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Pictory, known for its prowess in transforming text into engaging, professional-quality video content, has been a go-to for many. What makes Pictory such a game-changer is its ability to integrate realistic AI voices, select matching footage, and incorporate suitable music into your video creation process, all with just a few clicks. However, every creator's needs are as unique as their content, leading some to seek Pictory alternatives that might better suit their specific requirements. 

Whether you're on the hunt for features that Pictory might not offer, seeking a more budget-friendly option, or just curious about what else is out there, it's always good to explore your options.

That's where we come in. We've rolled up our sleeves, done the digging, and tested a bunch of tools to bring you the best 10 alternatives to Pictory. This isn't just any list—it's a carefully crafted selection of tools that we've personally tested, ensuring that we're recommending the best of the best.

In this article
  1. Overview of Pictory
  2. Best 10 Pictory Alternatives
  3. Hot FAQs about Alternatives to Pictory

Part 1. Overview of Pictory

Pictory is a cutting-edge platform that stands out in the digital content creation space. This tool leverages artificial intelligence to transform long-form written content - blogs, white papers, articles, demos, and webinars  - into easily digestible, engaging, and professional-quality videos. 

The story of Pictory began with a team of like-minded entrepreneurs, marketers, and engineers. As seasoned content creators themselves, they identified a critical gap in content consumption trends: while the internet is jam-packed with long articles and posts, what people really seem to crave are quick, catchy videos. This realization sparked the idea that AI could be employed to sift through the vast amounts of existing long-form content and repurpose it into numerous short-form video pieces, thereby not only refreshing the content pool but also elevating engagement rates on social media.

Their vision took a tangible form in 2019 at a hackathon in Seattle, where the first prototype of Pictory was born. Fast forward to July 2020, Pictory was officially launched, marking the beginning of a new era in content creation. Since then, the team has continually refined and expanded Pictory's capabilities, always with a keen ear to the ground, listening to customer feedback and innovating accordingly.

Pictory's use cases span a wide range of applications, from enabling businesses to repurpose existing content and extend their content marketing reach, to empowering individual creators to produce videos that capture their audience's attention without the need for extensive video editing skills or resources. By automating the conversion of text to video, Pictory not only simplifies content creation but also enhances the potential for higher engagement levels across social media platforms, making it a versatile and powerful tool in the arsenal of modern content creators.

Part 2. Best 10 Pictory Alternatives

1. Heygen

HEYGEN simplifies video creation, allowing users to instantly turn text into studio-quality videos with AI-generated avatars and voices, with no editing required. This Pictory alternative is perfect for transforming articles, blogs, and emails into engaging content effortlessly.

Best Pictory alternative - heygen

Pros
  • It allows for real-time video previews, quick sharing capabilities, and the option to download high-quality videos for any purpose.
  • It can create avatars that can speak in foreign languages using your voice, with impressive facial and lip movement synchronization.
  • Heygen impresses with its fast processing capabilities and the ability to produce detailed animations from minimal examples.
  • The quality of animations in Heygen is noteworthy, with avatars being expressive and lifelike, adding a dynamic and engaging element to the video content as if having a real presenter.
Cons
  • Users noted that the avatars' closed-mouth expressions can appear awkward.
  • There are significant limitations on avatar customization.

Pricing

  • Offers a free plan. Pro plans start at $24/month

2. Steve.ai

Steve AI is more than a text-to-video converter - it's a versatile AI video-making tool capable of turning text into various types of engaging videos. Powered by custom image generation technology, This Pictory alternative excels in transforming your ideas into captivating educational content.

Best Pictory alternative - Steve ai

Pros
  • The platform is user-friendly, requiring no coding skills or previous video editing experience, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • With over 1000 animated characters available for customization, users have a vast array of options to personalize their videos.
  • This alternative to Pictory supports both live and animated content formats, offering flexibility in video production.
  • Steve AI's "Super Intent" feature can understand the context, ensuring the generated content is relevant and accurate.
Cons
  • Users note a lack of comprehensive features for monitoring and editing text within videos.
  • Slows down and bugs appear when customizing videos.

