How much does video production cost in Calgary? (2026 prices)

We collected every video price we could find on the websites of studios and freelancers based in Calgary and the Calgary area, and sorted each one by what it buys. Each studio counts once per row, at its lowest published price. Where a studio publishes a range, we used the low end.

Our arithmetic, from the low end of each published price or range, before GST. Using the high ends instead, the short brand video median is $3,000 and the corporate median is $6,000. One event figure is our arithmetic: a studio that publishes $400 an hour for up to four hours of event coverage, which is $1,600.

Read every number as a floor. Studios that post prices tend to be small, solo or focused on real estate. The largest Calgary production houses we checked publish no prices at all, and two publish only a budget range for most projects: $3,000 to $15,000 at one and $5,000 to $15,000 at the other.

Sources, all read October 7, 2026 from each studio’s own pricing or service page: calgaryvideographer.ca, narrativelens.ca, alyssakellert.com, studiolumen.ca, swansproduction.com, shortwavecreative.ca, flyinggoosemedia.ca, studiospero.com, mavenmediagroup.ca, renvisual.ca, photos4realestate.ca, sonavisual.com, calgaryrealestatephotos.ca and foothillsphotography.ca. Prices are as published, before GST.

Only one Calgary studio publishes what a commercial costs, from a real quote it wrote. Studio Lumen priced a traditional scripted and acted 60 to 90 second ad at about $29,450 plus GST: about $4,400 of pre-production, about $19,000 for a one-day shoot, $2,250 to $5,300 for two actors, and about $1,200 of editing. The same studio puts a locally produced documentary-style ad at $4,000 to about $13,000 plus GST. That is one studio’s numbers, not a Calgary average, but it shows where the money sits: in the shoot day, not the length of the ad.

The three cost centres.

• Pre-production: Scripting, scheduling, locations, approvals. Longest phase, easiest to underestimate.
• Shoot days: The dominant variable. Crew size and number of days, not runtime.
• Post-production: Edit, colour, sound, motion. Scales with revision rounds.

Runtime is a weak predictor of cost, which surprises people. A tightly finished 30 second spot can cost more than a 5 minute interview piece, because the work sits in the setup and the finishing rather than the duration. The published prices show it: the 60 to 90 second scripted ad above costs five to seven times the same studio’s 4 to 5 minute interview video ($4,450 to $5,950). Length still adds some cost, because a longer cut usually means more shoot hours and editing hours. No Calgary studio we found publishes a price per finished minute; if a quote is priced that way, ask what happens if the edit comes in shorter.

Crew is the other multiplier. One Calgary freelancer adds $800 a day for a second camera, lighting or sound tech, and another charges $310 for an extra hour with one shooter and $550 with two. A half day is not half the price either: at the three studios that publish both, a half day costs 55% to 67% of a full day.

The expensive part of any shoot is getting crew, subject, equipment and location into the same place at the same time. Once that has happened, capturing additional material is comparatively cheap.

So the question to ask before booking is not “what video do we want” but “what set of pieces could this day produce.” A single well-planned day can yield a main piece, several short social cuts, cutaway footage for future use, and stills. One Calgary videographer sells exactly this: two half-day shoots for $3,777, edited into around 18 to 20 short videos delivered over six months, about $190 to $210 a video. Booking a second day later to get what you could have captured the first time is the most common avoidable cost in this work.

Line items that should be explicit.

• Pre-production, shoot, post: Priced separately so you can see where the money sits.
• Revision rounds: A number, not “until happy”.
• Raw footage ownership: Whether you get the source files.
• Delivery formats and ratios: Vertical cuts are not free if nobody planned for them.
• Music licensing: Term and territory, not just a track name.
• Travel: Per kilometre or a flat fee outside a stated radius.

Calgary studios handle these differently, which is why quotes are hard to compare. One freelancer’s day rate hands over raw footage with no edit; another studio says extra clips may be available. Revisions run from one round to unlimited depending on the package, or $40 a change at one real estate studio. An extra vertical cut costs $200 to $229 at two studios. Travel is billed from $0.65 a kilometre, or free within a set radius of the studio.

Aspect ratio deserves specific attention. If the footage was framed for landscape and you later need vertical cuts, the usable area may not exist. That is a planning decision made on the shoot day, and it cannot be fixed in the edit.

Pre-production is usually the longest stretch. Published delivery times after the shoot run from 7 business days for an event highlight video to 3 to 8 weeks for a whole corporate project at one studio. Real estate video is fast: 24 hours to 3 days at the studios that publish it.

Weather compresses the outdoor shooting calendar and makes contingency planning a real line item rather than a formality. Any outdoor shoot scheduled in shoulder seasons should have a stated fallback, and the quote should say who absorbs the cost if a day is lost.

Daylight hours vary enormously through the year here, which affects how many setups fit into a single day. A shoot plan built in June does not transfer to November without adjustment.

The City of Calgary says permits are needed to film any motion picture, TV program, commercial, music video or web series on City of Calgary property. News crews are exempt. Business video is not named either way, so plan as if it needs one. Private locations sit outside this process, and the City points those to the Calgary Film Commission.

The application process starts with a Calgary Film Commission information sheet, then a City intake form (allow 2 business days for review), then the Film Services Application, which needs “a minimum of 5 to 21 business days for approval” depending on the request; the last step is the City’s approval. Before approval, the City wants proof of commercial general liability insurance of not less than $2,000,000, or $5,000,000 for some City buildings, with both the City and Calgary Economic Development named as additional insured, plus at least $1,000,000 of automobile liability covering every vehicle used. The City’s own fee for using a street or sidewalk is small, $31.50 a day plus GST, but traffic control and police time are charged on top when a shoot needs them.

