Ijharul Islam
The main Synthesia alternatives in 2026 are HeyGen (longer videos and a bigger avatar library at a similar price), Colossyan (interactive training with SCORM export), Elai (more minutes for the money), D-ID (talking photos and an API), Hedra (expressive character videos) and QuickVeed (short avatar clips, UGC ads, captions and dubbing on one credit balance). The right one depends on whether you make training, marketing or social video.
Synthesia is a strong product, so we start with what you would give up. Prices come from each vendor’s pricing page in October 2026.
The short answer
The best Synthesia alternatives are HeyGen for longer videos and more avatars, Colossyan for interactive training and SCORM export, Elai for a lower price per minute, D-ID for talking photos and API work, Hedra for expressive characters, and QuickVeed for short avatar and UGC-style marketing clips with captions and dubbing. Keep Synthesia if you need its team collaboration and enterprise controls.
Key takeaways
- Synthesia Starter is $29/month ($18 billed yearly) for about 12 minutes of video a month; the free Basic plan has a watermark.
- HeyGen Creator costs the same $29 and allows videos up to 30 minutes.
- Colossyan’s free plan gives 20 minutes a month; Professional adds SCORM export for $59/month billed yearly.
- Elai costs about $1.53 to $1.93 per finished minute on Creator.
- QuickVeed is for 30-second avatar clips and ads, not long training modules.
Disclosure: we make QuickVeed and show how to do this in it, along with other ways. Details about other products come from their public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end.
What Synthesia does well
On its pricing page, Synthesia offers a free Basic plan (500 credits a month, about 10 minutes of video or dubbing, 9 avatars, Synthesia watermark), Starter at $29 a month or $18 billed yearly (1,250 credits a month, about 12 minutes, 125+ avatars, 3 personal avatars, no watermark), Pro at $89 a month or $64 yearly (6,000 credits, about 60 minutes, 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars) and Enterprise with custom pricing and 240+ stock avatars.
It is a safe choice for company training, onboarding and internal updates, where a calm presenter, a consistent brand look and a review process matter more than speed. Its dubbing is counted in the same credits, which is convenient for multilingual teams. If those things are why you picked it, the alternatives below will feel like a step sideways.
The common reasons to look elsewhere:
- Minutes. About 12 minutes a month on Starter is tight for weekly training content.
- Learning features. Quizzes, branching and LMS packages are a stronger focus in some tools.
- Marketing use. Short vertical ads and creator-style videos are not Synthesia’s centre of gravity.
- Price per minute. For long, simple presenter videos, other tools charge less.
Synthesia alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Paid entry plan (Oct 2026) | Video included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesia | $29/mo, $18/mo yearly (Starter) | About 12 min a month | Company training and comms |
| HeyGen | $29/mo, $24/mo yearly (Creator) | 600 credits; videos up to 30 min | Longer videos, bigger avatar library |
| Colossyan | $59/mo billed yearly (Professional) | 30 min a month | Interactive training, SCORM |
| Elai | $29/mo, $23/mo yearly (Creator) | 15 min a month | Low price per minute |
| D-ID | See its pricing page | Minutes per plan | Talking photos, API |
| Hedra | $20/mo (Basic) | 2,000 credits | Expressive characters |
| QuickVeed | $18/mo (Starter) | 1,000 credits; avatar clips up to 30 s | Short avatar clips, UGC ads, captions, dubbing |
The Synthesia alternatives, one by one
1. HeyGen
HeyGen is the most direct competitor. Its free plan gives 3 videos a month up to 1 minute each. Creator is $29 a month ($24 billed yearly) with 600 credits and videos up to 30 minutes; Pro is $49 with 1,000 credits; Business is $149 plus $20 per seat with videos up to 60 minutes. It has 700+ stock avatars on paid plans. Pick it if you want longer videos and more presenter choice for the same starting price. Teams with strict approval workflows may still prefer Synthesia.
2. Colossyan
Colossyan is the best fit if your videos live in an LMS. The free Starter plan gives 20 minutes a month and up to 20 minutes per video, with 300+ stock avatars, 700+ voices and 15 auto-translations a month. Professional ($59 a month billed yearly) adds watermark removal, 5 SCORM exports a month and up to 3 editors at $30 a month per extra member. It is weaker for short vertical ads.
3. Elai
Elai sells minutes. Creator is $29 a month or $23 billed yearly for 15 minutes; Team is $125 or $100 yearly for 50 minutes; extra minutes are $2. That is roughly $1.53 to $2.50 a minute depending on the plan. It suits course creators who need volume over polish, with 80+ avatars.
4. D-ID
D-ID is best known for turning a still photo into a talking head, and for an API that shares minutes with its web app. Its FAQ says Trial and Lite videos carry a watermark and length is rounded up to the next 15 seconds. Check its pricing page for current plan prices, which we couldn’t read in text. Choose it for a quick talking portrait or for building avatars into your own app.
