Descript vs. Synthesia: data protection per plan
Descript (4 plans) and Synthesia (4 plans) side by side: DPA, training on inputs, hosting and data retention per plan, based on the providers’ public documents. Without rating.
Last updated: (latest review date of the tools shown)
At a glance
Each value is listed with the plans it applies to. Pick a tier to see only plans of that tier; if plans are chosen in the plan comparison below, the table shows exactly those.
All plans: each value is listed with the plans it applies to.
| Feature | Descript | Synthesia |
|---|---|---|
| Provider based in | Descript, Inc., 385 Grove St., San Francisco, CA 94102, USA | Synthesia Ltd, 20 Triton Street, Regent's Place, 3rd Floor, London NW1 3BF, United Kingdom |
| Plans recorded | 4 | 4 |
| Hosting | US only: all 4 plans | mixed: all 4 plans |
| Training on inputs | opt-out available: all 4 plans | no: all 4 plans |
| DPA | not documented: all 4 plans | yes: all 4 plans |
| As of | 18 Oct 2026 | 18 Oct 2026 |
Plans compared
Comparing: Descript Business vs. Synthesia Starter
| Feature | DescriptBusiness | SynthesiaStarter |
|---|---|---|
| differs by plan | not publicly documented | yes |
| Details: DPA available | not publicly documented (the Trust Center lists a 'DPA' document only with 'Request access'; whether it applies to self-service plans is not stated. The security page mentions data processing agreements with suppliers) | yes (Customer Terms: Data Processing Addendum 'hereby incorporated by reference'; additionally a pre-signed PDF version as of 2026-07-22 for countersignature by email to dpasubmission@synthesia.io; no differentiation by plan) Provider’s DPA |
| differs by plan | opt-out available | no |
| Details: Training on inputs | Privacy policy (as of 2025-04-14): purposes include 'research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models'; projects: 'You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service' by disabling the 'Share Data with Descript' setting. Terms (as of 2025-02-25) section 8.4(e): use of Input and Output 'to train, improve, and develop its models and technologies' '(unless you have opted out of such use)'; third-party providers are said to be contractually prohibited from training on inputs/outputs. For AI speakers, voice data is used as training/research data. Security FAQ: sharing information to improve the algorithms is said to be 'disabled by default and can only be enabled by you'. Help Center 'Account data and privacy': the setting is requested during onboarding and can be changed at any time in the app settings ('Share data with Descript'); 'for any in-house AI training we maintain a clear data sharing opt-in'; according to the Help Center, current production models use no user data. | AI Governance Practices: Synthesia does not use customer data (inputs and outputs) for pre-training its AI components; fine-tuning with customer data only on the customer's written instruction. Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01): usage information and feedback are processed to improve the platform and models; for avatar creation, facial/voice data (biometric data) are processed with consent, among other things to create the avatar and to fine-tune the model. DPA clause 2.2: no processing 'for any purpose other than providing the Services to Customer'; under clause 3.1, sub-processors must agree equivalent restrictions on use. Explicit exclusion of training in the sub-processor list only in the OpenAI entry. Documentation does not differentiate by plan. |
| differs by plan | US only | mixed |
| Details: Data residency | Privacy policy: 'Descript is based in the United States and we process and store information in the U.S.' Trust Center: hosting with AWS, GCP and Heroku; backups additionally in a separate AWS region (region not stated). The sub-processor list mostly shows 'US' as the data region. | Security Practices: customer data is currently stored in the EU in AWS data centres in Ireland; operational backups in Ireland, secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region. EU-US transfer within AWS based on the SCCs of the AWS DPA; transfer impact assessment at security.synthesia.io/documents. The sub-processor list additionally names providers in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Documentation does not differentiate by plan. |
| list available | list available | |
| Details: List published |
|
|
| differs by plan | Trust Center | Security Practices: deletion of customer… |
