What Is an Explainer Video? Types, Length, Script and Examples
An explainer video is a short video that shows a problem, the solution and how a product works. Here are the types, the right length for each channel and a 60-second script template.
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An explainer video is a short video, usually 1 to 3 minutes on a website and under 60 seconds in social feeds, that shows what a product, service or idea does and why it matters. Most follow one structure: the problem, the solution, how it works, then a single call to action.
Explainers are one of the most common business videos: in Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 68% of video marketers had made explainer videos, just behind social media videos at 69%. Most still fail for the same reason: they open with the product and its features instead of the viewer's problem, so nobody watches long enough to reach the part that explains anything.
What is an explainer video?
An explainer video (people also search "video explainer" or "explainervideo") answers one question for one kind of viewer: what is this, and why should I care? Visuals do most of the work, and a voice-over or on-screen text carries the message.
The meaning is narrower than "any marketing video". Here is how an explainer differs from the formats it gets confused with:
| Format | Question it answers | Typical length | Where it plays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explainer video | What is this and why does it matter? | 1 to 3 minutes (under 60 seconds on social) | Homepage, landing pages, social feeds, sales emails |
| Product demo | How exactly do I use it? | Longer, feature by feature | Sales calls, onboarding, help center |
| Tutorial | How do I do this one task? | As long as the task takes | Help center, YouTube |
| Ad | Why buy now? | Seconds to under a minute | Paid placements |
If your video has to teach a full workflow, it is a demo or a tutorial. If it has to make a stranger understand the idea and want the next step, it is an explainer.
What are explainer videos used for?
Businesses use explainers wherever a visitor has to understand something before acting. Buyers ask for it: in Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 63% of consumers said a short video is how they would most like to learn about a product or service, far ahead of text articles (12%), and 85% said a video had convinced them to buy something. More sourced figures are on our short-form video statistics page.
The placements that earn their keep:
- Homepage: a 60 to 90 second video next to the main signup button, for visitors who do not read.
- Campaign landing pages: one explainer per audience, each opening with that audience's problem.
- Product launches: a launch video that shows the product in the first seconds.
- Sales and onboarding emails: a short link that answers the question prospects keep asking.
- Social feeds: a vertical cut of the same message for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
For where video fits in a small team's marketing plan, see video marketing for small businesses. HubSpot's video marketing guide covers distribution channel by channel.
Types of explainer videos
| Type | What it looks like | Best for | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motion graphics | Animated text, icons, shapes and interface elements | SaaS, abstract services, data-heavy ideas | Medium |
| Whiteboard animation | Drawings appear as the narrator speaks | Education, processes with clear steps | Medium |
| 2D character animation | Flat cartoon characters in a short story | Consumer products, everyday problems | High if animated by hand |
| 3D animation | Rendered products shown from every angle | Physical products, hardware | Highest |
| Live action | Real people, places and the product in hand | Personal services, founder-led brands | High (crew, location, talent) |
| Screencast | A recording of the real app screen with voice-over | Software, apps, onboarding | Low |
| AI-generated | Script, AI visuals, AI voice and captions assembled by a tool | Small teams, fast versions, social cuts | Low |
How to choose:
- If your product lives on a screen, start with a screencast plus motion graphics. Viewers trust what they can see working.
- If what you sell is abstract (insurance, a B2B service, a method), use animation and one strong visual metaphor.
- If trust in a person is the product (a coach, a clinic, an agency), put that person on camera.
- If you need many versions (per audience, language or platform), generate them with AI so a new version is an edit, not a reshoot.
For the animated styles, Revid has a motion graphics generator, a 2D animation maker and a business animation video maker for the flat corporate look.
How long should an explainer video be?
As short as the message allows: 60 to 90 seconds for a homepage or landing page, under 60 seconds for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, and up to 3 minutes only for a product walkthrough. Attention falls with length: Vidyard's 2024 benchmark data found 65% of viewers stay to the end of business videos under 1 minute, compared with 20% for videos over 20 minutes. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 71% of marketers said 30 seconds to 2 minutes is the most effective length.
| Where it plays | Target length | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage or landing page | 60 to 90 seconds | Room for problem, solution and one demo moment |
| TikTok, Reels, Shorts | Under 60 seconds | Viewers decide in the first seconds; one idea per video |
| Sales or onboarding email | 30 to 60 seconds | Answers one question before the next email |
| Product walkthrough | 2 to 3 minutes | Only for viewers who already want the detail |
Platform limits matter for the social cut: YouTube treats vertical or square videos up to 3 minutes as Shorts, and Instagram does not recommend reels longer than 3 minutes to non-followers.