5. Hedra
Hedra targets creators with characters that move and emote more than a corporate presenter. Plans start at $20 a month for 2,000 credits, with Pro at $50 for 7,200. It is a good match for social storytelling and a poor match for a compliance course.
6. QuickVeed
QuickVeed is the tool we make. It is not a training platform: avatar videos are capped at 30 seconds. Where it fits is marketing. A stock presenter (22 to choose from) or your own photo speaks a typed script for 63 credits per 10 seconds with P-Video Avatar, and the same account makes UGC-style product ads with 8 fictional creators, burns in captions in 11 styles, dubs videos into 23 languages in the speaker’s cloned voice (with consent), and generates B-roll with 15+ AI video models. Plans start at $18 a month for 1,000 credits. Our guide to training videos with AI avatars covers the limits in detail.
Price per minute: what Synthesia alternatives really cost
For training video, the useful number is the cost of one finished minute. Here is the entry paid plan of each tool that publishes minutes, at the monthly price.
| Plan | Price | Minutes a month | About per minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesia Starter | $29 | About 12 | $2.40 |
| Synthesia Pro | $89 | About 60 | $1.48 |
| Elai Creator | $29 | 15 | $1.93 |
| Elai Team | $125 | 50 | $2.50 |
| Colossyan Professional | $59 (billed yearly) | 30 | About $1.97 |
HeyGen, Hedra and QuickVeed bill in credits whose use depends on the model and length, so they don’t fit neatly in this table. For QuickVeed, one minute of P-Video Avatar would be 378 credits, but since each video is at most 30 seconds, think of it as about 189 credits per 30-second clip.
Two things change the math. Yearly billing cuts Synthesia Starter to $18 a month, which is about $1.50 a minute. And unused minutes usually don’t roll over, so a plan sized for your busiest month wastes money in quiet ones.
How to pick the right Synthesia alternative
- Training in an LMS: Colossyan first, then Synthesia or HeyGen.
- Many minutes on a budget: Elai, or Synthesia Pro billed yearly.
- Longer marketing or sales videos with a presenter: HeyGen.
- Talking photos or an avatar inside your own product: D-ID.
- Character-driven social video: Hedra.
- Short ads, product clips and social posts, plus captions and dubbing: QuickVeed.
Run a fair test. Use the same 60-second script in each tool, keep the same language, and watch the results side by side on a phone. Ask one colleague who hasn’t seen any of them which one they’d sit through. Then price your normal month, not your best guess of future volume.
If you also need the trainings in other languages, read AI dubbing vs subtitles before paying for a translation add-on.
Switching from Synthesia: a checklist
Projects don’t move between avatar tools, so switching means re-making videos. Plan it so you only do that once.
- Export what you have. Download the final MP4s of every video you still use, plus any subtitle files, before your plan ends.
- Copy the scripts out. Keep every script in a shared document or spreadsheet, one row per video, with the language, length and where it’s published.
- Sort by shelf life. Evergreen videos (onboarding, product basics) are worth re-making. Old announcements usually aren’t.
- Re-make one video first. Pick a typical 2-minute training video and rebuild it in the new tool, including branding and captions. Time how long it takes.
- Check the LMS. If you publish SCORM packages, confirm the new tool exports them on the plan you’ll buy; Colossyan includes 5 a month on Professional.
- Recreate personal avatars with fresh consent. A personal avatar made in Synthesia stays there. Record new footage and get the presenter’s written agreement for the new tool.
- Overlap by one billing cycle. Keep the old plan for a month while you check that viewers notice no drop in quality.
Keep scripts in a document outside any tool from now on. It turns the next switch, if there is one, into a few hours of re-generating instead of a rewrite.
A tip for short marketing pieces: you don’t always need a presenter. A screen recording with a clear voiceover and captions often explains a feature better than a talking head. See how to add a voiceover to a video for the quickest ways to do that.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Synthesia?
Yes. Colossyan’s free Starter plan includes 20 minutes a month, HeyGen’s free plan includes 3 videos a month up to 1 minute, and Elai’s free plan gives 1 minute. Synthesia itself has a free Basic plan with a watermark.
Is HeyGen cheaper than Synthesia?
Both start at $29 a month billed monthly. Billed yearly, Synthesia Starter is $18 a month and HeyGen Creator $24, but HeyGen allows longer videos, so compare by what you make.
What is the best Synthesia alternative for training videos?
Colossyan, because it adds interactive videos and SCORM export for learning systems. HeyGen and Elai also work for simple presenter lessons.
Can I make a personal avatar outside Synthesia?
Yes. HeyGen, Colossyan and Elai offer custom avatars, and QuickVeed can animate your own photo. Use only faces and voices you have consent to use.
Does QuickVeed replace Synthesia?
Not for long training videos: QuickVeed avatar videos are up to 30 seconds. It fits short presenter clips and ads, and adds captions, dubbing and UGC-style ads.
Try it with your own video
If your videos are short and for marketing, try a presenter clip in QuickVeed’s AI avatars. Type a short script, pick one of the 22 presenters, and judge the result for yourself. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 75 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.
Sources
Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.
