Submagic vs Synthesia
Buy Synthesia if the video does not exist and it needs a presenter. Buy Submagic if the video exists and it looks unfinished. Submagic is much cheaper at $19/member/month, or $12 billed yearly, against Synthesia Starter at $29 or $18 — and it will produce nothing on its own, which is the entire distinction.
Disclosure: this page is published by Kineo, which is not one of the two tools compared here and does not compete with either on the job they do. There is a short, clearly labelled note about Kineo at the bottom. Everything above it is written as if we had nothing at stake, because on this comparison we do not.
The verdict
Production versus finishing
Synthesia writes nothing but renders everything: script in, avatar video out, 160+ languages available. Submagic renders nothing but finishes everything: clip in, captions, b-roll, hook titles, audio cleanup and silence removal out. There is no tier on either side that crosses into the other’s job.
The quotas are countable on both sides and they measure different things
Submagic counts videos: 3 free, 15 up to 2 minutes on Starter, 40 up to 5 minutes on Pro at $39/month or $23 yearly, 100 up to 30 minutes on Business + API at $69 or $41. Synthesia counts minutes: 10 a month on Basic and Starter, 30 on Creator at $89 or $64, unlimited only on Enterprise. Post daily and Submagic Starter’s 15 videos binds first; produce long-form and Synthesia’s 10 minutes binds first.
Both free tiers are real, and Synthesia’s produces more
Submagic Free: 3 watermarked videos a month, capped at 200MB and 1 minute 30 seconds each, with starter templates and free stock media. Synthesia Basic: 1,200 credits, up to 10 minutes of video a month, 9 avatars, 160+ languages, with its logo on the output. Synthesia gives you more finished minutes; Submagic gives you the whole finishing workflow it is actually best at.
Per member is the number teams miss
Submagic is quoted per member per month, so three people means three subscriptions. Synthesia sells 1 editor plus guests — 3 on Starter, 5 on Creator — so reviewers do not each need a paid seat. For a team of four, that is a genuinely different annual invoice and it is not visible from the headline prices.
Side by side
Every figure below was read off each vendor’s own pricing page on July 26, 2026. Where a tier table did not resolve to readable prices, the cell says so rather than guessing — a wrong competitor price is worse than no price at all.
| Submagic | Synthesia | |
|---|---|---|
| What it actually is | Takes a short video you already have and makes it look native to the feed — captions, b-roll, sound cleanup. | Enterprise-leaning avatar video: training, internal comms and localisation, with governance features to match. |
| Needs an existing video? | Yes — you upload a finished video. It styles a clip, it does not create one. | No. You write a script, pick an avatar and it renders a presenter video. |
| Free tier | Free plan: $0, 3 videos per month carrying a Submagic watermark, capped at 200MB and 1 minute 30 seconds per video, with starter templates and free stock media. | Basic free plan: $0, 1,200 credits/month, up to 10 minutes of video per month, 25 AI-generated video assets, 9 AI avatars, 160+ languages and voices, 1 editor seat. The Synthesia logo appears on the video. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Starter $19/member/month, or $12/member/month billed yearly | Starter $29/month, or $18/month billed yearly |
| Full pricing | Free $0 (3 videos/mo) · Starter $19/member/mo, or $12/member/mo billed yearly (15 videos/mo up to 2 min each, 3 AI credits, 1080p/30fps, API 10 min/mo) · Pro $39/mo, or $23/mo yearly (40 videos/mo up to 5 min, 6 AI credits, Storyblocks media, AI hook titles, audio cleanup, silence removal, caption translation, 1080p and 2K) · Business + API $69/mo, or $41/mo yearly (100 videos/mo up to 30 min, 15 AI credits, 4K/60fps, API 100 min/mo) · Custom on request. | Basic free $0 (10 min/mo, Synthesia logo) · Starter $29/mo, or $18/mo billed yearly (1,200 credits/mo or 14,500/year; 10 min/mo or 120 min/year; 125+ AI avatars, 3 personal avatars; 1 editor, 3 guests) · Creator $89/mo, or $64/mo billed yearly (3,600 credits/mo or 44,000/year; 30 min/mo or 360 min/year; 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars; 1 editor, 5 guests) · Enterprise custom (unlimited video minutes, 240+ avatars, unlimited personal avatars, SAML/SSO, brand kits, SCORM export). |
| Watermark | Watermarked on the free plan; removed from Starter up. | The Synthesia logo is on free-plan video; it is removable on paid plans. |
| Aspect ratio | Short-form vertical, taken from the video you upload. | Multiple, including vertical. |
| Voice / narration | Your source audio. No AI narration of a written script. | 160+ languages and voices on every tier, free plan included. |
| Where the visuals come from | Free b-roll and audio on paid plans; the Storyblocks library is added from Pro up. | Not the point of the product — the avatar and the slide behind it are the shot. |
| Export & usage limits | 1080p/30fps from Starter, 1080p and 2K from Pro, 4K/60fps on Business. Quota is counted in videos per month, with a maximum duration per video that rises with the tier. | Metered in minutes of finished video per month as well as credits: 10 minutes/month on Basic and Starter, 30 minutes/month on Creator. |
| Verified | Verified July 26, 2026 — read from https://www.submagic.co/pricing | Verified July 26, 2026 — read from https://www.synthesia.io/pricing |
Sources: Submagic pricing · Synthesia pricing — both checked on July 26, 2026. Vendors change tiers without notice, so confirm on their site before you pay. If you find something here that is out of date, we would rather fix it than keep the click.
