Comparison
The best Synthesia alternatives: HeyGen for marketing, Colossyan for training
Cutroomvs
Synthesia
SynthesiaHeyGen is the best Synthesia alternative for marketing videos, and Colossyan is the best for training. Elai turns slides into video, D-ID suits developers, and VEED and Cutroom edit real video.
In short
- The best Synthesia alternatives are HeyGen, Colossyan, Elai, D-ID, VEED and Cutroom. HeyGen suits marketing and Colossyan suits training.
- HeyGen makes the same kind of avatar video, adds a digital copy of you and translates into 175+ languages.
- Colossyan is the closest match for training teams. Its free plan gives 20 minutes a month, and it builds whole courses.
- D-ID suits developers who build avatars into their own app. Its cheapest plan, $4.70 a month billed yearly, is personal use only.
- Cutroom is for ads, not training: it edits one clip of you talking into a 9:16 ad. Your first video is free.
- Synthesia Starter a month, billed yearly
- $18
- HeyGen Creator a month, billed yearly
- $24
- D-ID Lite a month, billed yearly
- $4.70
Synthesia alternatives at a glance
Synthesia is an avatar video platform built for company training. Here is what each alternative does, what it costs and who it suits.
Synthesia alternatives at a glance
Prices and plans read from each vendor's own pricing page on 21 September 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Editing approach | Platform | Pricing from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 HeyGen | Avatar videos from a script in 175+ languages | Type a script, an avatar or a copy of you reads it | Web, mobile app, API | Free plan; Creator $24/month, yearly |
| Colossyan | Workplace training courses with avatars | A PDF, slides or a prompt becomes an avatar video | Web | Free plan; Professional $59/month, yearly |
| Elai | Slide decks turned into avatar videos | A script or a PowerPoint becomes an avatar video | Web, API | Free plan (1 minute); Creator $23/month, yearly |
| D-ID | Talking photos and chat agents, for developers | Upload a photo or pick an avatar, add a script | Web, API | 14-day trial; Lite $4.70/month, yearly |
| Avatars inside a full browser video editor | Video timeline with auto subtitles and AI tools | Browser, mobile app | Free plan; Creator $10/user/month, yearly | |
| Cutroom | Turning one clip of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad | Edits your clip for you: cuts, captions, b-roll, hook | Web | First video free; Lite $19.99/month |
- HeyGen
- Best for
- Avatar videos from a script in 175+ languages
- Approach
- Type a script, an avatar or a copy of you reads it
- Platform
- Web, mobile app, API
- Pricing from
- Free plan; Creator $24/month, yearly
Colossyan
- Best for
- Workplace training courses with avatars
- Approach
- A PDF, slides or a prompt becomes an avatar video
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- Free plan; Professional $59/month, yearly
Elai
- Best for
- Slide decks turned into avatar videos
- Approach
- A script or a PowerPoint becomes an avatar video
- Platform
- Web, API
- Pricing from
- Free plan (1 minute); Creator $23/month, yearly
D-ID
- Best for
- Talking photos and chat agents, for developers
- Approach
- Upload a photo or pick an avatar, add a script
- Platform
- Web, API
- Pricing from
- 14-day trial; Lite $4.70/month, yearly
VEED
- Best for
- Avatars inside a full browser video editor
- Approach
- Video timeline with auto subtitles and AI tools
- Platform
- Browser, mobile app
- Pricing from
- Free plan; Creator $10/user/month, yearly
Cutroom
- Best for
- Turning one clip of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad
- Approach
- Edits your clip for you: cuts, captions, b-roll, hook
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- First video free; Lite $19.99/month
What each Synthesia alternative is built for
Synthesia is built for company training. The alternatives split into training tools, marketing tools and video editors.
- Colossyan and Elai are training tools like Synthesia. Colossyan goes further into full courses, and Elai starts from your slides.
- HeyGen is aimed more at marketing. It can make a digital copy of you, and it drafts a video from a prompt, a link or a document.
- D-ID is for developers who want avatars inside their own app or website.
- VEED and Cutroom edit real video. VEED is a general editor, and Cutroom makes ads from a clip of you.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
HeyGen
HeyGen is the best Synthesia alternative for marketing. Both turn a script into an avatar video, and HeyGen can also make a digital copy of you.
- Best for: creators and marketers who want a digital copy of themselves to present in many languages.
