8 Best AI Video Generators of 2023

You know how much people love video.. And perhaps you also know you should be creating more of it.

Well, now is a great time to get started. 

Thanks to AI video generators, it's easier than ever to create videos from text without any need for camera equipment, actors, microphones, or even video editing skills. 

Not only is this method affordable, it's also scalable, making it a fantastic way to enhance your content creation efforts. 📹

In a few years, 95% of content on the internet will be generated by AI anyway, so why not give it a go before it becomes mainstream?

In this blog post, you'll find a detailed overview of the most popular AI video generators on the market: Synthesia, Colossyan, Hour One, D-ID, Elai, HeyGen, Runway and Pictory.

We’ll have a look into the realism of their AI avatars and voices, we’ll break down different pricing models, list some Pros and Cons, and give an objective conclusion based on these parameters. 

Ready to jump right in?

1. Synthesia

Synthesia is the world’s leading AI video generator that allows you to create videos with AI presenters from text.

It includes more than 60 video templates you can start from, and you can choose between more than 140 AI avatars that can speak your text in more than 120 languages and accents. 🌍

The tool is mainly being used for training videos, how-to videos and product marketing videos.

Prefer video? Discover Synthesia in 5 minutes:

6 key stand-out features

1. 120+ voices and accents
2. 140+ diverse AI avatars
3. 60+ video templates designed by professional designers
4. The option to have a custom avatar created
5. The option to add micro gestures to an avatar (winks, nods…)
6. AI-assisted scriptwriting within the tool

Overview of Synthesia's AI avatars

As mentioned before, there are more than 140 stock avatars available in Synthesia and they’re constantly adding more. The selection is broad and diverse, covering different ages, ethnicities, races, and styles.

And yes, Synthesia’s AI avatars look very realistic. The team has just introduced micro gestures, which is currently in beta and allows users to add different gestures to the avatars. To make their communication more human via non-verbal cues, it’s possible to make them wink, nod, frown or raise an eyebrow. 🤨

Another point worth mentioning regarding AI avatars is the ability to create your own avatar based on video footage of yourself. However, this is an add-on feature and will cost you $1000/year.

Synthesia is constantly working to make avatars even better and is a pioneer in this field with its strong research department and academic background.

‍Here you can see more about how Synthesia’s AI avatars are made:

Overview of languages and voices

In Synthesia, users can choose from a wide range of voices and accents (more than 400 options), which are constantly being improved. 🗣

For non-users, it’s very convenient that they can listen to all the voices on the website without having to register as a user. It’s also possible to create a clone of your own voice and use it in your videos.

UX and UI

Synthesia STUDIO works in a browser and is very intuitive to use. 

In STUDIO, you can easily access templates, avatars, voices, stock footage, and it also allows you to upload your own brand assets. You can easily organize your projects using folders. 📁

Pricing breakdown

Synthesia offers users two paid plans:

➡️ Free demo: available on their website

➡️ Personal plan: $30/month for 10 minutes of video

➡️ Corporate plan: individual pricing for different users

To be honest, the personal plan is only sufficient for small users. It’s an affordable way to get to know the technology and test it out, but for more demanding users it may not be enough.

Social proof

Synthesia is being used by 50.000 companies of all sizes, with many big logos among them, such as Reuters, Teleperformance, Amazon, and BBC.

They have an extensive library of case studies where you can see real examples of how and why companies large and small are using Synthesia to generate videos, with some concrete money and time savings.

The software currently has 831 reviews on G2 and has a rating of 4.8 out of 5, which makes it the category leader.

Synthesia has helped me to create YouTube channels offering video information about articles and guides I have in my projects. The operation is very simple and the creation is very fast. Creating different avatars in other languages has allowed me to make channels for my websites in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It's amazing, before Synthesia I never thought of having this. I recommend this application 100%. - Arturo V.

Pros 👍

There are many reasons why you should give Synthesia a try:

• It offers the most realistic and diverse AI avatars and voices.
• It offers more than 30 integrations with other platforms.
• It offers 60+ editable templates for different use cases.
• It has a collection of cloneable Synthesia videos made by other users. 

And there are other reasons than the product itself:

• The company is the pioneer in the field of AI video.
• The company has an excellent knowledge base and regularly hosts webinars.
• The company has a professional moderation team and follows the highest security standards.
• They have a lively community of more than 3000 users on Facebook.

