What a voice over
actually costs here.
Nobody in this country publishes rates, so both sides of every negotiation guess. Clients guess low, artists guess lower, and everybody ends up resentful. Here is what I have actually been booking and directing for twenty years — the session fee, the usage licence, and the difference between them, which is where all the money is.
Two fees, not one
Almost every underpaid voiceover in South Africa comes from the same mistake: quoting one number. There are two, and they are unrelated.
Agree the usage in writing, before you record. Renegotiating a licence after a client already has the audio is a conversation nobody wins.
Work out a fee
Pick what is being recorded, then where it runs. Watch what happens to the number when you change only the usage — the recording is identical in every case.
Session fees, before usage
What the usage multiplies it by
Five real shapes of job
“Our budget is R1,500, all-in”
You will get this email. It is usually friendly, usually complimentary about your demo, and usually asks for a perpetual national buyout at the price of a social media story. The person sending it is rarely being dishonest — they often simply do not know that usage is a separate thing.
Do not accept, and do not be indignant. Counter. Explain the licence, offer two workable alternatives, and let them choose. Most of the time they take one. And if you accept instead, that figure becomes the client’s benchmark for every artist they approach next — which is how a whole market gets talked down.
Hi [Client name], Thank you for thinking of me for this — it sounds like a good spot. I'd like to make it work. The difficulty is that a national buyout in perpetuity is the broadest usage category there is, and that is what drives the licence fee rather than the recording itself. Two alternatives I can offer: Option A — 1-year national broadcast licence, renewable annually. Option B — 2-year national all-media licence, covering TV and paid digital. A perpetual licence removes any possibility of future usage fees, which is how this work sustains a career, so it isn't something I'm able to offer at the figure suggested. I'm sure one of these will work. Let me know which suits. Best, [Your name]
The honest answers
What does a voice over cost in South Africa?
It depends on two separate things: the session fee for recording it, and the usage licence for where it runs and for how long. A 30-second TV commercial has a session fee of roughly R4,500. Licensed for one year of national broadcast, the total lands near R8,100. The same recording licensed in perpetuity is closer to R14,400 — same day in the booth, very different fee, because you are selling far more.
What is the difference between a session fee and a usage fee?
The session fee pays for the recording — your time, your booth, your read. The usage fee licenses what the client may do with it. A voice artist who quotes only a session fee has effectively given the broadcast rights away for free, and this is the single most common way money is lost in this industry.
What is a buyout?
A buyout is a licence that covers a defined territory and medium for a fixed period, or in perpetuity. "Perpetual" means forever: the advertisement may run for five, ten or twenty years and the voice artist never earns another cent from it. Perpetual licences should be priced at a substantial premium — roughly three times the session fee nationally, and over five times for global all-media.
How much should I charge for my first voice over job?
The same as anyone else for that usage. Rates are set by where the work runs, not by how experienced the voice is. Undercharging as a beginner does not win you the industry's goodwill — it lowers the client's expectation for every artist they approach afterwards. Charge the rate, and let the work justify it.
Are these rates official?
No. South Africa has no legally binding voiceover tariff. These are working guidelines drawn from twenty years of booking and directing sessions in this market, published so that both sides of a negotiation can start from the same page. Treat them as a sensible opening position, not a fixed schedule, and always agree usage in writing before you record.
Does VAT apply?
Every figure here excludes VAT. If the voice artist is registered for VAT, it is added on top of the quoted fee.
South African voices, no agency margin on top. Send the script and the usage and you’ll have a quote against the numbers on this page.
Hire a voiceKnowing the rate is the easy half. The free lesson is two takes of one line and five minutes — you’ll hear in that time whether this is for you.
Take the free lessonAbout these figures. South Africa has no legally binding voiceover tariff. These are working guidelines from twenty years of booking and directing sessions in this market, published so both sides of a negotiation can start from the same place. All figures exclude VAT. They are an opening position, not a fixed schedule — and whatever you agree, agree the usage in writing before anyone records.
