Synthesia

What Synthesia is

Synthesia is an AI video platform that replaces cameras, studios and presenters with AI avatars and synthetic voices. You write or generate a script, pick an avatar, and Synthesia produces the video. Its pages describe it as "the #1 AI Video Platform for Business" and say its generator "enables anyone to create professional videos without mics, cameras, actors, or studios." Training is the largest use: the solutions menu leads with learning and development, and the use cases include technical, compliance and sales training, employee development, SOPs and onboarding videos. The buyer is an L&D or enablement team that needs a steady supply of short training videos, often in many languages.

The company is Synthesia Ltd, with an address at Regent's Place in London. The About page says Synthesia "was founded in 2017 by a team of AI researchers and entrepreneurs from Stanford, Cambridge, UCL, and TUM," and names Victor Riparbelli (CEO and co-founder), Steffen Tjerrild (COO and co-founder), Prof. Matt Niessner and Prof. Lourdes Agapito as founders. The home page says it is "Trusted by over 50,000 companies of all sizes," and the pricing page invites you to "Join 1M+ users."

Making a training video

Production starts with text or with material you already have. The AI Video Assistant can "Transform decks, PDFs, websites into videos," and the plan table lists PowerPoint import, voiceover uploads in place of a script, and your own images, videos and infographics. You choose a presenter from the stock library or create a personal avatar ("your digital twin") by recording yourself at home, in the office or outside. Expressive avatars "gesture like professional speakers," and the Dialogue feature puts two or more avatars in one scene. An AI Playground generates b-roll with third-party video and image models.

Voices come from "hundreds of natural-sounding voices," and the platform covers "160+ languages & voices" on every plan. The AI Screen Recorder, a Chrome extension, makes "professional, fully editable screen recordings made in minutes," which suits software walkthroughs. Brand Kits apply your colors, fonts and logos automatically, and the library includes 60+ templates plus royalty-free media. The home page says "90% of users publish their first video without needing a tutorial," and there is an Academy with "hundreds of tutorials" for those who want more.

Interactivity and practice

Videos do not have to be passive. Plans list interactive CTAs and branching paths, and interactive quizzes that "show viewers their final score." The features page says interactivity covers "quizzes, CTAs, and branching scenarios." A newer feature, Roleplay Sessions, lets learners "Practice real conversations with Interactive Avatars, get live coaching, and measure skills uplift," which Synthesia pitches at sales, support and manager training. Shared roleplays are capped at 10 sessions a month on the Basic, Starter and Creator plans and 25 on Enterprise, though learners who sign in with a seat are not limited. Bulk Personalization creates "hundreds of personalized videos in minutes" from a template and a CSV or XLSX file.

Localization

Translation is a large part of the pitch. One-click translation turns a finished video into other languages; the home page says "Translate any video in 160+ languages," while the Enterprise plan lists "1-Click Translations into 80+ languages." AI Dubbing works on uploaded files or YouTube links, preserving "the original speaker's voice, accent, and tone," with output in 70+ languages on the self-serve plans and 140+ on Enterprise. Lip sync is available and "Uses 2× credits when enabled." A custom glossary keeps product names and jargon consistent, and the Multilingual Video Player plays each video in the viewer's language with captions.

Publishing to an LMS

The features page says SCORM export lets you "Export the SCORM file so any video can be integrated into your LMS," and the plan table adds that the package comes "With all translated versions." SCORM export appears in the Enterprise plan's feature list. Videos can also be embedded in an LMS, LXP or website, shared on a public video page, or protected with passwords or SSO. Smart Updates and version control mean an embedded video updates when you edit it; one customer quote reads "We push updates without touching the LMS." MP4 downloads are "Full HD, 1920 x 1080." Analytics track "views, watch time, engagement, and clicks," and the home page adds drop-offs and completion rates.

Plans and pricing

The pricing page lists four plans, with credits as "the shared currency across all AI usage-based features."

• Basic: $0 a month, no credit card, 1,200 credits a month, usable for up to 10 minutes of video or 10 minutes of AI dubbing, 9 AI avatars and one editor.
• Starter: $29 a month billed monthly, or $18 a month billed yearly. Adds downloads, the AI Video Assistant, AI dubbing, removal of the Synthesia logo, 1 editor and 3 guests, 125+ avatars and chat or email support. The yearly plan includes 14,500 credits, usable for up to 120 minutes of video or 580 minutes of dubbing.
• Creator: $89 a month billed monthly, or $64 a month billed yearly. Adds 5 personal avatars, branded video pages, API access, multiple avatars per scene, interactive videos, 1 editor and 5 guests, 180+ avatars and priority support. The yearly plan includes 44,000 credits, usable for up to 360 minutes of video.
• Enterprise: custom pricing, with unlimited video minutes, 240+ stock avatars, unlimited personal avatars, SAML/SSO, live collaboration, Brand Kits, SCORM export, tailored onboarding, a dedicated customer success manager and Academy certifications.

The pricing FAQ still quotes "$264 if you go with an annual plan" for Starter and "$804/year" for Creator, so the yearly figures on the plan cards and in the FAQ differ. A Studio Express-1 avatar is a paid add-on at $1,000 a year for annual plans. Unused minutes do not roll over, usage is capped until renewal if you hit the limit, and when you edit a generated video "we will only charge you for 3 seconds" in the page's example of changing 3 seconds of a 1-minute video. You cannot pay per video, and Enterprise billing is annual.

Security and ethics

The pricing menu lists Synthesia as "SOC 2 Type II compliant," "ISO 42001 compliant" and "GDPR compliant," and the home page says it "Passed ironclad compliance audits at 90% of the Fortune 100." Every avatar is "created with explicit consent," every video is moderated, and the About page says "10% of our team will always be fully dedicated to AI safety and ethics."

Who it suits

Synthesia fits a corporate L&D, compliance or enablement team that needs many short, presenter-led videos, keeps them updated, and ships them in several languages. A Teleperformance learning leader quoted on the pricing page describes producing "localised training content at scale" for a very large workforce. The free Basic plan is enough to test the workflow, and Starter or Creator suit a single creator or small team.

It suits less well as a full course builder. Synthesia produces video, quizzes and roleplays, not multi-lesson courses with text pages, so most teams will still assemble courses in an LMS. SCORM export and the widest translation coverage sit on Enterprise, so a team planning to load translated videos into an LMS should expect that conversation with sales.