AI Podcast Generator · Built for learning and knowledge work

Free AI Podcast Generator for Anything You're Studying

Turn a PDF, notes, a video, a slide deck, or a recording into a cited podcast episode with a host, an expert guest, and a producer. Every episode lists the sources it was built from and includes chapters, a searchable transcript, chapter slides with a synchronised video mode, and researched Producer Notes.

Free to start · No credit card required

Used by 200,000+ people worldwide
Scholarly AI podcast generator showing an audio player with chapters and a synced transcript
200,000+
people worldwide
71
output languages and variants
Up to 60 min
episode length on paid plans
What it is & how it works

Can I turn a PDF into a podcast for free?

Yes. Scholarly's AI podcast generator turns your own sources into a cited podcast episode that lists the files it was built from: by default a conversation between a host, an expert guest, and a producer, with chapters, a searchable transcript, and chapter slides you can watch as video. A free account includes one lifetime AI Creation Credit, which makes one episode of about 2 minutes from one source (uploads up to 8 MB, the first 32 PDF pages). Paid plans set a target length up to 60 minutes and can download the episode as an MP3 or MP4.

  • What goes in: A PDF, a Word or PowerPoint file, pasted text, typed or handwritten notes, images, a web link, a YouTube video, a recording, a Google Drive file, or a topic you describe. Free episodes use one source; Premium combines up to 10 sources in one episode and Laureate up to 20. Free uploads are capped at 8 MB with the first 32 PDF pages processed; Premium accepts files up to 300 MB and PDFs up to 1,000 pages; Laureate accepts files up to 1 GB and PDFs up to 3,000 pages.
  • What comes out: A podcast episode in any of 71 output languages and regional variants, in a Conversational, Exam Prep, or Deep Dive style. By default three roles speak: a host, an expert guest, and a producer; ask for two speakers in your instructions and the producer drops out. Each episode has chapters, a searchable transcript you can click to jump, captions, listening check-in questions, timestamped Producer Notes with researched links, and chapter slides you can watch as a synchronised video. On a paid plan you can also export the chapter slides as a PowerPoint (.pptx) file or save them to Google Slides.
  • What each plan gets: Free: one lifetime AI Creation Credit and one upload, one source per episode, an episode of about 2 minutes, and streaming plus sharing by view link, with no download. Premium ($30/mo or $180/yr in the US): 15 AI Creation Credits per week, up to 10 sources, a target length up to 60 minutes, MP3 and MP4 downloads, and a choice of AI model. Laureate ($99/mo): 80 AI Creation Credits per week, up to 20 sources, files up to 1 GB, and PDFs up to 3,000 pages. An episode uses 1 credit with the default model; a target over 15 minutes adds 1 credit and over 30 minutes adds 2.

Best for learning from documents you already have, such as course chapters, research papers, reports, SOPs, and training material. Not built for running a public show: Scholarly does not publish to podcast directories, so on a paid plan you download the MP3 and publish it yourself.

Updated 20 October 2026

How the AI podcast generator works

Three steps from a folder of course material to an episode in your headphones.

01

Upload your material

Drop in a PDF, slide deck, recording, YouTube link, website, or your own typed notes, or just describe a topic. Scholarly reads the actual source, up to hundreds of pages per document.

02

Pick a style, AI writes & voices it

Choose Conversational, Exam Prep, or Deep Dive, add custom instructions if you want, and pick an output language. The AI scripts and voices a conversation between a host, an expert guest, and a producer, each named after the voice it uses. Generation time varies with the source, requested length, model, and service load.

03

Listen, jump, reuse

Switch between audio and synchronised chapter-slide video, use captions and the transcript, and share one link on every plan. Paid plans can download MP3 and MP4 files; then build flashcards and a quiz from the same source.

What you can feed it

One generator, every kind of study source

If it's part of your course, you can probably turn it into an episode.

PDFs & textbooks

Textbook chapters, journal articles, lab manuals, case studies: upload the file and the hosts work from the real text, not a summary of a summary.

Lecture & class notes

Typed notes, exported docs, even photos of handwritten pages. Messy structure is fine; the AI organises the episode around the concepts, not your formatting.

YouTube videos

Paste a link to a recorded lecture or explainer video and get a tighter audio version you can replay on the bus without a screen.

