86
Runway
AI video generation and editing for filmmakers, agencies, and production teams.
Strategic Product Influence — Editorial 86/100 · version not recorded
Score methodologyVideo Generation
Synthesia
AI avatar video for corporate training, internal comms, and product education.
Synthesia turns a script into a presenter-led video: pick an avatar, paste text, get 1080p output in 160-plus languages and voices without a camera, studio, or reshoot cycle. Its Express-2 engine moved the avatars from talking heads to full-body presenters with natural gesture and lip sync, and the platform has been extending toward interactive Video Agents. The pitch is unglamorous on purpose — replacing the training-video production line, not competing with Sora for cinematic generation.
Best for
L&D, HR, and internal-comms teams that produce recurring instructional video — onboarding, compliance, product walkthroughs — and care more about update speed than production value. When the script changes quarterly, regenerating a video beats rebooking a film crew.
HeyGen fights for the same corporate-avatar budgets, and generative tools like Runway or Sora make more visually interesting footage — but Synthesia's edge is the enterprise wrapper: template systems, an unlimited-minutes Enterprise tier, and Express-2 avatars that hold up over minutes of continuous talking, not seconds. It wins procurement processes, which in this category is the actual competition.
Core features
AI avatars
A stock library that scales by tier (125+ on Starter, up to 240+ on Enterprise) plus personal avatars, rendered by the Express-2 engine with full-body gesture and accurate lip sync at 1080p/30fps.
Business templates
Prebuilt layouts for training, onboarding, and comms formats so non-designers ship consistent video without touching an editing timeline.
Localization workflows
One script becomes localized versions across 160+ languages and voices with AI dubbing — the feature that turns a single recording into a global rollout.
Pros
- + Script-to-video in a browser: paste text, pick an avatar, publish — no camera, crew, or editing timeline required
- + Built for the update cycle: change the script and regenerate instead of reshooting, across 160+ languages and voices
- + Express-2 avatars sustain natural gesture and lip sync across minutes-long 1080p takes — the failure mode of cheaper avatar tools
Watchouts
- - Presenter-format only in practice — for scenes, b-roll beyond short prompted avatar actions, or cinematic shots you'll need Runway-class tools
- - Still reads as synthetic: viewers clock the avatar within seconds, which caps its usefulness for persuasion, marketing, and anything emotional
Alternatives
Frequently asked
What is Synthesia?
AI avatar video for corporate training, internal comms, and product education.
Who builds Synthesia?
Synthesia is built by Synthesia.
How much does Synthesia cost?
Synthesia uses freemium. Current tiers: Free · $29/mo Starter · $89/mo Creator · Enterprise custom. Check the official site before buying — AI pricing changes often.