Prompt to try
Make a 60-second explainer video for Paydesk, an invoicing app for freelancers. Open with the hook "You finished the job weeks ago. So why haven't you been paid?", show the cost of chasing clients, then three steps: send an invoice in one tap, automatic polite reminders, card payment from the email. Clean motion graphics style, friendly voice-over, end with "Start free at paydesk.com".
How to write an explainer video script
Every effective explainer uses the same four beats. For a 60-second video, budget the time like this:
| Time | Beat | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 s | Hook | Names the viewer's problem in their own words |
| 5 to 15 s | Problem | Shows what the problem costs them |
| 15 to 45 s | Solution and how it works | Introduces the product and shows three steps or fewer |
| 45 to 60 s | Proof and call to action | One reason to believe, then one next step |
The solution gets half the time, but the hook decides whether anyone sees it. At a normal speaking pace, a minute holds roughly 150 words; leave fewer if the screen needs pauses for a demo.
Here is a sample 60-second script for a fictional invoicing app:
| Time | Voice-over | On screen |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 s | "You finished the job weeks ago. So why haven't you been paid?" | Phone notification: "Invoice overdue" |
| 5 to 15 s | "Chasing clients eats your evenings, and awkward reminder emails rarely work." | An inbox full of follow-ups |
| 15 to 45 s | "Meet Paydesk. Send an invoice in one tap. Paydesk reminds clients for you, politely, on the schedule you set. They pay by card, straight from the email." | Screen recording of the three steps |
| 45 to 60 s | "Set it up once and stop chasing. Start free at paydesk.com." | Logo, URL, signup button |
Script rules that make the difference:
- Write for the ear. Short sentences, one idea each, read aloud before recording.
- Use the viewer's words, taken from sales calls, reviews and support tickets, not your feature list.
- Show, then say. Every line needs a matching visual; if a line has none, cut it.
- One call to action. "Start free" or "Book a demo", never both.
If you are stuck on the first draft, a free AI script generator gives you a structure to edit.
How to make an explainer video, step by step
- Pick one goal and one viewer. Decide the single action you want (a signup, a demo request) and the metric you will check, such as conversion on the page where the video sits.
- Write the script first, using the four beats above. Style comes after the message.
- Storyboard it. One row per line of script: what the viewer sees, any on-screen text, and the transition.
- Choose the style from the types table, based on your product and budget.
- Record or generate the voice. A professional voice actor is worth it for a flagship homepage video; for frequent versions, an AI voiceover video maker is faster.
- Build the visuals and add captions. Plenty of people watch social video with the sound off, so captions carry the message too.
- End on the call to action, on screen and spoken, for the last seconds.
- Publish and measure. Put the video where viewers decide, then compare completion rate and conversions against the page without it. For a rough view of social engagement by industry, Rival IQ's 2022 social media industry benchmark report is a starting point, though it is dated.
Social explainer prompt
Create a 40-second vertical faceless explainer for a habit-tracking app. Hook in the first 3 seconds with on-screen text: "You quit every new habit by week two?" Show one idea only: how a daily streak reminder keeps you going, with the app working by the midpoint. Bold captions, upbeat voice, end with one call to action: "Try it free".
Short explainer videos for TikTok, Reels and Shorts
On social, an explainer is a tutorial-style video in a vertical 9:16 frame, and the person on camera is optional. In Revid's analysis of 176,367 TikToks with 1,000+ likes posted between October 2025 and October 2026, tutorials with no face on camera had a median of 156K views and 22.1% passed 1 million views, against 52K and 10% for tutorials with a person on camera. Screen recordings, the natural format for software explainers, had a 91K median. The sample only includes videos that already reached 1,000+ likes, so this shows what successful videos share, not a guarantee; the full method is in our study of what makes a TikTok go viral.