| Details: Data retention | Trust Center (Data Erasure): 'Data is retained until a customer deletes their account or projects'; project data is permanently deleted from the servers within 30 days; daily backups, additionally in a separate AWS region. Privacy policy: storage 'for as long as necessary' for the purposes; voiceprints (Descript) and facial geometry data (at service providers) until the purpose has been fulfilled, at most three years after the last account access. | Security Practices: deletion of customer data on request within up to 90 days; without a request, automatic deletion within 90 days after account termination; export of videos up to 90 days after the end of the contract; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period. Daily database backups for at least three months. Security-relevant logs up to 4 years. DPA clause 7.2: after termination of the Services, destruction of all personal data after 90 days unless the customer has requested their return beforehand. Customer Terms: export may be limited by the plan and by the retention settings enabled by the customer. |
| differs by plan | 50 USD/user/mo… (further prices in the details) | several tiers |
| Details: Price | USD 50 per person per month with annual payment, USD 65 with monthly payment (pricing page; not stated whether VAT is included) | Pricing page in browser (retrieved from Germany, EUR): EUR 19 per month with monthly billing (1,250 credits/month); EUR 12 per month with annual billing (15,000 credits/year); learner seat EUR 29 monthly or EUR 25 with annual billing. Server-side version in USD: USD 29 or USD 18 per month, learner seat USD 29 or USD 25. No indication whether VAT is included. |
| yes | yes | |
| Details: AI features included | yes (1,500 AI credits/month; up to 5 seats, team-wide access to Brand Studio, Priority Support with SLA according to the pricing page) | yes (1,250 credits/month according to the pricing page) |
| 7 sources | 8 sources | |
| Details: Sources with retrieval date |
|
|
Contract / DPA
- differs by plan
- Descript Businessnot publicly documented
- Synthesia Starteryes
- Descript Business
not publicly documented (the Trust Center lists a 'DPA' document only with 'Request access'; whether it applies to self-service plans is not stated. The security page mentions data processing agreements with suppliers)
Synthesia Starteryes (Customer Terms: Data Processing Addendum 'hereby incorporated by reference'; additionally a pre-signed PDF version as of 2026-07-22 for countersignature by email to dpasubmission@synthesia.io; no differentiation by plan)
Provider’s DPA
Training
- differs by plan
- Descript Businessopt-out available
- Synthesia Starterno
- Descript Business
Privacy policy (as of 2025-04-14): purposes include 'research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models'; projects: 'You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service' by disabling the 'Share Data with Descript' setting. Terms (as of 2025-02-25) section 8.4(e): use of Input and Output 'to train, improve, and develop its models and technologies' '(unless you have opted out of such use)'; third-party providers are said to be contractually prohibited from training on inputs/outputs. For AI speakers, voice data is used as training/research data. Security FAQ: sharing information to improve the algorithms is said to be 'disabled by default and can only be enabled by you'. Help Center 'Account data and privacy': the setting is requested during onboarding and can be changed at any time in the app settings ('Share data with Descript'); 'for any in-house AI training we maintain a clear data sharing opt-in'; according to the Help Center, current production models use no user data.
Synthesia StarterAI Governance Practices: Synthesia does not use customer data (inputs and outputs) for pre-training its AI components; fine-tuning with customer data only on the customer's written instruction. Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01): usage information and feedback are processed to improve the platform and models; for avatar creation, facial/voice data (biometric data) are processed with consent, among other things to create the avatar and to fine-tune the model. DPA clause 2.2: no processing 'for any purpose other than providing the Services to Customer'; under clause 3.1, sub-processors must agree equivalent restrictions on use. Explicit exclusion of training in the sub-processor list only in the OpenAI entry. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
Hosting
- differs by plan
- Descript BusinessUS only
- Synthesia Startermixed
- Descript Business
Privacy policy: 'Descript is based in the United States and we process and store information in the U.S.' Trust Center: hosting with AWS, GCP and Heroku; backups additionally in a separate AWS region (region not stated). The sub-processor list mostly shows 'US' as the data region.
