SaaS Explainer Video Examples: 6 Openings That Sell

James Crawford

Published September 18, 202611 min readUpdated September 18, 2026

You have seen the software videos everyone shares. A calm voice, a clean dashboard, one big idea explained before your coffee goes cold.

Then you look at the company behind it. A funding round. A brand team. A studio invoice you would never sign.

That is the trouble with most SaaS explainer video examples. They are lovely to watch and impossible to copy.

This guide does the opposite. You get the six openings that make those videos work, what each one costs to make, a full script you can lift, and an honest answer on whether any of it moves your signups.

The best SaaS explainer video examples all open with the customer's problem, not the software. Copy the opening, not the budget behind it. Six openings work for a small software business, and each one can be made for anywhere from about $99 with a tool to $10,000 with a studio.

What makes a SaaS explainer video work?

A SaaS explainer video is a short video that shows what a piece of software does, who it is for, and why someone should sign up. It works when it names one customer problem in the first five seconds, then shows one job the software does about that problem.

Software is hard to film. There is nothing to hold up to a camera. The value sits behind a login, in the twenty minutes a week your customer stops losing.

That is why the good examples start outside the product. They show the mess first. The product arrives as the fix, not as the subject.

A product demo video is a different animal. A product demo video is a longer walkthrough of the interface for someone who is already interested. If that is what you need, read our guide to making a product demo video that sells.

Plenty of software teams reach the same conclusion. According to Levitate Media's 2026 summary of video conversion statistics, citing Wyzowl, 73% of marketers have made an explainer video, and 82% report a positive return on video.

One rule holds all six examples together. One video, one job. A video that explains your whole roadmap explains nothing.

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Six SaaS explainer video examples worth copying

Six openings do most of the work in the software videos worth studying. Each one is a pattern rather than a brand, so you can copy the shape without copying anyone's words.

1. The empty calendar open

The video starts with the problem as an object on screen: an empty booking calendar, an inbox at 400 unread, a spreadsheet nobody trusts. The viewer recognises the object before the voice says a word.

It suits software that replaces an ugly manual habit. The risk is showing an object your buyer does not own, which reads as someone else's problem.

2. The one-job open

The video says the single job in the first line, something like "get paid on time, without chasing anyone". No story, no character, straight to the promise.

It suits a crowded category where the buyer knows the problem already and only wants to know if you fix it. The risk is sounding like a slogan, so the next shot has to prove the claim.

3. The character with the problem

The video gives the problem to one person: a clinic receptionist, a site foreman, a bookkeeper at 7pm. The viewer watches someone like them struggle for a few seconds, then sees the software arrive.

It suits products where the pain is a feeling rather than a screen. The risk is spending so long on the character that the product gets ten seconds at the end.

4. The screen recording with a voice over it

The video puts the real interface on screen from second one, with a human voice explaining the three clicks that matter. Nothing is drawn and nothing is faked.

It suits a finished product that already looks tidy. The risk is honest: a half-built interface on camera costs you more trust than no video at all.

5. The whiteboard how-it-works

The video draws the process by hand, one step at a time, while the voice explains it. Whiteboard animation is the budget-friendly workhorse for step-by-step teaching, according to Pexo's guide to types of explainer videos.

It suits software a buyer has to trust before signing up: payroll, compliance, anything holding money or rules. The risk is pace, because hand-drawn scenes eat seconds.

6. The 30-second ad cut

The video throws away the setup and starts at the promise, because a paid feed gives you about two seconds of goodwill. Everything after that is proof and one instruction.

Shorter explainers of 30 to 45 seconds suit awareness campaigns and ads, while 60 to 90 seconds suits website and sales use, according to Yum Yum Videos. Cut the short version out of the long one, never the other way round.

Which example style fits your software?

Match the style to what the viewer needs to understand, not to what looks most impressive in a portfolio. A workflow with no interface needs drawing. A finished dashboard needs showing.

Style	Best for	What it needs from you	Typical length
2D motion graphics	A workflow or idea with no interface worth showing	A script, your logo and brand colours	30 to 60 seconds
Whiteboard animation	Teaching a careful buyer a step-by-step process	A clear list of the steps, in order	60 to 90 seconds
Screen recording with voiceover	A finished interface that already looks tidy	A stable build and clean test data	60 to 90 seconds
Live action	Putting a founder's face next to the product	A camera, a location and a willing human	30 to 60 seconds

Pexo's guide calls 2D motion graphics the all-round style, and live action the choice when a real face or product helps. Both work for a small software team, though live action costs more the moment you hire a crew.

One warning about screen recordings. Your interface will change, and the video ages with it. Drawn styles survive a redesign.

What do videos like these cost to make?

Explainer video prices run from about $99 for a do-it-yourself tool to $50,000 or more for an enterprise brand film, according to Yum Yum Videos' 2026 cost guide. The examples you admire usually sit near the top of that range.

How you get it made	Typical price in 2026	What you trade
Do-it-yourself video tool	From about $99	Your own hours, and a template look
AI-assisted studio	$1,500 to $4,000	Less control over the fine detail
Custom studio animation, 60 seconds	$5,000 to $10,000	Weeks of calls, briefs and revisions
Premium 3D or character animation	Above $10,000	A budget most small teams do not have

The studio figures come from Vidico's 2026 explainer video cost guide, and the artificial intelligence range from Creamy Animation. Across 45 agencies surveyed by Squideo, the average explainer video price was £2,960 in 2026.

So the gap is real. A founder with a handful of paying customers will not sign a five-figure animation contract to explain a scheduling tool.

Our own 30-second explainer is $297, normally $497. We write the script, record a human voiceover and animate it, then deliver in 7 days with 3 revision rounds and a money-back guarantee. Bigger custom work starts at $1,299 and gets planned on a free call.

