Short answer
A good explainer video script template follows six beats: the problem, why it hurts, the solution, how it works, proof and a call to action. In a 60-second explainer that's roughly 8, 8, 8, 20, 9 and 7 seconds, about 100 to 120 spoken words. At 90 seconds, give the extra time mostly to how it works and proof, for about 170 to 190 words.
Explainer scripts fail in two opposite ways. Some spend forty seconds on the problem and rush the product into the last ten. Others open on the product's name and a feature list, so the viewer never learns why they should care. This explainer video script template fixes the proportions: a quarter of the time on the problem, half on the solution and how it works, and the rest on proof and the ask.
You'll get the beat sheet with timings, a fill-in version, a filled example for a made-up shift-scheduling app called Rosterly, and the ways an explainer script differs from a product demo script.
The explainer video script template: six beats and their timings
Each beat answers one question the viewer has, in the order they have it. Skip one and the next lands badly: a solution means little before the viewer feels the problem, and a call to action without proof asks for trust you haven't earned.
| Beat | Question it answers | 60-second version | 90-second version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Problem | Is this about me? | 0:00–0:08, ~15 words | 0:00–0:12, ~25 words |
| 2. Why it hurts | Why should I care now? | 0:08–0:16, ~15 words | 0:12–0:24, ~25 words |
| 3. Solution | What's the answer? | 0:16–0:24, ~15 words | 0:24–0:36, ~25 words |
| 4. How it works | Do I believe it works? | 0:24–0:44, ~35 words | 0:36–1:06, ~65 words |
| 5. Proof | Why trust you? | 0:44–0:53, ~15 words | 1:06–1:20, ~30 words |
| 6. Call to action | What do I do next? | 0:53–1:00, ~10 words | 1:20–1:30, ~15 words |
The word counts assume a natural narration pace of roughly 140 to 160 words a minute, with pauses. That's an approximation, so read your draft aloud with a stopwatch. Wistia's guidance, based on more than 13 million videos, puts explain-and-educate videos in the one-to-five-minute range and short social clips under a minute (Wistia); 60 to 90 seconds keeps an explainer usable in both places.
How to write each beat
Problem and why it hurts
Name the situation, not the category. "Every Sunday night, someone at your clinic rebuilds next week's rota in a spreadsheet" beats "Workforce scheduling is complex." The viewer should recognize their own week in the first sentence.
Then make it cost something: time, money, an annoyed customer, a missed shift. One concrete consequence is enough. Stacking three makes the opening drag and starts to sound like an ad.
Solution and how it works
Introduce the product in one plain sentence that says what it does: "Rosterly builds your rota for you." Save the tagline for the end card. Then show how, in two or three steps the viewer could repeat. This is the longest beat, and in a software explainer it should show the real interface. Abstract icons explain the idea, but real screens prove the product exists.
Proof and call to action
Proof can be a customer's words, a number you can defend, a well-known customer logo you have permission to use, or simply showing the hard part working on screen. Whatever you use, it has to be real. In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides require testimonials to reflect the endorser's honest opinion, and if a featured result isn't what most people get, the ad has to make the generally expected results clear (FTC).
End with one action. A free trial, a demo booking or a waiting list, never all three.
Fill-in explainer script template
Copy this, replace the brackets and keep each beat to its word count. Write the visual for each beat at the same time, even if someone else will animate it.
- Problem. Voiceover: [the moment your viewer has the problem, in their words]. Visual: [that moment: the spreadsheet, the inbox, the whiteboard].
- Why it hurts. Voiceover: [one concrete cost of the problem]. Visual: [the consequence, shown simply].
- Solution. Voiceover: [product name] [does what] [for whom]. Visual: [the product's main screen, or the logo resolving into it].
- How it works. Voiceover: [step one], [step two], [step three], each in one short sentence. Visual: [each step in the real UI, one scene per sentence].
- Proof. Voiceover: [a real quote, a defensible number, or "watch" over the hard part working]. Visual: [quote card with name and role, or the live result].
