Synthesia vs Tavus (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Synthesia grades higher than Tavus: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Synthesia grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Synthesia
AI video platform that turns scripts into avatar-presented videos
Tavus
Developer platform for real-time AI video conversations
Which one is for you
Pick Synthesia if
- Fits if your training team needs videos without filming anyone
- Works for dubbing existing videos into other languages, or turning decks into narrated videos
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you make long videos, because Starter's 1,250 credits add roughly 12 minutes a month
- Skip it if you need SSO, SCORM export or live team collaboration, as those are listed under Enterprise
- Not for you if you want teammates editing with you, since self-serve plans include 1 editor and guests only comment
- Watch out: free videos carry a watermark and can't be downloaded; both need Starter at $14 a month billed yearly
- Watch out: on monthly billing the first month is $9 for Starter and $49 for Pro, then it's $19 and $89 a month
Pick Tavus if
- Fits if you are a developer adding a video agent to a product
- Works for teams building a conversational avatar
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you do not write code, as it is a developer platform
- Pricey if you use it heavily, as overage is $0.37 a minute on Starter and $0.32 on Growth
- Watch out: extra custom replica trainings cost $65 each on Starter and $40 on Growth
- Watch out: the pricing page also holds a hidden tier set, Starter $22 to Business $975
- Watch out: PALs, the consumer app, has separate plans at $0, $20 and $50 a month
How we grade them
| 2.4GPASynthesiaFair | 2.0GPATavusFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $14 a month on the year, $19 monthly, inside this category's normal range against a $10 middle, and it buys roughly 12 minutes of video a month at about 100 credits a minute. Pro, with personal avatars and interactive video, is $59 on the year and $89 monthly. | DStarter is $59 a month plus usage, above the category's dearest tenth, with overage at $0.37 a minute. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic renews monthly with 10 minutes of video or dubbing, 500 credits and 9 avatars. But videos carry a Synthesia watermark and you can't download them at all until Starter. | CThe free Basic plan gives 25 minutes of conversation and 5 minutes of generation a month. |
| Features | BAvatar videos from a prompt, link, file or PowerPoint deck, dubbing into 70+ languages in the speaker's own voice, a personal avatar from one photo, interactive videos with branching and quizzes, roleplay, a screen recorder and an API. No gap in the core job. | BConversational video, custom replicas, generation, a knowledge base and your own LLM cover the job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the work is still making the video: choosing avatars, editing scenes, watching the credit meter. Handing the Video Assistant a prompt or a deck is the easy start of it. | DNo store rating on record, and it is built through an API by developers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app plus a Chrome extension for screen recordings, with an API and ties to PowerPoint, HubSpot, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Notion, Workday and Moodle. No phone app and no desktop app. | BWeb and an API, with Google Meet the one integration listed. |
| Best for | training videos with no camera | building real-time AI video conversations |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Synthesia and Tavus. How we grade
Price against what you get
Synthesia starts at $14 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tavus starts at $59 a month and scores 2.3.
Synthesia scores higher and starts $45 a month lower. Of the other screen recording and video tools on the chart, 11 score higher than Synthesia for less, and 36 score higher than Tavus for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Synthesia also covers templates and screen recording.
- Tavus also covers AI agents and video generation.
At a glance
| Synthesia | Tavus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14 per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly) | $59 per month plus pay-as-you-go usage |
| Free plan | Basic plan: each month 10 minutes of video creation or dubbing, 3 survey responses and 500 credits, with 1 editor and 9 AI avatars. Videos carry a Synthesia watermark. | Developer Basic: 25 minutes of conversational video, 5 minutes of video generation and 25 stock replicas a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Synthesia Limited | Tavus |
| Price read from | synthesia.io | tavus.io |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Synthesia
- Basic videos carry a Synthesia watermark; downloading videos and removing the logo start on the Starter plan.
- Usage is metered in credits: video costs about 100 credits a minute, so Starter's 1,250 monthly credits add roughly 12 minutes.
- Self-serve plans include 1 editor; Starter adds 3 guests and Pro 5, and guests are invited to comment on videos.