Synthesia StarterSecurity Practices: customer data is currently stored in the EU in AWS data centres in Ireland; operational backups in Ireland, secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region. EU-US transfer within AWS based on the SCCs of the AWS DPA; transfer impact assessment at security.synthesia.io/documents. The sub-processor list additionally names providers in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
Sub-processors
- Descript Businesslist available
- Synthesia Starterlist available
- Descript Business
- Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud (hosting; US)
- AI/ML: Anthropic API, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Baseten, ElevenLabs, Andromeda (US)
- Other service providers for analytics, sales and support (US); list contains no EU data region
Synthesia Starter- Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg): hosting, storage, computing power, hosted AI models
- MongoDB Limited (Ireland): production data
- Mux Inc. (USA): video delivery
- StackOne Technologies Ltd (UK): third-party integrations
- Modal Labs, Inc. (USA): computing power for video processing
- ClickHouse, Inc. (USA): analytics for sessions
- Script processing: Google Cloud EMEA (Ireland), IBM United Kingdom, CoeFont (Japan), WellSaid Labs (USA), Microsoft Ireland, Eleven Labs Inc. (USA), DeepL SE (Germany), OpenAI OpCo (USA), Cinder Technologies (USA), Anthropic PBC (USA), Cartesia AI (USA), Exa Labs (USA; web search)
- Asset processing: UAB ConvertAPI (Lithuania), Canva Austria GmbH (Austria; pre-processing for Custom Avatars), Runway AI (USA), Features & Labels (USA), AssemblyAI (USA), LiveKit (USA), ai-coustics GmbH (Germany), BFL GmbH (Germany), BytePlus Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; hosted AI models)
- Other: Intercom R&D Unlimited Company (Ireland), Datadog, Inc. (USA)
- Group companies: Synthesia Inc. (USA), Synthesia B.V. (Netherlands), Synthesia GmbH (Germany), Synthesia ApS (Denmark)
Retention
- differs by plan
- Descript BusinessTrust Center
- Synthesia StarterSecurity Practices: deletion of customer…
- Descript BusinessTrust Center (Data Erasure): 'Data is retained until a customer deletes their account or projects'; project data is permanently deleted from the servers within 30 days; daily backups, additionally in a separate AWS region. Privacy policy: storage 'for as long as necessary' for the purposes; voiceprints (Descript) and facial geometry data (at service providers) until the purpose has been fulfilled, at most three years after the last account access.Synthesia StarterSecurity Practices: deletion of customer data on request within up to 90 days; without a request, automatic deletion within 90 days after account termination; export of videos up to 90 days after the end of the contract; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period. Daily database backups for at least three months. Security-relevant logs up to 4 years. DPA clause 7.2: after termination of the Services, destruction of all personal data after 90 days unless the customer has requested their return beforehand. Customer Terms: export may be limited by the plan and by the retention settings enabled by the customer.
Price
- differs by plan
- Descript Business50 USD/user/mo… (further prices in the details)
- Synthesia Starterseveral tiers
- Descript Business
USD 50 per person per month with annual payment, USD 65 with monthly payment (pricing page; not stated whether VAT is included)
Synthesia StarterPricing page in browser (retrieved from Germany, EUR): EUR 19 per month with monthly billing (1,250 credits/month); EUR 12 per month with annual billing (15,000 credits/year); learner seat EUR 29 monthly or EUR 25 with annual billing. Server-side version in USD: USD 29 or USD 18 per month, learner seat USD 29 or USD 25. No indication whether VAT is included.
- Descript Businessyes
- Synthesia Starteryes
- Descript Business
yes (1,500 AI credits/month; up to 5 seats, team-wide access to Brand Studio, Priority Support with SLA according to the pricing page)
Synthesia Starteryes (1,250 credits/month according to the pricing page)
Evidence
- Descript Business7 sources
- Synthesia Starter8 sources
- Descript Business
- PricingPricing page, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Privacy Policy (as of 2025-04-14)Privacy notice, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Terms of Service (as of 2025-02-25)Terms and conditions, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- SecurityTrust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Data SubprocessorsSub-processor list, retrieved 14 Oct 2026
- Descript Trust Center (SecurityPal, as of 2026-08-21)Trust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Account data and privacy (Help Center)Help Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
Synthesia Starter- Pricing (rendered in browser, monthly/annual; EUR when retrieved from Germany, USD in the server-side version)Pricing page, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Security Practices (as of 2026-02-03)Trust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Data Processing Addendum (PDF as of 2026-07-22, incorporated via Customer Terms)DPA, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Subprocessors (as of 2026-10-08)Sub-processor list, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01)Privacy notice, retrieved 14 Oct 2026
- Customer Terms of Service (effective 2026-07-20)Terms and conditions, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- AI Governance Practices (published September 2024)AI governance, retrieved 14 Oct 2026
- Synthesia Trust Center (Vanta; ISO certificates viewable, SOC 2 and TIA via Request access)Trust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
| Feature | Descript | Synthesia |
|---|---|---|
