Synthesia
Turns a written script into a finished video with a talking AI presenter in 140+ languages, used for training videos, product explainers and sales outreach.
What you'd use it for
Turning a written script into a video of a presenter speaking it, without filming anyone or hiring a voiceover artist.
- Turn a typed or pasted script into a video of an AI presenter speaking it, in any of 140+ languages
- Clone your own or a colleague's likeness into a reusable personal avatar, once they've completed their own consent recording
- Convert an uploaded PowerPoint deck or document straight into a narrated video without rebuilding it as a script
- Dub an existing video into another language with AI-generated voice
- Pull finished video out through an API for teams producing it on a schedule
The verdict
Synthesia earns its place when the job genuinely calls for someone speaking to camera at volume: training modules, product explainers, or the same script re-recorded across a dozen languages without hiring voice talent for each. The free tier is generous enough to judge avatar realism before paying, which is worth doing, since quality varies noticeably between avatars. The cost that actually bites is personal avatars — the feature most business buyers want — which sit behind the Creator plan and a one-time consent recording, and credits reset monthly rather than banking a quiet month's capacity forward. It's the wrong reach for a one-off marketing cutdown, where a footage-based tool does the job with less setup.
What it costs
| Tier | Price | For | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0/month | An individual exploring whether AI video suits their use case. | 1,200 monthly credits (about 10 minutes of video), 9 AI avatars, and commenting. |
| Starter | $29/month ($18/month billed annually) | A solo creator or small team making occasional videos. | 1,200 monthly credits, video downloads, AI dubbing, 125+ avatars, 1 editor plus 3 guests. |
| Creator | $89/month ($64/month billed annually) | Content teams producing video regularly, Synthesia's most popular tier. | 3,600 monthly credits, 5 personal avatars, branded video pages, API access, 180+ stock avatars, interactive videos, 1 editor plus 5 guests. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing, arranged with sales | Large organisations producing video at scale. | Unlimited video minutes, unlimited personal avatars, 1-click translation into 80+ languages, SAML/SSO, live collaboration, and a dedicated customer success manager. |
Read from Synthesia's own pricing page on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.
What you need to start
- A Synthesia account (the free Basic tier needs no credit card)
- A live on-camera consent recording from anyone whose likeness becomes a personal avatar, including yourself
- A Creator plan or higher ($89/month) for API access or a personal avatar of your own
A free account takes minutes and needs no card; a first templated video renders in a few minutes once queued, but a personal avatar needs a one-time consent recording and processing pass before it's usable.
Your first run A video built from a template or a blank canvas needs no paid plan — pick an avatar, drop in a script, and the render finishes within minutes of queuing; using the built-in Assistant to write the script for you requires a paid plan first.
Where it breaks
Personal avatars — a video likeness of a real person, including yourself — are limited by tier (none on Basic/Starter, 5 on Creator) and require the subject's own consent to create; Synthesia has faced scrutiny over deepfake-style misuse of its avatars by third parties, so review its usage policy before using anyone's likeness who isn't you.
First entry in this reference. There is no previous check to compare it against.
When not to use it
Not for creating a video likeness of anyone who hasn't personally completed Synthesia's own live on-camera consent recording — there's no workaround, and no way to upload consent after the fact. Also not the right tool for one-off marketing video that doesn't need a talking presenter, or for a team unwilling to move past the free tier once it needs its own avatar or API access.
Synthesia solves a specific, unglamorous problem: making a video without a camera, a presenter, or a studio. You write a script, pick an avatar and a language, and it renders a video of that avatar speaking your words — usable for onboarding material, internal training, or a sales explainer you need in six languages without hiring six voiceover artists.
The free Basic tier is enough to see whether the output quality clears your bar before paying anything, and it’s worth doing that test — avatar realism varies noticeably by avatar, and some read as obviously synthetic in a way that matters for customer-facing content but not for internal training.
What the credits actually buy
Credits translate roughly to minutes of finished video, and they reset monthly rather than rolling over, so a slow month doesn’t bank capacity for a busy one. The jump from Starter to Creator triples the credit allowance and adds personal avatars — the ability to clone your own or a colleague’s likeness — which is the feature most business buyers are actually paying for.
Against the alternatives
Against InVideo, the two aim at different jobs: Synthesia is built around a talking presenter delivering a script, while InVideo assembles a video from stock footage, voiceover and motion graphics without a face on screen at all. Pick Synthesia when the format genuinely calls for someone speaking to camera — training, explainers, localisation — and InVideo for a more conventional marketing cutdown.
Given the sensitivity around AI-generated likenesses, get explicit written consent before creating a personal avatar of anyone else, and check your own jurisdiction’s rules on synthetic media disclosure before publishing avatar-led video externally.
Alternatives
HeyGen
Turns a written script into a presenter-style video using an AI avatar, including a version trained to look and sound like you.
InVideo
Turns a script or a short prompt into a finished marketing video, assembling stock footage, motion graphics and voiceover without a camera or an editor.
Marketing & socialAppsCaptions
Records, captions and edits talking-head video on your phone, including correcting your eye line so it looks like you're making eye contact with the camera.
Get Synthesia
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