- SAML/SSO, live team collaboration, SCORM export and 1-click translation are listed under the Enterprise plan.
Tavus
- Usage beyond included minutes is billed: conversational overage is $0.37 per minute on Starter and $0.32 on Growth.
- Extra custom replica trainings cost $65 each on Starter and $40 on Growth.
- The pricing page also holds a hidden four-tier set (Starter $22, Builder $59, Growth $397, Business $975) that was not the default view.
- PALs, the consumer app, is a separate set of plans at $0, $20 and $50 a month.
Key features
Synthesia
- AI avatars
- Videos are presented by stock AI avatars, from 9 on Basic to 240+ on Enterprise, or by a personal avatar created from a single photo.
- Script, file or slides to video
- The AI Video Assistant turns a prompt, link or file into an editable video, and PowerPoint decks can be imported and narrated.
- AI dubbing and translation
- Dub an uploaded video or YouTube link into 70+ languages, 140+ on Enterprise, keeping the speaker's voice. Lip-sync uses twice the credits.
- Interactive videos
- Add clickable calls to action, branching paths and quizzes that show viewers a final score. Interactive videos are listed from the Pro plan.
- Roleplay and Survey Sessions
- Avatar-led roleplay practice and conversational surveys. Roleplay learner seats can be added to a plan for an extra monthly charge.
- AI Screen Recorder and API
- A Chrome extension makes editable screen recordings, and the Synthesia API creates and dubs videos programmatically.
Tavus
- Conversational video interface
- Real-time AI conversations with video, turn-taking, vision and 30+ languages through an API or no-code builder.
- Custom replicas
- Trains a replica of a real person from about one minute of video, including a custom voice model.
- Video generation
- Generates video from a replica, with monthly minutes on each plan and overage per minute.
- Knowledge base and memory
- Upload documents or websites for answers, with memories that persist across conversations.
- Bring your own LLM
- Swap in your own language model and use function calling to reach external tools.
- Transcripts and recordings
- Saves text transcripts of every conversation; video recordings cost $0.03 per minute.
Plans
Synthesia
Basic$0
10 minutes of video or dubbing, 3 survey responses and 500 credits a month, with 1 editor and 9 AI avatars. Videos carry a watermark.
Starter$14
per month, billed yearly ($168); $19 billed monthly
1,250 credits a month on top of the free allowance, video downloads, no Synthesia logo, 3 guests and 125+ AI avatars.
Pro$59
per month, billed yearly ($708); $89 billed monthly
6,000 credits a month (tiers up to 48,000 for $448 a month yearly), 5 personal avatars, interactive videos, branded video pages and 5 guests.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited video minutes, 240+ avatars, 1-click translation, SAML/SSO, live team collaboration, brand kits and SCORM export.
Tavus
Basic$0
25 conversational minutes, 5 generated-video minutes, 25 stock replicas, 1 concurrent stream.
Starter$59
per month, plus pay-as-you-go usage
100 conversational minutes, 10 generation minutes, 3 custom replica trainings, 3 concurrent streams.
Growth$397
per month
1,250 conversational minutes, 100 generation minutes, 7 custom replicas, 10 streams, recordings.
EnterpriseCustom
Volume discounts, white-labeled experience, SLAs, SOC 2 and HIPAA reports.
Ways to pay less
Synthesia
- Annual discount
Save up to 4 months with yearly billing
Starter is $14 a month billed yearly against $19 billed monthly, and Pro is $59 against $89. Synthesia describes this as saving up to 4 months.
- Other savings
Discounted first month on monthly billing
On monthly billing the pricing page shows the first month of Starter for $9 and of Pro for $49, then $19 and $89 a month. No end date is given.
Tavus
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Synthesia or Tavus?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Synthesia is cheaper to start with: $14 a month, against $59 a month for Tavus. Synthesia starts at $14 per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly), and Tavus starts at $59 per month plus pay-as-you-go usage.
Which has a free plan, Synthesia or Tavus?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Synthesia and Tavus have a free plan.
Which platforms do Synthesia and Tavus run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Synthesia lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.