Tools / AI Avatar & Talking Head
Synthesia
Corporate AI avatar videos for training, onboarding and explainers
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Facts checked · Nov 2026 — the pricing, free-plan and watermark facts on this page were checked against Synthesia's official pages. See how we verify and the listing changelog.
Price alerts for Synthesia
AI video tools change prices and credit rules without warning — Kling has raised prices roughly 3× before. Get emailed when Synthesia's price, credits or free plan changes.
Our verdict
The corporate standard for avatar training video: polished presenters, serious admin and compliance features — and a free plan that deliberately stops at a share link.
Synthesia at a glance
| Starting price | Starter plan from $14/month billed annually |
| Pricing type | Freemium |
| Free plan | Yes |
| Free export allowed | ✕ |
| No watermark on free export | ✕ |
| Commercial use on free plan | ✕ |
| API available | ✓ |
| Category | AI Avatar & Talking Head |
| Entry price estimate (our calculator) | $14/month, minutes-based |
| How the billing works | Starter plan billed annually; a shared credit pool covers video minutes, dubbing and other generation |
What Synthesia really costs
Synthesia now bills through a shared credit pool: one pot of credits pays for video generation, dubbing and its other AI features. Synthesia's pricing page gives the conversion in plain terms — on annual Starter you receive 15,000 credits a year, enough for up to about 150 minutes of video, which works out at roughly 100 credits per finished minute. At $168 billed yearly, that is about $1.12 per finished minute of credit-funded video, on top of the free monthly allowance every plan includes.
The cards below use that Starter annual rate. They assume a finished minute costs one generation pass; avatar videos are usually re-generated after script edits rather than re-shot, so budget the 2x column if your team reviews and revises, and the 3x column for content that goes through several approval rounds.
$1.12
per finished minute on annual Starter — first generation works
$2.24
per finished minute if the video is generated twice
$3.36
per finished minute at three generation rounds
Derivation: annual Starter is $168/year for 15,000 credits/year, and Synthesia's pricing page equates that pool to up to ~150 minutes of video (~100 credits/minute), so $168 ÷ 150 ≈ $1.12 per minute. Dubbing and other features draw on the same credits at their own rates. Figures from Synthesia's official pricing page, checked Nov 2026.
What is Synthesia?
Synthesia is an avatar video platform built for companies. You type a script, choose a digital presenter, and receive a finished video of that presenter speaking your words — no camera, no studio, no reshoots when the wording changes. It is used most heavily for training, onboarding, compliance and internal communication, where the same content must be produced, updated and translated at a scale that filming cannot match.
Its character is corporate in the useful sense: a large stock avatar library, personal avatars of your own people, narration in 140+ languages according to our listing, templates shaped for training content, and the brand, team and admin controls larger organisations ask for. Rivals aimed at creators may feel more expressive; Synthesia's bet is that a training manager values consistency, review workflows and a clean audit trail over flair. For that buyer, it is usually the safest name on the shortlist.
How Synthesia works
- 1Create a free Basic account to explore the editor — you get a monthly allowance of Studio video minutes and credits, with share-link sharing only.
- 2Start from a training or explainer template, or a blank video, and paste your script scene by scene.
- 3Choose a stock avatar and voice, or set up a personal avatar on a paid plan, and set the language for narration.
- 4Add your slides, screen recordings, images and brand colours to the scenes, then generate the video and watch it through.
- 5Fix wording directly in the script and regenerate the affected scenes — this edit-and-rerun loop is where avatar video beats filming.
- 6On a paid plan, download the MP4 without the Synthesia logo, or publish and embed; Basic shares by link only.
Core features
Stock AI avatars
A large library of ready-made presenters. According to Synthesia's pricing page, access grows by plan: 9 avatars on Basic, 125+ on Starter, 180+ on Pro and 240+ on Enterprise.
Personal avatars
Create a digital version of a real person — a trainer, executive or yourself — so the same presenter can front unlimited videos. The pricing page lists 3 personal avatars on Starter and 5 on Pro.
140+ language narration
Scripts can be narrated in more than 140 languages and voices per the pricing page, which is how one training video becomes a global rollout without reshooting or re-recording.
Training and explainer templates
Pre-built structures for lessons, onboarding and explainers, plus PowerPoint import, so existing slide decks convert into presenter-led video instead of starting from a blank page.
Brand and team controls
Brand kits, guest reviewers and workspace controls grow with the plan; Enterprise adds SAML/SSO, live collaboration and SCORM export for learning platforms.
Dubbing and the Synthesia API
The same credit pool covers AI dubbing of existing videos, and a developer API exists for generating video from your own systems and data.
The free plan — the full truth
Synthesia's free Basic plan is the most restricted free tier among the major avatar tools, and it is restricted in a specific way worth understanding: you cannot download your video at all. Downloading is listed on Synthesia's pricing page as a Starter feature; Basic shares content online via a share link, and the videos carry a Synthesia watermark. Our verified data confirms all three points — watermarked, no export, and no commercial use permitted on Basic output.
