Free: one 2-minute video at 720p, no card · Paid: up to 45 minutes, 1080p, MP4 download
Used by 200,000+ learners and professionals worldwide
200,000+
learners and professionals worldwide
70+
narration languages
45 min
longest lecture on paid plans
Direct answer
What is Scholarly's AI video lecture generator, and is it free?
Scholarly turns PDFs, notes, slides, documents, YouTube links, or a topic into a narrated, animated video lecture with chapters, captions, a searchable transcript, question checkpoints, and AI chat, grounded in the source you give it. It is free to start: the Free plan's one lifetime AI Creation Credit makes one 2-minute video at 720p. Premium and Laureate set lengths up to 45 minutes, render 1080p, and download watermark-free MP4.
What goes in: PDFs, Word files, slide decks, images of notes, pasted text, YouTube links, or a topic prompt. Free: one source up to 8 MB, PDFs read up to 32 pages. Premium: up to 10 sources, 300 MB, 1,000 pages; Laureate: 20 sources, 1,000 MB, 3,000 pages.
What comes out: A narrated 16:9 lecture (vertical for Short) in one of five modes, Standard, Illustrated, Short, Manim Math Animation, or Freestyle, with chapters, captions, a transcript, question checkpoints, AI chat, and one-click flashcards or a quiz. Narration, captions, and transcript come in 70+ output languages and regional variants.
Free plan: One lifetime AI Creation Credit, shared across Scholarly: one 2-minute video at 720p with Scholarly branding, watched in Scholarly and shared by link. No MP4 download.
Paid plans: Premium ($30/mo or $180/yr) gives 15 AI Creation Credits a week and Laureate ($99/mo) 80. Both set a target length up to 45 minutes, render 1080p, can turn the logo off, and download MP4. A video above 15 minutes costs 1 extra credit, above 30 minutes 2 extra.
Best for: learning a hard chapter, a manual, or a set of notes from an explanation of your own material, for students and professionals alike, then drilling it with flashcards and quizzes from the same source.
Updated October 2026
See it in action
Two ways to turn a source into video
Two ways to turn any source into video — a full-length hand-drawn lecture, or a bite-size vertical short. Both generated from your own material.
Stop re-reading dense PDFs. Watch and understand a policy, a chapter, or a spec visually.
Visual learning
Complex topics explained through animated scenes, charts, and illustrations. See the concepts, not just read them.
Multi-source input
Combine PDFs, text files, images, or just type a topic prompt. Perfect for synthesizing multiple chapters, papers, or ideas from scratch.
Active recall built in
Question cards appear at checkpoints while the video keeps playing — answer them for instant AI feedback, or toggle them off anytime. Your Best and Last scores are tracked next to the questions list.
How it works
How it works
Three steps from source material to a finished video lecture.
01
1. Upload or type a topic
Drop in a PDF, textbook chapter, lecture notes, or just paste a topic prompt like "Krebs cycle" or "the French Revolution".
02
2. Pick a mode, voice, and language
Pick a teaching mode, then choose the narrator voice for your language or leave it on Auto for a voice that fits the material. Set the narration language and video quality; paid plans can also set a target length.
03
3. Watch, chat, and study
Watch the animated lecture with chapters, captions, and full transcript. Ask the AI questions, then turn the content into flashcards or a quiz.
New New teaching styles
Pick a video mode
The same topic, re-taught a few different ways. Each mode is its own teaching style — its own visuals, pacing, and voice. Choose the one that fits the material, the audience, and the moment.
Standard
Default
A calm, editorial study lecture, like a well-designed textbook chapter in motion. This is the starting mode on every plan.
Illustrated
Free
A hand-drawn visual story told through illustrations and sparse handwritten labels.
Short
Free
A fast vertical explainer in a short video format, built for quick review.
Manim Math Animation
Free
Precise Manim derivations with vetted scenes first and a flexible fallback for other math.
Freestyle
Free
The AI picks the style and visual tools that fit your topic best, a different look every time.
The mode shapes how your video teaches. Every new lecture starts on Standard, and picking a mode yourself always wins. Every mode is available on Free. Short uses its own vertical short video format; lecture modes use a roughly 2-minute length on Free, with target-length control up to 45 minutes on paid plans.