Cons 👎

• No resize option yet (1920×1080 pixels only)
• The pricing plans could be more flexible

Conclusion

If you're looking for state-of-the-art AI video generation software, Synthesia is the right solution for you. Besides the realism of the avatars, you can start creating your video right away, since the interface is very intuitive. 

Their strong thought leadership, the highest security and ethical standards, and R&D culture show that the company is a true leader in the AI video space that you should definitely keep an eye on in the coming months.

2. Colossyan

Colossyan is an AI video generator that lets you create videos from text and add AI actors. The main use cases are learning and training videos, explainer videos, corporate communications, and marketing.

Here’s how it works:

6 key stand-out features

1. 70+ languages
2. 30+ AI actors
3. Multiple actors in one scene
4. The option to adjust emotions and age of each AI actor 
5. The option to resize your video to different aspect ratios
6. The option to have a custom avatar created

Overview of Colossyan's AI avatars

Colossyan offers around 30 AI avatars to choose from, and you can also create your own, custom avatar for $1000/year. 

One feature that stands out is the ability to set the age and the emotions of each avatar with a single click. However, this is only available to enterprise clients.

Overview of languages and voices

In Colossyan, you can choose between more than 70 voices and accents. 🗣

The tool also allows for automated video translation between 26 selected languages, but we haven't tested the accuracy of these translations.

UX and UI

Colossyan Creator is fairly easy to use and navigate. The only thing that feels slightly counterintuitive is the script box being placed on the left side of the video, but that shouldn’t be too much of an obstacle. 

Pricing breakdown

Colossyan offers three paid plans to their users:‍

➡️ Free demo: 5 minutes of video (with watermark)

➡️ Basic plan: from $21/month for 10 minutes of video

➡️ Pro plan: from $100/month for 40 minutes of video

➡️ Enterprise plan: custom prices

Each of these plans, of course, has some limitations and only the enterprise plan has all the features available. 

In summary, Colossyan’s plans may seem slightly complicated, but are very flexible and accessible to a wide range of users.

Social proof

We couldn’t find the information about the number of customers using Colossyan. 

On G2, it has 199 reviews, which are mostly positive:

So far it's features and intuitive nature of the UX, I was able to quickly and easily create my first video as a paid client. Also, the speed of creation was acceptable. G2 review

Pros 👍

• Automated video translation
• Multiple aspect ratios for your videos
• Easy to use
• Different pricing plans to choose from

Cons 👎

• Lip syncing is a bit off, feels uncanny
• Lack of diverse avatars
• Lack of social proof with only 28 reviews on G2

Conclusion

Colossyan definitely is one of the best AI video generators on the market. They offer some really useful features (automated translations, multiple aspect ratios) and are constantly adding more.

Their avatars do not have the quality of Synthesia’s avatars. Still, their different pricing plans may make the tool more attractive to some. They also have a community of 300 members on Discord.

3. Hour One

Another AI video generator specializing in virtual humans in video is Hour One. Reals, their self-service video editing platform, makes it easy to create engaging videos from text in minutes. 

Here’s how it works:

4 key stand-out features

1. 30+ AI characters
2. 27 video templates
3. 19 languages
4. Brand kit option that allows you to define your brand color palette

Overview of Hour One's AI avatars

The tool includes more than 30 AI presenters that can narrate your video. They are based on real people, but look and act a bit robotic when used as AI avatars.

Overview of languages and voices

With Hour One, you can create videos in 19 languages, and each of them has some voice and tone variants you can choose from.

One can only listen to the voices and accents in the editor, where they are named with personal names, which we don't find very informative and descriptive.

UX and UI

The interface of Reals is minimalistic, yet easy to navigate. The script box takes up most of the space, and we wish the visual part of the video was more prominent.

But as the platform doesn’t offer that much video editing capabilities, it makes sense it’s more focused on the script part. 

Pricing breakdown

Hour One offers its users three paid plans:

➡️ Free demo: 3 minutes of video

➡️ Lite plan: from $30/month for 10 minutes of video

➡️ Business plan: from $229/month for up to 20 minutes of video

➡️ Enterprise plan: custom pricing for industrial-grade AI video production

What we like about the pricing is that you can pay extra for additional minutes of video generated: $5/minute on the Lite plan and $15/minute on the Business plan. The other AI video generators mentioned in this article do not allow you to simply buy extra minutes.

Social proof

Hour One is not on G2, so we couldn’t find any possible independent reviews. However, some big logos are using the tool for their video creation: Berlitz, DreamWorks, NBC Universal, to name a few.

