A guide to whiteboard explainer video APIs and MCP servers in 2026

Yes: several tools turn text into a narrated explainer video through an API or an MCP server in Claude, and the best one depends on the video you need and where you’ll call it from. For whiteboard videos from your code and from Claude, we’d pick Chasca, which we make: a REST API, SDK and CLI from its Plus plan, and a hosted connector on every plan. Rekka AI has the lowest per-minute price we could work out, Sketchie edits a scene from a sentence, Ankon AI’s API takes files, Golpo has Python and Node SDKs, and DistilBook’s MCP server works in Claude, Cursor, Codex and ChatGPT Business. HeyGen and Synthesia make avatar videos, and Scrimba Explain narrated slides.

How did we choose and check these tools?

• What’s included: tools that make a narrated explainer video from text and that you can call from code or from an AI assistant, whiteboard or not.
• How we checked: we read each tool’s own docs and pricing pages on 4 November 2026. Where a page doesn’t say, or a tool’s pages disagree, we say so. Prices change, so check before you build.
• Our bias: we make Chasca. We say plainly where another tool is the better choice, and every claim about another tool links to its own pages.
• Not included: tools that publish no API, such as Kinoslide and Scholarly, or arrange one by meeting, such as simpleshow.

The nine tools at a glance

Tool	Makes	From code	From an assistant	Plan and billing
Chasca	Whiteboard videos	REST API, TypeScript SDK, CLI	Hosted connector; local MCP server with a key	Connector on every plan at 1x; key from Plus at 2x
Sketchie	Whiteboard videos	REST API, SDK, CLI	Local MCP server	From Plus, credits at 2x
Rekka AI	Hand-drawn explainers	REST API	Hosted MCP server with a key	Every plan; a credit per video up to 100 seconds
Ankon AI	Whiteboard videos	REST API	Hosted MCP server	1 credit a minute; plan unclear
DistilBook	Whiteboard and motion explainers	Not published	Hosted MCP server	The app’s credits; plan not published
Golpo	Whiteboard and sketch videos	REST API, Python and Node SDKs	Hosted connector; local server with a key	Business add-on, Scale, or API Only at $2.00 to $1.20 a minute
Scrimba Explain	Narrated slides	REST API	ChatGPT plugin; Claude connector	Every account, per explainer
HeyGen	Avatar videos	REST API	Hosted MCP server; ChatGPT plugin	MCP on every plan; API credits, $0.60 to $7.20 a minute
Synthesia	Avatar videos	REST API	MCP connector	Pro and up: up to 360 API minutes a year

Chasca: best for whiteboard videos from code and from Claude

Chasca makes narrated whiteboard videos, drawn as the narrator speaks (for developers).

• With sign-in, on every plan: add the hosted connector, https://app.trychasca.com/mcp, in Claude (on every Claude plan), Claude Code, a ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspace, or any MCP client with OAuth. Nothing to install, no key, and videos count as they do in the app (MCP setup).
• With a key, from Plus: the REST API (API reference), the TypeScript SDK @chasca/sdk and CLI @chasca/cli (CLI and SDK), and @chasca/mcp, a local MCP server for Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor. Videos made with a key use plan minutes at 2x, so Plus, $19.99 a month for 70 minutes, makes 35 minutes this way.
• What it does: send a topic, a question or a document’s text (up to 200,000 characters), a length of 30 seconds to 30 minutes, a format, voice, language and style, then poll or follow the event stream until the MP4, subtitles and scene graph are ready. Subtitles, style or music then change for free; a new voice or format makes a new video. Its MCP tools: chasca_generate_explainer, chasca_get_explainer, chasca_change_explainer, chasca_list_explainers and chasca_list_voices.
• The scene graph is plain JSON you can read, diff and change: send it back edited and only the changed scenes are drawn again, the first re-render free.
• Watch out for: 20 generation requests a minute, media links that expire after about a week, whiteboard videos only, and monthly billing (pricing).

Our quickstart’s first request:

curl -X POST https://app.trychasca.com/api/v1/explainer \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHASCA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input": "Explain how vaccines train the immune system",
    "length": "1:00",
    "aspect": "16:9",
    "preset": "marker"
  }'

Sketchie: best for editing a scene with one sentence

Sketchie makes narrated whiteboard explainers in three styles priced differently (Icons, Icon KIT and Doodles), as an MP4 plus the scene graph.

• How you call it: a REST API to create videos, edit them by instruction, revert and follow status, with @sketchie/sdk and a CLI. Its MCP server runs locally from the Sketchie repository; a hosted Claude connector is on its roadmap.
• Billing: from Plus, $19.99 a month for 600 credits, at 2x the app’s quote. At 12 credits an Icons minute in the app, Plus makes about 25 API minutes of Icons video (our arithmetic).
• Watch out for: videos go up to 6 minutes, and one re-render per video is included; later visual-only ones cost half the original quote.

Sources: API docs, MCP docs, pricing and home.

Rekka AI: best for a low price per minute

Rekka AI makes narrated, hand-drawn explainers in whiteboard, chalkboard, crayon and retro-reel styles.

• How you call it: a REST API (POST /v1/videos with a topic, a style and a format, then poll) and a hosted MCP server at https://api.rekkaai.com/mcp that takes the same key.
• Billing: every plan includes both, from Starter at $5 a month for 26 credits to Studio at $99 for 560. A credit buys a video of up to 100 seconds, and longer ones become chapters at a credit each, up to 60: roughly $0.08 to $0.12 a finished minute (our arithmetic).
• Watch out for: the API takes a topic of 3 to 300 characters (plus an optional prompt), with no fields for images, PDFs, language or voice. A video takes about 5 to 10 minutes, and the free allowance is one credit.

