Explainer videos for SaaS: demo, onboarding, launches
A SaaS needs three different explainer videos: a product overview (30 to 60 seconds, "what problem we solve"), onboarding videos (one per key action, 30 to 90 seconds) and feature announcements for social media. To show the interface step by step, screen recording is still the most accurate; to explain a concept or the "why", an animated video works better; for multilingual training with a face, an avatar. ClipOnIt's explainer video editor generates illustrated vertical videos from a text or your voice, from $29/month for 30 videos; it does not do 16:9 or capture your interface.
Which video for which goal?
| Video | Goal | Typical length | Format | Best approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product overview | Make the problem and the promise clear | 30 to 60 s | 16:9 (homepage), 9:16 (social) | Animated video |
| Onboarding, one per key action | Get the user to their first success | 30 to 90 s | 16:9 in-app, 9:16 in mobile emails | Screen recording, or animated for the concept |
| Feature announcement | Bring users back, attract prospects | 20 to 45 s | 9:16, 1:1 | Vertical animated video |
| Multilingual training or support | Train teams, reduce tickets | 1 to 3 min | 16:9 | Avatar (Synthesia) or screen recording |
| Demo or webinar excerpts | Reuse what is already recorded | 20 to 100 s | 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 | AI clipping of a recording |
Lengths are editorial orders of magnitude, not measurements: the right length is the one that covers a single idea.
A 4-part SaaS script
- The problem, in the customer's words, in one sentence ("Your follow-ups always go out too late").
- What changes with the product, with no jargon or feature list.
- One proof: a verified number, a real example, a screenshot.
- A single action: "Try it free", "Turn on automatic follow-ups".
Spoken English runs about 140 to 160 words per minute: a 45-second script fits in about a hundred words. Read it out loud before producing anything; the general method is in how to make an explainer video with AI.
What ClipOnIt does (and does not do) for a SaaS
The explainer video editor starts from a one-line topic, a text or your voice on the mic. It splits the narration into scenes, illustrates each one with animated elements (nearly 11,000 in the library, in 2D pixel art and low-poly 3D), adds a synthetic voice (11 voices) or yours, captions, and renders a vertical 1080×1920 MP4.
- A good fit: feature announcements, "why" videos for social media, onboarding sequences read on mobile, educational content around your market.
- Editing: the AI Director changes the video on request ("shorter", "a chart here") and explains each change; 3 variants per scene; if the library lacks an object, AI can draw an element on demand.
- Not a fit: a guided tour of your real interface (use a screen recording), a 16:9 homepage video, an on-screen presenter.
For demos and webinars you already recorded, the clipper included in the same subscription pulls captioned excerpts in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9: see how to turn a webinar into short clips.
| Plan | Price | Explainer videos / month | AI Director requests / day | Clipper included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3 renders of an example video | — | 2 videos in total |
| Starter | $29/month | 30 | 15 | 20 videos / month |
| Pro | $49/month | 100 | 40 | 60 videos / month |
| Business | $149/month | 400 | 120 | 200 videos / month, 3 seats |
Source: ClipOnIt plan catalog as of October 29, 2026, see the pricing page. Yearly: 10 months paid for 12.
ClipOnIt, Vyond, Synthesia or Animaker?
For a highly customized 16:9 video in brand colors, Vyond or Animaker are better equipped; for a virtual presenter speaking several languages, Synthesia. ClipOnIt stands out on vertical video generated end to end from a text or your voice, and driven from Claude or ChatGPT. Detailed comparisons: ClipOnIt vs Vyond, ClipOnIt vs Synthesia, ClipOnIt vs Animaker, and the 2026 explainer video tools comparison.
Common mistakes
- Listing features instead of showing a problem solved.
- One onboarding video for the whole product: one video per key action gets finished, a five-minute tour does not.
- Unverified AI-generated numbers: check every figure before rendering.
- Forgetting muted viewing: captions are a must, the core message must land without sound.
FAQ
How much does a SaaS explainer video cost?
With an AI tool, the cost is the subscription: on ClipOnIt, $29/month for 30 vertical explainer videos, under a dollar per video if you use the whole quota. An agency charges per custom video; rates vary too much to give a reliable figure.
How long should an onboarding video be?
One action per video, usually 30 to 90 seconds. Past two minutes, split it.
Can I use my own voice?
Yes: record the narration on the mic or import an audio file; it is transcribed word by word and every element syncs to your words (60 to 1,200 transcribed minutes per month depending on the plan).
Can I produce the videos from Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes, through ClipOnIt's MCP server (the explainer_produce tool), included from Starter: handy for producing one video per release note.
What about a lesson series?
The same method applies to a course: see turn an online course into explainer videos.
Written by the ClipOnIt team. Updated October 29, 2026.