Pros 👍

• It allows you to define your brand colors for better consistency
• Tiered and affordable pricing plans
• The option to buy extra minutes if needed
• The option to generate images from text within the editor

Cons 👎

• Not possible to change fonts
• The editor is a bit slow and glitchy from time to time
• AI avatars don’t seem lifelike, their realism is not there yet

Conclusion

Having put the tool under the microscope, we can say that Hour One is a robust and affordable AI video generator.

But regardless of the fact that some big logos use it, it doesn't make us feel like we could trust it 100%. Also, the realism of the AI avatars is far from the AI avatars available in Synthesia, for example.

4. D-ID

Another name that comes up when discussing best AI video generators you may consider to create videos with AI is D-ID. 

While all the already mentioned platforms (Synthesia, Colossyan, Hour One) focus on text-to-video generation using AI avatars, D-ID also allows you to create videos from still images of faces.

Recently, Creative Reality™ Studio was introduced, a platform that combines several generative AI applications:

• text generation with GPT-3
• text-to-image generation with Stable Diffusion
• their own face animation AI technology

See more about it in this short video:

3 key stand-out features

1. Live portrait feature that allows you to get a talking head video from still images
2. AI text-to-image generation within the tool 
3. AI script generation within the tool

Overview of the AI avatars

When it comes to AI avatars, you have 3 options:

1️⃣ Lifelike AI avatars: There are 29 presenters available in the video editor, 4 of which are marked as “high quality.” These look like real people when static, but their animated appearance in video clips still feels pretty much uncanny.

2️⃣ AI avatar from a still image: You can upload a frontal-facing still image, and the tool will turn it into an AI avatar speaking out the words you want them to speak.

3️⃣ Cartoonish AI avatars: These avatars are fully generated by AI, and you can also generate new avatars based on your text prompts. 

We believe that realism is not the primary goal when it comes to cartoony avatars, but it can be said that it is also lacking when using D-ID’s lifelike characters. 

Overview of languages and voices

There are 119 languages and accents you can choose from. We especially like that after selecting the voice, you can further define its style (shouting, whispering, sad, excited…) to make it even more expressive.

It’s also possible to upload your own audio file.

UX and UI

The interface of D-ID is easy to navigate, but we did miss some more video editing capabilities.

Pricing breakdown

D-ID offers three paid plans to their users:

➡️ Free demo: 5 minutes of video

➡️ Lite plan: from $5.99/month for 10 minutes of video

➡️ Business plan: from $49.99/month for up to 15 minutes of video

➡️ Enterprise plan: custom prices and plans

The plans come with different limitations, especially when it comes to presenters available and watermarks.

Social proof

There’s been some buzz around D-ID in the media lately. However, we miss some more social proof and user reviews when browsing the internet (only 1 review on G2).

Pros 👍

• All-in-one generative AI tool
• The ability to generate videos from still images
• Many creative use cases using cartoonish AI avatars

Cons 👎

• Lack of avatar realism
• Lack of video editing capabilities
• No resize option

Conclusion

The biggest breakthrough of D-ID is its recently launched multimodal AI video creation platform that combines text, image, and video generation using AI.

While this opens up many possibilities for creative expression, D- ID 's AI avatars lack human realism. Our prediction is they’re going to focus more on the creative aspect of combining different media formats rather than traversing the uncanny valley of their lifelike avatars.

5. Elai

Elai.io is another text-to-video platform that allows you to make videos with AI presenters from your browser. It was founded in 2021 and is a relatively new player in this space. 

So let’s take a closer look at how it works and how it differs from the other AI video generators mentioned in this article.Here’s a quick video product tour:

4 key stand-out features

1. 65+ languages
2. 25+ avatars available
3. Different aspect ratios for videos
4. Different types of avatars

Overview of Elai's AI avatars

There are 25+ realistic AI avatars to choose from when making videos with Elai. 

However, what really stands out is the option to have your own avatar created – which you can do in 4 different ways:

1️⃣ Selfie avatar (based on footage you can film with a smartphone or webcam)

2️⃣ Studio avatar (based on high-quality studio footage)

3️⃣ Photo avatar (based on a photo)

4️⃣ Animated mascot (based on an illustration of a mascot)

Note that these are all add-on options, and the less effort it requires, the more uncanny it will look in your video.

Overview of languages and voices

The tool allows you to create videos in more than 65 languages. There is a descriptive list of languages available on their website, but unfortunately it’s not possible to listen to them before using them in a video.

UX and UI

The in-browser video generation platform is easy to navigate.

We especially like some filtering options that make creating videos even easier.

