How Much Does UK Voiceover Cost?
When it comes to agreeing rates for UK Voiceovers, there can be different expectations between the UK Voice Artist and the Client. There are three components that influence this:
- The constraints of the organisation hiring
- The competence and experience of the Voice Artist
- The economic landscape they both work in
Client Voiceover Rate Expectations
If you’re a creative producer working to a deadline for high end clients, there’s no wriggle room when it comes to hiring the right Voice Artist, whether in the UK or elsewhere. You understand the need for standardised market rates and have the budget that buys out the risk of not hitting the brief.
You know that market rates deliver reliability, quality and prompt service and as long as a UK Voice Artist meets the quality line, they should be charging them.
UK Voice Artist Rate Expectations
There’s a level you have to be at before you can justify charging industry standard rates. If you aren’t able to deliver professional, broadcast quality voiceover, on time and on brief; if you’re late to a session, maybe not the best team player and lack the range of artistic and technical skills required for professional VoiceOver, then its not the right time to be pitching for work as a Professional Voice Artist.
Regional Variations In Voiceover Fees
It’s often necessary to take into account the economic reality of where a client is and it’s a challenge to apply anything like a flat rate for work in different parts of the World. I live and work in Hampshire, UK and the very nature of freelance Voiceover work means that you may have clients in the US, India and the UK all at the same time.
Judgement has to be applied, as well as the often over-looked currency conversion factor.
In this blog I’ll first cover the best tools to use as rate guides for both clients and Voice Artists. I’ll then go on to define some technical terms before giving an overview of the elements that make up a quote for Voice over work and how pricing alters depending on the genre and intended use of the final product.
You’ll see that it’s complex and why it’s necessary to ask numerous questions up-front in order to build a fair quote for professional services.
If you don’t have time to read all of this blog, it’s certainly worth taking note of the following reference guides for VoiceOver rates:
Voiceover Rate Guides:
The two widely accepted, industry standard Rate Guides are detailed in the links below. Both are free, comprehensive resources for Voice Actors and clients that allow you to determine fair, industry standard rates for Voice Over projects. They both cover a wide range of voice over genres, detail usage terms, take experience levels into account and serve as a hand-rail for creative professionals.
The Global Voice Acting Academy is a US based organisation, serving both Union and Non Union work. Its focus is naturally US focussed and provides an invaluable resource for US based projects.
Gravy For The Brain is a UK based organisation that provides training and professional development for not only UK Voice Artists, but Voice Artists around the World. They also have an excellent Rate Guide that is widely trusted, comprehensive in its scope and is useful for quoting Voiceover Services outside of the US.
If doubt remains after consulting either of these guides, it can be reassuring to triangulate fees between the two. The figures mentioned come from years of industry practice, with the fullest endorsement from hundreds of practicing professionals.
Global Voice Acting Academy Rate Guide
Gravy For The Brain Rate Guide
What Is A Basic Studio Fee (BSF) ?
The BSF is a standard charge for most voiceover work, per hour of studio time. It covers a Voiceover’s time, script preparation and recording, along with the use of the studio. An average BSF is £250, which is charged even if a project takes less than an hour.
Some Voice Artists don’t include editing and mixing within the BSF Fee, but most do.
Some Voiceover genres like Audiobooks for instance, don’t incur the BSF Fee and a flat rate per hour of finished audio is normally agreed. Another exception is eLearning Voiceover, where it is normal to charge per word.
When quoting a price, the word count is a big factor. Professional voiceovers normally narrate around 1500-1700 words per hour, so one solid hour of recording usually delivers approx 15 minutes of un-edited and un-mixed audio.
To make smaller projects worthwhile, a minimum fee will usually apply. My minimum fee for e-learning is £150 and £100 for IVR work.
A Usage fee will then apply for any audio that isn’t being used internally.
What Are Voiceover Usage Fees ?
These apply to audio to be used in the public domain, (websites, YouTube, paid advertising etc). Anything that is exclusively internal though, wouldn’t incur a Usage Fee.
A voiceover artist will license you to use the audio they have recorded for a certain period of time. They will then charge you a usage fee (on top of the basic studio fee) to cover this.
