The Video Layer

Independent AI video benchmark

Find the best tool for making explainer videos.

Every tool gets the same one-minute task. We compare explanation quality, speed, and cost.

View the benchmarkRead the blog

The benchmark

Benchmark results

Overall ranking first, followed by generation time, visual explanation, and cost.

5 measured tools
Explainer IndexHigher is better · 0–100
  1. 1
    Simi by Lamina LabsVisual 80 · Speed 100 · Cost 99
    91/100Explainer Index
  2. 2
    SynthesiaVisual 20 · Speed 64 · Cost 91
    51/100Explainer Index
  3. 3
    HeyGenVisual 40 · Speed 1 · Cost 95
    42/100Explainer Index
  4. 4
    xAI Grok Imagine Video 1.5Visual 30 · Speed 36 · Cost 0
    24/100Explainer Index
  5. 5
    InVideo AI — AgentVisual 40 · Speed 9 · Cost 0
    21/100Explainer Index

Score: 45% visual explanation, 30% speed, and 25% cost. Speed is scaled from one to twelve minutes. Cost is scaled from $0 to $15 per finished minute.

Output length

Target: 1 minute

Simi by Lamina Labs1m 9s delivered9s over
Synthesia57s deliveredScene by scene · not one shot
xAI Grok Imagine Video 1.515s delivered15s model maximum
InVideo AI — Agent1m deliveredScene by scene · not one shot
HeyGen49s delivered11s short

Visual scores are provisional. Scene-by-scene tools are labeled. Videos are not hosted here.

The experiment

Same task. First valid result. No cleanup.

We do not repair weak outputs or hide failed runs. Read the testing rules.

How it works

Same task, same rules.

We report what each tool produced.

  1. 01Same brief

    One topic, one goal, one-minute target.

  2. 02First valid output

    No follow-up prompts or human cleanup.

  3. 03Clear result

    Overall score first. Details in three tabs.