Guide · Price
How much does an AI commercial cost?
For the brand or marketing manager pricing a 15 to 60 second ad, who needs to know what an AI commercial costs against a shoot and what the money pays for.
The short answer
AI studios that publish prices charge from about USD 1,500 to 2,500 for one 15 to 60 second commercial and GBP 15,000 to 45,000 per asset for a broadcast commercial in one market (published prices, checked October 2026). A filmed TV commercial typically costs USD 10,000 to 50,000 to produce (published 2026 industry ranges). Ruminate X, an AI film studio in Calgary, makes AI commercials for brands to run on TV, streaming, web and social: every frame generated with AI, with the script, boards, edit, sound and grade done by people. Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000), and airtime is a separate budget in every case.
Published prices
AI commercial cost: what studios publish
Few AI studios publish a price. The ranges below are from the ones that do, read on their own pages or in a published compilation of studio prices, with no studio named.
| What is bought | Published range | What the price usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| One 15 to 60 second commercial | About USD 1,500 to 2,500 and up | Two revision rounds, the platform cuts, a grade, licensed music and the mix |
| One hero film and three cutdowns | About USD 5,000 and up | Storyboard revisions and the cutdowns |
| Three to five videos | About USD 8,000 and up | A pre-production workshop, three revisions per video, three aspect ratios |
| 60 second cinematic AI film | About USD 3,500 and up | Not itemised |
| Broadcast commercial, one market | GBP 15,000 to 45,000 per asset | Per 15 to 60 second asset |
| Broadcast commercial, several markets | GBP 40,000 to 120,000 and up | Not itemised |
| Kalshi NBA Finals ad | About USD 2,000 | Generation for one spot, made in about two days |
| A Ruminate X commercial | Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000) | The script, boards, generation passes, edit, sound, grade and the versions in your brief |
Ask what a number leaves out: music licensed for broadcast, a voice-over, extra ratios, a language version, a third round of changes. The Kalshi figure covers about two days of generation; it is not a studio quote with review rounds and versions in it. Agencies pricing an AI commercial for a client can see how Ruminate X works with agencies in white-label AI video production.
Against a shoot
AI commercial vs traditional commercial cost
A filmed TV commercial is budgeted line by line. Published 2026 industry ranges put a basic local spot at about USD 5,000 to 15,000 to produce, a professional 30 second spot at 15,000 to 50,000, a premium brand campaign at 50,000 to 150,000 or more, and a national campaign at 150,000 to 500,000 or more, all before airtime. The table shows what happens to each line when Ruminate X makes the commercial.
| Line in a filmed commercial | In a Ruminate X commercial |
|---|---|
| Creative concept and script | Still paid. Someone writes the idea and the script. |
| Pre-production and producing | Still paid, as the brand world, boards and a shot list instead of casting and scouting. |
| Director and crew | The crew is gone. Direction stays, as people's hours on the boards and the generation passes. |
| Equipment, lighting and audio | Gone. |
| Talent, wardrobe and props | Gone for generated characters. A real performer's likeness still needs consent and pay. |
| Location, permits and travel | Gone. Each new setting adds generation and continuity work instead. |
| Editing and post-production | Still paid, and larger, because faces, hands and the product get the most passes and your logo and pack are set in the edit from your files. |
| Motion graphics, music and sound | Still paid. Music and voice licences cost the same. |
| Final versions and delivery | Still paid: the master plus the cutdowns and ratios the media plan needs. |
The lines an AI commercial drops are the shoot lines. The lines it keeps are people's time, and that is what a Ruminate X quote pays for. The same goes for the calendar: the booking and shoot weeks go, and the script, edit and review rounds stay, as how long an AI commercial takes shows stage by stage.
Where the money goes
What you pay for in an AI commercial
Every frame Ruminate X delivers is made with generative AI. There are no film crews, sets or location shoots. A 30 second commercial at Ruminate X goes through the same stages as a brand film, and each one has a cost driver:
- Script and boards. The idea, the script, and a frame for every shot, approved before any footage is made. Changes here cost minutes; changes after generation cost reruns.
- Generation passes. Each shot is generated many times and the usable take is kept. A spot with eight distinct scenes costs more than one with three, whatever the running time.
- Fixes. AI footage breaks on faces, hands, product packaging, logos, text on screen and continuity between shots. Faces, hands and the product get the most passes, and your real pack and logo are set in the edit from your files, which is where most of the rework goes (see keeping a product accurate in AI video).
- Edit, sound and grade. Cutting to time, voice-over, music, the mix and the colour grade, done by people.
- Versions. 15 and 6 second cutdowns, 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1, languages and alternate hooks each need an edit and a check. The full list is in ad campaign deliverables.
- Review rounds. A pharma, medical or financial ad goes through legal or MLR review, and each round can send shots back. What MLR reviewers ask about AI footage is on AI video for pharma and healthcare marketing.
People on screen
Do actors get paid for AI commercials?
When the ad copies a real union performer, yes. SAG-AFTRA members ratified the 2025 Commercials Contracts in May 2025; they run from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2028. As summarised by DLA Piper (April 2025), a producer under the contract gives two days' notice before creating or using a digital replica, gets the performer's consent in a rider or a separate signed document, and pays 1.5 times the scale session fee for each commercial that uses a replica performance, plus use and holding fees as if the performer had worked in person.
