TL;DR
What is the best alternative to Synthesia AI?
For free, try Colossyan. Its free plan gives you 20 minutes of avatar video a month, double Synthesia's free 10. For the lowest paid price, D-ID Lite costs US$5.90 a month for personal use. If you want the most stock presenters, HeyGen is the closest match to Synthesia.
How much does Synthesia cost?
Synthesia AI (the avatar video maker, not the piano-learning app with the same name) has a free Basic plan: 10 minutes of video a month, 9 avatars and a Synthesia watermark.
Paid plans for US visitors, checked November 12, 2026:
- Starter: US$19 a month, or US$14 a month billed yearly (US$168 a year). About 12 minutes of video a month, no watermark, 125+ avatars. New subscribers pay US$9 for the first month.
- Pro: US$89 a month, or US$59 a month billed yearly (US$708 a year). About 60 minutes a month, 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars and one-click translation into 140+ languages. The first month is US$49.
- Enterprise: custom pricing.
Heads up: Synthesia shows a different price card outside the US (Starter at US$29 a month), so a price you saw on a forum may not match yours. Synthesia measures use in credits, and its pricing page lists 1,250 credits on Starter and 6,000 on Pro.
Synthesia alternatives compared
All prices are US dollars, before tax. The first six were checked November 12, 2026, on each company's pricing page (D-ID from third-party price reads).
| Tool | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan | Yearly price | What you get on that plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesia AI | Yes, 10 min/month, watermark | Starter US$19/mo | US$14/mo (US$168/yr) | About 12 min/month, 125+ avatars |
| HeyGen | Yes, 3 videos/month up to 1 min, watermark | Creator US$29/mo | US$24/mo (US$288/yr) | 1080p, no branding, 175+ languages |
| D-ID | No (14-day trial, 3 min) | Lite US$5.90/mo | US$4.70/mo (US$56/yr) | 10 min, watermark, personal use only |
| Colossyan | Yes, 20 min/month | Professional, US$59/mo billed yearly | US$59/mo (US$708/yr) | No watermark, SCORM export, up to 3 editors |
| Elai.io | Yes, 1 min of video | Creator US$29/mo | US$23/mo (US$276/yr) | 15 min/month, Full HD |
| AI Studios (DeepBrain AI) | Yes, 3 exports/month, 1 min each, watermark | Personal US$29/mo | US$24/mo (US$288/yr) | About 77 min/month, 1080p |
Which is the best free alternative to Synthesia?
Colossyan has the roomiest free plan we found: 20 minutes a month with its NEO avatars (half a minute with the newer NEO2 ones), 300+ stock avatars, 15 custom avatars and 3 cloned voices, with no card needed. That's double Synthesia's free 10 minutes.
HeyGen is free for 3 watermarked videos a month, each up to a minute long, with 500+ stock presenters and one custom avatar. Fine for trying an idea; tight for anything weekly.
AI Studios (formerly DeepBrain AI) gives 3 one-minute exports a month in 720p with a watermark, and Elai.io gives you a single minute of video. Both work as a quick taste rather than a home.
D-ID has no free plan, just a 14-day trial with 3 minutes and a full-screen watermark.
Is there something cheaper than Synthesia?
Yes, though the field is narrower than it used to be, because Synthesia's US Starter price is now US$19 a month (US$14 yearly). Most big rivals start at US$29 a month, which is more.
- D-ID Lite is the cheapest at US$5.90 a month, or US$4.70 a month billed yearly. The catch: a D-ID watermark and a personal-use licence. Commercial use starts with Pro at US$29 a month (US$16 billed yearly).
- Creatify Standard lists US$15 a month or US$10 billed yearly, and Akool Starter is US$12 a month billed yearly (US$144 a year). These are from our price records checked November 2–9, 2026, so confirm on their sites.
- VEED Creator is US$25 a month or US$12.25 a month billed yearly (checked November 2–9, 2026). VEED is a full video editor with avatars built in, handy if you also cut regular clips.
If you'd rather stay with Synthesia, the first month of Starter is US$9 for new subscribers, which is a cheap way to see whether you need the paid plan at all.
Which AI avatar tool is best for what?
- Training and course videos: Colossyan. Its paid plan exports to SCORM, the file format most online course systems use.
- Marketing and social clips: HeyGen, for its big stock presenter library and 175+ languages on the paid plan.
- Lots of minutes for the money: AI Studios Personal, about 77 minutes a month for US$24 billed yearly.
- A one-off talking photo or personal project: D-ID Lite.
- Translating videos into many languages: Synthesia Pro still leads here on paper, with one-click translation into 140+ languages.
For more presenter tools beyond these, see our AI avatar and presenter picks. If you also make AI video from text prompts, the same money-saving logic applies to our Luma alternatives.
FAQ
Can I remove the watermark for free on any of these?
Not on the plans we checked. Synthesia, HeyGen and AI Studios watermark their free videos, and D-ID keeps its watermark even on the US$5.90 Lite plan. Colossyan removes it on its paid Professional plan.
Which AI avatar tool is easiest for beginners?
Colossyan's free plan is the gentlest start: no card, plenty of minutes and stock avatars to try. HeyGen's free plan works too if your videos are under a minute.
Do yearly plans really save much?
Often a lot. Synthesia Pro drops from US$89 to US$59 a month billed yearly, and D-ID Pro from US$29 to US$16. You pay the year up front, though, so try the free plan or a single month first.
Are these avatar videos OK for business use?
It depends on the plan. D-ID Lite is licensed for personal use only, so check each tool's plan terms before putting a video in an ad or a client project.
Sources
- Synthesia pricing: free, Starter and Pro plans, first-month offers (US view).
- NovoAds: Synthesia pricing explained: why US and non-US visitors see different prices.
- HeyGen pricing: free, Creator and Pro plans.
- PricingSaaS: D-ID and QuickVeed: D-ID pricing: Lite, Pro and Advanced prices.
- Colossyan pricing: free and Professional plans.
- Elai.io pricing: free, Creator and Team plans.
- AI Studios pricing: free, Personal and Team plans.