Sources: docs, pricing and FAQ.

Ankon AI: best for sending files through the API

Ankon AI makes whiteboard explainers drawn line by line with the voiceover, as a captioned MP4 in 16:9 or 9:16.

• How you call it: a REST API (POST /api/jobs/) that takes up to 3 files (3 MB), such as a PDF or a reference image, and a hosted MCP server. Its sign-in works only from Claude Code, Claude.ai and Claude Desktop; other clients use a key, and ChatGPT can’t connect yet.
• Billing: 1 credit a minute, as in the app, from Starter at $29 a month ($23 billed yearly) for 15 credits to Studio at $249 ($199) for 160.
• Watch out for: its Studio plan lists the API, but its FAQ says free credits work too. Videos run up to 10 minutes, and its signed-out upgrade page said “Launching soon”, so we couldn’t confirm paid plans are on sale.

Sources: docs, pricing and FAQ and upgrade.

DistilBook: best for one MCP server across many assistants

DistilBook turns documents into narrated explainer and training videos, in a hand-drawn whiteboard look (Guided Explainer) or motion graphics (Motion Explainer).

• How you call it: a hosted MCP server at https://mcp.distilbook.com/mcp, with sign-in or an API key and 37 tools, for Claude, ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu, Cursor, Codex and others. A REST API isn’t published.
• Billing: the app’s credits, from Basic at $20 a month ($14 billed yearly) for 230. A slide is 10 credits, about 2 minutes of whiteboard.
• Watch out for: exporting needs a paid plan or a credit pack, and which plans can use the MCP server isn’t published.

Sources: MCP docs, pricing and specs and limits.

Golpo: best for Python and Node SDKs

Golpo makes whiteboard and sketch explainers, with an optional AI presenter.

• How you call it: a REST API (POST /api/v2/videos/generate, then poll) with Python and Node SDKs; a hosted connector at https://mcp.golpoai.com/mcp for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok, with Google sign-in and 6 tools, on your account’s credits; and a local server, golpo-mcp, that needs an API key.
• Billing: the API is a $200 add-on on Business ($499.99 a month), included on Scale ($999.99), or sold alone as API Only: a $200 minimum, then $2.00 a minute, falling to $1.50 and $1.20 at higher monthly spend. Which plans get the connector isn’t published.
• Watch out for: 15-minute videos need Enterprise, or a Scale add-on. More in Golpo vs Chasca.

Sources: API docs, API access guide, pricing, MCP connector and MCP server guide.

Scrimba Explain: best for narrated slides from ChatGPT or Claude

Scrimba Explain makes explainers: narrated slides with code, diffs, diagrams and images, in 33 languages.

• How you call it: the @Explain Video Generator plugin in ChatGPT and Codex; a Claude connector to https://scrimba.com/explain/mcp that needs no key or sign-in; a Claude Code plugin; and a REST API that takes a prompt of up to 12,000 characters and up to 5 attachments.
• Billing: per explainer. The API page gives free accounts 5 a month and Pro 100, while the plans page says a free account gets five, once. Pro is $24.50 a month billed yearly ($294), or $49 month to month.
• Watch out for: slides, not a whiteboard, and turning off the watermark needs Pro. More in Scrimba Explain vs Chasca.

Sources: introduction, API, ChatGPT and Codex, Claude Code, plans, languages and Scrimba Pro.

HeyGen: best for avatar videos from an assistant

HeyGen makes avatar videos, plus Video Agent (prompt to video), translation and lip sync.

• How you call it: a remote MCP server at https://mcp.heygen.com/mcp/v1/ with sign-in, for Claude, ChatGPT and Codex (through its plugin), Cursor, Gemini CLI and others (97 tools, by our count), plus a REST API.
• Billing: MCP use spends your plan’s credits, on every plan, but Claude needs a paid Claude plan, and HeyGen recommends its Creator plan ($29 a month, as shown from India). API credits are bought separately, by the second: $0.60 to $7.20 a minute by avatar, and $5.82 for Video Agent.
• Watch out for: presenters, not drawings; API credits expire after 12 months, with none free since February 2026.

Sources: MCP overview, Claude setup, MCP page and API pricing.

Synthesia: best for avatar videos on a business plan

Synthesia makes avatar videos. Its API comes with Pro and above, listed at $59 a month billed yearly ($708) as shown from India, with up to 360 minutes of API video a year taken from the plan’s limits; Basic and Starter have none. Its MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT spends workspace credits.

Sources: API introduction, pricing and MCP connector.

How to choose

• What should it look like? A drawn board: Chasca, Sketchie, Rekka AI, Ankon AI, DistilBook or Golpo. A presenter: HeyGen or Synthesia. Slides: Scrimba Explain.
• Where will you call it from? From code: Chasca’s TypeScript SDK and CLI, Golpo’s Python and Node SDKs, or Sketchie’s SDK. From Claude: Chasca on every Chasca and Claude plan, or DistilBook, Golpo, Ankon AI, Scrimba Explain, HeyGen and Synthesia. From ChatGPT: Chasca or DistilBook in Business and Enterprise workspaces, Golpo’s or Synthesia’s connector, or the Scrimba Explain and HeyGen plugins.
• What will a minute cost? By our arithmetic: Rekka AI about $0.08 to $0.12; Chasca’s API $0.50 to $0.57, or $0.25 to $0.33 through its connector; Golpo’s API $1.20 to $2.00; HeyGen $0.60 to $7.20.
• Then test it: make one short video in each tool you shortlist.