Pricing breakdown

Elai.io offers three paid plans to their users:

➡️ Free demo: 1 minute of video

➡️ Basic plan: from $29/month for 15 minutes of video

➡️ Advanced plan: from $99/month for 15 minutes of video

➡️ Corporate plan: custom prices

The pricing plans allow for a lot of flexibility, so users can easily choose the one that works best for them.

Social proof

Since the company is new to the market, it’s understandable it doesn’t have much social proof yet. They have 1 case study on their website, a few hundred followers on LinkedIn, and only 2 reviews on G2.

There can be some issues when rendering videos though, but this is nothing compared to the huge benefits of the service. I believe that all the minor problems will be solved in the near future, and this platform will become even more perfect! G2 review

Pros 👍

• Multiple aspect ratios available
• Pre-designed templates in different aspect ratios
• Unlimited number of slides

Cons 👎

• Lip syncing feels uncanny
• Lack of social proof
• The editor is slow

Conclusion

Elai delivers what it promises. It’s an easy way to create AI videos, and a very accessible one too.

The convenience of creating a custom AI avatar based on an image or smartphone-quality footage can be very appealing, but it’s not the best solution if you’re looking for high-quality lip syncing and realistic avatar performance.

6. HeyGen

HeyGen (previously known as Movio) was founded in 2020 and is another hot AI video generator. It’s great for anyone who wants to create engaging and professional videos for marketing, sales, training, and learning.

It works in 40 languages, includes more than 117 AI presenters and some other interesting features:

5 key stand-out features

1. 100+ AI avatars
2. 36 templates
3. 40 languages
4. Face-swap option within the platform
5. Landscape and portrait format for your videos
6. Generative outfit feature

Overview of the AI avatars

In HeyGen you can choose between 100+ stock avatars. Some of them are modelled after real people, and others are entirely computer generated. 

Most of their AI avatars come in different outfits (up to 5 different outfits per avatar), which can be useful when using a specific avatar as one of your brand representatives/assets. 

You can also make your own custom avatar in 4 different ways:

1️⃣ TalkingPhoto option: upload a photo and bring it to life 

2️⃣ Avatar Lite option: get a custom avatar with no professional setup required

3️⃣ Avatar Pro option: get a high-quality avatar based on a 2-minute shot

4️⃣ CG avatar: get a human-like 3D avatar to act as a mascot

Another unique option that HeyGen offers is the face swap feature in their editor.

You simply upload your photo and swap your face onto an existing AI avatar. 🎭

Overview of languages and voices

There are 40 languages supported and more than 200 voices available. You can give them a listen on the website.

‍We like that when in the editor, you can further tweak the voices using a special feature.

UX and UI

The video editor is easy to navigate and the video creation process is simple. There are some filtering options that even speed up the process. 

Unlike other AI video generators we mention in this article, HeyGen’s video editor works with a timeline. So instead of slides and scenes, here you have a timeline with different elements that appear in your video.

Pricing breakdown

HeyGen offers three paid plans to their users:

➡️ Free demo: 1 minute of video

➡️ Essential plan: from $30/month for 10 minutes of video

➡️ Pro plan: from $225/month for 90 minutes of video

➡️ Enterprise plan: custom prices

With this flexible pricing, users can easily choose the option that works best for them.

Social proof

As seen on their website, companies such as Volvo, Amazon, Wix, and Accenture use HeyGen to create videos.

We were also surprised at how lively their communities are. Their Facebook community has 9000 members, and there are 1141 active members on their Discord server. 

On G2, they currently have 432 mostly positive reviews. Here’s one of them:

It's exactly what I was looking for! Very easy to use, and simple and it has a whole of exciting options: the type of persons, the match with the voices, and the dashboard it's too simple to use.

Pros 👍

• Referral scheme
• Big and active community on Facebook and Discord
• The option to change the speed of a selected voice

Cons 👎

• Realism is not there yet
• No actual case studies proving business value of the tool
• Video templates only contain 1 slide

Conclusion

At the moment, HeyGen may not yet be the most advanced tool in its class, especially regarding avatar realism.

But as with the other tools presented in this article, we believe it has great potential for further development in the future.

7. Runway

Runway stands out as one of the best AI video generators, but in contrast to the tools we’ve already mentioned, this one does not include AI avatars and text-to-speech capabilities. 

However, it compensates with over 30 AI features dedicated to video editing, and its newly introduced Gen-2 feature revolutionizes AI video generation by enabling the creation of innovative videos from text and/or images. 