| differs by tool | not publicly documentedall 4 plans | yesall 4 plans |
| Details: DPA available |
|
|
| differs by tool | opt-out availableall 4 plans | noall 4 plans |
| Details: Training on inputs |
|
|
| differs by tool | US onlyall 4 plans | mixedall 4 plans |
| Details: Data residency |
|
|
| list availableall 4 plans | list availableall 4 plans | |
| Details: List published |
|
|
| differs by tool |
| Security Practices: deletion of customer…all 4 plans |
| Details: Data retention |
|
|
| differs by tool |
|
|
| Details: Price |
|
|
| yesall 4 plans | yesall 4 plans | |
| Details: AI features included |
|
|
| 7 sources | 8 sources | |
| Details: Sources with retrieval date |
|
|
Contract / DPA
- differs by tool
- Descriptnot publicly documentedall 4 plans
- Synthesiayesall 4 plans
- Descript
- Free
not publicly documented (the Trust Center lists a 'DPA' document only with 'Request access'; whether it applies to self-service plans is not stated. The security page mentions data processing agreements with suppliers)
- Hobbyist / Creator
not publicly documented (the Trust Center lists a 'DPA' document only with 'Request access'; whether it applies to self-service plans is not stated. The security page mentions data processing agreements with suppliers)
- Business
not publicly documented (the Trust Center lists a 'DPA' document only with 'Request access'; whether it applies to self-service plans is not stated. The security page mentions data processing agreements with suppliers)
- Enterprise
not publicly documented (the pricing page mentions 'custom legal terms'; the Trust Center lists a 'DPA' document only with 'Request access')
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)
yes (Customer Terms: Data Processing Addendum 'hereby incorporated by reference'; additionally a pre-signed PDF version as of 2026-07-22 for countersignature by email to dpasubmission@synthesia.io; no differentiation by plan)
Provider’s DPA - Starter
yes (Customer Terms: Data Processing Addendum 'hereby incorporated by reference'; additionally a pre-signed PDF version as of 2026-07-22 for countersignature by email to dpasubmission@synthesia.io; no differentiation by plan)
Provider’s DPA - Pro
yes (Customer Terms: Data Processing Addendum 'hereby incorporated by reference'; additionally a pre-signed PDF version as of 2026-07-22 for countersignature by email to dpasubmission@synthesia.io; no differentiation by plan)
Provider’s DPA - Enterprise
yes (Customer Terms: Data Processing Addendum 'hereby incorporated by reference'; additionally a pre-signed PDF version as of 2026-07-22 for countersignature by email to dpasubmission@synthesia.io; no differentiation by plan)
Provider’s DPA
- Free
Training
- differs by tool
- Descriptopt-out availableall 4 plans
- Synthesianoall 4 plans
- Descript
- Free
Privacy policy (as of 2025-04-14): purposes include 'research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models'; projects: 'You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service' by disabling the 'Share Data with Descript' setting. Terms (as of 2025-02-25) section 8.4(e): use of Input and Output 'to train, improve, and develop its models and technologies' '(unless you have opted out of such use)'; third-party providers are said to be contractually prohibited from training on inputs/outputs. For AI speakers, voice data is used as training/research data. Security FAQ: sharing information to improve the algorithms is said to be 'disabled by default and can only be enabled by you'. Help Center 'Account data and privacy': the setting is requested during onboarding and can be changed at any time in the app settings ('Share data with Descript'); 'for any in-house AI training we maintain a clear data sharing opt-in'; according to the Help Center, current production models use no user data.
- Hobbyist / Creator
Privacy policy (as of 2025-04-14): purposes include 'research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models'; projects: 'You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service' by disabling the 'Share Data with Descript' setting. Terms (as of 2025-02-25) section 8.4(e): use of Input and Output 'to train, improve, and develop its models and technologies' '(unless you have opted out of such use)'; third-party providers are said to be contractually prohibited from training on inputs/outputs. For AI speakers, voice data is used as training/research data. Security FAQ: sharing information to improve the algorithms is said to be 'disabled by default and can only be enabled by you'. Help Center 'Account data and privacy': the setting is requested during onboarding and can be changed at any time in the app settings ('Share data with Descript'); 'for any in-house AI training we maintain a clear data sharing opt-in'; according to the Help Center, current production models use no user data.
- Business
Privacy policy (as of 2025-04-14): purposes include 'research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models'; projects: 'You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service' by disabling the 'Share Data with Descript' setting. Terms (as of 2025-02-25) section 8.4(e): use of Input and Output 'to train, improve, and develop its models and technologies' '(unless you have opted out of such use)'; third-party providers are said to be contractually prohibited from training on inputs/outputs. For AI speakers, voice data is used as training/research data. Security FAQ: sharing information to improve the algorithms is said to be 'disabled by default and can only be enabled by you'. Help Center 'Account data and privacy': the setting is requested during onboarding and can be changed at any time in the app settings ('Share data with Descript'); 'for any in-house AI training we maintain a clear data sharing opt-in'; according to the Help Center, current production models use no user data.
