Explainer Video vs Tutorial: Which Should You Make First?

James Crawford

Published September 21, 202611 min readUpdated September 21, 2026

You have a list of video ideas and a small budget. One person says you need an explainer video. Another says you should film how-to tutorials. Both sound useful, so which one do you make first?

The choice matters because each video does a different job for a different person. Pick the wrong one and you pay for a video that nobody watches. This guide compares explainer video vs tutorial in plain words, with a side-by-side table, examples for local businesses and a five-minute test to pick your first one.

An explainer video tells a stranger what your business does and why they should care, in about 30 to 90 seconds. A tutorial shows someone who already bought from you how to do one task, step by step. Make the explainer first if you need more customers. Make a tutorial first if the same questions eat your day.

What is the difference between an explainer video and a tutorial?

The difference is the viewer and the goal. An explainer video speaks to someone who has never heard of you and wants them to take a next step, while a tutorial speaks to someone who already said yes and helps them finish a task.

An explainer video is a short video, often animated, that shows a problem, your fix for it and what to do next. Biteable's explainer script template splits a simple script into four parts: hook, problem, solution and call to action. A call to action (CTA) is the line that tells the viewer what to do next, like "book a visit".

A video tutorial is a step-by-step recording that teaches one task. Think "how to reset your garage door keypad" or "how to book your next cleaning in our app". It has no pitch, because the viewer came to learn.

What the first ten seconds sound like

Here's one plumbing business, written both ways.

The explainer opens: "Water under the sink again? We fix leaks the same week, and you see the price before we start."

The tutorial opens: "This video shows you how to turn off the water under your sink. You'll need a towel and a torch."

The first speaks to a problem and a promise. The second speaks to a task and a list of tools. An explainer answers "why should I pick you?" and a tutorial answers "how do I do this?"

Need an explainer video? Get a 30-second explainer for $297 → We write the script, record the voiceover and animate it, delivered in 7 days.

Explainer video vs tutorial: how do they compare side by side?

An explainer video and a tutorial differ in who watches, how long they run, how the script is built and where they live. The table below puts the two next to each other so you can see which job you need done.

	Explainer video	Video tutorial
Who watches	People who don't know you yet	Customers who already bought
Question it answers	"Why should I choose you?"	"How do I do this task?"
Typical length	30 to 90 seconds	As long as the task takes, one task per video
Script shape	Hook, problem, solution, next step	Goal, numbered steps, then a check that it worked
Usual look	Animation, motion graphics or a short brand film	Screen recording, phone footage of hands, or simple animation
Where it lives	Homepage, ads, Google Business Profile, sales emails	Help page, welcome email, YouTube playlist, text after a job
What success looks like	More calls, bookings or quote requests	Fewer "how do I" calls and emails
How often it changes	Rarely, until your offer changes	Each time the product or process changes
Who usually makes it	A studio or freelancer	You or your team, often on a phone

The length row deserves a closer look. Knowlify's 2026 guide says most explainers run 60 to 90 seconds, about 150 to 225 words of voiceover. Yum Yum Videos (2026) adds that 30 to 45 seconds suits ads and awareness, while 60 to 90 seconds suits a website or a sales call.

A tutorial has no set length. It should be as short as the task allows and no shorter. If a viewer needs to pause and follow along, that's fine, because they chose to be there.

Which one should your business make first?

Make an explainer video first if your main problem is that too few people understand what you sell. Make a tutorial first if you already have steady customers but your phone rings all day with the same "how do I" questions.

Most small businesses start with the explainer. A stranger can't use your tutorial until they become a customer, and the explainer works at the top, where people decide whether to call you at all.

The numbers back up short video for first contact. In Wyzowl's 2026 State of Video Marketing survey, as reported by Vidico, 78% of consumers said they prefer to learn about a product through a short video, and only 9% preferred a text article. The same survey found 96% of consumers have watched an explainer video to learn about a product or service.

Tutorials win a different fight. According to HubSpot's 2026 marketing statistics, 57% of video marketers told Wyzowl that video has cut the number of support questions they receive. If your team loses hours to repeat questions, a tutorial pays you back in time, not new sales.

The explainer video vs tutorial question usually answers itself once you check two lists.

Signs you need the explainer first

People visit your site or ad and leave without calling.
You spend the first five minutes of every sales call saying what you do.
Your service is new, unusual or easy to confuse with a cheaper one.
You're about to spend money on ads.

Signs you need a tutorial first

Customers call or email with the same question every week.
Customers get a product, app or portal they must set up.
Reviews mention confusion, not bad service.
Your team repeats the same instructions on the phone.

If you tick boxes on both lists, start with the explainer and add one tutorial for your most common question next month. The tutorial is the easier one to make yourself.

What does each video look like for a roofer, a dentist or a gym?

Each business needs both videos at different moments: the explainer before the first visit and the tutorial after the sale. Here is how that plays out in three common small businesses.

A roofing company

A roofing explainer might open on a homeowner spotting a water stain on the ceiling. It then shows a free roof check, a clear written quote and a crew that cleans up after. It ends with one step: book a check.

A roofing tutorial looks nothing like that. It might show a homeowner how to check the gutters after a storm, or where to find the warranty details. It's filmed on a phone, shot by shot, with no sales pitch.

A dental practice

A dental explainer speaks to the nervous patient who hasn't booked in two years. It says what a first visit covers and how payment plans work, then points to the booking page.