The Usage fee will vary depending on the project and is calculated as a percentage of the basic studio fee. The percentage is based on: how long you want to run the project for, where it is being played (websites / social media etc, as well as geographically).
Typical Prices For UK Voiceover Work
The type of project greatly influences the rate a voiceover artist can charge. Some of the most common categories of voiceover work in the UK include:
UK Commercial Voiceover
Commercial Voiceover includes advertisements on TV, radio, and online platforms. These projects often offer higher rates due to their wide-reaching nature.
TV and Radio Commercials
For a National commercial, the rates can range between £250 to £2,000 per session, depending on factors like the length of the ad and the broadcast market.
Online or Social Media Commercials
Online ads tend to be priced lower than TV/radio spots, ranging between £100 to £1,000 per session.
UK Corporate and E-learning Voiceover
Voiceovers for internal business training, educational materials, and e-learning platforms typically pay less than commercials.
UK Corporate Voiceover Narrations
These can range from £150 to £500 for a simple one-minute read to £2,000+ for longer projects.
UK E-learning Voiceovers
Rates typically range between £100 to £300 per hour or £250 to £1,000 for a finished product (depending on length and complexity). That said, the normal practice is for eLearning narration to be charged ‘per word’. Most eLearning is made up of multiple sections and often involves lots of individual file burn-downs.
This can be a time consuming process and is best approached on either a per word or per finished project basis, to stop costs running away with themselves.
UK Audiobook Narrator Fees
Audiobook Narration Rates vary depending on the length and complexity of the book, with longer, more complex narrations commanding higher rates. Overall, the rates are lower than other styles and the accepted practice is to charge ‘per finished hour’.
One Finished Hour of Audio includes any script preparation, the full narration, the edit, mix and file burn-down to the industry ‘ACX Standard’. One finished hour of Audiobook usually requires:
2 hours of narration
3 hours of editing
1 hour of mixing (though this tends to be done in bulk)
Rates for full-length audiobooks typically range from £150 – £400 per finished hour.
UK Voiceover for Video Games
Voiceover for video games is typically demanding, with longer hours and intense character work.
Small Indie Game Voiceover
Voiceovers for indie games typically pay between £100 to £500.
Character Voices for Large Budget Video Games
High-end video game projects can pay anywhere from £500 to £5,000, depending on the complexity and popularity of the game.
Dubbing, Animation and Character Voiceover
Rates for animated characters or dubbing work can range from £150 to £500 per hour for simpler roles and go higher for lead characters, complex scripts, or higher-profile projects.
Dubbing for foreign films and television shows or voicing animated characters requires specific skills and may command a premium rate.
IVR/Phone Systems
Voiceovers for on-hold messages, telephone systems, and voicemail greetings are typically quick turnaround jobs. In order to justify setting studio time assisted for these projects, Voice Artists will normally charge a minimum fee which is less than the BSF.
Voiceover Rates Reflect Experience and Skill Level
Voiceover artists with a strong portfolio, specialised skills (e.g., accents, character voices), or a reputation for quality work tend to command higher rates. Newcomers in the industry tend to charge less.
UK Voiceover Studio Rates
UK Voice Artists predominantly have their own professional studios, allowing them to work remotely from the client, who has the option of dealing in for a Directed Session. All rates factor in the use of this studio and some Voice Artists may charge an additional fee for a Directed Session.
Union vs Non-Union Voiceover Rates
In the UK, the Equity Union represents voiceover artists. Union members often have standardised rates and are bound by specific regulations. Non-union voiceover artists may negotiate rates more freely but could also miss out on the security that union representation provides. Union rates tend to be higher because of their strict guidelines.
Conclusion
The details outlined above are provided for guidance and its always worth remembering that everything is negotiable. Professional Voice Artists are encouraged to stick to industry standard rates, as under-cutting has a damaging effect on the VoiceOver industry overall.
My name is James Fowler and I’ve been a Professional UK Voice Artist for 7 years, serving clients around the World with broadcast quality audio from my Hampshire based studio in the UK. I’ve narrated over 50 audiobooks, as well as Audioguides, Game Characters, Medical Narrations, Commercials and Explainer styles.
Just drop me a line if you need help with quoting for a project, or if you have a project in mind that needs the services of an experienced British Male Voice Artist.
