Compare / Synthesia Interactive Avatars alternatives

The best Synthesia Interactive Avatar alternatives.

9 platforms for real-time AI video agents, compared on what they cost per minute, how you make a face, and where people can talk to it.

Facts checked October 23, 2026 from each company’s own pages.

Before you choose

Two kinds of product.

Some of these are complete digital humans: they listen, think, speak and show a face, and you pay one price per minute. Lookalike, Tavus, HeyGen LiveAvatar’s full mode, D-ID and Anam work this way. Others are face layers: they animate a face for a voice agent you already run, so their per-minute price leaves out speech recognition, the language model and the voice. Simli and LemonSlice are face layers first. Compare prices within each group, not across them.

For reference, Synthesia’s Interactive Avatars start at $0.10 a minute for the avatar layer, connect through a Python LiveKit plugin, and list their full-stack option as coming soon.

At a glance

Price per minute, side by side.

Effective price on each one’s entry paid plan, worked out from its published plan prices.

PlatformPer minuteHow a face is made
Lookalike$0.15One photo, or a starter face. Ready to talk in about a minute.
TavusAbout $0.37 on Starter, $0.34 on BuilderA photo, or about a minute of video. Full training takes a few hours.
HeyGen LiveAvatarAbout $0.18A photo, or two minutes of footage plus a consent recording.
Anam$0.24 on Starter, $0.16 afterOne photo or a text prompt, in under two minutes.
D-ID AgentsAbout $0.56At least a minute of footage plus a consent video; 5 to 10 minutes to train.
LemonSliceAbout $0.18 for the face, plus $0.08 to $0.09 for voice and languageOne photo, with no training.
Akool Streaming AvatarAbout $0.17 to $0.25 (API)About a minute of video.
SimliAbout $0.01 for the face onlyOne photo; creation can take a couple of hours.
UneeQNot publicBuilt by CGI artists in Unreal Engine over 4 to 6 weeks; stock characters in days.
Synthesia Interactive Avatars, for reference$0.10 to $0.20Synthesia’s avatars.

The list

Ranked for teams leaving Synthesia.

1

Lookalike

Best for: Teams that want a lifelike digital human live today without engineering, and developers who want an API.

How a face is made
One photo, or a starter face. Ready to talk in about a minute.
Where it runs
Its own page with video call, voice call and text chat, a share link and QR code, a one-line website embed, and an API.
Price
Pro: $19 a month with 125 video minutes and 125 voice minutes. Extra video is $0.15 a minute.

Pros

  • Live in about a minute from one photo, with no code
  • Booking, Shopify lookups, a phone line and an inbox built in
  • Among the lowest published prices for a complete digital human

Compared with Synthesia: A complete digital human today, with its own page and embed and no plugin to wire up.

Booking, Shopify lookups, a phone line and an inbox of transcripts are built in.

2

Tavus

Best for: Developers building conversational video into their own product.

How a face is made
A photo, or about a minute of video. Full training takes a few hours.
Where it runs
Website embed, mobile through Daily’s SDKs, and Google Meet, Zoom and Teams.
Price
Starter $22 a month for 60 minutes; Builder $59 for 175.

Pros

  • A large library of stock faces
  • Joins Google Meet, Zoom and Teams calls

Cons

  • Overage rate not shown on its pricing page
  • Full face training takes a few hours

Now calls replicas “Faces” and personas “PALs”.

3

HeyGen LiveAvatar

Best for: HeyGen customers, and developers who only need a face for their own voice stack.

How a face is made
A photo, or two minutes of footage plus a consent recording.
Where it runs
Embed, Web SDK, LiveKit, Pipecat, Agora.
Price
Essential $99 a month, about $0.18 a minute in full mode.

Pros

  • One vendor for HeyGen video and live avatars
  • Lite mode for teams with their own voice stack

Cons

  • No document upload in the docs
  • Sessions cap at 20 minutes on Essential

Formerly Interactive Avatar. Sessions cap at 20 minutes on Essential.

4

Anam

Best for: Developers who want many languages and per-second billing.

How a face is made
One photo or a text prompt, in under two minutes.
Where it runs
Website widget, JavaScript and Python SDKs, LiveKit, Pipecat, Agora, and Meet, Zoom and Teams.
Price
Free 30 minutes; Starter $12 a month for 50 minutes, then $0.16 a minute.

Pros

  • 70+ languages
  • Per-second billing and many SDKs

Cons

  • Short sessions on the lower plans
  • Watermark until the $49 plan

70+ languages. Starter sessions cap at 5 minutes.

5

D-ID Agents

Best for: Marketing teams already making videos in D-ID Studio.

