Video production in London in 2026 typically costs from around £500 to £1,500 for a single social-first shoot day, £2,000 to £6,000 for a polished hero film with a small crew, and £800 to £2,500 a month on a content retainer. The exact number depends on the vertical, crew size, shoot length and how many edits you need, but those three shapes cover almost every brief we quote.
The three ways London businesses buy video
Across restaurant, property, ecommerce and personal brand work, almost every brief we quote falls into one of three shapes, and the price follows the shape rather than the industry.
A single shoot day is the usual entry point, roughly £500 to £1,500. One person or a small crew films for a few hours, and you get a batch of vertical clips plus a short hero cut. This is the right first step for most businesses that just need content flowing.
A hero film with a proper crew runs higher, roughly £2,000 to £6,000. This is a one-off cinematic piece for a homepage, a launch or a campaign, with a second operator, lighting and a longer edit.
A monthly retainer sits at roughly £800 to £2,500 a month. You get a regular shoot and a steady batch of clips, and the per-clip cost is the lowest of the three because the setup is amortised across the month.
Price bands by vertical
Restaurant and hospitality video runs close to the base bands above: £500 to £1,500 for a single shoot day, £2,000 to £6,000 for a hero film, £800 to £2,500 a month on retainer. See our restaurant video cost guide for the detail.
Property video is priced per listing or per development rather than per day in many cases: a single listing film typically runs £500 to £1,800, with developers and agents on regular stock getting better per-asset rates on a retainer.
Ecommerce and product video usually costs £600 to £2,000 for a single product or ad shoot day, since product setups and lighting take longer than a lifestyle shoot, with retainers for brands launching regularly.
Personal brand video is typically bought as a monthly system rather than a single shoot: most founders run a monthly cinematic day cut into a batch of short-form, at roughly £800 to £2,500 a month depending on volume.
Social media video agency retainers sit in a similar range to personal brand, roughly £800 to £3,000 a month, scaling with the number of platforms and the volume of short-form needed each week.
What actually moves the price
Crew size is the biggest lever across every vertical. One operator is affordable and fine for fast, social-first content. Add a second camera, lighting and a director and the day costs more but the result looks noticeably more premium.
Shoot length and disruption matter too. Filming around a live service or a live listing is cheaper than a fully controlled shoot, but a controlled shoot gives cleaner footage.
Edit volume and turnaround are the third factor. Ten clips cut over a week costs less than thirty clips needed in two days. If you want everything fast, you are paying for editor time at the front of the queue.
How to spend a fixed budget well
If your budget is tight, put it into a single shoot day and ask for the output as short-form clips rather than one polished film. Ten usable vertical clips will do more over three months than one hero film sitting on a page.
If you have a launch, a new listing or a refurbishment, that is the moment a hero film earns its cost. Pair it with a batch of clips from the same day so the moment has a tail.
If you can commit monthly, the retainer is almost always the best value per asset and the only model that keeps your channels alive, whichever vertical you are in.
Common questions
How much does video production cost in London in 2026?
Most briefs land in one of three bands: £500 to £1,500 for a single shoot day, £2,000 to £6,000 for a polished hero film, or £800 to £2,500 a month on a content retainer. The exact number depends on your vertical, crew size and how many edits you need.
Does the price change by industry?
Yes, a little. Property and ecommerce shoots often need more setup time per asset than a social-first restaurant or personal brand shoot, so day rates can sit slightly higher, but the three broad shapes above hold across every vertical we work in.
Is a retainer cheaper than one-off shoots?
Per clip, yes. A retainer spreads the setup cost across a month of output, so the cost per asset is the lowest of the three models, and it keeps your channels active in a way one-off shoots do not.
What is the cheapest useful video production option in London?
A single social-first shoot day from around £500 to £1,500 is the realistic entry point. It gives you a batch of vertical clips rather than one film, which is usually the better first spend.