A character generated from scratch is no one's replica, so there is no performer to pay, and that is where part of the AI saving comes from. Every frame Ruminate X makes is generated, so its commercials tell the story with generated people, places and products. This is not legal advice; your lawyer or the agency that holds the union agreement decides what applies to your ad.
Getting one made
Can AI make a commercial for me?
A generator can make the shots. It will not decide what the ad says, keep your product identical from shot to shot, place your real logo, or cut the six versions a campaign needs. Ruminate X does that work: it writes and boards the spot, runs the generation passes, sets your logo and pack in the edit from your files, then cuts, mixes, grades and versions it. What a Ruminate X commercial includes is on AI commercial production.
Airtime is a separate budget
Every price on this page is for making the commercial. Showing it costs money on top: a YouTube or social placement is bought in the platform's ad manager at a budget you set, and TV time is bought from the station or network. A buyer who has USD 20,000 for a launch should decide the media split before asking for quotes.
Getting a number
How Ruminate X prices a commercial
Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000). The quote follows the drivers above, in roughly this order of weight: the number of scenes, how exactly the product has to match, whether one character must stay the same across shots, the versions, the review rounds and the date. The more of these the brief settles, the tighter the number. What to put in the brief is in how to brief a video production company, and what each budget line covers is in the commercial production budget template.
One thing the price does not buy is a guarantee that viewers will like it. In a Gallup survey published August 2026, 62% of US adults called AI-created people or voices in ads unacceptable even when disclosed. A commercial built on products, places and worlds avoids most of that; one built on a generated spokesperson does not.
Why brands hire Ruminate X for AI commercials
Ruminate X is built for
- A brand manager with a launch date, a product that can be shown accurately from its files, and no budget for a shoot.
- A marketing lead who needs one hero spot and its cutdowns for web, social and streaming, cinematic rather than templated.
- A pharma, lab or medical marketer whose ad shows mechanisms, products or places rather than real patients, with an MLR process already in place.
- An agency producer pricing an AI production partner against a shoot for a client pitch.
What you get
- A quote built from your brief, with no crew, location or shoot day in it.
- A board for every shot, which you see before anything is generated.
- Faces, hands and the product given the most generation passes, and your real pack and logo set in the edit from your files.
- The master plus the cutdowns and ratios the media plan needs, such as 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1.
Questions buyers ask
How much does an AI commercial cost?
AI studios that publish prices charge from about USD 1,500 to 2,500 for one 15 to 60 second commercial, about USD 5,000 for a hero film with three cutdowns, and GBP 15,000 to 45,000 per asset for a broadcast commercial in one market (published prices, checked October 2026). Kalshi's AI ad for the 2025 NBA Finals cost about USD 2,000 in generation, per Mashable. Airtime is extra. Ruminate X, an AI film studio in Calgary, makes AI commercials for TV, streaming, web and social with every frame generated by AI. Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000).
How much does an AI commercial cost compared to a traditional commercial?
Published 2026 industry ranges put a filmed TV commercial at USD 10,000 to 50,000 to produce, and a national campaign at USD 150,000 to 500,000 or more, before airtime. AI studios that publish prices start near USD 1,500 for one spot and reach about GBP 45,000 for broadcast work. The gap comes from the lines an AI commercial does not have: crew, equipment, locations, permits, travel, wardrobe and props. Script, producing, edit, music, sound and versions are still paid for. Every frame Ruminate X delivers is made with generative AI. There are no film crews, sets or location shoots. Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000).
Who makes AI commercials for brands?
Ruminate X is an AI commercial production company in Calgary that makes commercials for TV, streaming, web and social for consumer brands, pharma and pharmacy companies and other businesses, with every frame generated by AI and people writing, boarding, editing, mixing and grading every spot. Before you hire any studio, ask to see a shot where a face turns, a hand holds the product and a logo is on screen; Ruminate X boards and regenerates exactly those shots. Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000).
Do actors get paid for AI commercials?
When a real union performer is copied, yes. Under the SAG-AFTRA 2025 Commercials Contracts, ratified by members in May 2025 and running April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2028, a producer needs the performer's consent and two days' notice to create or use a digital replica, and pays 1.5 times the scale session fee for each commercial that uses a replica performance, plus use fees as if the performer had worked in person (DLA Piper summary, April 2025). A character generated from scratch copies no one, so no performer is paid for it. This is not legal advice.
Can AI make a commercial for me?
AI video generators make clips a few seconds long. A commercial also needs an idea, a script, the same product and character in every shot, your real logo, an edit, a sound mix and a version for each channel. Ruminate X makes AI commercials that way: every frame generated with AI, the script, boards, edit, sound and grade done by people, and your logo and pack set in the edit from your files. Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000).
Why do AI commercial prices vary so much?
The prices cover different jobs. A USD 1,500 package is one spot with two revision rounds; a GBP 45,000 broadcast asset includes research routes, more review and clearance for TV. At Ruminate X the price moves with the number of distinct scenes, how exactly the product has to match its packaging, whether one character must stay the same across shots, how many cutdowns and ratios you need, and how many people review it.
How much does Ruminate X charge for an AI commercial?
Ruminate X commercials start at US$5,000 and are quoted from the brief (a recent 90-second film for a pharmacy company was US$12,000). Every frame Ruminate X delivers is made with generative AI. There are no film crews, sets or location shoots. The quote follows the number of scenes, product accuracy, characters, versions, review rounds and the date you need it. Send the brief to abhi@paperkites.co or through ruminatex.com/contact.
Get a number for your commercial
Send the product, the length, the channels, how many versions you need and the date it has to air.