Quick answer: Video is the highest-ROI content format in SaaS marketing in 2026. 91 percent of businesses use video, 82 percent of video marketers report a good ROI, 83 percent say video has directly increased sales, and 96 percent of people have watched an explainer video to understand a product. 63 percent of buyers would rather learn about a product from a short video than any other format. Every figure below is sourced and dated.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026. Primary source: Wyzowl State of Video Marketing 2026 (266 respondents, surveyed late 2025), plus Vidyard, HubSpot and Demand Gen Report B2B data via Pixel8’s 2026 compilation.
How many businesses use video marketing in 2026?
- 91 percent of businesses use video as a marketing tool, back to the joint all-time high after a small dip in 2025 (Wyzowl).
- 93 percent of video marketers say video is an important part of their overall strategy.
- 67 percent of marketers who do not yet use video plan to start in 2026.
- 87 percent of B2B marketers have integrated video into their programmes, and 61 percent plan to increase budget in the next 12 months (HubSpot / Demand Gen Report).
- The two biggest reasons for not using video are “not needed” and “too expensive”, at 24 percent each. Lack of time is next at 19 percent.
Which video types do marketers make most?
- Social media videos (69 percent) and explainer videos (68 percent) are the two most-created formats, ahead of testimonials (57 percent), presentations (48 percent) and video ads (48 percent).
- Product demos are made by 39 percent of video marketers, app demo videos by 17 percent and customer onboarding videos by 23 percent.
- Live action is the most common style (51 percent), followed by animation (23 percent) and screen recordings (19 percent). Animation remains the way to stand out in a feed full of talking heads.
- 59 percent of businesses make video mostly in-house, 32 percent use a mix and 10 percent rely fully on an external studio.
What ROI does video marketing deliver?
- 82 percent of video marketers say video has given them a good ROI (down from a record 93 percent in 2025 as more teams produce more, and weaker, video).
- 83 percent say video has directly increased sales. 85 percent say it has helped generate leads.
- 93 percent say video has increased user understanding of their product, and 93 percent say it has increased brand awareness.
- 82 percent say video has increased web traffic, and 82 percent say it keeps visitors on the site longer.
- 57 percent say video has reduced support queries, a direct cost saving for SaaS teams.
- Businesses using video report 27 percent higher MQL rates, and adding video to a landing page lifts conversions by an average of 34 percent (Vidyard).
- Product demo videos produce a 46 percent increase in purchase intent versus non-video product pages (Vidyard).
- Adding video testimonials to proposals raises close rates by 22 percent.
How marketers measure success
- 67 percent measure ROI through views, 63 percent through engagement, 52 percent through leads and clicks, 40 percent through retention and 32 percent through bottom-line sales.
- 71 percent believe videos between 30 seconds and 2 minutes are the most effective length. This lines up with the 60 to 90 second standard in our explainer video length guide.
- Videos under one minute achieve a 65 percent completion rate among B2B viewers; videos over 20 minutes retain only 20 percent (Vidyard).
How much do marketers spend on video?
- 92 percent of marketers plan to spend the same or more on video in 2026.
- Businesses allocate an average of 31 percent of total marketing budget to video. 46 percent spend a third or less; 17 percent do not track it.
- 41 percent spent money on video ads this year, up from 36 percent.
- Opinion on costs is split: 38 percent say video is getting more expensive, 30 percent say cheaper, 32 percent see no change.
How do people respond to explainer videos?
- 96 percent of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
- 85 percent have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video.
- 80 percent have bought or downloaded an app after watching an app demo video.
- 63 percent would most like to learn about a product via a short video, more than five times the number who prefer a text article (12 percent). Ebooks, infographics, sales calls and webinars each sit at 4 to 7 percent.
- 89 percent of consumers say video quality affects their trust in a brand. Cheap-looking video is not neutral; it costs you.
- 84 percent want to see more video from brands in 2026, a figure that has held within 8 points for eight straight years.
How do B2B buyers use video?
- 70 percent of B2B buyers engage with video during the purchasing journey, concentrated in the consideration and vendor-evaluation stages (Vidyard).
- 72 percent say vendor video content influences which vendors make their shortlist. Your video is in the room before your sales team is (Demand Gen Report).
- 50 percent use video specifically to evaluate a purchase.
- Testimonial videos on sales pages produce a 2.6x lift in lead-quality ratings.
Which channels work best for video marketing?
- YouTube is used by 82 percent of video marketers and rated effective by 69 percent, the top score on both counts.
- LinkedIn is used by 70 percent and its video engagement is up 44 percent year on year, making it the strongest B2B social channel.
- Instagram (69 percent used, 56 percent effective), Facebook (66 / 55) and webinars (56 / 42) follow. TikTok is used by 40 percent but rated effective by only 29 percent.
- Company websites are the number-one distribution point for B2B video (67 percent), then email (49 percent).
How is AI changing video marketing?
- 63 percent of video marketers have used AI tools to create or edit marketing video, up from 51 percent a year earlier.
- The AI video generator market passed $789 million in 2025 and is projected toward $3.4 billion by 2033 at roughly 20 percent annual growth.
- AI answer engines increasingly cite video content, which makes VideoObject schema and transcripts an SEO asset. We cover the trade-offs in AI generators vs studios.
More numbers worth knowing
- Customer service videos are made by 24 percent of video marketers, training videos by 23 percent and employee onboarding videos by 16 percent.
- Only 10 percent of non-users say they are unclear on video ROI, and 10 percent simply do not know where to start.
- X (29 percent), VR (19 percent), 360 video (18 percent) and Snapchat (16 percent) are the least-used video channels, and the least effective.
- Explainer videos are used by 72 percent of B2B marketers to move buyers from awareness to consideration (Pixel8 / HubSpot).
- Short-form video under 60 seconds is used by 83 percent of marketers; 21 percent call it their highest-ROI format.
What these numbers mean for a SaaS team
The gap is no longer between companies that use video and those that do not. Nine in ten already do. The gap is between one-off videos and video systems. Explainers are the second most-produced format, 71 percent of marketers back the 30 second to 2 minute window, and buyers shortlist vendors on video before a call happens. A single production that ships a hero explainer, vertical and square cuts, and ad hooks compounds these statistics across every channel, which is exactly how our one-production system is built.
Figures compiled 2 September 2026 from Wyzowl (State of Video Marketing 2026), Vidyard business video benchmarks, HubSpot marketing statistics and Demand Gen Report buyer research as compiled by Pixel8 Production (June 2026), plus DemandSage and market-size reports. Individual studies vary; treat ranges as directional.
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