Definitions
How Long Should an Explainer Video Be?
Most explainer videos should run 30–90 seconds. That is enough time for a problem, a change, and one ask. If you need two minutes, you probably need two videos. Spoken English is about 130–150 words a minute. Wyzowl’s 2026 survey reports 71% of marketers say 30 seconds to 2 minutes is the most effective range. We produce most explainers in the 30–90 second slice of that. AccessGrid is 31 seconds. BERA is 1:48 when the buyer needed more mechanism.
By Jonathan Maynard, Knowlify Studio
Updated August 26, 2026 · 6 min read
The short answer
Most explainer videos should run 30–90 seconds. That is enough time for a problem, a change, and one ask. If you need two minutes, you probably need two videos. Length follows the job of the film, not a trend on someone else’s homepage.
An explainer video is a single claim. Spoken English is roughly 130–150 words a minute. A 60-second film is a 130–150 word script. If the draft is 400 words, you do not have a pacing problem. You have two messages.
Wyzowl 2026 reports 71% of marketers say 30 seconds to 2 minutes is the most effective range, and 63% of people would most like to learn via a short video. We produce most explainers in the 30–90 second slice of that. The extra minute in the survey is room for a second film, not permission to dump the product into one.
Why 30–90 seconds
Thirty seconds can land one capability. Ninety seconds can land a problem, a change, and one ask. Past that, completion drops and the script usually has two videos hiding in it. The working range is a writing constraint, not a style choice.
Cold homepage traffic will not sit a tour. Sales follow-up will not sit a brand anthem. The film has to survive a muted autoplay and still tell who it is for. That is easier at 60 seconds than at 150. Feature lists belong in the page body. The picture has to carry one sentence.
Two films from our studio show the edges of the range. AccessGrid is 31 seconds — one capability, one reason it exists. BERA is 1:48 — a 50-year research story that needed a little more mechanism. Both are explainers. Neither is a two-minute recap of everything the organisation can do.
| Length | Job | Our example |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40s | One capability, one reason it exists | AccessGrid — 0:31 feature launch |
| 30–90s | Problem, change, one ask — the homepage default | Most of the films we produce |
| 90–120s | When the buyer needs more mechanism — research, a regulated product, a non-obvious category | BERA — 1:48 animated timeline |
BERA · 1:4850 Years of ResearchAnniversary film for the British Educational Research Association — a 50-year story told as an animated timeline. AccessGrid · 0:31Credential Pools launchShort launch film for AccessGrid’s credential-pool feature — how newly issued passes get credentials automatically.
When to go shorter or split the film
Go shorter for a single feature or a retargeting cutdown. Split the film when the script wants every module named. Homepage for the job, a second film for the detail. Do not stretch one explainer until it is a webinar.
Short (20–30 seconds) works when there is one new thing and one reason it exists — a launch, a cutdown, a sales loop that already has context. Long (90–120 seconds) works when the buyer needs mechanism they cannot get from a headline. Past two minutes, split it. One for the homepage. One for people who already want the details.
SaaS teams feel this most. A SaaS explainer that names every module is two films. The homepage film is the job. The module film is the launch. How those sit next to demos and onboarding is SaaS video production.
If you are unsure which length you have, count the asks. One ask is a film. Two asks are two films. Book a free 15-minute Video Strategy Audit if you want a shortlist of what to cut — not a longer cut of the same draft.
Frequently asked questions
How long should an explainer video be?
- Most should run 30–90 seconds. That is enough for a problem, a change, and one ask. If you need two minutes, you probably need two videos. Length follows the job of the film, not a trend on someone else’s homepage.
Why 30–90 seconds instead of two minutes?
- Thirty seconds can land one capability. Ninety seconds can land a problem, a change, and one ask. Past that, completion drops and the script usually has two videos hiding in it. The working range is a writing constraint, not a style choice.
When should an explainer be shorter or split?
- Go shorter for a single feature or a retargeting cutdown. Split the film when the script wants every module named. Homepage for the job, a second film for the detail. Do not stretch one explainer until it is a webinar.
What lengths are your studio examples?
- AccessGrid is 31 seconds — one capability, one reason it exists. BERA is 1:48 — a research story that needed more mechanism. Both are explainers. Neither is a two-minute recap of everything the organisation can do.
What does Wyzowl say about video length?
- Wyzowl’s 2026 survey reports 71% of marketers say 30 seconds to 2 minutes is the most effective range, and 63% of people would most like to learn via a short video. We produce most explainers in the 30–90 second slice of that range.