Synthesia pricing 2026: what each video really costs

Synthesia pricing looks simple until revisions use the same credits as finished video. You can set up a working video budget in 30 minutes with Synthesia, your last three scripts, and a spreadsheet. By the end, you'll know which plan covers your output and where to put approval before generation costs you twice.

Pricing was checked July 23, 2026, against Synthesia's official plan comparison, credit guide, and billing instructions.

The short answer

Starter is enough when one person makes up to 10 finished minutes a month and approves scripts before rendering. Creator fits a steady calendar closer to 30 minutes, or a workflow that needs its application programming interface (API), the connection that lets other software create videos automatically. Basic is a test workspace, not a dependable publishing budget.

Skip Synthesia if you mainly need lively short advertisements. Its cost makes more sense for repeatable explainers, staff training, and product instructions where a computer-generated presenter replaces regular filming. Compare that job with the AI avatar video tool guide before paying for a year.

Plan	Monthly price	Annual total	Included usage	Workspace
Basic	$0	Not offered	1,200 credits monthly, up to 10 video minutes	1 editor
Starter	$29	$264	1,200 monthly or 14,500 yearly credits	1 editor, 3 guests
Creator	$89	$804	3,600 monthly or 44,000 yearly credits	1 editor, 5 guests
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Unlimited video minutes listed	Custom

The annual figures work out to $22 a month for Starter and $67 a month for Creator, but you pay for the full year. Taxes can raise the invoice. Enterprise requires a quote, so do not put a guessed figure into your budget.

What a Synthesia credit buys

A credit is Synthesia's internal unit for generated work. One second of standard video uses two credits. One finished minute therefore takes 120 credits.

The word "finished" needs care. You spend credits when you generate video, not while the project remains a draft. If you change a generated scene and render it again, the new generation can use more credits. Copying a project costs nothing by itself, but generating the copy does.

The shared pool also pays for generated pictures and short supporting clips. Synthesia currently lists 48 credits for one Gemini Omni video asset and 192 credits for a Veo 3.1 asset with audio. That 192-credit insert consumes the same allowance as 96 seconds of ordinary presenter video.

Your plan does not buy one fixed number of videos. It buys a pool divided among presenter footage, generated supporting visuals, dubbing, and corrections. A team using existing product footage will stretch the pool further than one asking Synthesia to create every visual.

The real cost per finished minute

At the monthly sticker price, Starter's 10-minute allowance costs $2.90 per included minute. Creator's 30 minutes cost about $2.97 each. The larger plan does not deliver a useful minute discount. You pay for more capacity and workflow features.

Annual billing changes the math. Starter costs $264 for 14,500 credits, enough for about 120 minutes and 50 seconds of standard video. That is roughly $2.18 per available minute. Creator costs $804 for 44,000 credits, enough for about 366 minutes and 40 seconds, or about $2.19 per available minute.

Those figures assume you use the allowance. If you buy Creator monthly and publish only 12 minutes, your effective cost is $7.42 per finished minute before tax. If half the generated footage is rejected, six published minutes carry the $89 bill. That is $14.83 per useful minute.

Do not choose Creator because 30 minutes sounds safer. Choose it when your measured generation budget clears Starter's 1,200 credits or you require a Creator feature such as API access, multiple presenters in one scene, or interactive video.

Pick the plan from your publishing calendar

Start with approved videos, not ideas.

1. Open the scripts for your last three comparable videos. Count the spoken length shown in your editor, or read each script aloud with a timer.
2. Add the seconds of any opening, closing, and translated scenes you plan to generate.
3. Reserve one correction pass for names, prices, and claims likely to change. Do not automatically double the script.
4. Multiply planned generated seconds by two to calculate standard video credits.
5. Add AI-made supporting assets separately using the charge shown inside Synthesia before generation.
6. Compare the total with 1,200 monthly credits on Starter or 3,600 on Creator.

For one four-minute training update, reserve 480 credits for the base video. Add a 30-second correction allowance, or 60 credits, plus two 48-credit supporting clips. The plan is 636 credits. Starter covers it.