Inside every lecture
Everything you need to learn visually
All the tools to create, navigate, and share your AI video lectures.
The Length You Pick
On Free, lectures use a roughly 2-minute length. Paid plans set a target up to 45 minutes — and the lecture is built to it. Narration is recorded in chapters and paced from the real audio, so the remaining chapters are sized to how the narrator actually speaks; a plan that comes in short is extended with new source-grounded scenes rather than padded or stretched. Short uses its own vertical short-video format. Every finished lecture still shows the length you asked for next to the runtime delivered, along with the source pages it covered and the narration language. Free previews are labelled with their own runtime and the target length of the full lecture.
Narrator Voices in 70+ Languages
Choose the exact multilingual narrator or use Auto to match the voice to your material. One voice stays consistent throughout the video, and custom instructions guide the lecture style.
Custom Instructions
Add freeform instructions to steer any lecture — emphasize a chapter, explain like you're a visual learner, or focus on exam-relevant material.
Textbook-Quality Visuals
Serif headlines and clean diagram-style scenes on a hand-tuned color palette drawn fresh for each lecture — soft pastels, brights, the classic cream, or a full dark theme with the Dark Mode toggle. Definitions, comparisons, step-by-step processes, equations with real math typography, animated stats, charts, and key-insight callouts — picked automatically for each topic.
Chapter Navigation
Videos are divided into chapters by topic. Jump to any section instantly.
Full Transcript
Read along with a complete transcript of the narration. Search and reference any part.
Synced Captions
Built-in captions match the narration line by line. Great for muted study sessions, libraries, or learning in a second language.
AI Chat
Ask questions about the video content. The AI uses the transcript and source materials to answer.
Interactive Questions
Question cards appear at key moments and ask about what you just watched — without interrupting playback. Built-in active recall with your Best and Last scores tracked next to the questions list, plus a full attempt history.
Flashcard Generation
Generate flashcards directly from completed video lectures or from any interactive question checkpoint.
Share & Download
Share video lectures via link on every plan, or download them as MP4 to watch offline on a paid plan. Recipients can watch without creating an account. On a paid plan you can also export the lecture's companion deck as a PowerPoint (.pptx) file, or save it straight to Google Slides with Google Drive connected.
Topic Prompt Mode
No source file? Just type a topic — "photosynthesis", "limits in calculus", "World War I causes" — and Scholarly writes the lecture from scratch.
Diagrams That Build As You Watch
Scenes are drawn on screen in step with the narration rather than appearing all at once — boxes land before the arrows that connect them, comparisons fill in as each side is explained, and nothing is on screen before it has been mentioned. Beyond illustrations, lectures draw graphs, tables, frameworks, funnels, cycles, and code.
Long Lectures, Shorter Wait
Long video lectures finish considerably sooner than they used to, and the create window shows a realistic wait for the length you picked before you start it — so you can decide whether to wait or come back. Either way it runs on our servers, so you can close the tab.
Right-to-Left and Native Pacing
Arabic and Hebrew lectures are laid out right to left, not just translated, and on-screen text follows the lecture’s own language instead of falling back to English labels. Japanese, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Thai and other scripts are planned at their own speaking pace, so a lecture hits the length you asked for in any language.
Every subject
Built for every subject
From cell biology to compilers — Scholarly adapts its visuals to your material.
Biology video lectures
Cellular respiration, DNA replication, the immune system. Animated cell diagrams and process flows make biology feel like a documentary.
Calculus and math
Limits, derivatives, integrals, linear algebra. Mathematical visualizations show graphs morphing as values change so you actually see what a derivative is.
History and humanities
Timelines, maps, and key figures. Whether it's the Cold War or the Renaissance, you get a narrated story instead of a wall of dates.
Computer science
Data structures, algorithms, networking, machine learning. Watch a binary tree get built, a quicksort run, or a TCP handshake unfold step by step.
For professors, teachers, and course creators
Turn the slides and readings you teach from into a lecture video
Upload a PowerPoint deck, a PDF chapter, or your course notes. Scholarly writes the narration from that material, voices it, and renders a chaptered lecture video with captions, a transcript, and question checkpoints. There is no avatar to set up, nothing to record, and no timeline to edit.
