Synthesia Cost per Minute for Course Creators (2026): What a Full Course Really Costs
On plans checked Oct 26, 2026, Synthesia Starter works out to roughly $0.64–$0.86 per finished minute (about 22 minutes a month for $14/mo billed yearly or $19 monthly), and Pro to roughly $0.84–$1.27 (about 70 minutes for $59/mo yearly or $89 monthly). A 30-minute course fits on two months of Starter ($38) or one month of Pro ($89). Skip avatars if your students buy because of you on camera.
Synthesia sells credits, not seats, which makes "is it worth it" a per-minute question. Here is the math for course creators, using only the prices and allowances on Synthesia's pricing page as we read it on Oct 26, 2026. For the plan-by-plan breakdown, see Synthesia pricing: is it worth it?
What each plan includes
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (per mo) | Video minutes a month (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (free) | $0 | $0 | 10, with a Synthesia watermark |
| Starter | $19 | $14 ($168/yr) | ~22 (10 included plus up to ~12 from 1,250 credits) |
| Pro | $89 | $59 ($708/yr) | ~70 (10 included plus about 60 from 6,000 credits) |
Prices dropped since our Oct 9 check. Starter monthly fell from $29 to $19 and Starter yearly from $18 to $14 a month. Pro yearly fell from $64 to $59 a month; Pro monthly stayed at $89. The credit allowances did not change.
Credits are one shared pool for video, dubbing, and other features, so dubbing a lesson (40 credits a minute, 80 with lip sync) uses credits you could have spent on new video. Synthesia puts a typical finished minute at about 100 credits. Its Syren AI video agent uses 1,000–2,000 credits a minute, so lessons built with Syren burn Starter's monthly credits in about a minute of video. Starter removes the Synthesia logo and lets you download your videos.
One detail matters a lot for courses: on annual plans, Synthesia says the year's credits are available upfront. Starter yearly puts 15,000 credits (about 150 minutes) in your account on day one, on top of the 10 included minutes each month. Monthly credits do not roll over.
Cost per finished minute
| Plan and billing | Price | Minutes | Per minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter, yearly | $14/mo | ~22/mo | ~$0.64 |
| Starter, monthly | $19 | ~22 | ~$0.86 |
| Pro, yearly | $59/mo | ~70/mo | ~$0.84 |
| Pro, monthly | $89 | ~70 | ~$1.27 |
These figures assume you use every minute. Re-renders after script fixes use minutes too, so plan on 20–30% waste on a first course. When we checked, Synthesia also showed first-month prices on monthly billing (Starter $9, Pro $49). The math here uses the regular prices.
What a real course costs
- Mini course or lead magnet, ~15 minutes: one month of Starter monthly, $19.
- Standard course, 6 modules × 5 minutes = 30 minutes (~39 with re-renders): two months of Starter monthly ($38, about 44 minutes) if you can spread production out, or one month of Pro monthly ($89) if you need it done in one push.
- Large course, ~60 minutes (~75 with re-renders): Starter billed yearly ($168) is the cheapest route, because the year's credits arrive upfront. One month of Pro ($89) covers about 70 minutes, which is tight once re-renders start.
- Weekly lesson drops or a course you update: Starter billed yearly ($168/yr).
The trap is buying Pro yearly for a one-time course. $708 buys about 720 minutes of video, roughly ten times what a 60-minute course needs.
Cheaper paths that are often good enough
Slides plus an AI voice. For screen-heavy or concept lessons, narrating slides with ElevenLabs Starter ($6/mo, $5/mo yearly, with commercial rights) costs a fraction of avatar video. Many students prefer it to a stock presenter.
HeyGen. Creator is $29 monthly or $24/mo yearly (checked Oct 26, 2026). It leans toward short social avatar videos; see Synthesia vs HeyGen for which fits course work.
Your own face. If your brand is you, film the intro and outro of each module and use avatars or slides only for updates and translations.
Who should buy, who should skip
Buy Synthesia if you sell to companies (compliance, onboarding, training), need lessons in several languages, or update modules often enough that re-filming yourself is the real cost.
Skip it if students buy because of your personality, or the course is mostly screen recordings.
Final recommendation
- Under ~20 minutes → Starter, monthly, cancel after
- 30–45 minutes → Starter monthly for two months, or Pro for one month on a deadline
- 60+ minutes or ongoing updates → Starter, yearly ($168, credits upfront)
- Screen-heavy lessons → slides plus ElevenLabs, not avatars
Related guides
- Synthesia pricing: is it worth it?
- Synthesia vs HeyGen
- Best AI tools for course creators
- Best AI avatar tools for training
- Which AI tool to buy, by job — one pick per creator job
- AI tool price tracker — every plan we cover, dated
How we put this together
Prices, credits, credits per minute, and the approximate minutes per plan come from synthesia.io/pricing and its FAQ, read Oct 26, 2026 CT. Per-minute figures are our arithmetic on those numbers, not a Synthesia quote. HeyGen and ElevenLabs prices were read from their pricing pages the same day and are logged in our dated price tracker. We did not produce a full course in Synthesia for this memo. Confirm current credits before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Synthesia cost per minute of video?
On plans checked Oct 26, 2026: roughly $0.64 per minute on Starter billed yearly ($14/mo for about 22 minutes), $0.86 on Starter monthly ($19), $0.84 on Pro yearly ($59/mo for about 70 minutes), and $1.27 on Pro monthly ($89). Those figures assume you use every minute.
How many video minutes does Synthesia Starter include?
About 22 a month: every plan includes 10 minutes of video creation or dubbing, and Starter adds 1,250 credits, which Synthesia says covers up to about 12 more minutes of video. On yearly billing the 15,000 credits for the year are available upfront.
Is the free Synthesia plan enough for a course?
Only to test. Basic gives 10 minutes a month, but videos carry a Synthesia watermark and downloads are a paid-plan feature. Starter removes the logo and enables downloads.
Should I buy Synthesia yearly for one course?
For a short course, no: one or two months of Starter monthly ($19 each) is cheaper. For a course of about an hour or more, Starter yearly ($168) can be the cheapest option, because Synthesia makes the year’s credits available upfront. Pro yearly ($708) only makes sense if you will make many hours of avatar video in the year.
What is a cheaper alternative to Synthesia for course videos?
Slides narrated with an AI voice such as ElevenLabs Starter ($6/mo, or $5/mo billed yearly, with commercial rights). It suits concept and screen-based lessons where a presenter adds little.