Ijharul Islam
Synthesia has a free Basic plan with 10 minutes of video a month, a Starter plan at $19 a month ($14 a month billed yearly) and a Pro plan at $89 a month ($59 a month billed yearly). Enterprise is priced on request. Paid plans add credits on top of the free allowance: video uses 100 credits a minute, so Starter's 1,250 monthly credits buy about 12 extra minutes and Pro's 6,000 about 60.
More on this topic: Video tool pricing and alternatives, every guide in one place.
Synthesia changed its prices in 2026, and many comparison pages still quote the old $29 Starter plan. Every figure below was read on Synthesia's pricing page on 26 October 2026. We also turn the credits into dollars per minute and show where a cheaper route exists. More tools are compared in our AI video, avatars and dubbing guides.
The short answer
Synthesia Basic is free: 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month, 9 avatars and a watermark, with no downloads. Starter is $19/month or $14/month billed yearly ($168) with 1,250 credits (about 12 extra minutes). Pro is $89/month or $59/month yearly ($708) with 6,000 credits (about 60 extra minutes) and 5 personal avatars. Video costs 100 credits a minute; dubbing 40 a minute, or 80 with lip sync.
Key takeaways
- Starter dropped to $19 a month ($14 yearly); older articles still say $29.
- Synthesia now sells credits: 100 per minute of video, and 40 per minute of dubbing without lip sync or 80 with it (its FAQ, 30 October 2026).
- The free plan is watermarked and can't download videos, so it's for testing, not publishing.
- Billed monthly, a paid Starter minute costs about $1.58; on Pro yearly it's about $0.98.
- Both paid plans show a first-month discount ($9 and $49) when billed monthly.
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.
How much does Synthesia cost?
Synthesia costs $0, $19 or $89 a month on its self-serve plans, or $14 and $59 a month billed yearly. These are the plans as listed on 26 October 2026:
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Credits | Extra video (about) | Avatars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 | $0 | 500 a month | 10 minutes a month (the free allowance) | 9 stock |
| Starter | $19 ($9 first month) | $14/month ($168 a year) | 1,250 a month or 15,000 a year | 12 a month, 150 a year | 125+ stock |
| Pro | $89 ($49 first month) | $59/month ($708 a year) | 6,000 a month or 72,000 a year | 60 a month, 720 a year | 180+ stock, 5 personal |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Unlimited video minutes | 240+ stock, unlimited personal |
Synthesia describes the paid minutes as extra video on top of the free allowance. Starter adds downloads, removes the Synthesia logo and allows 3 guests; Pro adds branded video pages, interactive videos and 5 guests. Each plan has one editor, and learner seats are an add-on at $29 a month ($25 yearly). MP4 downloads are Full HD, 1920×1080.
How do Synthesia credits work?
Synthesia prices each job in credits, and the pricing page lists the rates:
| What you make | Credits | On Starter's 1,250 credits | On Pro's 6,000 credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar video (after the first 10 free minutes) | 100 a minute | About 12 minutes | About 60 minutes |
| Dubbing (video translation) | 40 a minute, 80 with lip sync | About 31 minutes (16 with lip sync) | About 150 minutes (75 with lip sync) |
| Lip sync on | 2× the credits | About 6 minutes of video | About 30 minutes of video |
| Avatar b-roll with action | 230 per asset | 5 assets | 26 assets |
So the plan isn't a fixed number of videos: one long training module can use a month of Starter credits, and dubbing it into two languages uses more. Pro can also be bought with more monthly credits: the page lists higher Pro tiers from $176 a month for 12,000 credits.
What does a minute of Synthesia video really cost?