- Enterprise
Pricing page: the Enterprise plan lists 'AI and data controls' with opt-out from training and custom retention. Trust Center: 'Enterprise customer data is excluded from improving, training, or developing Descript’s AI systems.' Help Center: for Enterprise drives, data sharing is disabled by default and cannot be toggled.
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)
AI Governance Practices: Synthesia does not use customer data (inputs and outputs) for pre-training its AI components; fine-tuning with customer data only on the customer's written instruction. Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01): usage information and feedback are processed to improve the platform and models; for avatar creation, facial/voice data (biometric data) are processed with consent, among other things to create the avatar and to fine-tune the model. DPA clause 2.2: no processing 'for any purpose other than providing the Services to Customer'; under clause 3.1, sub-processors must agree equivalent restrictions on use. Explicit exclusion of training in the sub-processor list only in the OpenAI entry. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Starter
AI Governance Practices: Synthesia does not use customer data (inputs and outputs) for pre-training its AI components; fine-tuning with customer data only on the customer's written instruction. Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01): usage information and feedback are processed to improve the platform and models; for avatar creation, facial/voice data (biometric data) are processed with consent, among other things to create the avatar and to fine-tune the model. DPA clause 2.2: no processing 'for any purpose other than providing the Services to Customer'; under clause 3.1, sub-processors must agree equivalent restrictions on use. Explicit exclusion of training in the sub-processor list only in the OpenAI entry. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Pro
AI Governance Practices: Synthesia does not use customer data (inputs and outputs) for pre-training its AI components; fine-tuning with customer data only on the customer's written instruction. Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01): usage information and feedback are processed to improve the platform and models; for avatar creation, facial/voice data (biometric data) are processed with consent, among other things to create the avatar and to fine-tune the model. DPA clause 2.2: no processing 'for any purpose other than providing the Services to Customer'; under clause 3.1, sub-processors must agree equivalent restrictions on use. Explicit exclusion of training in the sub-processor list only in the OpenAI entry. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Enterprise
AI Governance Practices: Synthesia does not use customer data (inputs and outputs) for pre-training its AI components; fine-tuning with customer data only on the customer's written instruction. Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01): usage information and feedback are processed to improve the platform and models; for avatar creation, facial/voice data (biometric data) are processed with consent, among other things to create the avatar and to fine-tune the model. DPA clause 2.2: no processing 'for any purpose other than providing the Services to Customer'; under clause 3.1, sub-processors must agree equivalent restrictions on use. Explicit exclusion of training in the sub-processor list only in the OpenAI entry. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Free
Hosting
- differs by tool
- DescriptUS onlyall 4 plans
- Synthesiamixedall 4 plans
- Descript
- Free
Privacy policy: 'Descript is based in the United States and we process and store information in the U.S.' Trust Center: hosting with AWS, GCP and Heroku; backups additionally in a separate AWS region (region not stated). The sub-processor list mostly shows 'US' as the data region.
- Hobbyist / Creator
Privacy policy: 'Descript is based in the United States and we process and store information in the U.S.' Trust Center: hosting with AWS, GCP and Heroku; backups additionally in a separate AWS region (region not stated). The sub-processor list mostly shows 'US' as the data region.
- Business
Privacy policy: 'Descript is based in the United States and we process and store information in the U.S.' Trust Center: hosting with AWS, GCP and Heroku; backups additionally in a separate AWS region (region not stated). The sub-processor list mostly shows 'US' as the data region.
- Enterprise
as other plans: storage and processing in the USA according to the privacy policy; no EU option documented.
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)
Security Practices: customer data is currently stored in the EU in AWS data centres in Ireland; operational backups in Ireland, secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region. EU-US transfer within AWS based on the SCCs of the AWS DPA; transfer impact assessment at security.synthesia.io/documents. The sub-processor list additionally names providers in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Starter
Security Practices: customer data is currently stored in the EU in AWS data centres in Ireland; operational backups in Ireland, secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region. EU-US transfer within AWS based on the SCCs of the AWS DPA; transfer impact assessment at security.synthesia.io/documents. The sub-processor list additionally names providers in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Pro
Security Practices: customer data is currently stored in the EU in AWS data centres in Ireland; operational backups in Ireland, secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region. EU-US transfer within AWS based on the SCCs of the AWS DPA; transfer impact assessment at security.synthesia.io/documents. The sub-processor list additionally names providers in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Enterprise
Security Practices: customer data is currently stored in the EU in AWS data centres in Ireland; operational backups in Ireland, secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region. EU-US transfer within AWS based on the SCCs of the AWS DPA; transfer impact assessment at security.synthesia.io/documents. The sub-processor list additionally names providers in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Documentation does not differentiate by plan.