Aerial shots add federal rules. Transport Canada classes drones from 250 g to 25 kg as small drones, which must be registered and marked, and the pilot must carry a valid certificate. A Basic certificate keeps the drone more than 30 metres from bystanders and out of controlled airspace; flying closer to people, or in controlled airspace, needs Advanced. Basic pilots also stay more than 5.6 km from a certified airport, and drones cannot take off or land in a national park without permission, which matters for any shoot heading to Banff. Flying at an advertised event, such as a festival or market, is a special operation that needs permission whatever the drone’s size. As an add-on, drone footage is cheap: Calgary real estate studios publish $169 to $295 for it.

Our advice: get the operator’s certificate level and airspace check in writing before the quote is signed, not on the day.

Not legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of the published rules; have a lawyer review anything you rely on.

A recorded song carries two sets of rights: the composition and the sound recording. As SOCAN puts it, it “collects royalties related to the composition, while distributors collect royalties related to the sound recording”. Putting music to picture needs a sync licence, and SOCAN only issues one on a member’s behalf “after having secured your approval”. So a chart track means two permissions from different people. In our view, licensed library music with written terms covering platforms, paid ads, territory and term is the sane default for business video. Several Calgary studios include licensed music in their packages; at least one charges for licensing separately, so ask.

YouTube adds a hard edge. Shorts can now run up to three minutes, but YouTube says any Short over one minute “with an active Content ID claim of any type” is blocked globally. One unlicensed track and the cut is gone.

Sources: YouTube Help, Meta Business Help Center and TikTok Ads Help Center. Specs change, so confirm them before the shoot. The practical point holds: every platform takes vertical, so plan a 9:16 frame on the day.

Probably not for marketing video. Alberta’s Film and Television Tax Credit offers 22% or 30% on eligible costs, but productions need total costs of at least $499,999 and a valid commercial distribution plan, and the ineligible list includes “a production produced primarily for industrial, corporate, or institutional purposes”. A genuine documentary or series with a distributor is a different conversation. A brand video for your website is not that.

Meridian15 produces video in Calgary, so weigh this guide with that in mind. If you want the production side handled end to end, that is what our production work covers, and post-production sets out the editing and finishing scope separately. We quote each shoot to scope, as one fixed number in writing.

We read the pricing and service pages of every Calgary-area video studio and freelancer we could find that publishes prices on its own website, on October 7, 2026. A studio counted only if its own site places it in Calgary or the Calgary area. We excluded directories, studios based elsewhere with Calgary landing pages, AI-generated video services, drone-only operators, wedding video, our own prices and a studio we work with. One price per studio per row, the lowest that fits; for a published range, the low end, with the high-end median given where it changes the answer. The samples are small and skew toward studios that compete on published prices, so they show starting prices, not what Calgary businesses typically pay. Prices are before tax and change; check the studio before you budget. City of Calgary, Transport Canada and SOCAN figures are from their own pages.

What does video production cost in Calgary?

Calgary studios that publish prices start a short brand video around $1,500 to $3,000 and a corporate interview video around $2,500 to $6,000, with a median full shoot day of $1,000, from their websites read October 7, 2026. Shoot days and crew size drive the price far more than the video’s length.

How much does a videographer charge per hour in Calgary?

Published hourly rates from four Calgary-area studios run $250 to $400 an hour, a median of $330. Full days run $900 to $2,000 and half days $550 to $1,250. Editing is extra at some studios, about $75 an hour.

How much does a commercial cost in Calgary?

One Calgary studio published a real quote for a scripted, acted 60 to 90 second ad at about $29,450 plus GST, most of it a $19,000 shoot day. The same studio puts a documentary-style ad at $4,000 to about $13,000 plus GST. No other Calgary studio publishes commercial prices.

How much does a real estate video cost in Calgary?

Calgary real estate media studios publish base listing videos from $265 to $490, a median of $399 across five studios, with delivery in 24 hours to 3 days. Bigger homes, drone footage and agent-on-camera intros cost more.

How long does a video project take?

Pre-production is usually the longest stretch and the one clients underestimate: scripting, scheduling, locations and approvals. The shoot itself is often a single day. Published delivery times run from 7 business days for an event highlight video to 3 to 8 weeks for a whole corporate project.

Should I get one video or several?

Several, from the same shoot, almost always. The expensive part is getting crew, subject and location in the same place. Once you are there, capturing enough material for a set of shorter cuts costs far less than returning for a second shoot.

Do I need a script?

You need a plan, which is not always a script. Interview-led content needs a question set and a point of view rather than lines. Anything with a specific message, a product demonstration or a call to action benefits from being written before anyone books a crew.

What should a video quote include?

Separated pre-production, shoot and post costs, the number of revision rounds, who owns the raw footage, delivery formats and aspect ratios, travel, and licensing for any music. Ambiguity in any of those is where disputes happen.

Do I need a permit to film in Calgary?

Yes, if you are filming on City of Calgary property such as streets, sidewalks, parks, City facilities or transit. Allow 2 business days for the intake review and a minimum of 5 to 21 business days for approval, and expect to provide proof of at least $2,000,000 in commercial general liability insurance and $1,000,000 in automobile liability. Private property sits outside the City process. Not legal advice.

Can I fly a drone for a business video in Calgary?

Yes, with conditions. Drones from 250 g to 25 kg must be registered and flown by a certified pilot. Controlled airspace or flying closer to people needs an Advanced certificate, a Basic pilot stays more than 5.6 km from a certified airport, and flying from City property needs a permit with 10 business days lead time. Not legal advice.

Can I use a popular song in my company video?

Only with permission for both the composition and the sound recording, which usually means two licences from different rights holders. In our view licensed library music is the safer default. On YouTube, a Short over one minute with an active Content ID claim is blocked globally.

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