Is Synthesia free? What the $0 Basic plan gives you
Partly: Synthesia's Basic plan is $0 with no credit card and 1,200 credits a month, up to 10 minutes of video. Downloads are listed on Starter.
Partly. Synthesia's Basic plan is free: $0 a month, no credit card required, with 1,200 credits a month, usable for up to 10 minutes of video. But "Download your videos" and "Remove Synthesia logo" are listed as additions on Starter ($29 a month), and API access is listed on Creator ($89 a month).
Every Synthesia fact here is quoted from its pricing page, monthly view, read on 2026-09-29. Plan contents change, so check the page before you commit. Sume facts come from the Avatar videos docs and API pricing.
What does Synthesia's free plan include?
The Basic card lists its 1,200 monthly credits as usable for up to 10 minutes of video, or 10 minutes of AI dubbing, or 25 AI-generated video assets. Credits are, in Synthesia's words, "the shared currency across all AI usage-based features". The Starter card starts with "What you get in Basic +", so anything it lists is something the Basic card does not:
| Item | Basic | Starter | Creator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 /mo | $29 /mo | $89 /mo |
| Credit card | No credit card required | Billed monthly | Billed monthly |
| Credits | 1,200 credits /mo | 1,200 credits /mo | 3,600 credits /mo |
| Video | Up to 10 mins | Up to 10 mins | Up to 30 mins |
| Download your videos | Not listed | Listed | Included (Starter +) |
| Remove Synthesia logo | Not listed | Listed | Included (Starter +) |
| API access | Not listed | Not listed | Listed |
Can I download videos on Synthesia's free plan?
The pricing page lists "Download your videos" and "Remove Synthesia logo" as Starter additions to Basic. It doesn't spell out in words what Basic does instead, so check the app or ask Synthesia before you plan a free-plan workflow that needs an MP4 file. On the feature list, MP4 downloads are described as "Full HD, 1920 x 1080".
For whether a free-plan video can be used commercially, see Can I use a free plan's videos commercially?.
What happens when I use up the free minutes?
The FAQ and feature list set these rules:
- "If you exceed your limit, your usage will be capped until renewal." Upgrading gives more minutes right away.
- Unused minutes "do not roll over to the next billing period".
- Minutes are counted in seconds: a 59-second video leaves 9:01 of a 10-minute allowance.
- Minutes are consumed only when a video is generated, not while it sits in draft or plays back.
Is there another way to try Synthesia for free?
Yes. The FAQ answer to "Can I use Synthesia for free?" points to a free AI video page, where "you can choose a video template, type in your video script, and generate a video for free". The FAQ also lists a free 5-minute product tour and, for larger Enterprise buyers, a sales demo.
The Basic card doesn't list API access; it first appears on the Creator card. Synthesia API pricing and credits covers what the API costs.
What if I want to pay per video instead of per month?
Synthesia's FAQ answers "Can I pay per video?" with "No. Synthesia is based on monthly and yearly subscriptions." If you'd rather pay only for what you render, Sume's Avatar Video API draws from a prepaid wallet rather than a minute allowance: it bills per second of output, at $0.184/s standard, $0.245/s plus, $0.55/s max (no product image), plus a 5.5% agent fee by default (API pricing). Per its docs, each request covers a script Sume estimates at 4-60 seconds, and resolution is currently 720p. In current code the avatar speaks English only. For a side-by-side, see Sume vs Synthesia.
Sources
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