Slides & presentations

PowerPoint and slide PDFs become a narrated discussion that fills in the words your lecturer said between the bullet points.

Recordings & audio

Upload a recording and get back a shorter, structured episode: the 50-minute ramble distilled into the 10 minutes that will be on the exam.

Websites & articles

Paste a URL (course pages, documentation, news analysis) and the hosts discuss what it actually says, with the source kept alongside the episode.

What every episode includes

Every episode is built for understanding

A generic AI podcast maker gives you an audio file. Scholarly gives you a study object you can navigate, verify, and reuse.

Three-speaker conversation

A host asks the questions, an expert guest explains your material, and a producer adds context. Each speaker is named after its voice, and you can ask for two speakers instead.

Three episode styles

Conversational for a first pass, Exam Prep for drilling likely questions, Deep Dive for the hard chapters. Custom instructions let you steer further.

71 output languages

Generate the episode in any of 71 output languages and regional variants, such as Spanish (Mexico) or Canadian French, even when the source is in another language.

Transcript & synced captions

A full transcript sits next to the player. Click any line to jump to that moment, or toggle captions to read along in a loud room or a quiet library.

Grounded in your source

The script is written from the documents you add, not from a generic outline of the topic, and the episode's Sources tab lists the files it was made from, so you can check anything that sounds off.

Video mode, sharing & downloads

Watch synchronised chapter slides and share one episode link on every plan. Paid plans can download MP3 audio or a 16:9 MP4 for offline use and publishing.

Sample episode

What a generated episode sounds like

A real-shaped example: a 28-page cardiology lecture PDF turned into an 11-minute Exam Prep episode.

00:00 · Cold open & roadmap

The hosts frame why the cardiac cycle trips students up and name the three things the exam will lean on: the phases, the valve timings, and the pressure curves. A chapter marker drops here so you can return to the overview in one tap.

01:15 · Core walkthrough

The host walks through systole and diastole phase by phase while the guest interrupts with the questions a student would actually ask: wait, which valves are open during isovolumetric contraction? Each phase gets its own chapter marker.

06:40 · Exam traps

The hosts quiz each other on the classic confusions: when the AV valves close, what the dicrotic notch means, and why the pressure-volume loop is drawn the way it is.

10:05 · Rapid recap

A sixty-second summary of the whole episode, then a pointer to the flashcards and practice quiz generated from the same chapter, because listening twice is worth less than testing yourself once.

The honest case

Does listening actually help you study?

The honest answer first: listening alone will not get you a grade. Audio is recognition-friendly: it makes material feel familiar without proving you can retrieve it. If your entire study plan is podcasts on 1.5x, you will walk into the exam recognising every question and answering few of them. We build flashcards and practice quizzes into the same product precisely because a podcast is a complement to retrieval practice, never a substitute for it.

Audio gives you another explanation of the same material. The host, the guest, and the producer clarify ideas, ask questions, and weigh what matters. Pause to answer their questions and connect the discussion to the source.

Audio also wins on logistics. The 25 minutes on the bus, the walk between classes, the gym: none of that time is usable for a 40-page PDF, and all of it is usable for an 11-minute chaptered episode. Two simple ways to use it are priming before a lecture (listen on the way in) and refreshing before an exam (replay the Exam Prep episode the night before).

And because every Scholarly episode is grounded in your source, the podcast is a doorway rather than a dead end: the source stays attached to the episode, the same upload becomes spaced-repetition flashcards and a scoped quiz, and the AI chat already knows what's in the chapter. Listen once, then test yourself. That's the loop that moves grades.

Honest comparison

Where other AI podcast tools win, and where Scholarly wins

An honest map of the category, because the famous tool is genuinely good, and the creator tools solve a different problem entirely.

Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) Audio Overviews

Where it shines: Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) Audio Overviews popularised AI podcasts and remain polished and natural, with Deep Dive, Brief, Critique, and Debate formats in 80+ languages, Shorter, Default, and Longer lengths, an English voice join-in mode, and downloadable audio. If you want a quick audio summary of a document, it's a genuinely fine choice.

Built as a general research notebook: broad sourcing, generous free tier, excellent voice quality.

Two hosts speak in most formats (the Brief uses one), length is a three-way toggle rather than a minute target, and Google's help page does not describe choosing voices.

