AI Video in 3 Minutes with Synthesia (Full Tutorial)
Published by SynthesiaWatch on YouTube
Updated Oct 5, 2026
AI Content Tools
Synthesia
AI avatar video platform that turns scripts into training videos
From $14/mofree trial
Synthesia at a glance
from our research
AI video platform where an avatar presents your script, built for training and internal video
Editing a video means editing text, and translation or dubbing turns it into other language versions
Stock avatars can't appear in paid ads, and self-serve plans include one editor
Pro: $89 a month, or $59 a month billed yearly, for 6,000 credits, about 60 minutes of video a month
Overview
What is Synthesia?
Synthesia is an AI video platform from Synthesia Limited, a UK company founded in 2017 and based in London. Instead of filming, you write a script and an AI avatar presents it in an AI voice, so a video gets made without cameras, microphones or actors.
A video can start from a prompt, a script or document, a PowerPoint file, a template or a blank canvas, and the AI Video Assistant can turn a prompt into a script with visuals. You choose an avatar and a voice, edit the scenes and generate. One video holds up to 150 scenes of up to 5 minutes each, four hours in total. Videos can include buttons, quizzes and branching scenarios, and 1-Click Translation or AI Dubbing produces versions in other languages. Finished videos are shared as embeds or on a public video page, and the pricing page lists SCORM export for learning management systems under Enterprise. Surveys, roleplays and Interactive Avatars sit alongside video in the same app.
Synthesia runs in the browser at app.synthesia.io, and its APIs cover video creation, dubbing, assets, Interactive Avatars and billing. Every plan, the free Basic plan included, comes with 10 minutes of video or dubbing, 3 survey responses and 500 credits a month. Paid plans add more credits, which are used once the included minutes run out. A finished minute of video costs about 100 credits, and the same balance pays for dubbing, surveys, Interactive Avatars and API use. Self-serve plans are billed monthly or yearly; Enterprise is priced by contract.
Our verdict on Synthesia
Updated Oct 5, 2026Pricing checked Oct 5, 2026
Synthesia fits training, onboarding and internal communications teams that need a steady supply of presenter-led video and have to keep it current. Editing a video means editing text. When a policy or a product screen changes, someone updates the script and regenerates, with no presenter to rebook, and translation or dubbing turns one finished video into other language versions. PowerPoint import, quizzes and branching scenarios suit the course material these teams already have. Its Customer Terms also commit Synthesia to defend customers against third-party IP claims over the service and its content, including claims that permitted stock avatar use violates an actor's publicity rights.
Check the licensing rules before anything else. Stock and synthetic avatars can't appear in paid ads or any paid promotion; their permitted uses include training, FAQ and product videos on websites and organic social posts. Collaboration is thin below Enterprise. Self-serve plans have one editor (Starter adds 3 guests, Pro 5), while SSO, live collaboration, brand kits and SCORM export are listed with Enterprise. Credits need watching. Regenerating an edited video recalculates its credit cost, and dubbing and survey responses draw on the same balance, so budget for revisions as well as first drafts. Out of credits, you buy more in Billing, upgrade or wait for renewal. Synthesia doesn't state directly whether customer content trains its models.
Basic is free but watermarked, with no downloads and 9 avatars, so treat it as a trial. Starter costs $19 a month, or $14 a month billed yearly, and its 1,250 credits add roughly 12 minutes to the included 10, along with downloads without the logo and 125+ avatars. Most training teams will land on Pro: $89 a month, or $59 a month billed yearly, for 6,000 credits (about 60 more minutes), 5 personal avatars, branded video pages and interactive video. Yearly plans receive the full year's credits at the start.
Choose Synthesia for training and explainer video that has to be updated and translated often. If you mainly need voiceover or dubbing for footage you already have, ElevenLabs covers that from $6 a month and adds lip-synced avatars on its paid plans. If your team can film real people, Descript edits recorded video through the transcript, from $24 a month, or $16 billed yearly, on Hobbyist.
Written by Lokesh Kapoor
Pros & cons
Synthesia pros and cons
What it does well
- Every plan, the free one included, has 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month
- Videos can include quizzes, buttons and branching scenarios
- Synthesia defends customers against third-party IP claims over its service and content
- Imports PowerPoint files and documents as the starting point for a video
Where it falls short
- Stock and synthetic avatars may not appear in paid ads or paid promotion
- Self-serve plans allow one editor; SSO, live collaboration and SCORM export are Enterprise
- Basic videos carry a watermark and can't be downloaded
Editor's assessment from vendor documentation and published pricing
Pricing
Synthesia pricing
Synthesia's paid plans start at $14/month, above the $12 median across the 5 tools in our AI Content Tools ranking. A free plan is available, and a free trial is available.
Basic
$0
Free plan
For one person
- 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month
- 500 credits a month
- 9 AI avatars
- 3 survey responses a month
- Watermark on videos
Usage: The monthly allowance is 10 minutes of video creation or dubbing, 3 survey responses and 500 credits. Videos carry a Synthesia watermark.
Starter
$14/mo
per month, 1,250 credits
or $19/mo billed monthly
For one person
- 1,250 credits a month
- 1 editor and 3 guests
- 125+ AI avatars
- Downloads without Synthesia logo
- AI Video Assistant
Usage: 1,250 credits a month (15,000 a year on yearly billing), about 12 minutes of video on top of the free 10; credits reset each billing period and don't accumulate. When they run out, buy extra credits in Billing (manual or automatic top-up) or upgrade.
