3 best synthesia alternatives for content creators

3 best synthesia alternatives for content creators

With AI becoming more integrated into mainstream software and apps, market growth and accessibility of AI tools to everyday users are accelerating. The rise in adoption of these tools is further highlighted by the record-breaking speed at which OpenAI reached 100m users with Chat GPT (2 months after launch).

The global AI market itself is projected to grow from $150.2 billion in 2023 to $1345.2 billion in 2030, and we’re seeing rapid advancements in AI video in particular from improved foundational models.

However, as good as they are, ease of use is a critical factor for accessibility and widespread adoption as we’ve seen with Chat GPT. But right now there are still challenges in the usability of AI video tools and that provides the biggest hurdle to adoption.

Common usability issues with AI video generators right now include lack of visual input, bias and stereotypes from training data, and limited customization.

Different creators will have varying needs therefore needing tailored solutions. For this we need user friendly AI tools to help their workflows, they don’t want complicated tools with a learning curve. They just want to create, and hope that AI tools can help them do that quicker and at a larger scale.

Let’s look at synthesia and 3 alternatives to understand which tool is right for you to do that.

Synthesia Overview

Synthesia is currently the biggest AI video generator on the market that lets you create studio quality videos with AI avatars and voiceovers as easily as making a slide deck without the need for any cameras, microphones or studios.

However, it’s not the number one for content creators. It’s primarily for businesses that need to create training videos, marketing content, and customer service videos all in different languages to localise their content for global audiences.

Synthesia have made their in app process of creating these AI videos similar to that of making a powerpoint presentation or slide deck which gives its target users a feeling of familiarity. It also offers 160 diverse avatars to choose from with text to speech capabilities in 130 languages.

It comes with built in team collaboration features for feedback and a screen recorder for product walkthroughs or how-to videos. As fitting as these features are for business use cases, there are common limitations for content creators who require more flexibility:

For creators who value volume and quick production times, Synthesia’s pricing plan can be steep. The starter plan is $29/month and only allows for 10 minutes of video per month, which is nowhere near the volume or cost-effectiveness even the average creator needs…

There’s also little room for customisation, which can restrict the content and limit creativity. Personalization in AI content is especially important for content creators where social connections are necessary and built with online audiences.

These limitations for content creators in particular lead some to seek better alternatives that prioritise flexibility, faster turnaround, and more personal AI avatars.

Here are 3 alternatives to Synthesia for content creators:

Tool 1: Argil

At Argil, we position ourselves as the deepfake maker specifically for content creators in entertainment, promotion and education.

As content creators ourselves, over the last decade, we’ve built and grown YouTube channels and TikTok accounts and even made movies and series.

We understand the process of content creation better than anyone which is how we built Argil to eliminate the areas of struggle with production while offering features to automate the best practices.

So what are these features?

1. AI B-rolls
2. AI scripting assistant
3. automated editing and captions
4. multiple languages
5. A/B testing content

We’ve centralized all the big effort creators need in order to scale their content and understand their audience into a few clicks by automating the production process so you can focus on the actual creation.

By familiarising yourself with Argil and its features, you can target global audiences with unlimited videos, no language barriers, and continuously test to understand what your audience wants without the time or costs.

Here’s a simple step by step process of how that would look:

1. Train a video of you to get your AI avatar model (voice, body language, face)
2. Script your videos yourself and use our AI assistant to create a draft for you
3. Choose transitions, B-rolls, and captions if you want
4. Generate your video
5. Edit the script to modify it

We should also mention you are not limited to one avatar of yourself, you can make dozens.

You now have content at scale and access to audience insights without ever picking up a camera or hours spent editing videos. This opens the door to make unlimited videos and finally let yourself focus on the creation rather than the production.

If you’re a creator looking to produce content at scale, read our previous article on how to use Argil to build and monetise your audience here.

Tool 2: HeyGen

Similar to Synthesia, HeyGen also positions itself as an AI video generator for studio quality videos with AI avatars and voices.

HeyGen also primarily targets businesses but with use cases in product overviews, scaled outreach and learning & development.

They give you access to over 100 diverse avatars with over 40 languages which you can deploy with a few clicks and 65+ easy video templates for different content types.

Much like Synthesia it also comes with built in team collaboration features for feedback and a screen recorder for product walkthroughs or how-to videos.

HeyGen also offer integrations with popular apps amongst content creators such as canva, discord, and chat GPT. It’s ability to connect with Zapier is interesting because that then gives you access to over 5000 apps on Zapier via proxy, creating a seamless workflow across your entire digital ecosystem. This can automate repetitive tasks, upload videos to preferred platforms, and send notifications when videos are ready on HeyGen.

Both HeyGen and Synthesia offer similar core functionalities but HeyGen can be more attractive to content creators for addressing some of the aforementioned limitations of Synthesia.

For example, HeyGen claims that it helps create videos 10x faster than traditional methods, which could be significantly faster than Synthesia’s reported processing time of 15 minutes for a one minute video!

In addition, HeyGen’s avatars allow more personalisation, as you can choose different clothing. You can also upload footage of yourself to create your own AI clone, which provides a lot more flexibility and customisation of your AI avatar for your content.

While the pricing might not differ between them that much in terms of minutes per dollar, the offer of more customization and personalization for diverse avatars might justify the price for some content creators.

Tool 3: Wondershare

Wondershare is an alternative that offers a suite of AI assisted content creation tools that offer a far more user friendly and affordable option for creativity and productivity.

Their features are built to target a market of content creators such as video editors and graphic designers, businesses looking for professional tools, as well as general customers needing easy software for faster and easier content production.

Filmora is their complete video editing tool powered by AI which offers co-pilot editing, text based editing, thumbnail creators, and music generators to streamline the entire video production effort.

Wondershare also offers other bespoke software tools:

• DemoCreator: tutorial video maker
• UniConverter: high-speed media conversion
• Virbo: AI avatar video generator (over 300 avatars and 40 languages)

Wondershare addresses far more of the usability issues we’ve come to understand from tools in this market. For instance, it’s far more cost-effective and beginner-friendly to a larger demographic of content creators and sidesteps the need for multiple specialised tools, each with its own learning curve.

The user interface is also designed with both beginners and professionals in mind, keeping the software accessible. It’s also easy to use on a range of devices, including Windows, Mac, tablets, and phones.

For content creators, this is a solid option as an affordable alternative to Synthesia, especially considering the host of features and learning resources that make it an all-in-one solution. They also offer AI credits, which allow you to pay as you go, making using Wondershare far more flexible based on varying needs.

Choosing the Right AI Video Tool

Choosing which tool to streamline your content creation process will largely come down to your specific needs, use case and budget. We hope this article can clarify the available tools in the market so you can make an informed decision because if one thing’s certain with the advancements in AI video, it’s that the potential for scalability is a no-brainer.

Synthesia and HeyGen are better for more corporate use case AI videos, and Wondershare is best suited for freelancers looking to streamline specific points in their workflow. But Argil uniquely positions itself as the tool made by creators, for creators. With our mission to democratize content creation, we want everyone to find the content at scale as easily as delegating it to someone else.

If you want to be one of the first to use our technology, you can skip our waitlist here.

‍