Usage runs on compute-based limits that refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, and Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra plans raise them; Google's usage-limits help page lists the current tiers.

Podcast creator tools (Wondercraft, Jellypod)

Where they shine: these are serious production suites for people publishing real shows: voice cloning, episode editing, intro music, RSS distribution to Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If your goal is an audience, they're the right category and Scholarly is not.

Both can start from your own documents, but they are built for production polish and publishing a show, not for reviewing material you need to learn.

Their sites do not describe flashcards or quizzes. None of that matters for a show, and all of it matters for an exam.

Built from your sources
Scholarly

Where it shines: an AI podcast generator that turns course material, reports, research, and team knowledge into audio you can learn and work from.

Cited and source-grounded: episodes are scripted from your actual documents, and the Sources tab lists the files each episode was built from.

Three styles, custom instructions, a host, guest, and producer cast or two speakers on request, chapters, captions, a searchable transcript, 71 output languages, link sharing, and MP3 and MP4 download on paid plans.

The episode feeds a full study loop: the same upload becomes flashcards, a practice quiz, and an AI chat that knows the material.

The study loop

From an episode to your full study loop

A podcast is a great first pass, not a study plan. Every episode Scholarly generates is wired into the rest of the platform: the same source becomes spaced-repetition flashcards, a scoped practice quiz, and an AI chat tutor that has already read the document. Listen on the commute, drill the cards at your desk, sit the quiz before the exam. That's the loop.

FAQ

AI podcast generator - frequently asked questions

Is there a free AI podcast generator?

Yes. Scholarly's free plan makes one AI podcast episode of about 2 minutes from one source (uploads up to 8 MB, the first 32 PDF pages), which you can stream and share by link. The catch: it uses the one lifetime AI Creation Credit shared across Scholarly, the credit does not reset, and downloads need a paid plan. Premium ($30/mo or $180/yr in the US) includes 15 AI Creation Credits each week. No credit card is required to start.

Can it make a podcast from a PDF?

Yes, and it is the most common workflow. Upload a textbook chapter, journal article, report, or slide PDF and the hosts script the episode from the actual text. The Free plan takes one PDF up to 8 MB and processes its first 32 pages; Premium processes up to 1,000 pages and Laureate up to 3,000.

What does a PDF to podcast tool do?

It reads the text of a PDF, writes a script that explains the main ideas as a conversation, and voices it with AI. Scholarly casts a host, an expert guest, and a producer, adds chapters and a searchable transcript, and lists the PDF in the episode's Sources tab. It explains rather than reading word for word; if you need every line read aloud, use a text-to-speech tool instead.

Is an AI podcast generator good for studying?

Yes, when the episode is built from your own course material and you test yourself afterwards. Listen to review a chapter you have already read, then quiz yourself: Scholarly turns the same source into flashcards and quizzes, and its Exam Prep style focuses the episode on definitions, key distinctions, and likely exam questions. Free episodes are about 2 minutes, so reviewing a full chapter in one episode needs a paid plan.

What is an AI podcast generator?

It writes and voices an audio episode from content you provide. Scholarly reads documents, notes, videos, or a topic and produces a conversation between a host, an expert guest, and a producer. Every episode includes chapters, a searchable transcript, and chapter slides you can watch as video.

What is the best AI podcast generator for studying?

The best AI podcast generator for studying works from your real course material and connects audio to self-testing. Scholarly scripts episodes from your uploaded PDFs, slides, notes, and videos, offers an Exam Prep style, and turns the same source into flashcards on a review schedule and graded quizzes. Gemini Notebook's Audio Overviews are excellent for quick summaries; Scholarly is built around the full study loop, so listening leads into retrieval practice.

Can I make a podcast from my class notes?

Yes. Paste typed notes, upload a document, or add photos of handwritten pages. The AI organises the episode around the concepts in your notes, so messy formatting doesn't matter. There's a dedicated Notes to Podcast tool if that's your main use case.

How long can a Scholarly podcast be?

Free episodes are about 2 minutes. On Premium and Laureate you set a target from 5 to 60 minutes in 5-minute steps, with 15 minutes as the default; the target guides the script, so the final runtime can vary. A target over 15 minutes costs 1 extra AI Creation Credit, and over 30 minutes 2 extra.