- Free
Sub-processors
- Descriptlist availableall 4 plans
- Synthesialist availableall 4 plans
- Descript
- Free
- Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud (hosting; US)
- AI/ML: Anthropic API, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Baseten, ElevenLabs, Andromeda (US)
- Other service providers for analytics, sales and support (US); list contains no EU data region
- Hobbyist / Creator
- Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud (hosting; US)
- AI/ML: Anthropic API, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Baseten, ElevenLabs, Andromeda (US)
- Other service providers for analytics, sales and support (US); list contains no EU data region
- Business
- Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud (hosting; US)
- AI/ML: Anthropic API, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Baseten, ElevenLabs, Andromeda (US)
- Other service providers for analytics, sales and support (US); list contains no EU data region
- Enterprise
- as other plans
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)
- Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg): hosting, storage, computing power, hosted AI models
- MongoDB Limited (Ireland): production data
- Mux Inc. (USA): video delivery
- StackOne Technologies Ltd (UK): third-party integrations
- Modal Labs, Inc. (USA): computing power for video processing
- ClickHouse, Inc. (USA): analytics for sessions
- Script processing: Google Cloud EMEA (Ireland), IBM United Kingdom, CoeFont (Japan), WellSaid Labs (USA), Microsoft Ireland, Eleven Labs Inc. (USA), DeepL SE (Germany), OpenAI OpCo (USA), Cinder Technologies (USA), Anthropic PBC (USA), Cartesia AI (USA), Exa Labs (USA; web search)
- Asset processing: UAB ConvertAPI (Lithuania), Canva Austria GmbH (Austria; pre-processing for Custom Avatars), Runway AI (USA), Features & Labels (USA), AssemblyAI (USA), LiveKit (USA), ai-coustics GmbH (Germany), BFL GmbH (Germany), BytePlus Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; hosted AI models)
- Other: Intercom R&D Unlimited Company (Ireland), Datadog, Inc. (USA)
- Group companies: Synthesia Inc. (USA), Synthesia B.V. (Netherlands), Synthesia GmbH (Germany), Synthesia ApS (Denmark)
- Starter
- Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg): hosting, storage, computing power, hosted AI models
- MongoDB Limited (Ireland): production data
- Mux Inc. (USA): video delivery
- StackOne Technologies Ltd (UK): third-party integrations
- Modal Labs, Inc. (USA): computing power for video processing
- ClickHouse, Inc. (USA): analytics for sessions
- Script processing: Google Cloud EMEA (Ireland), IBM United Kingdom, CoeFont (Japan), WellSaid Labs (USA), Microsoft Ireland, Eleven Labs Inc. (USA), DeepL SE (Germany), OpenAI OpCo (USA), Cinder Technologies (USA), Anthropic PBC (USA), Cartesia AI (USA), Exa Labs (USA; web search)
- Asset processing: UAB ConvertAPI (Lithuania), Canva Austria GmbH (Austria; pre-processing for Custom Avatars), Runway AI (USA), Features & Labels (USA), AssemblyAI (USA), LiveKit (USA), ai-coustics GmbH (Germany), BFL GmbH (Germany), BytePlus Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; hosted AI models)
- Other: Intercom R&D Unlimited Company (Ireland), Datadog, Inc. (USA)
- Group companies: Synthesia Inc. (USA), Synthesia B.V. (Netherlands), Synthesia GmbH (Germany), Synthesia ApS (Denmark)
- Pro
- Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg): hosting, storage, computing power, hosted AI models
- MongoDB Limited (Ireland): production data
- Mux Inc. (USA): video delivery
- StackOne Technologies Ltd (UK): third-party integrations
- Modal Labs, Inc. (USA): computing power for video processing
- ClickHouse, Inc. (USA): analytics for sessions
- Script processing: Google Cloud EMEA (Ireland), IBM United Kingdom, CoeFont (Japan), WellSaid Labs (USA), Microsoft Ireland, Eleven Labs Inc. (USA), DeepL SE (Germany), OpenAI OpCo (USA), Cinder Technologies (USA), Anthropic PBC (USA), Cartesia AI (USA), Exa Labs (USA; web search)
- Asset processing: UAB ConvertAPI (Lithuania), Canva Austria GmbH (Austria; pre-processing for Custom Avatars), Runway AI (USA), Features & Labels (USA), AssemblyAI (USA), LiveKit (USA), ai-coustics GmbH (Germany), BFL GmbH (Germany), BytePlus Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; hosted AI models)
- Other: Intercom R&D Unlimited Company (Ireland), Datadog, Inc. (USA)
- Group companies: Synthesia Inc. (USA), Synthesia B.V. (Netherlands), Synthesia GmbH (Germany), Synthesia ApS (Denmark)
- Enterprise
- Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (Luxembourg): hosting, storage, computing power, hosted AI models