- Call to action. Voiceover: [one action and where]. Visual: [logo, URL, button].
When the voiceover is final, it doubles as your caption text. Caption every version you publish: captions for prerecorded video are a Level A requirement in WCAG 2.2, and explainers often autoplay muted in feeds.
A filled explainer script example (60 seconds)
Rosterly is a made-up scheduling app for small clinics. The viewer is a practice manager who builds the staff rota by hand. This version runs 104 words, a little under budget, which gives the proof beat room to breathe.
- Problem (0:00–0:08): "Every Sunday night, someone at your clinic opens a spreadsheet and rebuilds next week's rota from scratch." Visual: a crowded spreadsheet, a phone buzzing with "can anyone swap Tuesday?"
- Why it hurts (0:08–0:16): "Then someone calls in sick, and the whole week falls apart before Monday's first appointment." Visual: a red gap appears in Tuesday's column.
- Solution (0:16–0:24): "Rosterly builds your rota for you, around who's qualified, who's available and who's already done too many late shifts." Visual: the Rosterly week view fills in, shift by shift.
- How it works (0:24–0:44): "Add your team once. Set the shifts you need covered. Rosterly drafts the week, and when someone drops out, it offers the gap to the right people first. Staff accept on their phones." Visual: team list, shift template, the draft rota, a swap request accepted on a phone.
- Proof (0:44–0:53): "Watch a month of shifts for twelve people built in one pass." Visual: four weeks fill in on screen, start to finish, in real time.
- Call to action (0:53–1:00): "Try Rosterly free at your clinic this week." Visual: logo, URL, "Start free" button.
Notice the proof beat. Rosterly is fictional, so it has no customers to quote, and inventing a testimonial would be worse than having none. Showing the hard part working is honest proof, and it's often the most convincing kind for software.
Explainer script vs product demo script
The two get confused because both show software and both run about a minute. The difference is the viewer. An explainer is for someone who doesn't yet know why the product exists. A demo is for someone who already gets the idea and wants to see it work.
- Order: an explainer earns the product with problem and stakes first; a demo can open on the product mid-task.
- Screen time: in an explainer the real UI may get only a third of the running time; in a demo it's nearly all of it.
- Style: explainers can use metaphor, motion graphics or characters; demos stay literal.
- Detail: an explainer shows three steps at a glance; a demo shows each click a user would make.
If your viewer already understands the problem, you probably want the product demo script template instead. For styles of explainer (motion graphics, UI animation, whiteboard, live action) and how to brief someone to make one, see product explainer video maker. If the explainer is about a software product, DemoVexa can build the how-it-works beat from your app's code and time it to the voiceover (how that works); for character animation or live action, an agency or a motion designer is the better route.
Questions
How many words is a 60-second explainer video script?
Plan on about 100 to 120 words for a 60-second explainer, based on a natural pace of roughly 140 to 160 words a minute with room for pauses. A fast-cut, music-heavy explainer needs fewer; read it aloud with a stopwatch to check.
Should an explainer video show the actual product?
For software, yes, at least in the how-it-works beat. Icons and characters explain the idea, but real screens show the product exists and what it looks like, which is the question most viewers have by then.
Who should voice an explainer video?
A clear, warm voice that suits your audience matters more than a famous one. Founders work well for early-stage products, professional or AI voices for polished brand explainers; our [AI voiceover generator](/ai-voiceover-generator) guide covers choosing and fixing pronunciation.
Make product videos from your code
DemoVexa reads your app's code, writes the script, adds a voiceover and animates your real screens in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1. Try it on your own product: 14 days free, no card.
Sources
- FTC: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (checked 29 October 2026)
- Wistia: How to choose the right marketing video length for any goal (checked 29 October 2026)
- W3C: Understanding WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.2.2, Captions (Prerecorded) (checked 29 October 2026)
DemoVexa publishes this guide and makes a product video app, so we have a stake in the topic. Facts about other products and platforms come from the sources listed, on the dates shown, and can change. Corrections are welcome through our contact page.