This is a free commercial video production estimate template with the whole budget breakdown built in: pre-production through post, crew day rates through usage buyouts, for full-service commercials and branded content alike. Load it in the builder, delete what your shoot doesn't need, and put your rates on what's left. The rates ship blank on purpose. They're yours, and we don't want to know.
Most commercial estimate templates are a PDF with four rows and a logo placeholder. An actual commercial has a grip truck, talent buyouts, and a catering line that scales with headcount. Pretending otherwise is how the overage becomes your problem.
Every section below loads into the builder exactly as listed. This is the actual checklist, not a preview of one. Delete what your job doesn’t need and price the rest.
Everything billable before anyone touches a camera: concept, scripts, scouting, permits, insurance.
Day rates by role. Quantity is people, the multiplier is days. It remembers the 1st AC so you don't have to.
Unit: day. Quantity = # people, multiplier = # days.
On-camera people, voiceover, and the rights to keep using them. Usage buyouts live here, where they're hard to forget.
Camera, lighting, grip, and audio by the day, plus the truck it all arrives in.
Merged equipment + rentals. Default unit: day.
Fees, permits, parking, security, and putting the place back the way you found it.
Sets, props, and wardrobe. Everything that ends up in frame on purpose.
Priced per person, so the math scales with headcount. A fed crew is a functioning crew.
Unit: person. Quantity = # people, multiplier = # meals/days.
Moving people and gear: vehicles, flights, hotels, per diems, freight.
Where footage becomes the deliverable: edit, color, mix, graphics, music licensing, revisions.
Open it in the builder and every standard commercial line item is already in place, concept through deliverables. Start by deleting what your shoot doesn't need. It's very satisfying.
Add your rates and what each line costs you. The producer P&L updates as you type, so you know what the job actually pays before the client does.
Export a clean client estimate: prices, quantities, one total. Costs and margins never leave the producer view.
The full guide (units, tax math, deposits, exports) lives on the Help page. It’s genuinely thorough. We’re as surprised as you.
For the longer answer, there’s a guide: What to Include in a Video Production Quote.
Nine sections that mirror how a commercial actually bills: pre-production, crew, cast and talent, gear, locations, art and wardrobe, catering, travel, and post-production. Inside them are the line items that get forgotten at 11pm: usage and buyout rights, permits, media cards, revision rounds. You delete what doesn't apply. Deleting is faster than remembering.
There is no single honest number, which is why agencies publish a range and then a contact form. A lean one-day branded-content shoot with a small crew often lands in the low five figures. A full-service commercial with name talent, multiple shoot days, and broadcast usage runs well into six. The template shows what moves the number: crew days, talent usage, gear packages, and post scope.
Yes. Every section and line can be deleted, renamed, reordered, or added to. The template is a checklist, not a contract. And rates ship blank on purpose: they're yours.
Yes. The builder works without an account, and the free plan includes every export: client PDF, Excel, CSV, and a read-only share link. Pro is a one-time purchase that puts your branding on the exports. The template itself is not the product being sold to you. You'd be amazed how rare that is.