- MongoDB Limited (Ireland): production data
- Mux Inc. (USA): video delivery
- StackOne Technologies Ltd (UK): third-party integrations
- Modal Labs, Inc. (USA): computing power for video processing
- ClickHouse, Inc. (USA): analytics for sessions
- Script processing: Google Cloud EMEA (Ireland), IBM United Kingdom, CoeFont (Japan), WellSaid Labs (USA), Microsoft Ireland, Eleven Labs Inc. (USA), DeepL SE (Germany), OpenAI OpCo (USA), Cinder Technologies (USA), Anthropic PBC (USA), Cartesia AI (USA), Exa Labs (USA; web search)
- Asset processing: UAB ConvertAPI (Lithuania), Canva Austria GmbH (Austria; pre-processing for Custom Avatars), Runway AI (USA), Features & Labels (USA), AssemblyAI (USA), LiveKit (USA), ai-coustics GmbH (Germany), BFL GmbH (Germany), BytePlus Pte. Ltd. (Singapore; hosted AI models)
- Other: Intercom R&D Unlimited Company (Ireland), Datadog, Inc. (USA)
- Group companies: Synthesia Inc. (USA), Synthesia B.V. (Netherlands), Synthesia GmbH (Germany), Synthesia ApS (Denmark)
- Free
Retention
- differs by tool
- Descript
- Trust CenterFree, Hobbyist / Creator, Business
- Pricing page: 'custom retention' in the…Enterprise
- SynthesiaSecurity Practices: deletion of customer…all 4 plans
- Descript
- FreeTrust Center (Data Erasure): 'Data is retained until a customer deletes their account or projects'; project data is permanently deleted from the servers within 30 days; daily backups, additionally in a separate AWS region. Privacy policy: storage 'for as long as necessary' for the purposes; voiceprints (Descript) and facial geometry data (at service providers) until the purpose has been fulfilled, at most three years after the last account access.
- Hobbyist / CreatorTrust Center (Data Erasure): 'Data is retained until a customer deletes their account or projects'; project data is permanently deleted from the servers within 30 days; daily backups, additionally in a separate AWS region. Privacy policy: storage 'for as long as necessary' for the purposes; voiceprints (Descript) and facial geometry data (at service providers) until the purpose has been fulfilled, at most three years after the last account access.
- BusinessTrust Center (Data Erasure): 'Data is retained until a customer deletes their account or projects'; project data is permanently deleted from the servers within 30 days; daily backups, additionally in a separate AWS region. Privacy policy: storage 'for as long as necessary' for the purposes; voiceprints (Descript) and facial geometry data (at service providers) until the purpose has been fulfilled, at most three years after the last account access.
- EnterprisePricing page: 'custom retention' in the Enterprise plan; retention periods not documented.
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)Security Practices: deletion of customer data on request within up to 90 days; without a request, automatic deletion within 90 days after account termination; export of videos up to 90 days after the end of the contract; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period. Daily database backups for at least three months. Security-relevant logs up to 4 years. DPA clause 7.2: after termination of the Services, destruction of all personal data after 90 days unless the customer has requested their return beforehand. Customer Terms: export may be limited by the plan and by the retention settings enabled by the customer.
- StarterSecurity Practices: deletion of customer data on request within up to 90 days; without a request, automatic deletion within 90 days after account termination; export of videos up to 90 days after the end of the contract; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period. Daily database backups for at least three months. Security-relevant logs up to 4 years. DPA clause 7.2: after termination of the Services, destruction of all personal data after 90 days unless the customer has requested their return beforehand. Customer Terms: export may be limited by the plan and by the retention settings enabled by the customer.
- ProSecurity Practices: deletion of customer data on request within up to 90 days; without a request, automatic deletion within 90 days after account termination; export of videos up to 90 days after the end of the contract; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period. Daily database backups for at least three months. Security-relevant logs up to 4 years. DPA clause 7.2: after termination of the Services, destruction of all personal data after 90 days unless the customer has requested their return beforehand. Customer Terms: export may be limited by the plan and by the retention settings enabled by the customer.