Pricing

  • Price starts at $15/month

3. Lumen5

Lumen5 is an AI-driven tool that easily turns your written content like blog posts, articles, PDFs, and whitepapers into dynamic videos with a simple click. After generating your video, it offers the flexibility to customize and align it with your brand's unique style and personality.

Best Pictory alternative - Lumen5

Pros
  • It simplifies the process of converting website content into videos with just a few steps, supporting direct blog URL input for automatic video creation.
  • Offers "Brand presets" to easily apply brand-specific elements like logos, colors, and fonts to videos.
  • Provides access to a vast library of stock photos, video backgrounds, and background music, enhancing the marketing appeal of the videos created.
  • Templates automatically determine text positioning with options for modification, including the ability to swap out designs within a single template for varied presentation styles.
Cons
  • The audio options available for videos are limited and unsatisfactory.
  • Users experience lag during video previews, impacting the editing process.

Pricing

  • Price starts at $19/month

4. Deepbrain

DeepBrain AI provides a video generation platform that transforms various content forms, including topic prompts, URLs, PDFs, blogs, articles, and PowerPoint presentations, into high-quality videos. This alternative to Pictory features realistic AI avatars, natural text-to-speech, and advanced AI video creation tools, enabling users to rapidly scale their video production efforts with AI-driven efficiency.

Best Pictory alternative - Deepbrain

Pros
  • Breaks language barriers with advanced speech synthesis, connecting users with a worldwide audience.
  • The editor is designed for ease of use by both beginners and professionals, significantly reducing the need for physical production equipment.
  • Employs Text-to-Speech technology to produce voices nearly indistinguishable from real human narration.
  • Captures minute details of models, including expressions and habits, to create AI avatars with a 96.5% similarity to real humans.
Cons
  • Users reported the AI often doesn't follow prompts accurately, producing irrelevant outputs.
  • The output was criticized for not looking realistic enough for some users' standards.

Pricing

  • Price starts at $24/month

5. Runway ML

Runway ML enables you to generate videos in any style simply from text prompts. This Pictory alternative offers automatic prompt suggestions to inspire your creations and advanced settings for precise customization of your video generations.

Best Pictory alternative - runway

Pros
  • Runway ML combines over 30 AI tools with a comprehensive video editor, enabling background removal, custom LUT creation, subtitle addition, and transcript export without needing third-party plugins.
  • Offers global, real-time collaboration capabilities with centralized asset management, accessible directly from any browser without software downloads or local storage requirements.
  • Features a user-friendly interface suitable for both beginners and experienced users..
  • Provides real-time feedback, allowing immediate viewing of the outcomes of creative projects.
Cons
  • Customizing and fine-tuning AI models can be challenging.
  • The program does not occasionally follow directions accurately.

Pricing

  • Offers a free plan. Pro plan starts at $12/user/month

6. Elai.io

Elai is a highly regarded AI video generator that enables users to create high-quality videos directly from text, eliminating the need for microphones, cameras, actors, or studios. This alternative to Pictory is transforming video content creation by offering scalability and affordability without sacrificing quality.

Best Pictory alternative - Elai.io

Pros
  • Features one-click video translation into 75 languages, broadening audience reach.
  • Allows users to clone their voices into 28 languages for lifelike speech in videos.
  • Converts blog posts into narrated videos with a simple URL paste.
  • Includes a screen recording feature to integrate screens easily captured into presentations.
Cons
  • The avatars do not always pronounce words correctly in all languages.
  • Some avatars and voices need improvement for better quality.

Pricing

  • Price starts at $23/month

7. Speechify

Speechify Studio stands out as a leading AI video and voice platform that simplifies video creation into an easy, slide-editing process. This premier alternative to Pictory operates entirely within your browser, eliminating the need for expensive software, heavy downloads, or desktop reliance.

