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Synthesia Alternative for Training Videos from Documents

Synthesia is built around AI avatars: you write or import a script and a presenter reads it. Scholarly starts from the document itself. Upload an SOP, policy PDF, or slide deck and get a narrated, chaptered lecture up to 45 minutes with captions and question checkpoints, and no avatar to cast.

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Scholarly vs Synthesia: Feature Comparison

An honest look at how the two platforms compare.

Video from a PDF, Word file, or PowerPoint deck

Scholarly
Every plan
Synthesia
PowerPoint on every plan; documents and PDFs on paid plans

AI avatar presenter

Scholarly
Synthesia
125+ avatars on Starter, 240+ on Enterprise

Longest single video

Scholarly
45 minutes
Synthesia
About 4 hours in the scene editor

Video included

Scholarly
Credits per video, not minutes
Synthesia
10 min/mo on Basic, about 12 on Starter, about 60 on Pro

Questions during playback

Scholarly
Checkpoints in every video
Synthesia
Interactive quizzes

Narrate your script word for word

Scholarly
Synthesia

MP4 download

Scholarly
Paid plans, up to 1080p
Synthesia
Full HD 1080p

Narration languages

Scholarly
70+
Synthesia
70+ (140+ on Enterprise)

SCORM export for an LMS

Scholarly
Synthesia
Enterprise plan

Quiz, flashcards, slides, and podcast from the same source

Scholarly
Synthesia

Starting paid price (USD)

Scholarly
See plans below
Synthesia
Starter $29/mo, or $18/mo billed yearly

Synthesia or Scholarly: Which Should You Pick?

They solve different jobs. Pick by what the video has to do.

A presenter on screen with lip-sync

Better pick
Synthesia
Why
Avatars are its core product. Scholarly has no avatar.

A long training lecture straight from an SOP or manual

Better pick
Scholarly
Why
Pick the pages and a length up to 45 minutes; the narration is written from those pages.

SCORM tracking inside your LMS

Better pick
Synthesia (Enterprise)
Why
Scholarly exports an MP4 with .vtt and .srt captions, not SCORM.

Approved compliance wording read as written

Better pick
Either
Why
Both narrate a fixed script. In Scholarly, turn on Use my script as written.

A quiz and flashcards from the same document

Better pick
Scholarly
Why
Generated from the same source, next to the video.

Fine control over every scene

Better pick
Synthesia
Why
Its editor works scene by scene. Scholarly regenerates from the source instead.

Synthesia facts checked on October 22, 2026 against: Synthesia pricing, Synthesia video creation docs

Comparing tools for a whole team?

Scholarly Teams puts your team, class, lab, or company on one Premium or Laureate plan — the chosen access for every member, all built from your shared material.

Where Synthesia Still Shines

Synthesia is a great tool with real strengths worth acknowledging.

Avatars and presenters

Synthesia's product is a realistic presenter: 125+ stock avatars on Starter, more on Pro and Enterprise, plus voice cloning. If your training needs a face on screen, Scholarly does not offer one.

A full scene editor

Synthesia builds videos scene by scene, up to 150 scenes and about 4 hours in total, so you can tune each line and cut. Scholarly regenerates from the source instead of offering a timeline editor.

Enterprise L&D features

SCORM export, interactive quizzes, and 140+ languages on the Enterprise plan fit an LMS-driven program. Scholarly exports an MP4 with captions, not a SCORM package.

Where Scholarly Fits Better

Start from the document, not a script

Upload the SOP, policy PDF, or deck and pick the pages. Scholarly plans the lesson, writes the narration from those pages, and renders it. You only write a script if you want to.

A 45-minute lecture in one generation

Set any length up to 45 minutes on Premium or Laureate. The video arrives chaptered, with synced captions, a searchable transcript, and question checkpoints, instead of a stack of scenes to assemble.

No avatar to cast or approve

Narrated visuals built from your material: step sequences, comparisons, callouts, charts, and the figures from your PDF. Nothing to re-record when a presenter is retired.

