How much does it cost to edit Reels, TikToks and YouTube Shorts

Typical prices for editing short videos

Short-form editing is usually priced per finished video, with extras added on top. These are starting prices for vertical videos for Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts:

A single video up to a minute is usually ready in 1–2 days after the footage arrives. A series costs less per video than single orders, because the style, caption design and music choice are set once and reused for every video.

What drives the price

• Amount of raw footage. Ten short, well-shot clips take far less time than an hour of recordings the editor has to watch and sort.
• Final length. A 15-second video and a 60-second video need a different number of cuts, captions and accents.
• Captions. Plain captions checked against the speech are standard. Word-by-word animated captions with highlights take more time per second of video.
• Graphics. Animated text, arrows, logos, product callouts, screen recordings or picture-in-picture add work.
• Volume. Ordering a batch in one style lowers the cost of each video.
• Voice-over and script. A narrator or an AI voice, or writing the script and on-screen text, are separate items.
• Deadline. A same-day request may cost more if it means moving other work.

When you ask for a quote, mention all of these at once. A price for “edit my video” without knowing the footage length and the style is only a guess.

What to send your editor

1. The original files, sent as documents or through a cloud link. Messengers compress clips sent as regular video, and that loss shows after editing.
2. One or two example videos whose style you like, with a note on what exactly you like: the pace, the captions, the music.
3. The platform and the goal: what the viewer should understand and what they should do at the end.
4. Any text, logo, prices or contacts that must appear, written out so they can be copied without typos.
5. The takes you consider best if you recorded several, or a note that the editor should choose.

A short brief like this saves a round of revisions, because the first version already matches what you had in mind.

How many revisions is normal

For a short video with a clear brief, one round of comments is usually enough, and two rounds is still normal. Revisions within the brief, such as changing the pace, fixing captions, swapping music or reordering scenes, are part of the job.

Comments work best with timecodes: “at 0:07 cut the pause”, “at 0:15 the caption covers the face”. A comment like “make it more dynamic” is harder to act on, so add an example if you can. If after the edit you decide to change the idea itself, for example a different message or new footage, that is a new task rather than a revision, and it is fair to agree on it separately.

Filming tips that make editing easier

• Keep the phone vertical and fixed, on a stand or leaned against something stable.
• Film facing a window or another soft light source, not with a window behind you.
• Sound matters more than the picture. Record in a quiet room with soft furniture, keep the phone close or use a simple clip-on microphone.
• Wait two seconds before you start speaking and after you finish, so there is room for clean cuts.
• If you stumble, pause and repeat the whole sentence instead of continuing mid-phrase.
• Record a few extra shots of your work, product or place. They cover cuts and make the video more lively.
• Wipe the camera lens before filming. A smudged lens makes everything look soft, and no edit fully fixes it.

Captions, music and posting on several platforms

Many people scroll with the sound off, so captions carry the message. Keep important text away from the edges: each app places buttons, captions and the account name over the bottom and right side of the screen.

Popular songs can get a video muted or blocked, especially on business accounts. Royalty-free music avoids this. If you want a trending sound, add it in the app when publishing and ask for a version with the music low or removed. One 9:16 file usually works on Reels, TikTok and Shorts, but upload a clean file without another app's watermark.

Ordering video editing

If you would rather hand the editing off, I edit short vertical videos from your phone recordings: cuts and pacing, large captions, royalty-free music, a cover for the feed and voice-over if you need it. Prices start at $20 per video up to a minute, and it is usually ready in 1–2 days after I get the footage. Send your clips and an example you like, and you get a price and timeline before work starts.