Synthesia

Overview

Synthesia is an AI-powered video generation platform established in 2017 that enables users to create professional-grade videos using artificial intelligence. The platform automates various aspects of video production, including generating human-like presenters (avatars) and synthesizing speech from text input. This approach allows organizations to produce video content without requiring physical camera equipment, studios, or human actors, reducing the time and cost associated with traditional video production workflows.

The platform is primarily designed for enterprise use cases, addressing the need for scalable video content in areas such as corporate training, marketing, sales enablement, and internal communications. For example, businesses can create e-learning modules with consistent presenters, localized marketing videos in multiple languages, or regular internal updates from a virtual CEO. Synthesia supports over 120 languages and offers a library of more than 140 stock AI avatars, alongside the capability to create custom AI avatars that resemble specific individuals or brand representatives.

Synthesia's core offerings include its AI Video Platform, which features a web-based editor for script-to-video conversion, and its AI Voices component, which provides text-to-speech functionality. The platform also offers an API for developers to integrate video generation capabilities directly into their applications and workflows, facilitating programmatic content creation. This enables use cases such as automated personalized video messaging or dynamic content updates based on real-time data. The company maintains compliance with industry standards such as SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, addressing data security and privacy concerns for enterprise clients.

While Synthesia focuses on generating realistic human avatars, other AI video generation tools, such as RunwayML, concentrate on generative video from text prompts or image inputs, often for more creative or experimental applications in film and media production. Synthesia's emphasis remains on structured, presentation-style video content suitable for business communication and educational contexts.

Key features

• AI Video Platform: A web-based interface for creating videos from text, offering a drag-and-drop editor, pre-designed templates, and custom branding options.
• Custom AI Avatars: Users can create personalized AI avatars based on real individuals, allowing for consistent brand representation or virtual spokespeople.
• Stock AI Avatars: A library of over 140 diverse, pre-built AI avatars available for use in various video projects.
• AI Voices: Text-to-speech functionality supporting over 120 languages and accents, enabling spoken content generation directly from written scripts.
• Video Templates: A collection of customizable templates for different use cases, including training, marketing, and internal communications, to streamline video creation.
• Screen Recorder: Integrated screen recording capabilities to combine live screen content with AI-generated presenters.
• Media Library: Access to stock images, videos, and background music to enhance video productions.
• API Access: Programmatic access to video generation capabilities, allowing integration with existing content management systems or automated workflows.

Pricing

Synthesia offers tiered pricing plans, including options for individual creators and enterprise solutions. The pricing structure is primarily based on video minute allowances and feature sets.

Pricing as of May 2026. For detailed and up-to-date pricing, refer to the Synthesia pricing page.

Common integrations

• Content Management Systems (CMS): Integration via API to automate video generation and embed content directly into platforms like WordPress or Drupal.
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): Embedding AI-generated training videos into platforms such as Moodle or Canvas for e-learning modules.
• Marketing Automation Platforms: Connecting through API to personalize video messages in campaigns managed by tools like HubSpot or Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
• Internal Communication Tools: Integrating with platforms such as SharePoint or Slack to deliver AI-generated announcements and updates.
• Translation Services: While Synthesia offers multi-language support, it can integrate with external translation APIs for specialized localization workflows.

Alternatives

• HeyGen: Offers AI video generation with customizable avatars and extensive template libraries, similar to Synthesia, focusing on ease of use for marketing and social media.
• DeepMotion: Specializes in AI-powered 3D character animation from video input, often used for games and metaverse applications, distinct from Synthesia's 2D avatar focus.
• RunwayML: Provides a suite of AI-powered creative tools, including text-to-video and image-to-video generation, catering to a broader range of artistic and experimental video production needs.

Getting started

Developers can interact with the Synthesia API to programmatically create videos. The following Python example demonstrates how to create a simple video with a stock avatar and text input. This example assumes you have an API key and the necessary SDK or HTTP client configured.

import requests
import json

API_KEY = "YOUR_SYNTESIA_API_KEY"
BASE_URL = "https://api.synthesia.io/v2"

def create_synthesia_video(text_script, avatar_id="anna_nt1_v2", voice_id="en-US-Standard-C"):
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }
    
    payload = {
        "input": [
            {
                "scriptText": text_script,
                "avatar": avatar_id,
                "voice": voice_id
            }
        ],
        "title": "My First API Video"
    }

    try:
        response = requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/videos", headers=headers, data=json.dumps(payload))
        response.raise_for_status() # Raise an exception for HTTP errors
        video_data = response.json()
        print("Video creation initiated successfully.")
        print(f"Video ID: {video_data.get('id')}")
        print(f"Status URL: {BASE_URL}/videos/{video_data.get('id')}")
        return video_data
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"Error creating video: {e}")
        if response is not None:
            print(f"Response content: {response.text}")
        return None

if __name__ == "__main__":
    script = "Hello modelroost developers. This video was generated using the Synthesia API."
    new_video = create_synthesia_video(script)
    if new_video:
        print("Check the status URL to monitor video rendering.")

This Python script sends a POST request to the Synthesia API's /v2/videos endpoint. It includes a JSON payload specifying the text script, a chosen avatar ID (anna_nt1_v2 is a common stock avatar), and a voice ID. Upon successful submission, the API returns a video ID and a status URL, which can be polled to check the rendering progress and retrieve the final video URL. Developers would replace "YOUR_SYNTESIA_API_KEY" with their actual API key obtained from their Synthesia account settings to authenticate the request. For more detailed API documentation and advanced features, refer to the Synthesia API documentation.