Or as it says on their website: No lights. No camera. All action. Here’s how it works:

5 key stand-out features

1. Text-to-video feature
2. Automatic prompt suggestions
3. The option to upload an image for reference
4. Different previews to choose from before generating a video
5. Free plan to test the tool out

Overview of the avatars, languages, and voices

As previously mentioned, Runway.ml does not support text-to-video with realistic AI avatars. Additionally, the tool does not offer the capability to generate speech from text directly. 

But it does allow users to incorporate audio by uploading a separate file and subsequently manipulating the sound to synchronize with the video.

UX and UI

One thing we especially like about Runway is that it works on desktop as well as on mobile. 

While the Gen-2 feature is very intuitive (consisting of 3 simple steps), the whole Runway app is a bit more complex to navigate. 

Pricing breakdown

There are 3 pricing plans available: 

➡️ Starter plan: free (3 projects, 5GB assets, limited AI tools options)

➡️ Pro plan: $12/month (unlimited projects, 500GB assets, more AI tools options)

➡️ Team plan: $28/month (unlimited projects, 1TB assets, full AI tools options)

Social proof

It comes as no surprise that numerous prominent brands are using it, including New Balance, Microsoft, Vox, Ogilvy… There are also many case studies on their website, showcasing innovative use cases of the tech. 

‍This AI I have at my disposal is a groundbreaking breakthrough in video diffusion. Although it currently has some flaws and is free, with proper direction and prompting, you can create videos at no cost. However, remember that the creation process demands considerable time. FuturePedia review

Pros 👍

• It stands at the forefront of AI text-to-video research
• It provides a comprehensive set of tools for video editing
• It is available as both a desktop and mobile app

Cons 👎

• Gen-2 has limitations in generating intricate details, like fingers
• Gen-2 video generation is limited to 4 seconds per video
• The tool does not offer text-to-speech capabilities

Conclusion

Runway, with its Gen-2 feature, is a robust platform in the field of text-to-video conversion. It offers valuable insights into the present state and future possibilities of AI video generation, even though its accuracy may still have room for improvement.

8. Pictory

Another AI video generator is Pictory. It is designed to effortlessly condense lengthy content and produce captivating branded videos. By simply providing a link as an input source, Pictory enables seamless transformation of blog posts, articles, and text-based documents into compelling videos.

3 key stand-out features

1. It support different aspect ratios
2. It offers an extensive library of templates to choose from
3. It can add automatic captions to videos

Overview of the avatars, languages and voices

The tool harnesses a vast array of stock assets including images, music, and video, but no AI avatars. Therefore, voiceovers are not the core of videos made with Pictory. 

But it still offers a limited selection of voices if you want to make a voiceover from text. Currently, only English is supported.

UX and UI

Pictory is very easy to use and does not require any previous video editing experience. It guides you through the process of creating a video from start to finish, and you can also choose from various templates to even speed up the process. 

Pricing breakdown

Users can choose from 3 pricing plans: 

➡️ Standard plan: $23/month for 30 videos

➡️ Premium plan: $47/month for 60 videos

➡️ Teams plan: $119/month for 90 videos

Social proof

Pictory boasts a plethora of user testimonials and customer stories showcased on their website. Although we have confidence in the tool, it would be great to delve into case studies featuring more renowned brands.

I no longer have to spend hours figuring out complex software or watching countless tutorials just to get started. Pictory's straightforward interface has truly simplified my experience and boosted my confidence as a beginner. G2 review

Pros 👍

• It supports video creation in different aspect ratios
• It includes text-to-speech function
• It offers a vast library of templates for all use cases

Cons 👎

• It supports voiceovers in English only
• Visuals do not always match the script

Conclusion

Pictory is one of the best AI video generators for videos without human faces. It’s easy to use and accessible. While its current language support is limited to English, we would love to see expanded language options in the future.

And the winner is...

So that would be our honest overview of the most popular AI video generators at the moment.

As you can see, there are quite some nuances to them.

While some focus on the realism of AI avatars, others tend towards less lifelike presenters. Some employ professional content moderators, while others are less strict when it comes to moderation. Some focus on narrow use cases, while others focus on a wide range of more creative uses of AI video.

The choice, of course, is yours. There are many factors to consider and it all depends on your needs.

However, if we had to name the best one, it would definitely be Synthesia. 

It has the best quality of AI avatars, video editing capabilities, and a clear standpoint on where they position themselves as a company within the ever-evolving AI space. 

Let’s say we’ve done our job with testing the best AI video generators – and now it’s your turn. 😉