Top 20 Effective SaaS Explainer Videos to Get Inspired By!

Constant innovation has become a new reality for our society, but with new technologies, unique necessities among users also develop. In response to that, many software companies have emerged, making it harder to stand out in this over-competitive market. So, to attract your customer’s attention, a SaaS explainer video may be what you need.

In this article, I’ll analyze the 20 best SaaS product videos and explainers I’ve found, both from well-established companies and emerging digital unicorns. By revising what makes these videos successful, and how each one works to attract customers, I’ll give you some valuable takeaways to apply to your video marketing strategy, too.

Let’s go!

What Is a SaaS Explainer Video?

A SaaS explainer video, just like any other explainer, is a piece that communicates the value proposition of your Software as a Service (SaaS) product, condensing all the information you want them to know about it into a short, engaging format.

Since these videos are often animated, the limits of what you can include in them are only set by your imagination (and your budget, of course, 😅). The characters come to life however you need them to, representing your target audience’s needs and wants and, therefore, effectively engaging their attention.

A good SaaS explainer should go over how your software can make your user’s lives easier and help them solve their problems, all while explaining (and showing) how your software works in a language they can easily understand.

How to Make a Great SaaS Explainer Video

While we can’t fit a complete guide to making explainer videos into this article, I want to share some basic tenets about the process, so you can start familiarizing yourself with it.

• Determine your goals. Think about what message you want to convey to your viewers, and what you want to achieve through that message. That way, you can decide on the style that best suits your needs and the idea you want to communicate.

• Develop a script and storyboard. Once you know what you want to say, you need to determine how you’ll do it. That’s where scripts and storyboards come in, acting as a detailed outline of what you want the final product to look like and serving as a guide as you go along.

• Work on your illustrations. Whether you hire a professional video company or take a DIY approach with an explainer video maker, this is one of the most important steps in the process, as the characters and settings you choose are crucial to engaging your audience. Pick illustrations that accurately represent your average target and their environment, so they feel seen and understood by your brand from the get-go.

• Brand your video. Finally, to leave a lasting impression on your viewers and increase brand recall and awareness, be sure to include different branding elements throughout to make an explainer video that looks and feels distinctively yours. Be sure to use your brand colors and fonts, and include your logo at the end!

How Much Does a SaaS Explainer Video Cost?

The cost of an explainer video depends on several factors, such as customization, revisions, length, and deadline. A short video will be cheaper than a long one, and the same happens to videos with a long deadline vs. one needed urgently. In the same vein, the more revisions and changes you ask for, the more the video will cost.

Regarding customization, it’ll depend on how generic or branded you want your video to be. If you give the team freedom to use stock elements and characters and only include a logo somewhere, the video will be cheaper than one with custom-made illustrations that reflect your branding elements, target audience, etc. However, a generic video won’t be as effective as one that can be instantly recognized as your video! In my opinion, it’s best to splurge a bit to ensure you’ll get a memorable piece after the whole process is over.

A video production agency would charge you between $6,000 to $20,000 per minute of video. While this might sound a bit steep at first, professional providers ensure a smooth process and excellent quality.

Best SaaS Explainer Video Examples to Learn From

I know this is what you came for, so I’ll cut the chit-chat and let you enjoy these amazing SaaS videos! I’m sure you’ll start brainstorming right away.

1. Boscloner – Make It Funny

Who says a SaaS explainer video has to be boring? 

Even if you’re delineating a complex technological solution, you can add humor to your marketing videos to connect with viewers and make your brand more relatable. Like how Boscloner skillfully introduces a new, cutting-edge software with this funny explainer.

With an amusing question at the beginning, this piece grabs the viewers’ attention while starting a discussion on a relevant issue for any business’s security. This allows them to demonstrate their knowledge of their customer’s common needs. Meanwhile, the humorous edge compels viewers to keep watching as they carefully explain how their system works.

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(Created by Yum Yum Videos)

2. Cisco – Tackle All Your Benefits

The SaaS industry is overflowing with different software, which gives customers many options to choose from before making a decision. This has led businesses to offering an umbrella of unique, integrated services to stand out from the competition. However, it’s crucial to be able to convey all the unique benefits you can offer in your SaaS explainer video.

In this piece, Cisco explains why each of its products may be what your business needs. The mixed media animation technique leveraged here combines digital styles like motion graphics with real-life photography, and it’s perfect for this video, as it helps make the software more tangible, and showcase how important security in remote working spaces is.

