s profile offers a free custom storyboard on the intro call; ask every studio what it provides before the contract.

5. 5

   Count the revision rounds

   Agree how many feedback rounds are included at storyboard and at first cut. Changing the script after animation costs far more than changing it at storyboard.

6. 6

   Settle voice, music and licences

   Ask whether voice-over and music licences cover the channels and the number of years you need. One Prolific Studio reviewer wished for more voice-over accent options: ask for samples in the accent you want.

7. 7

   Ask for the files you need on delivery

   Request the final video in every aspect ratio, captions and, if you want to edit later, the project files.

Tip: ask each studio to describe, in five lines, how it would animate your first 15 seconds. The answer shows whether it understands the message or only the style.