Slides to lecture video with voiceover
Upload a .pptx deck or a PDF export of your slides. Speaker notes are read with each slide, and the lecture is rebuilt as narrated, animated scenes rather than a screen recording.
A course module from a PDF chapter
Pick the pages of a textbook chapter, reading, or handout. The narration is written only from the pages you select, so the video teaches what your course teaches.
Your script, word for word
Already wrote the lecture? Turn on Use my script as written and the narrator keeps your wording and order instead of writing a new script.
Ready for your LMS or course platform
On a paid plan, download the MP4 and an export pack with the slides, the narration script by chapter, and captions as .vtt and .srt files.
Lectures up to 45 minutes on Premium and Laureate
1080p Full HD and a logo-free MP4 on paid plans
Narration, captions, and on-screen text in over 70 languages
Chapters, synced captions, a transcript, and question checkpoints in every lecture
How long does it take to generate a video lecture?
A 2-minute video usually takes about 8 to 20 minutes to generate, and longer lectures take longer: about 18 to 40 minutes for a 10-minute video and about 55 to 95 minutes for 45 minutes. It runs on Scholarly's servers, so you can close the tab and come back to the finished video.
Which languages are supported?
70+ output languages and regional variants, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Greek, Hebrew, Ukrainian, the Nordic languages, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Thai, and Turkish. The narrator is told which language it is reading rather than guessing from the text, so each language is spoken natively, numbers and abbreviations included, and the captions and transcript are generated in the same language. Arabic, Hebrew, and other right-to-left lectures are laid out right to left, not just translated. The source and the lecture do not have to share a language.
Can I edit the video after it's generated?
There is no timeline editor. To change a lecture, adjust the sources, custom instructions, mode, length, or language and generate a new version.
Is Scholarly's AI video lecture generator free?
Yes, to start. The Free plan includes one lifetime AI Creation Credit, shared across every Scholarly tool, and it can make one narrated video lecture of about 2 minutes at 720p with Scholarly branding, in any mode, with no credit card. Watching and sharing by link are free; MP4 download, 1080p, a custom length up to 45 minutes, and 15 AI Creation Credits a week come with Premium.
How long can an AI video lecture be?
On the Free plan, a video lecture is a fixed length of about 2 minutes. On Premium and Laureate you set a target length up to 45 minutes before generating (15 minutes is the default), and the lecture is planned to that length. The finished lecture shows the length you asked for next to the runtime delivered. Each video costs 1 AI Creation Credit with the default model, plus 1 extra credit above 15 minutes and 2 extra above 30 minutes. The vertical Short format keeps its own fixed length.
Can I download the video as an MP4?
Yes, on any paid plan. Premium and Laureate download the finished lecture as an MP4, and turning the Scholarly logo off when you generate gives a watermark-free file; the export pack adds the companion slides PDF (Standard mode), the script, and caption files. On the Free plan you watch the video in Scholarly and share it with a view link that opens in the browser, but download is not included.
What does the video look like?
It is a narrated lecture built from new scenes, not a recording of your source: a natural voice explains the material while diagrams, charts, equations, and step-by-step builds animate in sync, and the AI can add generated pictures or figures cut from your source. The video is 16:9 (Short is vertical), split into chapters, with captions you can switch on, a searchable transcript, optional question checkpoints, and AI chat. Standard is the default style; Illustrated, Short, Manim Math Animation, and Freestyle are the other modes.
Can I generate a video from just a topic prompt?
Yes. You don't need a source file. Type a topic like "Krebs cycle", "linear algebra eigenvectors", or "causes of the French Revolution" and Scholarly writes the script, builds the animations, and narrates the full lecture from scratch.
Can I turn a PDF or my notes into a video lecture?
Yes — those are the two most common inputs. Use PDF to Video to convert lecture slides or a textbook chapter into a narrated video lecture, or Notes to Video to turn typed or handwritten study notes into one. Both feed the same generator, so you get the same chaptered, narrated video with a transcript, AI chat, and one-click flashcards.
What's the best AI video lecture generator for students?