Which voices and languages does it support?

English episodes are voiced from a catalogue of 10 voices, and episodes in other languages from a catalogue of 30 multilingual voices. You can pick the guest's voice or let Scholarly choose; the host and producer are cast from the same catalogue, and each speaker is named after its voice. The language picker offers 71 output languages and regional variants, and the episode does not have to be in the same language as the source.

How many credits does a podcast cost?

An episode uses 1 AI Creation Credit with the default model. On paid plans, a target length over 15 minutes adds 1 credit and over 30 minutes adds 2, and choosing a higher-tier AI model costs more. Free accounts have one lifetime credit; Premium gets 15 per week and Laureate 80 per week.

Can I download the podcast as an MP3?

Yes, on a paid plan. Premium and Laureate can download the episode as an MP3 for podcast apps or as an MP4 of the synchronised chapter-slide video, and can export the chapter slides as PowerPoint (.pptx) or save them to Google Slides. The Free plan can stream the episode in Scholarly and share it by view link, but downloads ask you to upgrade.

How is it different from NotebookLM Audio Overview?

Both turn your sources into an AI conversation. Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) Audio Overviews use two hosts (one speaker in the Brief format), offer Deep Dive, Brief, Critique, and Debate formats in 80+ languages with Shorter, Default, and Longer lengths (Longer is English only), include an English voice join-in mode, and let you download the audio. Scholarly uses a host, an expert guest, and a producer, lets you pick the guest's voice, sets a paid target length up to 60 minutes, and adds chapters, a searchable transcript, timestamped Producer Notes with researched links, and a chapter-slide video. Scholarly episodes are cited: each one lists the sources it was built from in its Sources tab. Scholarly downloads need a paid plan, and its language picker has 71 options.

Can it make a podcast from a YouTube video or a recording?

Yes to both. Paste a YouTube link or upload a recording, and the generator produces a shorter, structured episode from it - useful for compressing a 50-minute recording into the 10 minutes you actually need to review.

Are Scholarly podcasts cited?

Yes. Scholarly podcasts are cited: each episode lists the sources it was built from in its Sources tab. The script is written from your uploaded files rather than from a generic outline of the topic, so you can open the original and check anything that sounds off. No AI system is perfect, so for high-stakes facts such as drug dosages, legal rules, or exam-critical numbers, confirm them in the source itself.

Do I need to upload a file, or can I just give it a topic?

You can start from just a topic description and get a solid episode. That said, source-grounded episodes are consistently better for studying because they cover what your course covers - your professor's emphasis, your textbook's notation - instead of a generic overview of the subject.

Does the episode include notes or extra research?

Yes. While the audio is generated, a research agent studies the same chapters, searches the web, and writes timestamped Producer Notes - researched context with cited, validated links pinned to the moments they refer to. You can jump the player to a note, open its sources, or send it into the episode chat. Each episode also includes a curated Related Resources list for going beyond your source.

Can I export the podcast to PowerPoint or Google Slides?

Yes, on a paid plan. Every episode has companion chapter slides, and Premium and Laureate can download them as a PowerPoint (.pptx) file with one slide per chapter. If you connect Google Drive, the same menu offers Save to Google Slides, which creates a separate copy in your Drive. The Free plan sees the export menu but is asked to upgrade before downloading; sharing a view link stays free.

How many sources can one episode use?

One source per episode on Free, up to 10 on Premium, and up to 20 on Laureate. Combining sources is useful when a topic is spread across a textbook chapter, a slide deck, and a recording: the hosts script one episode from all of them, and the Sources tab lists each one.

Pricing

Start free. Upgrade when your library grows.

Free includes one shared lifetime AI Creation Credit across Scholarly, and it does not reset. Premium includes 15 AI Creation Credits each week, support for longer source documents, and target lengths up to 60 minutes. No credit card required.

Sample lecture

What one video lecture gets

Free makes a lecture of about 2 minutes in 720p with the Scholarly logo, to watch in Scholarly. Premium and Laureate make lectures up to 45 minutes in 1080p that you can download as an MP4, with the logo off if you choose.

Pricing shown in USD by default. Local currency may be available in app or at checkout.