- EnterpriseSecurity Practices: deletion of customer data on request within up to 90 days; without a request, automatic deletion within 90 days after account termination; export of videos up to 90 days after the end of the contract; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period. Daily database backups for at least three months. Security-relevant logs up to 4 years. DPA clause 7.2: after termination of the Services, destruction of all personal data after 90 days unless the customer has requested their return beforehand. Customer Terms: export may be limited by the plan and by the retention settings enabled by the customer.
Price
- differs by tool
- Descript
- 0 USDFree
- several tiersHobbyist / Creator
- 50 USD/user/mo… (further prices in the details)Business
- customEnterprise
- Synthesia
- 0 EUR/moBasic (free of charge)
- several tiersStarter
- 79 EUR/mo… (further prices in the details)Pro
- customEnterprise
- Descript
- Free
USD 0 (pricing page; no credit card required)
- Hobbyist / Creator
Hobbyist USD 16, Creator USD 24 per person per month with annual payment; USD 24 and USD 35 respectively with monthly payment (pricing page; not stated whether VAT is included)
- Business
USD 50 per person per month with annual payment, USD 65 with monthly payment (pricing page; not stated whether VAT is included)
- Enterprise
Custom (pricing page: 'Talk to sales')
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)
EUR 0 or USD 0 per month (pricing page; no indication whether VAT is included)
- Starter
Pricing page in browser (retrieved from Germany, EUR): EUR 19 per month with monthly billing (1,250 credits/month); EUR 12 per month with annual billing (15,000 credits/year); learner seat EUR 29 monthly or EUR 25 with annual billing. Server-side version in USD: USD 29 or USD 18 per month, learner seat USD 29 or USD 25. No indication whether VAT is included.
- Pro
Pricing page in browser (retrieved from Germany, EUR): EUR 79 per month with monthly billing (6,000 credits/month); EUR 49 per month with annual billing (72,000 credits/year); higher credit tiers up to EUR 600/month (monthly) or EUR 372/month (annual). Server-side version in USD: USD 89 or USD 64 per month, tiers up to USD 676/month. No indication whether VAT is included.
- Enterprise
Custom (pricing page: 'Custom', 'tailored pricing'; FAQ: 'Enterprise pricing is custom')
- Free
- Descriptyesall 4 plans
- Synthesiayesall 4 plans
- Descript
- Free
yes (100 AI credits one-off; 1 seat; export with watermark according to the pricing page)
- Hobbyist / Creator
yes (AI credits: Hobbyist 400/month, Creator 800/month; Underlord, Studio Sound, Green Screen, Eye Contact according to the pricing page; Creator up to 3 seats, billed separately)
- Business
yes (1,500 AI credits/month; up to 5 seats, team-wide access to Brand Studio, Priority Support with SLA according to the pricing page)
- Enterprise
yes (custom AI credits and media minutes according to the pricing page)
Synthesia- Basic (free of charge)
yes (500 credits/month, videos with watermark according to the pricing page)
- Starter
yes (1,250 credits/month according to the pricing page)
- Pro
yes (6,000 credits/month according to the pricing page)
- Enterprise
yes
- Free
Evidence
- Descript7 sources
- Synthesia8 sources
- Descript
- PricingPricing page, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Privacy Policy (as of 2025-04-14)Privacy notice, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Terms of Service (as of 2025-02-25)Terms and conditions, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- SecurityTrust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Data SubprocessorsSub-processor list, retrieved 14 Oct 2026
- Descript Trust Center (SecurityPal, as of 2026-08-21)Trust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Account data and privacy (Help Center)Help Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
Synthesia- Pricing (rendered in browser, monthly/annual; EUR when retrieved from Germany, USD in the server-side version)Pricing page, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Security Practices (as of 2026-02-03)Trust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Data Processing Addendum (PDF as of 2026-07-22, incorporated via Customer Terms)DPA, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Subprocessors (as of 2026-10-08)Sub-processor list, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-01)Privacy notice, retrieved 14 Oct 2026
- Customer Terms of Service (effective 2026-07-20)Terms and conditions, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
- AI Governance Practices (published September 2024)AI governance, retrieved 14 Oct 2026
- Synthesia Trust Center (Vanta; ISO certificates viewable, SOC 2 and TIA via Request access)Trust Center, retrieved 18 Oct 2026
not documentedmeans: not publicly documented, not verifiable in any provider source. It does not mean “no”.
No guarantee of accuracy, not legal advice. Each entry is valid as of the date shown. Open points are listed on the detail pages.
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