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3.  Hotjar – Add Brand Elements

When you’re making an animated SaaS explainer video for your business, make sure to include your brand elements. Your unique style and personality are what will set you apart from other similar companies and allow you to nurture brand authority in your industry.

This piece demonstrates to potential customers how Hotjar’s service works. But more importantly, the beautiful animation brings to life the company’s unique brand elements, like its interface’s design, the color palette, and the particular style of the animated characters. At just a glance, viewers can identify the brand, making it easier to remember the benefits it has to offer them.

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4. Sprinto – Use Animated Characters

A common challenge many software companies face is finding an effective way of showcasing their service in a way that makes customers easily understand why it can help them solve their specific problems. But just like in this example, adding animated characters to your SaaS explainer video can be your solution. 

In this animated ad example, Sprinto uses this character called Steve to connect with potential customers and humanize their brand. However, this wasn’t a random choice and it was actually based on a specific buyer persona, designed to showcase their customer’s struggles and wishes. That decision is what allows viewers to relate to him and better understand the positive benefits Sprinto can offer them.

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5. Webflow – Convey Your Vision

To convey your company’s philosophy and vision, you can create a unique, insightful SaaS explainer video, following what Webflow does in this beautiful piece.

Instead of just stating their ideals, Webflow combines strong visuals, seamless transitions, and evolving background music to tell a story. All of these elements create an impactful atmosphere that helps them share their compromise of creating a world where you don’t need to know code to design websites.

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6. Uber –  Don’t Underestimate a Good Voiceover

Besides good animation and visually appealing elements, a fundamental element of any SaaS explainer video is the voiceover. Adding a cheerful and relatable narrator may be crucial for building connections with your audience while conveying why your solution is the best for them in a clear and simple manner.

That’s why I picked this Uber Eats video. Adding a voiceover allowed them to effortlessly explain how the service works by tackling all its valuable features. 

However, before starting any video, it’s fundamental to carefully plan what to say and develop an explainer video script that not only covers all the key benefits of your solution but also explains how all of that works together in the most easy-to-understand manner possible.

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7.  Wix – Hold Your Viewers’ Attention

People are so used to the constant influx of information online that catching their eye is usually a hard task. And that’s particularly true for software companies, which often have to describe complex digital solutions to a non-expert audience.

That’s why I picked this Wix SaaS explainer video, crafted using various explainer video styles like screencast recordings, motion graphics, and kinetic typography. This visually compelling combination allows them to keep viewers engaged at every moment, while subtly listing all the benefits of their service.

All in less than a minute!

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8. Autodesk Insight – Show Your Expertise

A common mistake when making a SaaS explainer video is not being specific enough about your solution’s key attributes. If you’re targeting a more expert audience, you shouldn’t be afraid of using professional lingo to showcase your experience and knowledge of the field. 

Look at how Autodesk Insight does just that. This design software program was developed to help architects create building plans that optimize energy consumption. In that context, using the right terminology and showing real architectural plans is an effective way to attract the ideal audience for their software. I may not know what heating and cooling loads are—but I’m sure architects do!

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9. Pandium – Use Storytelling

Lately, customers seem to be tired of direct advertising, and they can easily recognize and ignore the most common commercial tactics and triggers. To go around that and provide more value, you can make an explainer video based on storytelling to stand out and drive emotions in your viewers. 

Pandium knows this well, as it starts this SaaS explainer video by telling a story. Following the character and their challenges allows the company to convey the message in a way that’s easy for viewers to relate to. On top of that, it complements this emotional approach with hard data, providing rational information that encourages viewers to convert.

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10. Trip Advisor – Keep It Simple

When you’re launching a new service, you need to highlight all the innovative features you’re adding while showing how they complement what you already offer. I know that can be tricky sometimes, but hear me out. 

TripAdvisor is a well-known SaaS solution for tourists trying to find affordable accommodations, right? Well, now they’re also offering advertising for businesses, and they decided to let the world know that with an explainer.

What I like about this SaaS explainer video is how it uses animations to showcase the new program’s interface. This allows them to come up with a simple video that demonstrates how useful and easy to manage their solution is. Property owners aren’t digital marketing experts, which is why proving how user-friendly the system is can be a game-changer. 

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11. Adobe – Unleash Your Creativity

So far, I’ve mentioned various effective techniques to grab and keep your viewers attention. But when making SaaS product videos, sometimes, creativity is all you need.

