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Explainer Video Maker: When a 30 Second Ad Does the Job

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10xvid team
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7 min read

An explainer video maker builds a video that explains your product, from templates, AI avatars or a prompt. Of seven we checked, the cheapest paid plans run from €8 to $58 a month billed yearly, and most free plans add a watermark. The makers put an explainer at 60 to 90 seconds; for a feed ad, the networks ask for far less. From the makers' and networks' own pages, read on 27 October 2026.1234

Explainer video maker

In short

  • The makers: Animaker, Powtoon, Vyond, Renderforest, Synthesia, Steve AI and Canva, compared below on price, free plan, length and shapes.
  • Price: from €8 a month billed yearly at Renderforest to $58 at Vyond.56
  • Length: Powtoon: "The ideal length for an explainer video is typically 60-90 seconds."3
  • Feed ads: Meta says "shorter videos (under 15 seconds) tend to perform best in feed".4
  • The choice: an explainer for a page people choose to watch; a short ad for a feed people scroll past.

What does an explainer video maker do?

It gives you a way in that is not a timeline. Each starts from something different:

  • A prompt: Animaker "turns your prompts into a clear, accurate explainer video in a minute".7
  • Templates: Powtoon offers "100s of professionally designed explainer video templates", AI, a document or a blank canvas.3 Canva says: "Choose a free template that suits your script."8
  • Avatars: Synthesia builds explainers "using AI avatars, B-roll, screen recordings, and motion graphics".9
  • A link: Vyond Go: "Drop a URL in and Vyond Go will convert it into a video for you."10 Steve AI: "Convert any web page into a video with no editing skills required."11 Synthesia takes "a public article or blog post".9

Which explainer video maker should you use?

Here is what each one's own pages say:

MakerCheapest paid planFree planLongest video on that planShapes
AnimakerBasic: $15 a month billed yearly, $27 monthly1Watermarked exports15 minutes116:9, 9:16, 1:1; resizing from Starter12
PowtoonLite: $15 a month billed yearly, $49 monthly2720p, up to 3 minutes, a watermark210 minutes216:9, 1:1, 9:1613
VyondStarter: $58 a month billed yearly ($699), $99 monthly6A trial: 3 videos, a watermark, no downloads1425 minutes616:9, 9:16, 1:1, custom6
RenderforestLite: €8 a month billed yearly, €14 monthly5HD 720 with a watermark15Unlimited on its pricing page5Widescreen, portrait, square16
SynthesiaStarter: €16 a month billed yearly (€192), €26 monthly1710 minutes a month, a watermark, no downloads1718About 150 minutes a year in all1716:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 5:419
Steve AIStarter: $19 a month billed yearly ($228), $29 monthly20Its pages disagree100 minutes of AI video a month20For YouTube, Shorts, Reels11
CanvaPro: €110 a year, €12 monthly21Up to 30 minutes at 1080p; premium elements watermarked22232 hours22Any size you set24

Prices are as each page showed them to a reader in the EU, so some are in euros.

Seven explainer makers' cheapest plans, billed yearly, a month: Animaker $15, Powtoon $15, Vyond $58, Renderforest €8, Synthesia €16, Steve AI $19, Canva €110 a year, and six of seven free plans add a watermark or allow no downloads
Each maker's own pricing page, read on 27 October 2026.

Pick by where you start. A script and a style you like: templates (Powtoon, Canva, Renderforest). A person on screen: avatars (Synthesia, Vyond). A page you already wrote: a link (Vyond Go, Steve AI, Synthesia).

How long is an explainer video?

About a minute and a half, by the makers' own advice:

  • Powtoon: "The ideal length for an explainer video is typically 60-90 seconds."3
  • Animaker: most explainers are best kept between 60 and 90 seconds.7
  • Steve AI: "Explainer videos should be 60 to 90 seconds long."25
  • Vyond, in a 2019 post: "An explainer video is a short video (1-2 minutes) that introduces a new product or company to potential customers."26

Is an explainer video the same as a video ad?

No. An explainer is watched by people who chose to. An ad has to stop people who did not.

The networks ask for far shorter:

An explainer runs a minute; a feed ad, seconds: Powtoon and Animaker 60 to 90 seconds, Vyond 1 to 2 minutes, Meta under 15 seconds in feed, TikTok 21 to 34 seconds, and a YouTube bumper 6 seconds
The makers' and the networks' own pages, read on 27 October 2026.
  • Meta: feed video ads can run long, "but shorter videos (under 15 seconds) tend to perform best in feed. Stories ads perform best under 10 seconds."4
  • TikTok: it recommends 21 to 34 seconds for most ads.27
  • YouTube: "Bumper ads are non-skippable video ads lasting between 5 and 6 seconds".28

So a 90 second explainer on a landing page and a 15 second ad in the feed are two jobs.