- Price: Creator is $24 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly. Pro is $49 a month, and Business is $149 a month plus $20 per extra seat.
- Free plan: yes, 3 videos a month up to 1 minute, with a watermark and one custom avatar.
- HeyGen translates and dubs into more than 175 languages. It can also draft a video from a prompt, a link or a document.
- Once the video is made, you can change the layout and add b-roll, music and captions in HeyGen's editor.
- Tradeoff: export to training platforms and company login are only on Business, at $149 a month.
Colossyan
Colossyan is the closest Synthesia alternative for training teams, and it can also build the whole course.
- Best for: onboarding, compliance and training that has to be a full course.
- Price: Professional is $59 a month billed yearly, or $89 monthly. It adds MP4 downloads, no watermark and 5 exports a month to training platforms.
- Free plan: yes, 20 minutes a month with no card, which is more than Synthesia's 10 free minutes.
- You upload a PDF or a slide deck, or write a prompt, and get an avatar video back. It has more than 300 avatars and 100 languages.
- Colossyan adds quizzes, branching scenarios and a course builder, and it exports to your company's training platform.
- Tradeoff: Professional costs more than three times Synthesia Starter at $18, though it includes 30 minutes of video a month instead of 10.
Elai
Elai turns slide decks into videos narrated by an avatar.
- Best for: training, HR and sales teams whose material is already in PowerPoint.
- Price: Creator is $23 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly, for 15 minutes. Team is $100 a month billed yearly for 50 minutes, 4K and a custom avatar of you.
- Free plan: yes, 1 minute of video.
- Elai has more than 80 avatars, translates into more than 75 languages and clones your voice in 28 languages.
- Tradeoff: a custom avatar of you costs $199 a year extra, and each minute over your plan costs $2.
D-ID
D-ID is the Synthesia alternative for developers who build avatars into their own app. It also has a simple web studio.
- Best for: a talking video from one photo, a chat agent on your website, or videos made inside your own software.
- Price: Lite is $4.70 a month billed yearly for 10 minutes. Pro is $16 a month billed yearly and adds business use. Advanced is $108.
- Free plan: none, but a 14-day trial gives you 3 minutes.
- D-ID makes talking photos, avatar videos and live chat agents, and translates across more than 120 languages.
- Tradeoff: Lite has a watermark and is for personal use only. There are no templates for building a full video around the avatar, as Synthesia has.
VEED
VEED is a browser video editor first and an avatar tool second.
- Best for: small teams that want to make an avatar video and finish the edit in one tool.
- Price: Creator is $10 per user a month, Pro is $21 and Studio is $35, all billed yearly.
- Free plan: yes, with a watermark that goes away on Creator.
- VEED has AI avatars, AI voices and text-to-video. Every paid plan includes unlimited auto subtitles, and Pro adds brand kits.
- Tradeoff: you pay per user, and translation needs Pro and covers more than 50 languages, against more than 160 on every paid Synthesia plan.
Synthesia alternatives pricing
Synthesia's free plan gives you 10 minutes a month with a watermark. Starter is $18 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly, and also includes 10 minutes a month.
Free option, cheapest paid plan and video minutes
From each company's pricing page, checked 21 September 2026. Yearly means billed once a year.
