SadTalker

Generative VideoPaid

Create expressive, lip-synced talking heads from a single photo—open-source and ready to run.

Last updated Mar 15, 2026

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What is SadTalker?

SadTalker is an open-source AI system for generating realistic talking head videos from a single portrait image and optional short audio. It delivers accurate lip-sync, expressive facial motion (head pose, eye blinks, emotion), and supports both static photo driving and dynamic video-driven modes. Built on modules like Audio2Exp and MetaAudio2Face, the v2.0 release improves 3D motion quality, identity preservation, and reduces artifacts. A free web demo (no login) and a fully open GitHub implementation with downloadable checkpoints and Colab support make it accessible to creators, researchers, and developers.

SadTalker's Top Features

Key capabilities that make SadTalker stand out.

Generates talking head videos from a single portrait image and short audio

Accurate lip-sync with expressive facial motion (head pose, eye blinks, emotion)

Supports static photo-driven and dynamic video-driven modes

Audio2Exp module for expression prediction

MetaAudio2Face module for pose estimation

Pose-guided and audio-driven components for enhanced realism

v2.0 improvements: better 3D motion, identity preservation, fewer artifacts

Inference speed ~0.3 s/frame on NVIDIA A100; CPU supported (slower)

Free online demo with no login (audio ≤ ~10s, image <5MB)

Optional image enhancement/retouch and MP4 download

Open-source Apache 2.0 license with GitHub repo, checkpoints (~2GB), and Colab

Known limits: short-audio cap, artifacts at extreme poses/emotions, English-first performance

Use Cases

Who benefits most from this tool.

Content creators

Turn a still portrait into a short, lip-synced video for social posts, trailers, or intros.

Educators

Create talking-avatar explainers from static images to enrich coursework or micro-lessons.

Researchers

Benchmark expressive talking head generation and test novel improvements on an open stack.

Developers

Integrate portrait-to-video animation into apps using the open-source code and Colab notebook.

Marketing teams

Produce rapid prototype avatars and personalized messages from product spokespeople’s photos.

Archivists/Museums

Bring historical portraits to life for exhibits or interactive displays (with clear labeling).

Accessibility teams

Pair with TTS to create visual speech feedback avatars for assistive applications.

Localization QA

Evaluate lip-sync alignment across languages and accents to spot misalignments.

Game/VTuber creators

Prototype character face animations quickly from concept art or renders.

Video conferencing R&D

Experiment with photo-based avatar presence driven by live or prerecorded audio.

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Tags

AIvideo generationlip-syncfacial motionopen-source3D motionidentity preservationimage processingdynamicstaticdeveloperscreatorsresearchers

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is SadTalker?
SadTalker is an open-source project that generates realistic talking head videos from a single portrait image and short audio, providing accurate lip-sync and expressive facial motion.
How do I use the web demo?
Upload a face-visible image (<5MB), add a short audio clip (WAV/MP3, up to ~10 seconds), choose optional enhancements, then generate and download an MP4—no login required.
Does SadTalker require a GPU?
No, it can run on CPU but is much slower. On an NVIDIA A100 GPU, inference is about 0.3 seconds per frame; speeds vary by hardware.
Can I run SadTalker locally or customize it?
Yes. The GitHub repo provides code, model checkpoints (~2GB), and a Colab notebook for local or custom runs.
What inputs and modes are supported?
A single portrait image plus audio (WAV/MP3) for photo-driven animation, and an optional video-driven mode that imitates facial motion from a source video.
What’s new in SadTalker v2.0?
Improved 3D motion quality, better identity preservation, and fewer artifacts, along with enhanced pose- and audio-driven expressiveness.
Are there known limitations?
Yes. Audio length is capped in the demo, extreme poses or emotions may cause artifacts, and performance is best in English due to training data.
What license does SadTalker use?
Apache 2.0, allowing broad use, modification, and distribution within the license terms.
Is the online demo free?
Yes. The demo is free to use without login, though it’s limited to short audio clips and image size under 5MB.
What models power SadTalker?
Modules such as Audio2Exp for expression prediction and MetaAudio2Face for pose estimation, combined with pose-guided and audio-driven components.