According to Synthesia's pricing page, Basic includes 10 minutes of Studio video creation or dubbing a month, 3 survey responses and 500 credits a month to spend across features, with 9 avatars available. That is a fair amount for evaluating whether avatar-led training works for your team. It is not a publishing channel: the moment a video needs to live in your LMS, on your website as a file, or in paid content, you are on Starter.
- • No MP4 download on Basic — share link only (verified)
- • Basic videos carry a Synthesia watermark (verified)
- • Basic output may not be used commercially (verified)
- • 10 minutes of Studio video or dubbing per month, plus 500 credits/month, per the pricing page
- • 9 stock avatars on Basic, against 125+ from Starter upward
Synthesia pricing plans
| Plan | Price | Credits included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 | 500 credits/month plus 10 minutes of Studio video or dubbing; 9 avatars; share-link only, watermarked | Evaluating the editor and avatar quality before committing |
| Starter | $14/month billed annually ($19 billed monthly) | 15,000 credits/year — up to ~150 minutes of video/year; 125+ avatars, 3 personal avatars, downloads, logo removed | Solo trainers and small teams publishing regular training and explainer videos |
| Pro | $59/month billed annually ($89 billed monthly) | 72,000 credits/year — up to ~720 minutes of video/year; 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars, interactive videos | Departments producing avatar video every week, with branded and interactive content |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Custom credit volumes; unlimited video minutes; 240+ avatars, unlimited personal avatars, SCORM export, SAML/SSO | Organisations rolling training out globally with compliance and LMS requirements |
Plans and credit figures are from Synthesia's official pricing page, checked Nov 2026. Paid plans also include the free allowance (10 minutes of video and 500 credits monthly) on top of the plan credits shown. Our listing and cost calculator have been updated to the same $14/month billed annually Starter figure.
Pros
- + Polished, professional presenters that suit corporate content
- + Downloads, logo removal and 125+ avatars start on an affordable Starter tier
- + Personal avatars and 140+ language narration make localisation practical
- + Enterprise posture — SSO, SCORM export and admin controls — for regulated teams
- + One credit pool covers video, dubbing and related AI features
Cons
- − Free Basic plan cannot download videos at all — share link only
- − Basic output is watermarked and not cleared for commercial use
- − Avatars can feel more corporate than creator-focused rivals
- − Credit-funded minutes on Starter (~150/year) are easy to outgrow
- − The most capable features — SCORM, unlimited minutes — sit on Enterprise
Best for
- ✓ Companies producing training, onboarding and compliance video at scale
- ✓ Teams localising the same content into many languages
- ✓ Organisations that need admin controls, SSO and LMS export
- ✓ Solo trainers ready to pay for downloads and a personal avatar
Not ideal for
- ✕ Creators chasing expressive, social-style avatar content on a budget
- ✕ Anyone expecting to publish from the free plan — it cannot even download
- ✕ One-off personal projects where a subscription makes no sense
Synthesia alternatives
See all alternatives →HeyGen is the first alternative in this category and the better pick when you want more expressive, creator-friendly avatars and strong video translation for marketing content. D-ID is the budget route: it animates a single photo into a talking presenter at a much lower entry price, and its API suits personalised video at scale. Colossyan is the closest like-for-like rival for workplace learning, with localisation and SCORM-friendly workflows aimed at the same training buyer. Choose Synthesia for enterprise polish and controls; choose HeyGen when the video has to sell, not just teach.
HeyGen
HeyGen turns a script into a video of a realistic digital presenter, with a large avatar library, voice cloning and translation features. It is widely used for marketing videos, product explainers and social content where a human-like presenter is needed without filming.
D-ID animates a still photo or avatar into a speaking presenter and is well known for its API, which businesses use to generate personalised talking videos at scale. It also offers a studio for individual creators making presenter content cheaply.
Colossyan creates presenter-led videos aimed at workplace learning, with scenario-style content, many languages and features for localising training across regions. It competes most directly with Synthesia in the corporate training niche.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Synthesia free?
There is a free Basic plan with 10 minutes of Studio video or dubbing a month and 500 credits monthly. But Basic videos are watermarked, cannot be downloaded — sharing is by link only — and may not be used commercially. Publishing starts with Starter.
Does Synthesia watermark free videos?
Yes, and that is only half of it: on the free Basic plan there is no MP4 download at all. 'Download your videos' and logo removal are Starter features on Synthesia's pricing page.
How much does Synthesia cost per video?
On annual Starter ($168/year), the 15,000 yearly credits cover up to about 150 minutes of video — roughly $1.12 per finished minute if the first generation is kept, more like $2.24 if you generate each minute twice after edits.
Can I use Synthesia videos commercially?
Not from the free Basic plan — our verified data confirms Basic output does not permit commercial use. Paid plans are the commercial route; check the plan terms for your use case.
Synthesia or HeyGen?
Synthesia leans corporate: training workflows, compliance features and admin control. HeyGen leans creator and marketing, with more expressive avatars. For internal training at scale, Synthesia; for presenter videos that face customers, compare HeyGen first.
Does Synthesia have an API?
Yes. A Synthesia API exists for automating video creation, and the pricing page also lists API-driven dubbing and interactive avatar options on higher tiers.