Which one you should pick
Pick Submagic if…
- The video exists and the gap is how it looks in the feed.
- Caption styling is the differentiator: 100+ templates and keyword highlighting.
- You want AI hook titles, audio cleanup, silence removal and caption translation — all at Pro.
- You need licensed b-roll: the Storyblocks library is included from Pro at $39/month, or $23 yearly.
- You need 4K at 60fps, which is Business + API at $69/month, or $41 yearly.
Pick Synthesia if…
- The video does not exist and there is nothing to upload.
- A presenter on screen is the requirement.
- You need SAML/SSO, brand kits or SCORM export — those sit on Enterprise.
- You are localising: 160+ languages and voices on every tier.
- Reviewers need access without buying an editor seat each.
The differences that actually matter
Watermarks and logos are handled the same way, for once
Submagic watermarks free-plan videos and removes it from Starter at $19/member/month. Synthesia puts its logo on free-plan video and makes it removable on any paid plan, cheapest at Starter $29/month or $18 yearly. Both are honest about it up front, which is not universal in this category.
Duration caps against monthly minutes
Submagic caps each video: 1m30s free, 2 minutes on Starter, 5 on Pro, 30 on Business. Synthesia caps your month, not your video: 10 minutes total on Basic and Starter, 30 on Creator. A single 20-minute video is impossible on Submagic Starter and fine on Synthesia Creator — once.
API access is published on one side
Submagic lists API access at 10 minutes a month on Starter and 100 minutes a month on Business + API. Synthesia’s pricing page headlines credits, avatars, languages and governance rather than an API allowance we could read. If you are automating a pipeline, that is a published number against a blank.
They stack cleanly if you need both
Render the presenter in Synthesia, then style the clip in Submagic. Synthesia Starter at $18/month billed yearly plus Submagic Starter at $12/member yearly is about $30 a month for both halves — and worth knowing before you buy one and expect it to grow into the other.
Frequently asked questions
Is Submagic or Synthesia cheaper?
Submagic: $19/member/month, or $12/member/month billed yearly, against Synthesia Starter at $29/month or $18 billed yearly. Both read from their own pricing pages on July 26, 2026. Note that Submagic’s price is per member.
Can Submagic create a video from a script?
No. It works on a video you upload — its free plan caps that at 200MB and 1 minute 30 seconds. It adds captions, b-roll, hook titles and audio cleanup to something that already exists.
Does Synthesia add captions?
Synthesia produces presenter video with 160+ languages and voices. Caption styling at Submagic’s depth — 100+ templates, keyword highlighting, hook titles, caption translation — is not what its pricing page sells.
Which free plan is more useful?
They test different things. Synthesia Basic gives more finished output: 10 minutes a month, 9 avatars, 160+ languages, with a logo. Submagic Free lets you run its actual workflow end to end on 3 watermarked videos a month, capped at 200MB and 1m30s each.
Can I put a Synthesia video through Submagic?
Submagic works on video files you upload, subject to its per-tier duration caps — 1m30s free, 2 minutes on Starter, 5 on Pro, 30 on Business — and a 200MB limit on the free plan. Nothing in either pricing page prevents it.
One disclosed third option
Disclosure: Kineo publishes this page and is neither tool above. It produces faceless 9:16 Shorts from a typed topic and burns in its own captions — so it replaces the Synthesia step for people who do not want a presenter, and does not compete with Submagic’s caption templates. If the best captions available is the requirement, that is Submagic and we would not claim otherwise.
Make one free →Up to 3 watermarked Fast videos / 24h · No card · Starter $4.90 first month
Other comparisons
Looking to replace one of these rather than choose between them? Submagic alternatives · Synthesia alternatives
Prices, free-tier terms and limits on this page were verified on July 26, 2026 by reading each vendor’s own published pricing page, linked above. They change. Nothing here is an endorsement by, or affiliation with, Submagic or Synthesia, and no comparison on this site is paid for or sponsored. Kineo is a product of the same company that publishes this page, which is stated on every comparison whether or not Kineo is one of the tools being judged.