Scholarly is built for learning from your own material, not for marketing or corporate videos. Unlike the Video Overviews in Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) or avatar tools like Synthesia, it reads your actual PDF, notes, or topic as a teaching source and renders an animated, chaptered lecture up to 45 minutes wired into a study loop: interactive question checkpoints, AI chat, and one-click flashcards on a spaced-repetition schedule or graded quizzes from the same source. Free includes one 2-minute video, so you can judge it on your own material.
Can professors and teachers use Scholarly as an AI lecture generator for a course?
Yes. Upload the slides, PDF chapter, or notes you teach from, choose a length, language, and voice, and Scholarly generates a narrated, chaptered lecture video with captions, a transcript, and question checkpoints. Premium and Laureate set any length up to 45 minutes, render in 1080p, and download the MP4 with .vtt and .srt captions for your LMS. Turn on Use my script as written to keep your exact wording. There is no avatar or on-screen presenter.
Can I turn PowerPoint slides into a lecture video with voiceover?
Yes. Upload a .pptx deck or a PDF export of your slides. Scholarly reads each slide and its speaker notes, writes the narration (or keeps your script word for word when Use my script as written is on), and renders a narrated lecture with chapters and captions. You pick an AI narrator voice in any of over 70 languages; it is not a recording of your own voice.
Guides
Guides and comparisons
In-depth reads on AI video lectures — when to use them, which tools to pick, and how the workflow comes together.
Scholarly doesn't just call a model once. Each feature is run by an autonomous AI agent that reads your material, reasons across multiple models, and can research the web and run code — then hands back a finished, cited artifact.
Multiple models
Agents route each step to the model that does it best, instead of relying on a single one.
Live web research
When your sources aren't enough, agents search the web and cite what they find.
Runs code in a sandbox
Each agent gets its own sandbox to compute, transform data, and build your artifact.
Grounded in your sources
Every output is built from the PDFs, notes, and lectures you upload — not guesswork.
Create your first AI video lecture from a PDF, your notes, or just a topic prompt. Free to start — go Premium for longer videos, MP4 downloads, and higher limits.
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.
With the Scholarly logo, to watch in Scholarly. Podcasts of about 2 min.
1 free AI Creation Credit total
2 lifetime images · Beta
3 lifetime AI Chat messages
1 free file upload total (8MB)
AI Meeting Notes: 3 meetings total, no reset, up to 60 minutes, notes included
5 lifetime quiz questions
1 completed practice exam total
15 lifetime voice minutes
32-page PDF to flashcards
500 lifetime autocomplete words
Use it to generate flashcards, improve a deck, or create a podcast, video lecture, slides, infographic, mind map, Summary, worksheet, spreadsheet, story book, timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline — or run Deep Research. A meeting recorded with it comes with its transcript and AI Meeting Notes.
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. The chat model menu is a curated selection and is smaller than the creation catalog — some models, including the Frontier tier, are reserved for credit-metered AI creations.
Free
3 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited
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
Feature
Free
Premium
Laureate
Image creation · Beta
2 lifetime
40/week
80/week
AI chat
3 total
Unlimited
Unlimited
AI Creation Credits
1 total
15/week
80/week
Podcast length
About 2 minutes
Up to 60 minutes
Up to 60 minutes
Video lecture length
About 2 minutes
Up to 45 minutes
Up to 45 minutes
Video lecture resolution
720p
1080p
1080p
Download lectures as MP4
—
Included
Included
Scholarly logo on lectures
Always on
Your choice
Your choice
File uploads
1 total (8MB)
Unlimited (300MB)
Unlimited (1 GB each)
PDF to flashcards
32 pages
1000 pages
3000 pages
Sources per creation
Up to 1
Up to 10
Up to 20
Practice questions
5 total
Unlimited
Unlimited
Practice exams
1 total
Unlimited
Unlimited
Voice mode
15 min total
2 hr/day
12 hr/day
Autocomplete
500 words total
Unlimited
Unlimited
Export to Anki
—
Included
Included
Support
Standard
Priority
Priority
What customers say
Scholarly has enhanced the quality of notes and questions I administer to my tutees. Insightful, to the point.
TD Georgas
Tutor
I have very good experience with Scholarly it summarize me scientific text in hovel academic level with citation. I use this for any therapeutic area . It is great and useful tool.
Diana
Scholarly user
Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.
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 organize it specifically for your needs.
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 anytime?
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 organization-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.
