Synthesia Guide 2025: Create AI Avatar Videos for Business
Synthesia is the leading enterprise AI video platform — type a script, pick an avatar, and get a professional video in minutes. Used by 50,000+ companies for training, onboarding, product demos, and internal comms. This guide covers everything: creating your first video, custom avatars, 140+ language support, API integration, and how it compares to HeyGen and Runway.
1. What is Synthesia?
Synthesia is an AI video generation platform (London, founded 2017) that creates professional-quality videos with realistic AI avatars from text scripts — no camera, no studio, no actors, no expensive production crew needed. You write a script, pick an avatar, and Synthesia generates the video.
What Synthesia is used for
Key numbers
2. Creating Your First Video (4 Steps)
After signing up (Starter plan required — no free tier for real videos), creating a video takes about 10–30 minutes depending on length and complexity.
Choose a template or start blank
Click New Video in the Synthesia dashboard. Browse 60+ templates organized by use case (training, explainer, marketing, announcement) or start with a blank canvas. Templates preset layout, fonts, and colors to match common business styles.
Write or paste your script
Type your script in the script editor. The AI avatar speaks exactly what you write — punctuation controls pacing (commas = short pause, periods = longer pause). Synthesia also has an AI script generator if you need help writing content.
Select an avatar and voice
Click on the avatar in your scene and browse 230+ stock avatars. Filter by gender, age, ethnicity, and style (casual, professional, presenter). Then select a language and voice — Synthesia offers multiple voice styles per language. Preview the avatar speaking a sample sentence before committing.
Generate and export your video
Click Generate — Synthesia renders your video in the cloud. Processing time: ~5 minutes for a 1-minute video, ~15 minutes for a 5-minute video. You'll get an email when it's ready. Export as MP4 (1080p) or share via a private Synthesia link with optional password protection.
3. Custom AI Avatars (Your Face, Your Voice)
The most powerful Synthesia feature: create a digital version of yourself (or your CEO, trainer, or presenter) that can speak any script in your voice without re-recording.
Personal AI Avatar setup
Requirements: Personal Avatar requires Creator plan ($67/mo) or above. Enterprise plans support multi-scene Corporate Avatars with branded backgrounds and multiple camera angles.
4. 140+ Languages and Voice Cloning
Synthesia's multilingual support is one of its strongest differentiators. Create one video in English, then translate it to 140+ languages — the AI avatar delivers the content in each language with natural pronunciation.
Stock voice languages (selection)
Personal Avatar voice cloning
With a Personal Avatar, Synthesia clones your voice as part of the avatar creation. When you translate your video to another language, the AI avatar speaks in your cloned voice with appropriate pronunciation for that language. This keeps the personal feel of having you “present” the content across all languages.
5. Integrations: PowerPoint, API, LMS
PowerPoint import
Upload a PowerPoint file and Synthesia converts each slide into a video scene. Your existing slide content becomes the visual backdrop, and the AI avatar presents alongside it. Saves hours of rebuilding slide content as video from scratch.
Synthesia API
Generate videos programmatically via the Synthesia API. Use cases: personalized video emails (“Hi [FirstName], here's your onboarding video”), generating translated versions of new product videos automatically, or embedding video generation into your LMS.
Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY
{ "scriptText": "Hello...", "avatarId": "anna_costume1", "voice": "en-US" }
API access requires Enterprise plan or a separate API plan. Contact Synthesia sales.
LMS integrations
6. Plans & Pricing
No free tier for real use: Synthesia offers a 3-minute free demo video (no sign-up). For actual video creation, the minimum is the Starter plan at $22/mo (billed annually).
| Plan | Price | Video/mo | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $22/mo | 10 min | 90+ avatars, 140 languages, templates, 1 seat |
| Creator | $67/mo | 30 min | 230+ avatars, Personal Avatar, custom backgrounds, 3 seats |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | API, Corporate Avatars, SSO, LMS, dedicated support, SLA |
Prices listed for annual billing. Monthly billing is ~30% higher. 10 min video = about 5–6 one-minute videos depending on content.
7. Synthesia vs HeyGen vs Runway
| Feature | Synthesia | HeyGen | Runway Gen-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Enterprise training | Marketing videos | Cinematic video generation |
| Avatar count | 230+ | 100+ | None (text/image-to-video) |
| Languages | 140+ | 40+ | N/A |
| Custom avatar | Yes (2-min video) | Yes (3-min video) | No |
| Free tier | 3-min demo only | 3 free videos/mo | 125 one-time credits |
| Starting price | $22/mo | $24/mo | $15/mo |
| LMS/SCORM export | Yes | No | No |
| API access | Enterprise plan | All plans | Standard plan |
Choose Synthesia if: you're creating training and education content, need LMS integration, want the widest language support, or have enterprise compliance requirements. The SCORM export and 140-language coverage are market-leading.
Choose HeyGen if: you're focused on marketing and social videos, want a free tier to try before buying, or need better API access at lower pricing tiers. HeyGen's video translation feature is also very strong.
Choose Runway if: you need cinematic AI video generation (not avatar-based talking head videos). Runway is for creative video content, not corporate training or communications.
Monitor Synthesia status at Prismix
Synthesia video rendering can experience delays during peak hours. Check live status and get free alerts before your video delivery deadlines are impacted.
FAQ
What is Synthesia?
Synthesia is an AI video generation platform that lets you create professional videos with AI avatars from a text script — no camera, no studio, no actors needed. Used by 50,000+ companies for training, onboarding, product demos, and internal communications.
Is Synthesia free?
Synthesia does not have a free tier for real use. There is a 3-minute free demo video (no sign-up required). For actual video creation, you need at minimum the Starter plan at $22/month (billed annually), which includes 10 minutes of video per month.
How do I create a Custom AI Avatar in Synthesia?
A Personal AI Avatar requires recording a 2-minute video of yourself speaking directly to camera. Synthesia processes this and creates a digital avatar that looks and sounds like you. Personal Avatar is available on Creator plans ($67/mo) and above.
How many languages does Synthesia support?
Synthesia supports 140+ languages and accents. The AI voice cloning feature can translate your Personal Avatar video into any supported language while maintaining your voice characteristics — popular for global training programs.