Pro
$59/mo
per month, 6,000 credits
or $89/mo billed monthly
For one person
- 6,000 credits a month
- 1 editor and 5 guests
- 180+ AI avatars
- 5 personal avatars
- Branded video pages, interactive video
Usage: 6,000 credits a month (72,000 a year on yearly billing), about 60 minutes of video. Bigger monthly tiers add credits at a small discount: 12,000 credits $176, 24,000 $347, 36,000 $514, 48,000 $676.
Enterprise
Custom
Tailored pricing for larger teams
- Custom credit volumes
- Unlimited video minutes
- SAML/SSO and live collaboration
- SCORM export and brand kits
- Dedicated customer success manager
Usage: Credits, editors and guests are set by contract.
Checked against Synthesia Limited's pricing page on October 5, 2026 · see the full breakdown
Capabilities
Synthesia features
Checked against the same feature list as every other tool in its category.
Platform
- Included:Developer APIProgrammatic generation for embedding in your own products or pipelines.
- Included:SSO & team adminCentral seat management and single sign-on for organisations.Enterprise plan only
Generation Quality
- Included:AI presenters & avatarsGenerates a person on camera delivering your script without filming.
- Included:Editing & refinementIterates on an existing asset rather than regenerating it from scratch.
- Not included:Long-form generationProduces article-length output that stays coherent from start to finish.
- Included:Multilingual outputProduces natural output in languages beyond English.
- Included:Voice cloningReproduces a specific voice from a recorded sample, with consent controls.
Brand & Control
- Not included:Brand voice trainingLearns your tone and vocabulary from existing material and applies it to every output.
- Not included:Fine-grained style controlParameters or references that steer output beyond a plain text prompt.
- Included:Shared team libraryAssets, prompts and brand settings shared across a team rather than per person.Brand kits on Enterprise
- Included:Templates & workflowsPrebuilt formats for common deliverables rather than a blank prompt box.
Rights & Licensing
- Included:Commercial usage rightsPaid plans grant clear rights to use generated output commercially.No paid ads with stock avatars
- Included:IP indemnificationThe vendor defends you against third-party IP claims arising from generated output.Excludes claims from your own content
- Included:Private generationYour prompts and outputs are not visible to other users or published publicly.
Ecosystem
Synthesia integrations
Videos
Watch Synthesia in action
Product walkthroughs from Synthesia's own YouTube channel.
How To Create Professional Motion Graphics With AI
Published by SynthesiaWatch on YouTube
Alternatives
Top Synthesia alternatives
Tools that do the same job, from the same category.
ElevenLabs
Best for creators and small studios producing narration, audiobooks or dubbed video
Free plan
Descript
Best for podcasters and creators who edit interviews and talking-head video by transcript
Free plan
Canva
Best for marketing teams and non-designers producing social, print and presentation content
Free plan
Fit check
Will Synthesia fit your team?
Support
- Email support
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
Training
- Live online
- Webinars
- Documentation
- Video tutorials
Deployment
- Web
Typical users
- Mid-size companies
- Enterprises
FAQs
Synthesia FAQs
Written by our editorial team.
Is Synthesia free?
Yes. The Basic plan is free and includes 10 minutes of video or dubbing, 500 credits and 3 survey responses a month, with 9 avatars. Videos carry a Synthesia watermark and can't be downloaded, and starting a video from a prompt, script or file needs a paid plan. Starter removes those limits for $19 a month, or $14 a month billed yearly. See Synthesia pricing for every plan.
How do Synthesia credits work?
Every plan includes 10 minutes of video, 3 survey responses and 500 credits a month, and paid plans add credits: 1,250 a month on Starter and 6,000 on Pro. Included minutes are used first, then credits, at about 100 credits per finished minute of video, 80 a minute for dubbing with lip-sync, 40 without, and 350 per survey response. Yearly plans get the whole year's credits at the start. When credits run out, buy more in Billing, upgrade or wait for renewal.
Can you use Synthesia avatars in ads?
Not the stock or synthetic ones. Synthesia's licensing rules say those avatars may not appear in paid ads or any paid promotion; permitted uses include training, FAQ and product videos on websites and organic social posts. A custom avatar is a different case, but its subject must be of legal age and give free, informed consent. Synthesia defends customers against claims that permitted stock avatar use violates an actor's privacy or publicity rights.
Does Synthesia use your content to train its AI?
Synthesia doesn't state this directly. Its Customer Terms say it won't use or process Customer Data without the customer's prior written instructions, and those instructions include using the service. Synthesia reports periodic ISO 42001, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II audits, hosts on AWS and moderates content at the point of generation, using both automated and manual checks.
Can I cancel Synthesia and get a refund?
You can cancel a self-serve plan in Billing at any time; it stops renewing, and you keep access until the end of the paid period. Refunds are another matter: Synthesia's Customer Terms say fees are non-refundable unless your contract states otherwise. Because yearly plans are paid in one go, try the free Basic plan, or a monthly plan, before committing to a year.
Sources & methodology
Product details come from Synthesia Limited's public website and documentation (United Kingdom). Every plan and price was checked against the vendor's pricing page on October 5, 2026. We haven't tested this product hands-on; the verdict is a desk assessment. How we research and rank tools
- Founded 2017
- 11 languages supported
- synthesia.io
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