This beautiful Adobe product video follows the well-known song “Pure Imagination,” and the artistic images transition according to the lyrics of the background music to represent what a world of pure imagination is. Beyond being a masterpiece, this shows viewers everything you can do with Adobe Photoshop if you unleash your creativity. Talk about hitting the nail on the head, right?

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12. Dropbox – Appeal to Emotion

For software companies, connecting with users can be a bit of a challenge. After all, your product isn’t like a piece of clothing or a cellphone that customers are going to keep on their sides every day. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find a way to bond with your buyers through SaaS product videos.

This simple video shows media footage that anyone could’ve saved in their Dropbox storage. With those small elements, it builds the unique stories of the people behind each account in a way anyone can relate to. By appealing to emotions, this brand builds more meaningful relationships with its customers and strengthens their favorability towards it.

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13. Xero – Build a Partnership through a SaaS Explainer Video

Building a partnership can be a great way to expand your reach and bring awareness to your brand, but it’s crucial to collaborate with a company that’s related to your industry or product. Numbers are important, both for businesses and in sports. This is why this partnership between Xero and FIFA Women’s Football joins the list of the best SaaS product videos to find inspiration from. 

Beyond the entertaining animation, this video showcases the evolution women’s football has undergone in the past few years while comparing it to a developing business. And to quantify that growth, they use Xero, demonstrating how their software enables you to keep track of and increase your success.

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14. Apple Music – Be Original

SaaS companies come in every shape and form, but lately, we’ve seen the emergence of many businesses that offer highly innovative and technological products to a wider, not-so-techie audience. For these companies, creating SaaS product videos that represent what they have to offer in real life is a common difficulty. 

But Apple Music manages to overcome that obstacle in this piece by featuring feature a woman listening to music to showcase how the new Spatial Audio works. They used shifting lighting and moving camera shots to convey the all-encompassing nature of this audio system, giving the viewer a feeling of how the music moves through space.

This clever approach allowed the company to highlight key improvements in their audio system while entertaining viewers and keeping them engaged until the last second. 

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15. Udemy – Take Advantage of Camera Shots

We’ve seen many examples of professional-level animation, compelling transitions, and visually attractive designs so far. But even if you’re offering a software solution, you can still create effective SaaS explainer videos with real-life footage. 

In this piece, we see a girl as she completes different courses in this digital academy and advances her professional career. Now, notice how the 360° camera shot surrounding her helps showcase the growth not only in her but also in her environment and the people surrounding her. With it, Udemy can demonstrate that it’s not just a SaaS company that provides educational courses, but also your lifelong companion.

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16. Google Assistant – Show, Don’t Tell

The best SaaS product videos are those that not only state what you have to offer to the market but also show it. Like this video from Google that follows the daily life of Rachel, focusing on everything she can do with the new Google Assistant. 

With beautiful animations that align with Google’s unique brand image and style, this short video covers the assistant’s functionalities. Moreover, notice the cheerful background music, and how it stops when it’s bedtime. It’s a small detail, but it effectively demonstrates how smart their software is, adapting to situations without needing to be told what to do.

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17. GitHub + Mercedes Benz – Collaborate with Other Companies

As a SaaS company, it’s important to collaborate with other businesses to increase your relevance, expand your reach, and build lasting relationships. It doesn’t matter if it’s an unusual match, like the one between Github and Mercedes Benz in this SaaS video.

GitHub’s goal is to connect programmers all around the globe and promote the growth of the Open AI community, and this piece perfectly shows that. This might be a longer explainer video than what we’re used to, but that’s alright because it helped them show how the software impacts different moments of the car production process, and how beneficial Github is for collaborative teamwork.

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18. DocuSign – Consider a Screencast Saas Explainer Videos

For practical reasons, it’s fundamental to try and find a way to incorporate how your solution works into your SaaS video marketing strategy. DocuSign knows this, which is why, in this product video example, they make sure to showcase how their interface looks in real life. 

This technique, known as screencast video, consists of recording your screen as you navigate through your program. That way, the video shows how easy-to-use DocuSign is, a key aspect of the solution, as, according to them, signing easily online and on the go is the best way to save time for busy businessmen.

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19. Shopify – Target Every Audience

Sometimes, your software can cater to the needs of various audiences, which can make it challenging for you to target each of these segments when making SaaS product videos. But to clearly demonstrate what you have to offer to every possible target, you can follow the example of this Shopify ad. 

