AI Video Lectures Built From Your Sources
Turn PDFs, notes, textbooks, or a single topic prompt into a fully narrated, animated explainer video — for any subject you study.
Free to start · No credit card required
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.
Why students love AI Video Lectures
Stop re-reading dense PDFs. Watch and understand complex topics 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
Three steps from source material to a finished video lecture.
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".
2. Pick a mode, voice, and language
Pick a teaching mode, then choose the exact narrator from 26 official Grok voices 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.
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.
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 teacher that fits the student, the subject, and the moment.
Standard
DefaultA calm, editorial study lecture — a beautifully designed textbook chapter in motion.
Short
FreeA fast, 30-second vertical explainer built for quick review.
Math
Free3Blue1Brown-style animated math — derivations that build step by step.
Kids
FreeShort's art-directed visual-story format, full-width for young learners.
Freestyle
FreeThe AI picks the style and visual tools that fit your topic best — a different look every time.
The mode shapes how your video teaches — pick the style that fits your material. Every mode is free. Short uses its own approximately 30-second vertical format; lecture modes use Auto length on Free, with target-length control on paid plans.
Everything you need to learn visually
All the tools to create, navigate, and share your AI video lectures.
Pick Your Length
On Free, Auto matches the lecture length to your sources. Paid plans can set a target from 1 to 15 minutes. Short stays an approximately 30-second vertical video.
26 Voices in 27+ Languages
Choose the exact multilingual Grok 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
Warm paper background, serif headlines, and clean diagram-style scenes. 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 or download as MP4 to watch offline. Recipients can watch without creating an account.
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.
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.
How Scholarly compares
Other tools make great videos — but they aren't built for studying your material. Here's where each one wins.
Best for source-grounded research. Video Overviews summarize your documents into a slideshow with narration.
Strong at citing your sources back to you.
Visuals stay slide-like — no animated diagrams or chapters.
No built-in flashcards, quizzes, or checkpoints to study from.
Best for corporate training videos. Polished AI avatars that read a script you write yourself.
Great for product walkthroughs and onboarding.
You have to write the script — it won't read your PDF for you.
No study layer: no transcript-aware chat, recall, or flashcards.
Best for studying your own material. Turns your PDF, notes, or a topic into an animated, narrated lecture.
Animated diagrams, chapters, captions, and a searchable transcript.
Interactive checkpoints, AI chat, and one-click flashcards or quizzes.
Free to start, in 27+ languages, on any subject you study.
Pick the right entry point
This page is the overview. If you know exactly how you want to start, jump straight to the matching tool.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to generate a video lecture?
Most video lectures finish in 10-25 minutes depending on your source material. A lecture on a single short topic can be ready in under 10 minutes. You can close the page — Scholarly notifies you when the video is ready.
What languages are supported?
Over 27 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Turkish, and more. The narration uses natural AI voices and the captions and transcript are generated in the same language.
Can I edit the video after it's generated?
You can regenerate any chapter, change the language, or switch the video mode and have Scholarly rebuild the video. Full timeline-level video editing isn't supported — but most students just regenerate sections that miss the mark.
Is the AI video lecture generator free?
Yes — it's free to try. The free plan includes a limited number of AI creations and every video mode at 480p or 720p, with Auto matching lecture length to your sources. Premium adds target-length control, ongoing creation, 1080p Full HD, and MP4 downloads alongside all the other Scholarly study tools.
How is this different from Khan Academy or YouTube?
Khan Academy and YouTube give you somebody else's lecture on a topic that's often only a partial match for your class. Scholarly generates a video from your specific PDF, notes, or topic prompt — so it covers exactly your syllabus, in your language, at a source-matched length on Free or a target you choose on a paid plan. You can also chat with the video and turn it into flashcards.
Can I download the video?
Yes. Paid users can download video lectures as MP4 files to watch offline, share with classmates, or save to their phone. Free users can stream and share via link.
What's included with each video lecture?
Every generated video comes with chapter navigation, a full searchable transcript, synced captions, AI chat trained on the video and source material, optional interactive question checkpoints with Best/Last score tracking and history, and one-click flashcard generation.
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 specifically for studying your own material, not for marketing or corporate videos. Unlike NotebookLM's slideshow-style Video Overviews or avatar tools like Synthesia, it reads your actual PDF, notes, or topic as a teaching source and renders an animated, chaptered lecture wired into a study loop — interactive question checkpoints, AI chat, and one-click flashcards or quizzes from the same source. For students, that study layer is what makes it the best AI video lecture generator in 2026.
Guides and comparisons
In-depth reads on AI video lectures — when to use them, which tools to pick, and how the workflow comes together.
The Best AI Video Lecture Generators in 2026
Honest 8-tool comparison covering NotebookLM, Synthesia, HeyGen, and more.
NotebookLM Video Overviews vs Scholarly AI Video Lectures
Head-to-head on the two source-grounded narrated-video tools.