Best Pictory alternative - Speechify

Pros
  • User-friendly interface with a wide range of voiceover options for enhanced creativity.
  • Capability to automatically generate video content from text prompts, including visuals and voiceovers or subtitles.
  • Built-in online video editor for custom tweaks like text font adjustments, video resizing, and adding custom fonts.
  • Produces human-quality voiceovers from provided content, enhancing the overall video quality.
Cons
  • Generated voiceovers lack the emotional depth and delivery quality of professional voice artists.
  • Pronunciation clarity issues in several languages.

Pricing

  • Price starts at $9.99/month

8. Invideo

InVideo offers an AI-driven platform that simplifies creating videos for social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Users can transform text prompts into videos complete with stock footage, voiceovers, background music, and transitions, all through an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

Best Pictory alternative - Invideo

Pros
  • It offers a user-friendly interface that is more affordable and easier to navigate than many competing video editing programs.
  • This Pictory alternative boasts a vast collection of beginner-friendly, ready-made video templates, which are regularly updated to enhance the site's interface and user experience.
  • Users can upload their videos, photos, fonts, and audio files, and then edit these on the InVideo timeline.
Cons
  • Restrictive video export and duration limits.
  • Videos may look amateurish compared to competitors.

Pricing

  • Offers free basic plan. Pro plans start at $20/month

9. HourOne 

HourOne offers a text-to-video generator technology that enables businesses to create and manage professional videos using AI avatars, streamlining the video production process without requiring technical skills.

Best Pictory alternative - Hourone

Pros
  • This alternative to Pictory is user-friendly with a minimal learning curve, complemented by an effective in-product tour.
  • HourOne frequently updates based on client feedback, demonstrating strong customer support and engagement.
  • The platform provides avatars with natural movements and a wide selection of voices, improving video realism and engagement.
  • HourOne breaks language barriers with built-in translation features and local avatars, making global content creation accessible and authentic.
Cons
  • Limited branding and customization options.
  • Long video rendering times.

Pricing

  • Offers free basic plan. Pro plans start at $25/month

10. Wave Video

Wave.video offers an AI-powered tool that transforms blog posts, articles, and text files into customizable videos quickly and effortlessly, enabling the creation of engaging content with just a few clicks. 

Best Pictory alternative - Wave.video

Pros
  • This Pictory alternative platform is user-friendly and suitable for all skill levels
  • The ability to upload custom fonts, and a robust set of video marketing features like text-to-video conversion, auto-captions, templates, stock assets, voiceovers, and a video editor.
  • Wave.video is constantly updated with new features and quick fixes for bugs or issues.
  • It is accessible online through any browser globally, eliminating the need for downloading software.
Cons
  • Slow video rendering and occasional software crashes.
  • Limited drag-and-drop and editor capabilities.

Pricing

  • Pricing starts at $16/month

Part 3. Hot FAQs about Alternatives to Pictory

1. What's better than Pictory?

While "better" can depend on specific needs and preferences, Pictory alternatives like Lumen5, InVideo, Heygen, etc., offer robust features, extensive libraries and customization capabilities for creating videos from text.

2. Can I remove the watermark from Pictory videos?

Yes, you can remove the watermark from Pictory videos by subscribing to one of their paid plans. The free version of Pictory includes a watermark on videos as a way to offer users a taste of the platform's capabilities

3. Are there any free alternatives to Pictory that don't include watermarks?

Many video creation platforms offer free tiers, but most include watermarks on their free plans.

Conclusion

Our exploration of Pictory alternatives reveals a diverse landscape of video creation platforms, each offering unique advantages for various needs. Whether you're drawn to the simplicity and user-friendliness of certain tools or the cutting-edge AI features of others—think lifelike voice-overs and engaging avatar videos—there's something out there for everyone. Whether for professional marketing, educational content, or personal storytelling, these top 10 alternatives have been thoroughly tested to ensure users can find a powerful tool to meet their video creation needs without compromise.

Lukas Schneider
Lukas Schneider Mar 29, 24
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