How do you turn an example into your own script?

Watch the example with the sound off, write down the order of the ideas, then fill that order with your own words. You are copying the structure, never the sentences.

Step 1: Watch three examples with the sound off

Pick three videos from software you admire and mute them. Write one line per scene describing what appears. You now have the skeleton without the copy.

Step 2: Write your one-sentence job

Write one plain sentence saying what your software does for one person. A stranger should be able to repeat it back to you. That sentence becomes the spine of the script.

Step 3: Fill the four-part frame

A simple explainer script has four parts: hook, problem, solution and call to action, according to Biteable's script template. A call to action is the one instruction you leave the viewer with. Write a line or two for each part and nothing else yet.

Step 4: Cut to the word count

Plan on about 150 spoken words per minute, so a 60-second script lands at about 140 to 160 words, according to Breadnbeyond. Most explainer videos run 60 to 90 seconds, or roughly 150 to 225 words, according to Knowlify. Cut until you fit.

Step 5: Balance the parts and read it aloud

A common split gives the problem 30% of the time, the solution 40%, proof 20% and the call to action 10%, according to Content Beta. Read your script aloud against a timer. If you are rushing, you have too many words, not too slow a voice.

Our longer walkthrough of how to write an explainer video script goes deeper on the hook line.

A worked example: scheduling software for dental offices

Here is the whole thing in miniature. Say two founders sell scheduling software to dental offices, and their buyer's real pain is empty chairs after last-minute cancellations. The company below is made up to show the shape, not a customer of ours.

At about 150 spoken words a minute, 30 seconds gives you roughly 75 words. That is less than you think and more than enough.

Seconds	What you see	What you hear
0 to 4	A dental diary with two gaps circled in red	"Two cancellations this morning. Two empty chairs this afternoon."
4 to 10	A receptionist working down a paper waiting list	"Filling them means someone leaves the front desk and starts phoning."
10 to 22	Texts going out, slots filling in on the diary	"The software texts your waiting list the second a slot opens, and books the first patient who says yes."
22 to 27	A calendar with no gaps left	"No calls. No gaps. No empty chairs."
27 to 30	Logo and a plain button	"Try it free for 14 days at the link below."

That is 56 words, four parts, one job. The problem gets ten seconds, the solution twelve, the proof five and the ask three, which lands close to the 30/40/20/10 split above.

Stretching it to 60 seconds does not mean adding features. It means adding proof: one more scene showing how the waiting list gets built, and one line about what a practice recovers. Extra features belong in the demo.

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.

Do software explainer videos actually get more signups?

Sometimes, and the honest range is wider than most articles admit. Modern results run from a 10% drop, when the wrong video sits on the wrong page, to a 100% lift when the right video sits in the right place, according to Foundry CRO's 2026 landing page video benchmarks.

That same analysis points out the famous 80% to 86% lift claim comes from data collected before 2020. Treat it as history, not as a forecast.

One documented case is worth knowing. In the Unbounce and Vidyard test, an explainer video in a lightbox lifted landing-page conversion from 6.5% to 13%, reported by TapVid in 2026. A lightbox is a player that opens over the page when someone clicks play.

Now the part the example galleries skip. A video cannot fix pricing nobody understands, a signup form that asks for a card too early, or a product that solves a problem nobody has.

It fixes one thing well. It shortens the gap between landing on your page and understanding what you sell.

Should your video sit on the pricing page or in an ad?

Put the video where people decide, which for most small software companies means the home page or the signup page, then cut a shorter version for ads. Pricing pages only earn a video when buyers keep asking which plan they need.

Since 30 to 45 seconds suits ads and 60 to 90 seconds suits your website, you are making two cuts of one script rather than two videos.

Once the file exists, it keeps earning in places you already own:

The top of your home page, above the signup form
Your signup or free trial page
The first onboarding email, where it cuts repeat support questions
Your app store or marketplace listing
A pinned post on the social account your buyers use

Our full map of where to put an explainer video covers the home page versus lightbox question in detail.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a SaaS explainer and a product demo?

An explainer sells the value in 30 to 90 seconds, aimed at someone who does not know you yet. A demo walks through the interface for someone already interested, and usually runs several minutes. Most small software companies need the explainer first and the demo second.

Can I make an explainer video before my software is finished?

Yes, if you pick a drawn style rather than a screen recording. Motion graphics and whiteboard animation show the idea and the outcome without showing a half-built interface. Swap in real screens later, once the product looks the way you want it to.

How many words is a 30-second software explainer?

About 75 words. Voiceover artists read at roughly 150 words a minute, so halve that for 30 seconds. Write 90 words, read them aloud against a timer, then cut the weakest 15.

Do I need a real voice actor or will an AI voice do?

A human voice still sounds better, especially for anything involving money, health or trust. Artificial intelligence voices are fine for internal videos and quick tests. Our packages include a recorded human voiceover for that reason.

How long does it take to get one made?

A do-it-yourself tool takes an afternoon, plus a week of fiddling. A custom studio project usually runs several weeks of briefs and revisions. Our done-for-you explainers land in 7 days, which is why most small software teams start there.

The short version

The videos you envy are not out of reach. The budgets behind them are.

Copy the opening instead. Show the problem as an object, or name the one job, or hand the pain to one person. Pick the style that matches what your buyer needs to understand, not the one that wins design awards.

Then write to the clock. Four parts, 56 to 75 words for 30 seconds, roughly 150 for 60. Read it aloud before anyone animates a thing.

Be honest about the payoff too. A good video can lift signups, a bad one can cost you a little, so put it where people decide and measure what changes.

If you have a product, a problem and one clear sentence, you already have what a SaaS explainer video needs. The rest is production, and production is the cheap part now.

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.

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