Faceless tutorials earned about 3x the median views of on-camera tutorials (156K vs 52K).
Source: Revid analysis of 176,367 TikToks with 1,000+ likes posted between Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 16, 2026 (61,203 creators)
Show the data
| Median views | Share that passed 1M views | |
|---|---|---|
| Faceless tutorials | 155.6K | 22.1% |
| Product or object tutorials | 80.7K | 14.9% |
| On-camera tutorials | 52.5K | 10% |
| Faceless storytelling | 72.7K | 13.3% |
| On-camera storytelling | 64.4K | 11.7% |
| Faceless comedy | 326.7K | 26.4% |
| On-camera comedy | 135.5K | 20.7% |
For the social cut of your explainer:
- Open on the problem, as text on screen and spoken, in the first seconds.
- Keep one idea per video. A product with three benefits becomes three videos.
- Show the product working by the midpoint, not at the end.
- Burn in captions and keep them clear of the platform buttons.
How to make an explainer video with Revid
Revid started in 2023 as Typeframes, a tool for SaaS founders to make product intro and launch videos, and explainers are still a core use.
- Open the explainer video maker and paste your script, a product description or a link to a page or article.
- Revid writes or adapts the script and builds scene-by-scene visuals from stock footage, AI images, AI video or motion graphics. You can choose the AI model per scene (Seedance 2.5, MiniMax Hailuo H3, Wan 3.0 or Google Veo 3).
- Pick a voice from 1,000+ AI voices in 70+ languages; captions are synced automatically.
- Adjust any scene in the timeline editor, export in 720p, 1080p or 4K, or publish directly to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Launching on Product Hunt? The Product Hunt launch video generator reads your listing and keeps its real screenshots. Sign-up is free and new accounts get free credits to try it, no credit card needed; regular creation uses the credits of a paid plan, from $39/month.
Explainer video examples
Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club's 2012 launch video is the most cited live-action explainer for a reason. Founder Michael Dubin walks through a warehouse and states the problem (razors cost too much) and the solution (good blades delivered monthly) in plain words, with deadpan jokes between the points.
What to copy: the problem comes first, the founder talks like a person instead of a brochure, and every joke reinforces the message rather than replacing it. The video was cheap to make; the clarity is what did the work.
Google Chrome
Around 2009, Google promoted its Chrome browser with short videos that explained it through everyday comparisons rather than technical specs.
The companion "What is a browser?" video asked people on the street what a browser is, and many could not say. That is the lesson: before you explain your product, find out what your audience does not know, and start your script there.
Common explainer video mistakes
- Opening with the logo or the company story. Open with the viewer's problem.
- Listing every feature. Pick the one that solves the problem in the hook; link to the rest.
- Jargon. If a customer would not say the word, neither should your script.
- Visuals that do not match the narration. Viewers follow the picture, so the message gets lost.
- Several calls to action. One video, one next step.
- Using the website cut on social. Make a vertical version under 60 seconds with captions.
FAQ
What is an explainer video in simple words?
It is a short video that explains what a product or idea does and why it matters, usually by showing a problem and then how the product solves it. Most run 1 to 3 minutes on a website and less than a minute on social media.
How much does an explainer video cost?
It depends mostly on the style: a screencast you record yourself costs only your time, a hand-animated or 3D video from a studio costs the most, and AI tools sit in between at a monthly subscription (Revid gives new accounts free credits to try it, and paid plans start at $39/month). Ask studios to quote the exact length and style you want, since both drive the price.
Do explainer videos have to be animated?
No. Animation is common because it can show abstract ideas, but live action, screencasts and founder-to-camera videos are explainers too when they cover the problem, the solution and how it works.
Where should I put an explainer video on my website?
Put it where visitors decide: usually the homepage hero or the top of a product landing page, right next to the main call-to-action button. Avoid hiding it in a separate videos page.
Can AI make an explainer video?
Yes. AI video tools can write the script, generate the visuals and voice-over, and add captions from a prompt, a script or a link. Check the script for accuracy and add your own product footage where it matters, since the message is still your job.
