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Hour One vs. Synthesia

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Hour One vs. Synthesia: Which offers the best AI avatars? Find out and discover an alternative.

Hour One and Synthesia are two video creation platforms that use artificial intelligence to generate avatars, eliminating the need to hire actors for your social media content. As we delve into the comparison between Hour One and Synthesia, we'll explore the distinct attributes of each platform and their functionalities as well as discuss a game changing alternative.

Hour One vs. Synthesia: A brief overview

What is Hour One?

Hour One is an advanced AI video generator and video editor designed to empower businesses in effortlessly crafting polished explainer videos and presentations, eliminating the need for intricate design or editing skills. Harnessing the capabilities of text to video technology, Hour One’s AI video tool features top-tier AI avatar presenters proficient in over 100 languages, offering a diverse range of voices and accents to cater to varied communication needs.

What is Synthesia?

Synthesia is a cutting-edge AI-powered video generation platform that utilizes advanced artificial intelligence to effortlessly convert AI-generated text into compelling and high-quality video content. With a user-friendly interface, the platform provides customizable avatars and facilitates AI voice overs and subtitles, meeting the varied workflow requirements of content creators. What sets Synthesia apart is its diverse array of avatars, each showcasing distinct personalities.

Hour One history

Founded in 2019 by Oren Aharon, who currently serves as its CEO, Hour One has rapidly emerged as a pioneering force in the domain of virtual humans and AI video technology. Oren Aharon, with prior experience co-founding two startups and a background as a deep tech investor, joined forces with Hour One’s CTO Lior Hakim to establish Hour One's presence in the industry. Headquartered strategically in Tel Aviv and New York City, Hour One AI has become synonymous with expertise in crafting lifelike virtual humans tailored for professional video communications.

In April 2022 Hour One secured a $20 million Series A funding round. Led by Insight Partners and featuring participation from notable entities such as Galaxy Interactive, Remagine Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Semble Ventures, Cerca Partners, Digital-Horizon, and Eynat Guez, this funding positions Hour One to expand its impact by integrating more virtual humans into the virtual workplace.

Synthesia history

Established in 2017, Synthesia has emerged as a groundbreaking force in the realm of AI avatars, reshaping the landscape of video content creation and consumption. Founded by a group of forward-thinking individuals, including Victor Riparbelli as CEO, Steffen Tjerrild as CEO & COO, Matthias Niessner, and Lourdes Agapito, the company set its sights on revolutionizing the way videos are crafted. With its headquarters situated in London, United Kingdom, Synthesia has consistently been a trailblazer in the field of AI-driven video technology.

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The company's journey has been punctuated by noteworthy milestones, most notably a substantial achievement in funding, having amassed over $156.6 million to date. In a Series C funding round led by Accel, featuring a strategic investment from Nvidia and garnering participation from esteemed investors such as Kleiner Perkins, GV, Firstmark Capital, and MMC, Synthesia secured an impressive $90 million. This substantial funding marked a significant valuation boost, with the startup reaching a post-money valuation of $1 billion, a remarkable leap from its $300 million valuation in December 2021.

How Hour One works

Hour One excels in crafting virtual humans designed for professional video communications, utilizing lifelike characters modeled after real individuals. These AI-powered characters convey human-like expressiveness and allow businesses to leverage cutting-edge AI technology seamlessly, producing fully-realized videos at scale within minutes and without paid talent.

How Synthesia works

Synthesia functions by harnessing advanced artificial intelligence to interpret and convert AI-generated text into dynamic video content. Users initiate the process by inputting their desired text, prompting the platform to create customized avatars that visually represent the content. These avatars are characterized by diverse personalities, providing users with the flexibility to choose the most fitting representation for their unique communication style or brand image.

Pricing

Hour One offers 4 plans, including its Free Plan, Lite Plan ($300/yearly), Business Plan ($1140/yearly), and Enterprise (Custom pricing). Hour One’s Free plan allows 3 minutes of video, and Lite Plan supports 120 min per year while its Business Plan offers 240 min per year, and its Enterprise Plan offers unlimited minutes.

Synthesia offers three plans, including its Starter Plan ($264/yearly), Creator Plan ($804/yearly), and Enterprise Plan (Custom pricing). Synthesia’s Starter Plan allows 120 minutes of video/year, while its Creator Plan supports 360 minutes of video/year, and its Enterprise Plan allows unlimited videos.

According to their pricing plans, Synthesia offers more at a more affordable price.

Free trial

Hour One provides a complimentary experience with its free plan, allowing users access to 3 minutes of usage at no cost. Synthesia also adopts a similar approach by offering a free trial in the form of a demo. This enables users to explore the functionalities of both platforms without any financial commitment, ensuring they can make an informed decision before opting for a paid subscription.

Avatars

Hour One presents a selection of 100+ avatars, while Synthesia boasts an even more extensive array with 140+ AI avatars. Both platforms prioritize providing users with a diverse range of avatars to ensure users have ample choices to align with their specific content, brand identity, or communication preferences. However, Synthesia takes the lead with more variety.

Natural-sounding voices

Hour One offers an extensive selection with over 570 accents and voices for users to choose from. In comparison, Synthesia provides a robust collection of 400+ AI voices, ensuring a diverse range of options to cater to different preferences and communication needs. Both platforms prioritize delivering a variety of voices to enhance the authenticity and versatility of their generated content, with Hour One slightly leading.

Languages and accents

When it comes to catering to diverse linguistic needs, Hour One provides users with the option to choose from 60+ languages, complemented by a selection of 200+ accents. In comparison, Synthesia takes it a step further by offering support for an extensive range of 120+ languages. Both platforms prioritize inclusivity and global accessibility, ensuring that users can seamlessly create content in multiple languages with authentic accents.