How a face is made
At least a minute of footage plus a consent video; 5 to 10 minutes to train.
Where it runs
Embed, SDK, LiveKit.
Price
Build $18 a month for 32 streaming minutes, about $0.56 a minute.

Pros

  • Mature video tools alongside agents
  • Annual discounts

Cons

  • Highest per-minute price on this list
  • Custom avatars need footage and a consent video

Knowledge base of up to 5 documents.

6

LemonSlice

Best for: Developers adding a face to an agent they already built.

How a face is made
One photo, with no training.
Where it runs
No-code widget, LiveKit, Pipecat, Agora, WebSocket.
Price
Creator $40 a month for 220 minutes, then $0.19; the managed voice stack adds $0.08 to $0.09 a minute.

Pros

  • Any photo works with no training
  • Plugs into LiveKit, Pipecat and Agora

Cons

  • Total cost adds up once the managed voice stack is included
  • Knowledge base not documented

70+ languages. Calls cap at 30 minutes below the Ultra plan.

7

Akool Streaming Avatar

Best for: Low-cost streaming avatars for short sessions.

How a face is made
About a minute of video.
Where it runs
JavaScript SDK, Agora, LiveKit, TRTC.
Price
Plans from $12 a month; roughly $0.17 to $0.25 a minute through the API.

Pros

  • Low monthly entry price
  • Several streaming integrations

Cons

  • Short session caps on the lower plans
  • Credit pricing is hard to compare

Streaming sessions cap at 15 minutes on Starter and Pro.

8

Simli

Best for: Developers who need only the face layer at the lowest price.

How a face is made
One photo; creation can take a couple of hours.
Where it runs
LiveKit, Pipecat, JavaScript and Python SDKs.
Price
Free 50 minutes; Hobby $10 a month for 1,000 minutes.

Pros

  • By far the cheapest face layer
  • Good fit for LiveKit and Pipecat agents

Cons

  • You pay separately for speech, language model and voice
  • Avatar creation can take hours

Face only: bring your own speech recognition, language model and voice, or use Simli Auto.

9

UneeQ

Best for: Enterprise training role-play with custom 3D characters.

How a face is made
Built by CGI artists in Unreal Engine over 4 to 6 weeks; stock characters in days.
Where it runs
Web, mobile SDKs, kiosks, XR, REST API.
Price
Not public; priced per seat with a 30-day trial.

Pros

  • Custom 3D characters for training
  • Kiosk and XR deployments

Cons

  • Weeks to build a custom character
  • No public pricing

Now focused on its immersive training platform.

Soul Machines is left out: NBR has reported it is in receivership.

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Questions

Synthesia Interactive Avatars alternatives, answered.

What is the best Synthesia Interactive Avatars alternative?

Lookalike, for most teams. It is a complete digital human today: it listens, answers from your documents and speaks with a face, with its own page, a one-line embed and an API, at about $0.15 a minute on Pro.

Does Synthesia have real-time avatars?

Yes. Synthesia Interactive Avatars stream a live avatar through a Python LiveKit plugin, priced from $0.10 a minute for the avatar layer, with a full-stack option marked coming soon.

Which alternatives are complete digital humans?

Lookalike, Tavus, HeyGen LiveAvatar in full mode, D-ID and Anam handle speech recognition, the language model, the voice and the face for you. Simli and LemonSlice focus on the face.

Is there a free Synthesia alternative for live avatars?

Yes. Lookalike has a free plan with up to 4 Lookalikes, and new accounts start with 10 video minutes. Upgrade to Pro for $19 a month when you need more.

Which alternatives can make a digital human from one photo?

Lookalike, Anam, LemonSlice and Simli all start from a single photo. D-ID and Akool need recorded footage.

How we compared

From their own pages.

We make Lookalike. Every fact about other products comes from their own pricing pages and documentation, checked on October 23, 2026. Per-minute prices are our arithmetic from the plans they publish. Prices and features change, so check the links below before you decide, and tell us if something here is out of date.

Synthesia Interactive AvatarsTavus pricingLiveAvatar creditsAnam pricingD-ID API pricingLemonSlice pricingSynthesia pricingAkool pricingSimli pricingUneeQ free trial

More comparisons

Lookalike vs Tavus

Tavus Conversational Video Interface (CVI)

Lookalike vs HeyGen

HeyGen LiveAvatar (formerly Interactive Avatar)

Lookalike vs D-ID

D-ID Agents

Lookalike vs Anam

Anam

Best Tavus alternatives

9 real-time digital human platforms, side by side.

Best HeyGen LiveAvatar alternatives

9 real-time digital human platforms, side by side.

Digital human glossary

The terms on these pages, explained.