The video is divided into two parts. First, it displays Shop’s app on an actual phone to highlight the advantages that the company can provide. Then, it showcases how to keep track of your analytics on a computer, a message clearly aimed at shop owners. 

That way, Shopify easily demonstrates what they have to offer to all its audience segments while showing how knowledgeable they are of its customers’ usage methods.

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20. Microsoft – Use Motion Graphics

This is another example of how you can create SaaS product videos that showcase your software’s interface, but in this case, you can use a particular animation style instead of screencast. Motion graphics is a video technique that allows you to give life to objects and figures by adding movement and transitions.

Here, viewers get a glimpse of Microsoft Loop’s new interface through a compelling and entertaining animation of static elements like buttons and notifications. Additionally, as the notifications start jumping out of the computer, objects from real life start moving too, like the cup or the plants. 

I believe this is a unique and clever way to showcase how the power of this program goes beyond the screen and impacts your daily life too, making tasks easier to manage. Moreover, this style often makes for more affordable explainer videos.

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Our Top 5 SaaS Explainer Videos

Now that you’ve seen all these amazing examples, allow me to toot our own horn for a second and share with you Yum Yum Video’s best SaaS explainer videos, so you can see for yourself how we work and what we can achieve 😀.

1. Accelerant – Take Your Time

Some software solutions are more complex than others, so they can’t all fit in the standard box of a 90-second explainer video. Instead, in cases like Accelerant’s, where more time is needed to go over their value proposition and the many benefits it can have, we tailor the video to be as entertaining and engaging as usual, even when almost hitting the 3-minute length mark.

2. WrkSpot – Be Relatable

We knew that WrkSpot’s product could work with several different industries, so we developed animated characters that represented them, like kitchen staff and administrative workers, instead of focusing on a single industry. That way, the brand can cast a wider net, catching the eye of a wide variety of business owners with a single SaaS video.

3. Chargebee – Take Advantage of Metaphors

The great thing about video is that it combines the power of spoken word and visual content, resulting in a message with double the power. That’s why we chose to take literally some of the common metaphoric expressions of English, like leak or drown, and use them as part of our animation. That way, viewers can see their abstract struggles turned into concrete issues, which are then solved by Chargebee’s software.

4. AirTM – Address Your Viewers Directly

At the end of the day, nothing will be more effective than letting your audience know you’re a brand that truly understands them and can change their lives for the better. Take a look at what we did in this SaaS explainer video for AirTM: right off the bat, the voiceover speaks directly to a certain audience and addresses their pain point, which the company is here to solve.

5. Open Cinema – Leverage Text Inlays

Last, but certainly not least, is our SaaS video for Open Cinema. What I love the most about it is that the major selling points are not only mentioned in the voiceover but also highlighted as text in the animation: it really drives home the message the brand wants to convey, and even if a viewer watches it without sound, he can understand the overall idea of the piece and what sets the company apart from the competition.

Need a SaaS Explainer Video? Yum Yum Videos Can Help!

Before we say goodbye, allow me to tell you a little bit about our company and how we approach the production of SaaS videos (and any kind of video, for that matter).

At the heart of Yum Yum Videos is passion. We deeply love what we do, and we’re constantly looking for new angles and ways to make even better and more effective videos than we did the day before. Our main goal is to make pieces that deliver great results and make clients fall in love with the power of video marketing.

We always keep in mind that no one knows your business as you do, so your input is valued every step of the way. Every video is perfectly tailored to your needs, brand voice, and branding elements, so it can accurately reflect what you stand for and leave a memorable impression on your audience.

Moreover, we have over a decade of experience working with both startups and world-renowned brands such as Amazon, AirTM, Red Bull, McKesson, and more!

If you’re curious about our video production process and what working with us looks like, you can watch a testimonial from one of our past clients:

If you think your business and Yum Yum Videos could be a match, don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to hear your ideas 😁.

Wrapping Up

While standing out in the digital environment was relatively easy a few years ago, today, you have to compete not only with thousands of emerging businesses but also with well-established mega-companies that hold large portions of the market. Because of this, video SaaS marketing has become a popular strategy for many businesses.

Coming up with an attractive video that’s compelling for your target audience isn’t really as hard as it might seem. Just focus on your solution’s best features, follow what we learned from these examples—and be creative! After all, the SaaS industry was born out of the wish to make people’s lives easier and find unique, original ways to achieve that.