When does a 30 second ad do the job?

When the video's job is to make someone install:

  1. It runs in a feed: Reels, TikTok, Shorts, Stories. People scroll; the networks' numbers above are for them.
  2. It has one point: what the app does for the viewer, shown on its real screens.
  3. It ends on one action: install, or open the store page.
  4. You need several: a feed ad is tested against others. See creative testing.

Keep the explainer for your site or your store page, where people chose to watch. For what an explainer costs from an agency or a freelancer, see explainer video cost.

Where 10xvid fits

10xvid, motion graphics ads for apps, is not an explainer maker. It makes the short ad: 5 to 30 seconds, in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9, from your App Store link or website.29 Motion V1 Flash makes one in about five minutes. Motion V1 reads each film frame by frame and judges it at 8 of 10 before you see it.29

Not an explainer: a 22 second ad Motion V1 Flash made of itself, the point first and one ask at the end. It plays muted here.
Recorded in the app: the link goes into the chat, and the agent starts reading the site.

Solo is about 30 video ads a month for $79.30 The first ad is free, with no card: make your first ad.

Questions about explainer video makers

Is there a free explainer video maker?

Canva's free plan exports videos up to 30 minutes at 1080p, with watermarks on premium elements. Powtoon's free plan exports 3 minutes at 720p with a watermark.22232

How long should an explainer video be?

60 to 90 seconds, say Powtoon, Animaker and Steve AI.3725

Can an explainer video maker make vertical videos?

Most of the seven can: Powtoon, Vyond and Synthesia list 9:16 among their shapes.13619

Should my app ad be an explainer?

Not for a feed. Meta says feed videos under 15 seconds tend to perform best, and TikTok recommends 21 to 34 seconds for most ads.427

  1. Animaker, pricing (app.animaker.com/pricing), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  2. Powtoon, pricing (powtoon.com/premium), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  3. Powtoon, explainer videos (powtoon.com/create/explainer-videos), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  4. Meta Business Help Center, "Best Practices for Instagram Video Ads" (facebook.com/business/help/188534925073536), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  5. Renderforest, subscription plans (renderforest.com/subscription), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  6. Vyond, plans (vyond.com/plans), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  7. Animaker, explainer video software (animaker.com/explainer-video-software), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  8. Canva, explainer videos (canva.com/create/explainer-videos), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  9. Synthesia, explainer video maker (synthesia.io/tools/explainer-video-maker), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  10. Vyond, Vyond Go (vyond.com/product/vyond-go), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  11. Steve AI, link to video (steve.ai/link-to-video), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  12. Animaker Help, resizing projects (support.animaker.com/en/articles/6659766), and its pricing page, read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  13. Powtoon Help, changing the aspect ratio (powtoonsupport.powtoon.com/hc/en-gb/articles/11091427257105), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  14. Vyond Help, "Vyond Trials" (help.vyond.com/hc/en-us/articles/17215758931476), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  15. Renderforest Help, a single video or a subscription (help.renderforest.com/support/solutions/articles/72000598577), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  16. Renderforest Help, template categories and filters (help.renderforest.com/support/solutions/articles/72000594391), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  17. Synthesia, pricing (synthesia.io/pricing), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  18. Synthesia Help, downloading a video (help.synthesia.io/en/articles/9317524), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  19. Synthesia Help, changing the aspect ratio (help.synthesia.io/en/articles/8272053), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  20. Steve AI, pricing (app.steve.ai/pricing), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  21. Canva, pricing (canva.com/pricing), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  22. Canva Help, downloading as a video (canva.com/help/download-as-video), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  23. Canva Help, watermarks (canva.com/help/watermarks-design), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  24. Canva Help, resizing designs (canva.com/help/resize), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  25. Steve AI, explainer video maker (steve.ai/explainer-video-maker), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  26. Vyond, "What is an explainer video?" (vyond.com/blog/what-is-an-explainer-video), 2019, read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  27. TikTok for Business, "Video advertising guide" (ads.tiktok.com/business/en/guides/video-advertising-guide), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  28. Google Ads Help, video ad formats (support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2375464), read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  29. 10xvid.com/engine, read on 27 October 2026. ↩
  30. 10xvid.com/pricing, read on 27 October 2026. ↩

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