For four six-minute videos, the base work alone uses 2,880 credits. Add a modest revision reserve and Creator becomes the honest self-serve budget. Starter would stop generation after its allowance runs out, leaving you to wait for renewal or change plans.

If your real need is narration rather than a presenter, price the audio separately using the voiceover tool comparison. Paying for avatar video to solve a voice-only job leaves most of the screen-making features unused.

Monthly versus annual billing

Monthly billing is the safer first purchase because it exposes your real revision rate. Starter at $29 for one month costs $7 more than its annual monthly equivalent, but that extra $7 buys an exit before a $264 commitment.

Annual plans release the year's credits on day one. That can suit a seasonal business producing a large batch at once. It also puts the full balance at risk when staff never adopt the process.

Unused credits do not accumulate beyond the billing period. Monthly balances reset each month. The yearly balance expires at the end of the annual term. When you upgrade during a cycle, Synthesia says the charge is prorated, the new plan begins immediately, and the old unused balance does not carry forward.

Use monthly billing for two production cycles. Record planned credits, used credits, published minutes, and rejected minutes. Consider annual billing only when both months follow roughly the same pattern and the workspace remains part of the publishing process.

The part that breaks

The first failure is generating before approval. A three-minute video takes 360 credits. If the owner changes a price, the reviewer changes a claim, and a product name is pronounced incorrectly, preventable revisions consume the pool.

Put the script through approval while it is still text. In Synthesia, leave the project in draft and use preview while checking the wording. Generate only after the approver marks the script final. Previewing the draft does not consume standard video credits.

The second failure is confusing guest access with editing seats. Starter lists one editor and three guests. Creator lists one editor and five guests. Guests can comment, but creation still centers on one editor. A team needing several active editors should get the license structure in writing before agreeing to Enterprise.

Cancellation has a sharp edge. Synthesia's billing guide says access continues until the paid period ends, then videos in the account become inaccessible. Export every final MP4, script, caption file, and approval record first. MP4 is the common video file you can store outside the service.

Copy this budget sheet

Paste this into a spreadsheet or operations document. Use one row for every planned video.

Project:
Approved script length in seconds:
Base credits (seconds x 2):
Planned correction seconds:
Correction credits (seconds x 2):
Generated asset credits:
Total planned credits:
Actual credits used:
Published video minutes:
Rejected generation minutes:
Reason for rejection:
Approver:
Export folder:

Review rejected generation at month-end. Script changes point to a weak approval step. Pronunciation failures call for a shared spelling guide. Unused capacity points to a smaller plan, not a reason to invent more video.

A clean first-month setup

Create one workspace around a repeatable video, such as a monthly safety update or product walkthrough. Keep the scope narrow enough that one template can serve three editions.

Open your profile icon, select Account info, then Billing. Confirm the plan, renewal date, and credit balance. Put the renewal date on the owner's calendar with a reminder seven days earlier.

Build the first video in draft. Collect guest comments, fix the script, and record planned credits in your sheet. Generate once. Export the finished video and store it with the approved script outside Synthesia.

After two cycles, compare the sheet with the plan. If work repeatedly approaches 1,200 credits, shorten the videos or price Creator. If the process cannot produce one approved video per month, stop the subscription before renewal rather than hoping a larger calendar appears.

For the wider production decision, the AI voice and video topic keeps related setup guides together. Get the runbook in /articles.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Synthesia cost in 2026?+

Synthesia costs $29 monthly for Starter and $89 monthly for Creator. Annual totals are $264 for Starter and $804 for Creator. Enterprise pricing is custom.

How many video minutes are included with Synthesia?+

Basic and Starter each provide 1,200 monthly credits, equal to 10 generated video minutes. Creator provides 3,600 monthly credits, equal to 30 minutes.

Do unused Synthesia credits roll over?+

No. Monthly credits reset at the next billing period. Annual plans release the yearly balance at once, but unused credits expire when that term ends.

Does editing a Synthesia video use more credits?+

Generating changed video uses credits. Each generated second costs two credits, while copying a draft alone costs nothing. Approve the script before generating to reduce waste.