Becoming a Professional Voice Actor Will Cost You! But How Much?

If you are looking for an exciting and emerging career to enter into, voice acting is something you may want to consider. This is a way to use your talent to bring sound and narration to millions around the world.

Once you get noticed and develop a name for yourself, the rewards can be pretty good. The question, of course, is how much it costs to enter the profession.

It can cost you anywhere from less than $100 to over several thousand dollars to become a voice actor. The difference involves how serious you are about the profession and if you want to invest in the equipment.

To prepare yourself for a successful voice acting career, you will want to begin with some paid training. This will help you gain the knowledge that you need.

Beyond that, costs that need to be factored into the process include equipment, travel expenses, and possible agent fees. Please continue reading to learn how much it really costs to be a voice actor.

Table of Contents

Training Makes a Big Difference

Unless you have been told that you are a natural talent, some level of voice acting training is likely to benefit you as you begin this career. The cost associated with this will depend largely on how serious you are about making a living as a voice actor and what skills you already possess.

Here are some of the training platforms that will help you get your foot in the door as a voice actor, completed with estimated costs.

Voice Training – Offered on Udemy

If you want to to learn the basics of voice acting to determine if this is something you can really do, Udemy has some great courses for you. One of the most popular starts at roughly $40. That will give you a month-long training along with lifetime access to the material.

Some of the topics covered by this paid training include:

Learn how to project your voice better
Become more secure when speaking in front of people
Gain insight into delivering more powerful and impactful speeches
Learn how to captivate and get the attention of an audience more effectively
Tips on keeping an audience fully engaged
Learn recording tips that will help recruiters take action

This is the type of training you will want as you being your voice acting career. It will help you better optimize your voice and make it more appealing to prospective clients. The training will also help you become more confident as you start to look for work.

Audio Book Production and Narration Course – Offered on Udemy

With so many different types of voice acting jobs available today, it is important to learn how to master certain ones. This is a course on Udemy that will focus you specifically on learning how to record either an audiobook or narration project. It comes with a price tag of roughly $195.

There are numerous reasons why this may be money well spent as you embark on your voice acting journey. You will gain insight into the following topics:

Gain insight into audiobook production
Learn how to bring out emotions and make your voice more impactful
Master the psychology behind becoming a compelling narrator
Develop a particular flow and structure to your voice over acting
Learn how to plan out and then execute an audiobook production
Gain knowledge about the type of software and equipment you need to produce audiobooks and narration of the highest quality.

Learning to Voice Record Like a Professional – Offered on Skillshare

If you really want to be successful as a voice-over actor, you first have to learn how to master things such as acoustics and inflections. It is also important to know how to use available equipment to bring out the very best in your voice.

This is why you need to invest a bit in training such as this one offered by Skillshare.

You will pay either $15 a month or $99 a year to access this training. That will get you access to many videos that will help you better master your voice quality and the way you record it. You will gain the following knowledge from this training:

Learn why acoustics is so vital in voice acting
How to choose the right microphone and use it correctly
Learn how to place your microphone in the right spot.
Use pop filter screens effectively.
Learn some tips about improving the quality of voice over time

Training and Live Coaching Sessions – Offered by Edge Studio Training

As of now, you might be thinking that it does not cost much to be a voice actor, but keep in mind that nothing to this point involves live training. If you really want to learn from the best, you will want to invest in a live coach who can help take you to the next level.

Edge Studio Training is a provider of such sessions. You will pay anywhere from $2,300 to $3,600 for such a course, depending on the package and number of training sessions that you choose.

If you are serious, this will be money well spent in the end. You will learn the following from such a course:

Tips for marketing yourself as a voice actor
Techniques and advice to make you a better voice actor
Learn how to create a studio in your home
Learn about the business and financial side of voice acting
Tips on maintaining a healthy voice
Learn how to keep from embarrassing yourself

What Equipment Do You Need to Buy?

While you may not need to buy high-end equipment when you are first starting out as a voice actor, there are some items that you must purchase before you can begin.

Here is a general list to get you started, with estimated prices just to give you an idea of what you are looking at from an expense perspective.

Recording microphone – This is the most essential piece of equipment that you have as a voice actor. The quality does matter in terms of how your voice sounds. Around $300 is what you are looking at here.
Preamplifier – This is how your microphone will be able to communicate with your recording software. A reasonable baseline price is $150.
Quality headphones – You need to clearly hear what you are saying in order to know how you are doing throughout the process. These will cost about $125.
A microphone stand – There is no reason for you to hold a microphone, as it will only be a distraction. You can pick up a decent one for roughly $75.
A Shockmount – This will help reduce any vibrations in the studio that your microphone would otherwise pick up. If one is not included with your microphone, expect to pay about $50.
A pop screen or filter – You will want this piece of equipment. It helps eliminate the popping sounds that your mouth makes from time to time when speaking. These typically cost about $45.
Recording and editing software – You cannot do your job without the proper software. Make sure you know how to use it as well. This will vary widely depending on your needs but look at spending between $50 and $250.
Material to enhance the acoustics in your home studio – You will likely need to buy some equipment to make sure the acoustics in your home studio work for this type of job. The expense here will depend on various factors, so you will just need to account for it in your initial budget.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Voice Actors?

Since there are some expenses involved in becoming a voice actor, it is understandable to wonder if this is all worth it to you in the end. To better gauge that, it is helpful to know how much potential clients are expecting to pay for quality voice-over talent.

Up to two minutes of audio – The estimated budget is between $100 and $250.
From two to five minutes of audio – The estimated budget is between $250 and $500.
From five to fifteen minutes of audio – The estimated budget is between $500 and $750.
From 15-30 minutes of audio – The estimated budget is between $750 and $1,000.

Now that you know what it costs to hire a voice actor, you are in a better position to know what you can potentially earn. Once you find your niche within the profession, your earning potential will become much clearer to you.

Wrap-Up

Now that you have a better understanding of what it costs to be a voice actor, you are better positioned to know how to proceed. If you are willing to invest in your future, you may very well find that the rewards far outweigh the costs when it is all said and done.

Sources:

https://myelearningworld.com/best-voice-over-training-courses/

https://www.gravyforthebrain.com/voice-over-equipment/

https://www.voices.com/rates