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Synthesia is built for training, onboarding and business videos presented by AI avatars, with translation, quizzes and SCORM export. ShortFast is built for social channels: faceless shorts in 27 styles, posted to TikTok, Reels and Shorts every day.
Synthesia and ShortFast are both AI video generators, but they serve different rooms. Synthesia is the standard for workplace video: an AI avatar presents a script, the video can be dubbed into many languages, and it can carry quizzes, branching and SCORM export into a learning system. ShortFast is built for social feeds: a faceless short written from a topic, drawn in one consistent style, and published to TikTok, Reels and Shorts every day.
Synthesia is the better pick for training, onboarding, internal communications, sales enablement or any video where a presenter and a translation matter, and for teams that need enterprise controls. ShortFast is the better pick if the goal is a faceless social channel that posts itself, in styles such as documentary footage, stick figures or anime.
Side by side
| Dimension | ShortFast | Synthesia |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Faceless short-form channels on TikTok, Reels and Shorts. | Business, training and communication videos presented by AI avatars. |
| On screen | No presenter in most styles: stock footage, AI video or AI images in 27 styles. A lip-synced AI presenter for UGC-style videos. | 125+ stock avatars on Starter, 180+ on Pro, 240+ on Enterprise; 5 personal avatars on Pro. |
| Languages | 40+ narration voices; captions in about 100 languages. | Dubbing on paid plans; one-click translation into 140+ languages on Enterprise. |
| Publishing | Automatic posting to TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. | Share links, branded video pages and downloads; no social scheduling found. |
| Extras | Automated series (a new episode every slot), a schedule per automation; A/B variations coming soon. | Interactive videos, surveys, AI roleplays, SCORM export (Enterprise). |
| Free plan or trial | 3-day trial for $1. A free API workspace with 50 credits a month. | Free Basic plan with 500 credits a month and a watermark. |
| Developer access | REST API, webhooks and an MCP server on every plan. | API from Pro (minutes come from the plan), signed webhooks, and an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT on Starter or Pro. |
Synthesia changes its product and pricing independently of us. Check their site for current details before deciding, and tell us if anything here is out of date.
ShortFast and Synthesia plans
Prices from each vendor's pricing page, checked
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly, per month | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShortFast Starter | $19 | $15 | 1,000 credits: about 80 stock-footage or 40 AI art-style shorts (typical) |
| ShortFast Pro | $39 | $31 | 5,000 credits; 3 automations and accounts |
| ShortFast Advanced | $99 | $79 | 10,000 credits; videos up to 15 minutes |
| Synthesia Basic | $0 | $0 | 500 credits a month, watermark |
| Synthesia Starter | $19 | $14 | 1,250 credits a month, about 12 minutes of video, 125+ avatars |
| Synthesia Pro | $89 | $59 | 6,000 credits a month, about 60 minutes of video, 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars |
Synthesia's minutes are its own estimates for its credits. ShortFast's counts are typical, not limits (about 12 credits per stock-footage video, 25 per AI art-style video).
Sources: ShortFast pricing · Synthesia pricing · Synthesia API
Synthesia's product is an AI presenter delivering a script, with the tooling around it that companies need: templates, branded pages, dubbing, interactive videos with surveys, AI roleplays for training, and on Enterprise, one-click translation into 140+ languages, SSO and SCORM export. Its pricing counts credits in minutes of video, about 12 minutes on Starter and 60 on Pro each month.
ShortFast's product is a faceless short that publishes itself. It writes the script from a topic, builds every scene from licensed stock footage or AI images in one of 27 styles, adds a voice and captions, and posts to TikTok, Reels and Shorts on a schedule. A typical short uses about 12 to 25 credits, so the $19 Starter covers dozens a month. When a video needs a person, its UGC-style videos use a lip-synced AI presenter.
Both have APIs and MCP servers. Synthesia's API is available from Pro, with API minutes deducted from the plan's usage, signed webhooks and an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT that it describes as still in active development. ShortFast's REST API, signed webhooks and MCP server are on every plan, including a free API workspace, and its API can also schedule and publish to social accounts.
FAQ
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The other leading avatar tool, compared.
Learn moreComparisonAvatar and template videos with a free plan.
Learn moreBlogFourteen developer surfaces compared.
Learn moreUse caseShort videos for a B2B audience, on a schedule.
Learn moreToolA topic turned into a faceless short.
Learn moreThree days of full access. If Synthesia suits you better, that's a useful thing to find out cheaply.