# Elai review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> AI avatar video maker that turns text, URLs and slides into video

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Elai is a browser-based tool that makes videos with AI presenters. You supply a script, a web page URL or a PowerPoint file, pick an avatar and voice, and render a video in 75+ languages. Plans are sold by monthly rendering minutes, with an API, interactive elements and SCORM export on the platform.

- **Category:** Screen Recording & Video
- **Made by:** Elai Inc.
- **Website:** https://elai.io
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Tight if you stay free, as the free plan covers 1 minute of video.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Elai has a free plan, and paid plans start at $23 per month for 15 minutes, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** 1 user, 1 minute of video, 80+ avatars, 75+ languages and all Creator features.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | 1 user and 1 minute of rendered video; 80+ avatars and 75+ languages. |
| Creator | $23 per month for 15 minutes, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) | 1 user, Full HD video and the full avatar, voice and language library. $276 billed annually. |
| Team | $100 per month for 50 minutes, billed annually ($125 billed monthly) | 3 editors and 3 guests, 4K video, premium voices, custom images and fonts, 1 selfie avatar and 1 voice clone. $1,200 billed annually. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited users, brand kit, workspaces, SSO and premium avatars; sold through sales. |

Read from https://elai.io/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Elai before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save 20% with annual billing** (Annual discount): Elai's pricing page shows a 20% saving when Creator or Team is billed annually instead of monthly. Source: https://elai.io/pricing/

## Key features

- **Avatar videos from a script:** Choose from 80+ avatars and 300+ standard voices, type or upload a script, and render the video.
- **URL, PPTX and AI storyboard input:** Paste a URL or upload a PowerPoint file, or have a script drafted from a prompt, link or document.
- **Interactivity:** Add buttons, hotspots, branching paths and text quizzes; image and multi-select quizzes need a higher plan.
- **Translation and captions:** Translate a video automatically, and add captions or subtitles, in 75+ languages.
- **API and SCORM export:** A public API is listed in the plan comparison but not on the free plan; SCORM export is listed for Enterprise only.

## Good for

- Training and explainer videos without filming a presenter
- Turning slide decks into narrated videos
- Teams making the same video in several languages

## Worth knowing

- Plans are measured in render minutes, and every render uses minutes, even a re-render of the same video.
- Extra minutes cost $2 each and can only be bought on paid subscriptions.
- Voice clones and selfie avatars are add-ons on Creator ($200 and $199 per year); Team annual includes one of each.
- The free plan is limited to 1 minute of video.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Elai turns text, web pages and slides into videos with talking avatars. Plans are measured in render minutes, every re-render uses minutes, and the free plan stops at 1 minute of video.

- **Value for money: C.** Creator is $23 a month billed yearly for 15 minutes, or $29 monthly, around the top of the category's usual range.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** A free plan with 1 user and 1 minute of video, which you will outgrow quickly.
- **Features: C.** Avatars, script, URL and slide input, translation, API and SCORM export, but voice clones and selfie avatars are paid add-ons.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and you build scripts and scenes before you get a video.
- **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with Panopto the one integration listed beside the API.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Elai's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among screen recording and video tools

- Elai's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 14 of the 133 other screen recording and video tools we grade, and level with 27.
- Its paid plans start at $23 a month, against a middle price of $12.25 for the category: 71 of the 88 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 59 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/video

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Elai you would be making a video model, which you can rent by the second but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 92 of the 133 other screen recording and video tools grade higher. It costs $276 a year.

- You could not: A video model, which you can rent by the second but not make.
- You could not: A voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make.
- You could not: A voice model trained on your recordings.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, Panopto among them, and has an API.
- You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

Panopto

**Tags:** Video generation, AI features, Text to speech, Voice cloning, Public API

## Alternatives

- [Synthesia](https://toolgpa.com/tools/synthesia): AI video platform that turns scripts into avatar-presented videos. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/elai-vs-synthesia)
- [HeyGen](https://toolgpa.com/tools/heygen): AI video generator with realistic avatars and video translation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/elai-vs-heygen)
- [DeepBrain AI Studios](https://toolgpa.com/tools/deepbrain-ai-studios): AI avatar video maker with dubbing and interactive avatars. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/deepbrain-ai-studios-vs-elai)
- [Wondershare Virbo](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wondershare-virbo): AI marketing video maker with AI sales influencers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/elai-vs-wondershare-virbo)
- [Steve AI](https://toolgpa.com/tools/steve-ai): Prompt-to-video maker for animated, stock and generative clips. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/elai-vs-steve-ai)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://elai.io/pricing/
- https://elai.io

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/elai
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).