This is the question I get asked more than any other. People have usually googled it already and found a range so wide it's essentially useless. "£300 to £5,000 per day." Thanks for that. So here's an actual breakdown, written by someone who charges for this work for a living.
The honest answer: videographer day rates in the UK in 2026
For a competent freelance videographer with proper kit and a few years of experience, expect to pay somewhere between £600 and £1,500 per day. That's a wide range, but it narrows quickly once you understand what's driving the variation.
| Level | Day rate range | What you're getting |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level / student | £150 to £350 | Limited kit, limited experience. Fine for internal content, risky for anything client-facing. |
| Mid-level freelancer | £400 to £750 | Decent kit, a few years in. Good for corporate, events, social content. |
| Experienced freelancer | £750 to £1,400 | Cinema-grade kit, broad experience, strong portfolio. The range I sit in. |
| London / specialist | £1,200 to £2,500+ | Premium location premium, niche specialism, or very high profile work. |
| Production company | £3,000 to £15,000+ | Full crew, producer, director, post-production team. Different product entirely. |
My rate is £995/day. That's not a teaser. It includes cinema cameras, lenses, drone, gimbal, audio, and editing. Everything. One invoice.
What hidden costs should you watch for?
This is where a lot of quotes fall apart. A videographer might advertise a £600 day rate, but that's before:
- Kit hire. Drone, gimbal, additional lenses, lighting, audio. Some videographers don't own all their kit and hire it in, passing that cost onto you.
- Travel and accommodation. Sometimes reasonable, sometimes padded. Ask upfront what the policy is for anything over 30 minutes from their base.
- Editing time. This is the big one. Shooting is only half the job. A day's footage might take two or three days to edit properly. If editing isn't included in the day rate, you need to know that before you agree anything.
- Revision rounds. One round of revisions is standard. Some charge per revision after that. Some don't mention it at all until you ask for a second pass.
- Music licensing. Royalty-free music costs money. Stock footage costs money. If these are project requirements, confirm who pays.
Always ask for a total project cost, not just a day rate. "What will the final invoice look like?" is the most useful question you can ask when getting quotes.
Does location affect the price?
London rates are higher, partly because of cost of living and partly because clients there are used to paying more. Outside London, rates tend to be more competitive without any loss in quality. I'm based in Cheltenham, which means no London premium. If you're in the South West, Midlands, or South Wales, hiring someone local is almost always going to cost less than bringing someone down from London.
What about video production companies vs freelancers?
A production company and a freelance videographer are different things. A company has overheads: offices, staff, account management, producers. All of that costs money, and it's reflected in their rates. For simple briefs, a skilled freelancer delivers the same output for significantly less.
For complex projects, multiple shooting days, large crews, or big-budget commercial work, a production company makes sense. I work across both: freelance for smaller clients, and as part of the team at Singularity Film for larger productions.
How do I know if I'm getting value?
Look at the portfolio. Not just the quality of the filming, but whether the content actually does what it's supposed to do. Does it feel like it was made with intention, or does it feel like someone pointed a camera and hit record? That's what separates a videographer who's worth the rate from one who isn't.
Ask for references or to speak to a previous client. Most experienced videographers will be happy to facilitate this.
And ask them to explain their process. How do they approach pre-production? What's the edit workflow? How do they handle revisions? A professional will have clear, confident answers to all of this without hesitation.
If you want a straightforward quote for a project, get in touch. I'll give you a number upfront, not a range.