Templates

Hour One offers a robust collection with 100+ templates, while Synthesia provides a selection of 60+ video templates. These templates serve as valuable resources for users seeking predefined structures and styles for their video content. Whether users prefer Hour One's extensive range or Synthesia's curated set, both platforms offer a variety of templates to streamline the video creation process, although Hour One does take the lead with its larger template library.

Voice cloning capabilities

Both platforms acknowledge the significance of voice cloning in personalizing and enhancing the authenticity of generated content. While Hour One restricts this feature to its enterprise users, Synthesia provides users with the option to access voice cloning, albeit at an extra cost. These options cater to users with varying needs, allowing them to choose the level of customization that aligns with their content creation requirements and budget considerations.

Customization controls

Hour One offers more limited customization options compared to Synthesia. Synthesia places a strong emphasis on providing extensive customization options, particularly in regard to facial expressions and its lip sync feature. The platform allows users to have precise control over these visual elements, enhancing the ability to tailor the virtual characters to specific content needs.

Commercial usage

Hour One stipulates that users intending to use the content or services for commercial purposes must enter into a separate agreement with the platform. In contrast, Synthesia supports commercial usage by offering users flexibility in choosing between stock avatars with certain limitations or custom avatars without restrictions. This approach allows users on Synthesia to navigate various options based on their commercial content creation needs.

Customer support

Hour One offers varying levels of assistance based on subscription plans. The lite plan provides access to the Help Center and the option to submit a request, while the business plan includes email support. For users with the enterprise plan, Hour One goes a step further by offering priority support along with a dedicated success manager. On the other hand, Synthesia stands out in providing immediate support through a live chat feature available seven days a week, from 8 am to 12 am. Additionally, users can directly reach out via email to support@synthesia.io for assistance or explore its comprehensive knowledge base featuring tutorials and FAQs.

Comparing Hour One vs. Synthesia side-by-side

FeaturesHour OneSynthesia
PricingStarts at $300/year for 120 minutes of videoStarts at $264/year for 120 minutes of video
Free Trial3 minute video1 demo video
Avatars100+ avatars 140+ avatars
Natural-sounding Voices570 accents & voices400+ voices
Languages & Accents60+ languages120+ languages
Voice CloningAdditional feeFee
Video Templates100+ templates60+ templates
Customization ControlsLimitedCustomization of facial expressions & lip synching
Commercial UsageSeparate agreement requiredStock footage has certain limits but custom avatars have no limits
SupportVaries by subscriptionLive chat, email support & help center

Hour One pros

There are many advantages to using Hour One, including the following:

  • Ease of use: Hour One excels in ease of use, providing a user-friendly interface that simplifies the video creation process.
  • Realistic avatars: The virtual avatars closely mirror real individuals, enhancing the authenticity of the generated content.
  • Accurate languages: Hour One boasts accurate AI voice translations across a diverse selection of accents and languages for users to choose from.

Hour One cons

While Hour One offers many benefits, here is a look at some of the top issues users have reported:

  • Slow rendering: Users have reported concerns about slow rendering times on Hour One, affecting the efficiency of the video creation process.
  • Limited customization: Users desire more control over the nuanced details of their virtual characters.
  • No ability to add own music: Hour One lacks the ability to allow users to add their own music, restricting them to stock music from its media library for their video content.

Synthesia pros

Synthesia shines in many areas, including:

  • Save time and money — With Synthesia, you don’t need to pay actors, directors, or a film crew to make advertisements.
  • Easy to use interface — Synthesia’s platform is very intuitive, allowing users to edit videos with beginner-friendly video creation tools.
  • Customer support — You can set up your Synthesia account so that it covers 24/7 customer support through a live chat.

Synthesia cons

While Synthesia offers many benefits, it also has some downsides, such as:

  • Limited functionality — Synthesia’s stock avatars can be limited in terms of being super customizable, which can be frustrating for some users.
  • Add-ons — Synthesia offers a range of add-ons that users may need to purchase separately, which can drive up the cost of using the platform.
  • Strict content moderation — Since Synthesia’s AI human avatars are based on the likeness of real humans, the company has a strong content moderation policy.

Speechify AI Video Generator – The best AI video avatar platform

Speechify AI Video Generator is the #1 AI avatar and video production platform. The video maker offers 100s of AI-powered avatars, allowing users to include multiple avatars in video projects at no additional cost. Additionally, Speechify AI Video Generator provides users complete control over the AI voice, tone, emotion, and more. Users can even craft a custom character from scratch with easy-to-use video editing tools. Explore the most lifelike text to speech voices on the market across various languages and accents, effortlessly add transitions, AI effects, and subtitles as well as translate your videos to any language with 1-click dubbing and try Speechify AI Video Generator for free today to level up your content creation, whether you’re creating PowerPoints, marketing videos, training videos, or more.

FAQ

What is the best AI avatar and video editing platform?

While there are many video editing platforms, such as Descript, rephrase.ai, HeyGen, Lumen5, DeepBrain AI, Colossyan, D-ID, and Elai.io, Speechify AI Video Generator offers the highest quality AI tools at the best price.

Does Speechify Studio offer screen recording?

Yes, Speechify Studio and Speechify AI video generator offer screen recording.

Does Speechify AI video generator offer AI transcription?

Yes, Speechify AI Video generator offers AI transcription, allowing users to seamlessly add subtitles to their videos.

What are the benefits of AI video avatars?

The benefits of AI video avatars are manifold, encompassing time efficiency in content creation, enhanced engagement through lifelike virtual characters, and versatile applications in use cases like personalized marketing, e-learning, and virtual customer support, providing businesses with a streamlined and effective communication tool.

Is creating AI avatars time-consuming?

No, you can use Speechify AI Video Generator to create AI avatars in no time at all.

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.