Approved wording stays approved

Turn on Use my script as written and the narrator keeps your source's wording and order, which is what a signed-off compliance statement needs.

The quiz comes from the same source

Generate a quiz, exam, flashcards, slides, or a podcast from the document behind the video, so the knowledge check matches the training.

A shared library for the team

Scholarly Teams keeps sources and videos in one team library with Owner, Admin, and Member roles and one bill, without being an LMS.

How Scholarly Works

Step 1: Upload the document

A PDF, Word file, PowerPoint deck, or your own script. Pick the pages this video should cover.

Step 2: Generate the lecture

Choose a length (up to 45 minutes on paid plans), a language, and a voice. Scholarly writes the narration from your pages and adds chapters, captions, and question checkpoints.

Step 3: Review and share

Read the transcript against the source, then share a link, add it to your team library, or download the MP4 and captions on a paid plan.

Scholarly vs Synthesia: A Closer Look

Synthesia is the market leader in AI avatar video, and it is very good at it. Per its pricing page on October 22, 2026, Basic is free with 10 minutes of video a month, Starter is $29 a month (or $18 a month billed yearly), and Pro is $89 a month (or $64 billed yearly). It imports PowerPoint on every plan and documents or PDFs on paid plans, and its editor runs up to about 4 hours across 150 scenes.

The difference is where the work starts. In Synthesia, a document becomes a script for a presenter, and you shape the video scene by scene. In Scholarly, the document is the lesson: you choose the pages, a length up to 45 minutes, a language, and a voice, and the narrated lecture comes back with chapters, captions, a transcript, and question checkpoints.

Pick Synthesia when a presenter on screen, SCORM, or a scene editor is a requirement. Pick Scholarly when the job is turning SOPs, manuals, and decks into narrated training quickly, with a quiz from the same source and no avatar. Some teams use both: Synthesia for a brand-facing welcome video, Scholarly for the procedure library.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Synthesia alternative for training videos from documents?

If you start from documents and don't need an avatar, Scholarly: upload a PDF, Word file, or PowerPoint deck and get a narrated, chaptered lecture up to 45 minutes on a paid plan, with synced captions, a transcript, and question checkpoints, downloadable as a 1080p MP4. If you need a presenter on screen or SCORM, Synthesia is the stronger choice.

Does Scholarly have AI avatars like Synthesia?

No. Scholarly makes narrated visual lessons (animated scenes, diagrams, step sequences, and figures from your document) with an AI narrator voice and no on-screen presenter.

How long can a video be?

Scholarly lectures can target any length up to 45 minutes on Premium and Laureate. Synthesia's editor allows up to 150 scenes and about 4 hours in total, and its plans include a monthly allowance of video minutes (10 on Basic, about 12 on Starter, about 60 on Pro, per its pricing page).

Can Scholarly export SCORM?

No. On a paid plan Scholarly downloads an MP4 and an export pack with the slides, the narration script, and .vtt and .srt captions, which most LMSs accept as a video asset. Synthesia lists SCORM on its Enterprise plan.

Can I keep our approved script word for word?

Yes. Turn on Use my script as written and the narrator keeps your wording and order. Pick a length long enough for the script, because the selected length is a ceiling.

Which languages does Scholarly support?

Narration, captions, on-screen text, and chapter titles in over 70 languages, with right-to-left layout for Arabic and Hebrew. The source and the video do not have to share a language.

How much does Scholarly cost?

Scholarly is free to sign up. Lectures up to 45 minutes, 1080p, logo-free MP4 downloads, and the export pack need Premium or Laureate; prices for your country are in the plans below. A video uses AI Creation Credits by model and length: 1 credit on Auto up to 15 minutes, 1 more above 15 minutes, and 2 more above 30.

Turn Your Next SOP into a Training Video

Upload the document, pick the pages, and get a narrated, chaptered lecture with captions and a quiz from the same source.

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. 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 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 summarize 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 organizing 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 organize 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 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.