How to Make a Study Video From Your Notes in 5 Minutes
A five-step walkthrough for the notes-to-video workflow.
How to Turn YouTube Videos Into Study Lectures With AI
Turn YouTube lectures into chaptered, flashcard-backed study lectures.
Keep exploring
Keep exploring
More AI study tools that pair with video lectures.
AI Video Lecture Generator
The full AI video lecture workflow — every input, every output.
Notes to Video
Turn typed or handwritten notes into a narrated video.
PDF to Video
Convert any PDF into an animated video lecture.
Text to Video
Generate a video lecture from any text or topic.
YouTube to Video Lecture
Turn any YouTube video into a structured, chaptered study lecture.
Textbook to Video
Turn a 40-page chapter into a 10-minute narrated explainer.
Slides to Video
PowerPoint or Keynote deck → narrated video walkthrough.
Article to Video
Paste a URL or article and watch the key claims explained.
Lecture to Video
Lecture recording → re-edited narrated video summary.
Notes to Animated Video
Notes → cinematic animated study video.
AI Flashcards
Make flashcards from any source for spaced repetition.
AI Podcasts
Listen to your study material as a narrated podcast.
AI Lecture Generator
Start from a topic instead of a file and get a full lesson.
Every tool here is a purpose-built AI agent
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.
Ready to watch your study materials come alive?
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
- 3 AI Chat messages per day
- 1 free AI creation total
- 1 free file upload total (8MB)
- 5 quiz questions per day
- 1 exam attempt per day
- 15 voice minutes per day
- 32-page PDF to flashcards
- 500 autocomplete words per day
Use it to generate flashcards, improve a deck, or create a podcast, video lecture, slides, infographic, mind map, study guide, worksheet, spreadsheet, story book, timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline — or run Deep Research or turn a recording into AI Meeting Notes.
Premium
$144 billed yearly
Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited normal chat & autocomplete
- Unlimited premium model messages
- Unlimited AI creations
- Unlimited file uploads (up to 300MB)
- Unlimited study sessions
- Unlimited exams & quizzes
- 1000-page PDF to flashcards
- Export to Anki
- Priority support
Teams
Billed $324/seat yearly
Everything in Premium, plus:
- Start with 1 seat
- 450 weekly credits per member
- Premium models and admin controls
Pricing in USD. Local currency available in app.
Compare plans
Normal chat
- Free
- 3/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Premium chat
Messages with paid models like Gemini 3.6 Flash, Grok 4.5, Mistral Medium 3.5, and similar options. GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5 are reserved for Enterprise.
- Free
- —
- Premium
- Unlimited
AI creations
AI creations are used for AI Flashcards, deck edits, AI Podcasts, AI Video Lectures, AI Slides, worksheets, AI Infographics, mind maps, study guides, spreadsheets, story books, timelines, SOPs, flowcharts, lesson plans, outlines, AI Meeting Notes, and Deep Research reports.
- Free
- 1 total
- Premium
- Unlimited
Video lectures
- Free
- Uses AI creations
- Premium
- Unlimited
File uploads
- Free
- 1 total (8MB)
- Premium
- Unlimited (300MB)
PDF to flashcards
- Free
- 32 pages
- Premium
- 1000 pages
Practice questions
- Free
- 5/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Practice exams
- Free
- 1/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Voice mode
- Free
- 15 min/day
- Premium
- 2 hr/day
Autocomplete
- Free
- 500 words/day
- Premium
- Unlimited
Export to Anki
- Free
- —
- Premium
- Included
Support
- Free
- Standard
- Premium
- Priority
What students say
Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.
Briana
Student
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
Student
I am currently preparing for a test that covers a substantial amount of material, and I've found that not having to physically write out my flashcards has been incredibly beneficia...
Isabelle
Student
Scholarly is great for students. I am enrolled in online university and my classes are all PDF based. All I do is upload the PDF and it creates flashcards decks for me. The greate...
Alexandra
Student
Your questions, answered
Is Scholarly free to use?
Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with clear limits: 3 AI Chat messages per day, one free AI creation total, 1 free file upload total, quizzes, practice exams, and manual flashcard creation. Upgrade to Premium for unlimited AI creations and unlimited uploads.
What uses my free AI creations?
Generating flashcards, improving a flashcard deck, making a podcast, creating a video lecture or infographic, building slides, a spreadsheet, or a story book, making a mind map, study guide, or worksheet, having an AI Agent create a timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline, running Deep Research, or processing a recording uses your free AI creation. It is a lifetime free credit and does not reset. AI Chat messages, quizzes, and exams still have separate daily limits; free file uploads are also lifetime credits.
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. Scholarly for Teams is self-serve for up to 29 seats, so you can put a class or department on one plan yourself in minutes. For a larger rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so.
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. Free AI creations and the free upload are lifetime credits and do not reset. Upgrading unlocks unlimited AI creations and unlimited uploads.
For Educators or Schools
Scholarly for Teams is self-serve and puts your class or department on one plan. For a larger rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so.