| Tool | Free option | Cheapest paid plan | Video on that plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesia | 10 minutes a month, watermark | Starter: $18 a month yearly, $29 monthly | 10 minutes a month |
| HeyGen | 3 videos a month up to 1 minute, watermark | Creator: $24 a month yearly, $29 monthly | Videos up to 30 minutes each; monthly minutes not stated |
| Colossyan | 20 minutes a month, no card | Professional: $59 a month yearly, $89 monthly | 30 minutes a month |
| Elai | 1 minute | Creator: $23 a month yearly, $29 monthly | 15 minutes a month |
| D-ID | 14-day trial, 3 minutes | Lite: $4.70 a month yearly, personal use | 10 minutes a month |
| VEED | Free plan with a watermark | Creator: $10 per user a month yearly | Not counted in minutes |
| Cutroom | First video free, no card, within 7 days | Lite: $19.99 a month | About 10 videos a month |
Tool: Synthesia
- Free option
- 10 minutes a month, watermark
- Cheapest paid plan
- Starter: $18 a month yearly, $29 monthly
- Video on that plan
- 10 minutes a month
Tool: HeyGen
- Free option
- 3 videos a month up to 1 minute, watermark
- Cheapest paid plan
- Creator: $24 a month yearly, $29 monthly
- Video on that plan
- Videos up to 30 minutes each; monthly minutes not stated
Tool: Colossyan
- Free option
- 20 minutes a month, no card
- Cheapest paid plan
- Professional: $59 a month yearly, $89 monthly
- Video on that plan
- 30 minutes a month
Tool: Elai
- Free option
- 1 minute
- Cheapest paid plan
- Creator: $23 a month yearly, $29 monthly
- Video on that plan
- 15 minutes a month
Tool: D-ID
- Free option
- 14-day trial, 3 minutes
- Cheapest paid plan
- Lite: $4.70 a month yearly, personal use
- Video on that plan
- 10 minutes a month
Tool: VEED
- Free option
- Free plan with a watermark
- Cheapest paid plan
- Creator: $10 per user a month yearly
- Video on that plan
- Not counted in minutes
Tool: Cutroom
- Free option
- First video free, no card, within 7 days
- Cheapest paid plan
- Lite: $19.99 a month
- Video on that plan
- About 10 videos a month
When is Synthesia still the better choice?
Synthesia is still the better pick for training videos for people inside your company.
- Synthesia has 125+ avatars on Starter and 160+ languages and voices on every paid plan.
- Synthesia's 60+ templates are made for training videos, and every plan includes them.
- Enterprise adds live collaboration, brand kits, company login and export to training platforms for big teams.
- If you already have a library of modules in Synthesia, moving it to another tool is a big job.
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom is for ads, not training. You film one clip of yourself talking, and Cutroom edits it into a finished vertical ad for social media.
- You upload one clip of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom cuts it, adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the words you pick and adds a hook.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4. Lite, at $19.99 a month, covers about 10 finished 30-second ads.
- Basic, at $39.99 a month, adds AI avatars and generated music, with up to about 7 minutes of avatar video a month.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
Which Synthesia alternative should you choose?
It depends on what the video is for and whose face should be on it.
Which Synthesia alternative to choose
Choose HeyGen if you make marketing videos and want a digital copy of you in 175+ languages.
Choose Colossyan if you make training for your company and want whole courses with quizzes, with 20 free minutes a month.
Choose Elai if your material is in PowerPoint and you want an avatar to present it.
Choose D-ID if you need talking photos or a chat agent inside your own app.
Choose VEED if you want avatars and a full browser editor with subtitles in one place.
Choose Cutroom if you need social ads rather than training, and are happy to film yourself. Your first video is free.
Questions people ask
- What is the best Synthesia alternative?
- HeyGen for marketing and Colossyan for training. HeyGen makes the same kind of avatar video and adds a digital copy of you and 175+ languages. Colossyan also builds whole training courses with quizzes.
- Is HeyGen better than Synthesia?
- For marketing videos, yes. HeyGen's digital copy of you, its 175+ languages and its drafts from a prompt suit marketing. Synthesia is stronger for training, with live collaboration, export to training platforms and 240+ avatars on Enterprise.
- How much does Synthesia cost?
- Synthesia has a free plan with 10 minutes a month and a watermark. Starter is $18 a month billed yearly or $29 monthly, and Creator is $64 a month billed yearly or $89 monthly. Enterprise is priced on request.
- Which Synthesia alternative is cheapest?
- D-ID Lite, at $4.70 a month billed yearly, with a watermark and for personal use only. VEED Creator is $10 per user, Elai Creator $23 and HeyGen Creator $24, all billed yearly. Colossyan has a free plan with 20 minutes a month.
- How many minutes of video do Synthesia alternatives include?
- Most include 10 to 30 minutes a month. Synthesia gives 10 on its free plan and on Starter, and 30 on Creator. Colossyan gives 20 free and 30 on Professional, Elai Creator 15, and D-ID Lite 10.
- Which Synthesia alternative has a free plan without a watermark?
- None that we could confirm. Synthesia, HeyGen, D-ID, Colossyan and VEED all mark free videos, and Elai's pricing page does not say. Your first Cutroom video also carries a mark; Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
- Do I need an avatar for social ads?
- No. An ad can be you talking to the camera. With Cutroom you film one clip of up to 3 minutes and get a finished 9:16 ad with b-roll, captions and a hook.
Need ads rather than training videos? Film one clip and get the finished ad back. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it