Compare plans

Image creation · Beta

Shared across Image Studio and chat. Separate from AI Creation Credits. Free images are lifetime and do not reset. Paid allowances reset weekly without rollover. Limits may change during beta.

Free
2 lifetime
Premium
40/week
Laureate
80/week

AI chat

Premium and Laureate include unlimited AI chat on Auto. Chat starts on Best, and premium models such as GPT 6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, and Claude Opus 5.5 draw on a weekly premium usage allowance; when it runs out, chat keeps going on Auto until it resets. Chat never spends AI Creation Credits.

Free
3 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Premium chat models (Best)

Chat answers on Best, the strongest model, by default. Premium models draw on a weekly allowance that resets every Monday at 00:00 UTC; long threads, large files, background tasks, and Claude Opus 5.5 use it faster. When it runs out, chat keeps going on Auto until the reset.

Free
Not included
Premium
Weekly usage
Laureate
4× weekly usage

AI Creation Credits

AI Creation Credits cover videos, slides, documents, and other AI creations. Most models use 1 credit, a few use 2, and Frontier models use 2, 3, or 4. Image Studio and chat images have a separate weekly allowance.

Free
1 total
Premium
15/week
Laureate
80/week

Podcast length

Free episodes are about 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target length up to 60 minutes.

Free
About 2 minutes
Premium
Up to 60 minutes
Laureate
Up to 60 minutes

Video lecture length

Free lectures with a length control are about 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target up to 45 minutes. Short uses its own short video format.

Free
About 2 minutes
Premium
Up to 45 minutes
Laureate
Up to 45 minutes

Video lecture resolution

Free
720p
Premium
1080p
Laureate
1080p

Download lectures as MP4

Free
-
Premium
Included
Laureate
Included

Scholarly logo on lectures

Free
Always on
Premium
Your choice
Laureate
Your choice

File uploads

Free
1 total (8MB)
Premium
Unlimited (300MB)
Laureate
Unlimited (1 GB each)

PDF to flashcards

Free
32 pages
Premium
1000 pages
Laureate
3000 pages

Sources per creation

Free
Up to 1
Premium
Up to 10
Laureate
Up to 20

Practice questions

Free
5 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Practice exams

Free
1 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Voice mode

Free
15 min total
Premium
2 hr/day
Laureate
12 hr/day

Autocomplete

Free
500 words total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Export to Anki

Free
-
Premium
Included
Laureate
Included

Support

Free
Standard
Premium
Priority
Laureate
Priority

What customers say

Scholarly has enhanced the quality of notes and questions I administer to my tutees. Insightful, to the point.

TD Georgas

TD Georgas

Tutor

I have very good experience with Scholarly it summarise me scientific text in hovel academic level with citation. I use this for any therapeutic area . It is great and useful tool.

Diana

Diana

Scholarly user

Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organising and retaining information much easier.

Briana

Briana

Scholarly user

This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organise it specifically for your needs.

Kelvin

Kelvin

Scholarly user

Your questions, answered

Is Scholarly free to use?

Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with lifetime allowances: 3 AI Chat messages, 500 autocomplete words, 5 quiz questions, 15 voice minutes, 1 practice exam, one free AI Creation Credit total, and 1 file upload. These allowances do not reset. Image Studio and chat also share 2 lifetime images during beta; this separate Free allowance does not reset and may change. Upgrade to Premium for 15 AI Creation Credits per week and unlimited uploads.

What uses my free AI Creation Credits?

AI Creation Credits are shared across flashcards, podcasts, videos, slides, AI Documents, Deep Research, and the Transcribe tool. The selected model determines the credit cost. Recording a meeting does not use an AI Creation Credit. Transcript and notes are included, up to 10 hours on paid plans.

Can I cancel any time?

Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.

Can I use Scholarly with a class or school?

Yes. For a school or organisation-wide rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so and we'll help you find the right setup.

What happens when I hit a free plan limit?

You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost. Limits only apply to new actions. Most Free allowances are lifetime limits. The separate beta image allowance includes 2 lifetime images on Free with no reset, 40 per week on Premium, and 80 per week on Laureate. Limits may change during beta. Premium includes 15 AI Creation Credits per week, podcasts up to 60 minutes, video lectures up to 45 minutes, unlimited uploads, chat, autocomplete, quizzes, and exams, plus more daily voice time.