A dental tutorial helps the patient who has a brand-new night guard. It shows how to clean and store the guard, step by step, so the patient doesn't need to call the front desk.

A gym or fitness studio

A gym explainer shows what makes the classes different, who they suit and what the first session looks like. It lives on the homepage and in local ads.

A gym tutorial shows a member how to book a class in the app, or how to set up one machine safely. These go in the welcome email and on a members' help page.

Why does mixing the two make both videos worse?

Mixing the two gives you a video that is too salesy to teach and too slow to sell. A stranger won't sit through setup steps, and a customer who wants help doesn't want to hear your pitch again.

Picture a plumber who adds a sales pitch to the start of a "how to shut off your water" video. The homeowner with a leak skips ahead, gets annoyed and calls someone else next time. Or picture an accountant who puts a walkthrough of the client portal inside the homepage explainer. The new visitor sees screens they can't use yet and clicks away.

Keep each video to one viewer and one job. Wistia's research on video length found videos under a minute average a 52% engagement rate, meaning viewers typically watch about half. You have little room. If half of your explainer is setup steps, most people never reach the part that wins the call.

The style you pick can blur the lines too. Pexo's 2026 guide to explainer types calls whiteboard animation the budget-friendly pick for step-by-step teaching and professional services, and 2D motion graphics the all-round style. So a whiteboard video can teach, but a teaching video still isn't an explainer. The job decides, not the look.

Want something bigger? Book a free 30-minute video call → We plan your custom video with you and send a fixed quote within 24 hours.

How can you choose the right first video in five minutes?

You can choose your first video by answering five quick questions about who you need to reach and what's costing you most right now. Grab a notepad and work through the steps below.

Step 1: Write down your biggest problem this month

Write one line: "I need more new customers" or "I lose too much time answering the same questions." Whichever line is truer points to your first video.

Step 2: Count your repeat questions

Look at your last 20 calls or emails and tally any question asked three times or more. Three repeats of one question is a strong case for a tutorial on that exact task.

Step 3: Check where new visitors drop off

Look at your website, your Google Business Profile and any ads you run. If people see them but don't call or book, an explainer that says who you help and what happens next is the fix.

Step 4: Decide who will make it

A tutorial is often fine shot on a phone by the person who does the task every day. An explainer has to win over strangers, so script, voice and animation quality matter more. Vidico's 2026 roundup of Wyzowl data found 87% of consumers say video quality affects how much they trust a brand.

Step 5: Set one goal you can count

For an explainer, count calls, bookings or quote requests for the month before and the month after. For a tutorial, count how often that one question comes in. One number is enough to tell you whether the video worked.

If you pick the tutorial, our guide on how to make a tutorial video your customers will use walks through filming, captions and testing, step by step.

Can an explainer video lead into your tutorials?

An explainer video and a set of tutorials work best as a chain: the explainer brings the customer in, and the tutorials look after them once they've bought. You don't need to make them all at once.

A simple order works for most small businesses. First, one explainer for the homepage and ads. Then one tutorial for your most-asked question. Then one more tutorial each month, based on what customers still ask.

Keep the look close enough that they feel like the same business. Use the same colours, logo and voice where you can. The explainer can end with "book a visit", and the first tutorial can start with "thanks for booking, here's how to get ready".

Budget follows the same split. Vidico (2026) puts a 60-second custom animated explainer from a North American studio at $5,000 to $10,000. At the other end, our 30-second explainer is $297 (normally $497), with the script, a human voiceover and the animation done for you in 7 days. Tutorials usually cost you time, not money, since you can film most of them yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Is a how-to video the same as a tutorial?

Yes, most people use "how-to video" and "tutorial" to mean the same thing. Both teach one task step by step. A training video is a bigger version, often several tutorials in a row for staff or new clients.

Can an explainer video teach people how to use a product?

An explainer video can show a product in use, but only in broad strokes. Its job is to make the viewer want to try the product. Detailed setup steps belong in a separate tutorial, where the viewer can pause and follow along.

Do tutorials help with sales?

Tutorials help sales indirectly by cutting confusion after people buy. Customers who get unstuck fast are more likely to come back and leave a good review. A tutorial seen before purchase can also show a careful buyer that the product is easy to use.

How long should the script for each video be?

An explainer script runs about 150 words per minute of video, so a 60-second script lands near 140 to 160 words, according to Breadnbeyond. A tutorial script is as long as the steps need, with one short line per step.

Should tutorials be animated or filmed?

Tutorials are usually filmed or screen-recorded, because viewers want to see the real buttons, tools or parts. Animation helps when the task happens somewhere a camera can't reach, like pipes behind a wall.

The short version

An explainer video and a tutorial solve two different problems. The explainer wins new customers by telling strangers what you do and what to do next, in about 30 to 90 seconds. The tutorial keeps customers happy by showing them how to finish one task, one step at a time.

So the explainer video vs tutorial choice comes down to your biggest cost right now. If you need more calls and bookings, start with the explainer and put it on your homepage and ads. If repeat questions eat your day, film a tutorial for the question you hear most.

Most businesses end up with both: one explainer at the front door, then a small set of tutorials after the sale. Pick the first one this week and choose one number to track.

Ready to get your own video made? Order a 30-second explainer for $297 and have it in 7 days, or book a free call if you want a custom video from $1,299.

Need an explainer video?

We write the script, record the voiceover and animate it. Delivered in 7 days.

Get My Video — $297 →