On Starter billed monthly, about $1.58 per paid minute; on Pro billed yearly, about $0.98. The arithmetic divides the price by the paid minutes (12 or 60), ignoring the free 10, so it's the cost of each extra minute you buy:
| Plan and billing | Price | Paid minutes | Per minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter, monthly | $19 | About 12 | About $1.58 |
| Starter, yearly | $14 | About 12 | About $1.17 |
| Pro, monthly | $89 | About 60 | About $1.48 |
| Pro, yearly | $59 | About 60 | About $0.98 |
Counting the free 10 minutes as well lowers Starter to under $1 a minute. Unused credits are the hidden cost: if you make 4 minutes in a month, a $19 plan is nearly $5 a minute. What video dubbing costs runs the same sums for translated video.
Is Synthesia free?
Yes, the Basic plan is free with no time limit listed: 500 credits a month, which is 10 minutes of video creation or dubbing, 3 survey responses and 9 AI avatars. Its limits matter: videos carry the Synthesia watermark, and Basic doesn't include downloads or guests, so you share a Synthesia link rather than an MP4.
For a side-by-side look at the free plans of HeyGen, Synthesia and D-ID, read Is HeyGen free?.
Synthesia vs HeyGen and D-ID on price
At the entry level Synthesia is now the cheapest of the three big avatar tools when billed monthly. From each vendor's pricing page on 26 October 2026:
| Tool | Entry plan | What it includes | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesia | Starter $19 ($14 yearly) | About 12 extra minutes a month, downloads, no logo | Basic: 10 min a month, watermark, no downloads |
| HeyGen | Creator $29 ($24 yearly) | 600 credits, videos up to 30 minutes, 1080p | Free: 3 videos a month, 1 minute each, watermark |
| D-ID | Lite $5.90 ($4.70 yearly) | 10 minutes a month, D-ID watermark | 14-day trial, 3 minutes |
HeyGen allows longer single videos and 4K on Pro, and D-ID is cheapest but keeps a watermark until its $29 Pro plan. Synthesia alternatives and D-ID alternatives compare the features.
Where QuickVeed fits
QuickVeed's AI avatars are built for short clips, not long training modules: every model makes up to 30 seconds. P-Video Avatar speaks a typed script for 63 credits per 10 seconds, which is about $6.80 a minute on the Starter plan, far more than Synthesia per minute. Photo-to-talking-video with LivePortrait is 10 credits per 10 seconds (about $1.08 a minute) but needs a voice track, which the AI voice generator makes for 7 to 25 credits per 1,000 characters.
So pick Synthesia for presenter-led courses, onboarding and anything over a minute. Pick QuickVeed when the avatar is one short piece of a bigger job, such as a 20-second hook, alongside auto subtitles, AI dubbing and clips on one credit balance. QuickVeed plans are $18 a month for 1,000 credits (Starter), $42 for 2,500 (Boost) and $114 for 6,000 (Scale), and a new account gets a 14-day trial with 250 credits, no card needed. That makes a credit worth about 1.7 to 1.9 cents.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Synthesia per month?
Starter is $19 a month, or $14 a month billed yearly ($168). Pro is $89 a month, or $59 a month billed yearly ($708). Enterprise is custom. Prices from Synthesia's pricing page on 26 October 2026.
How many minutes do you get with Synthesia Starter?
About 12 extra minutes of video a month (1,250 credits at 100 credits a minute), on top of the 10 free minutes, or about 150 a year on yearly billing.
Does Synthesia have a free plan?
Yes. Basic is free with 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month and 9 avatars, but videos are watermarked and can't be downloaded.
How much does Synthesia charge for dubbing?
Synthesia's FAQ lists 40 credits a minute without lip sync and 80 with it (30 October 2026; its calculator still showed 76). Starter's monthly credits cover about 31 minutes without lip sync, Pro's about 150.
Is Synthesia cheaper than HeyGen?
Billed monthly, yes at the entry level: $19 for Synthesia Starter against $29 for HeyGen Creator. HeyGen allows single videos up to 30 minutes on Creator, so compare by what you make.
Can I make personal avatars on Starter?
The pricing page lists 5 personal avatars on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise; Starter's list doesn't include them.
Try it with your own video
Need a short presenter clip, captions and a dubbed version on one balance? Make a 20-second avatar clip, then caption and translate it with the trial credits. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 250 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.
