HeyGen vs Synthesia

HeyGen and Synthesia side by side: what each one is, what it costs to start, and whether you can try it free. Everything below comes from the vendors' own sites and other public sources, not from hands-on testing.

At a glance

Prices are in US dollars unless shown otherwise. Confirm the current price on the vendor's site before you buy.

Key differences

Both list a free tier, so you can try each before paying.

Their starting paid plans are listed at the same price, $29/mo.

Both are in our Video & Motion category.

About each tool

H

HeyGen

AI avatar video platform with voice cloning and video translation in 175+ languages on paid plans. Free plan; Creator is $29 a month ($24 billed annually).

Who it is for

Teams and individuals who want avatar-presented or translated videos, such as marketing, training or localized content, without filming each one. Developers can use the API separately.

Strengths

• The pricing page lists 500+ stock avatars on Free and 700+ on paid plans
• It lists 175+ languages and dialects for translation on paid plans and 30+ on Free
• Paid plans export up to 1080p (Creator) or 4K (Pro, Business, Enterprise), with videos up to 30 minutes on Creator and Pro and 60 on Business
• The help center lists voice clone limits of 1 on Free, up to 40 on Creator, up to 70 on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise
• The trust page lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA, DPF and EU AI Act, and states that Enterprise data is not used for model training

Limitations

• Paid plans use a monthly credit pool: 600 on Creator, from 1,000 on Pro and 1,500 on Business, with per-minute rates that vary by avatar type (for example 31 credits a minute for Avatar IV Video Look and 48 for Avatar V)
• The Free plan has no credits. It gives 1 to 3 free videos by region, up to 1 minute each, with a 720p sharing link and 3 Video Agent videos a month. The pages we read do not state a watermark
• Business is $149 a month for the first seat plus $20 for each extra seat, and extra seats do not add credits. Extra credits cost $0.05 each in 100-credit blocks for $5
• The trust page says users need legal rights and explicit consent for any likeness they use, and that data from non-Enterprise accounts may be used for model training unless the user opts out

HeyGen profileVisit site ↗

S

Synthesia

AI video platform that turns scripts into videos with AI avatars and voices in 140+ languages. Free Basic plan (watermarked); Starter is $29 a month.

Who it is for

The vendor positions it for business video such as training, learning content and communications, from individuals on self-serve plans to larger organizations on Enterprise. Enterprise adds shared workspaces, SSO, brand kits and SCORM export.

Strengths

• The pricing page lists 9 AI avatars on Basic, 125+ on Starter, 180+ on Pro and 240+ stock avatars on Enterprise
• The pricing page lists 140+ languages and voices
• Personal avatars (from a photo or webcam video) start on Starter: 3 on Starter, 5 on Pro, and unlimited on Enterprise subject to reasonable consumption and compute
• Synthesia's security page says it undergoes periodic ISO 42001, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II audits, with no audit dates given
• The integrations page lists 58 integrations, including PowerPoint, Slack, Microsoft Teams, YouTube, Vimeo, Moodle, Articulate 360 and HubSpot

Limitations

• The free Basic plan has 500 credits a month, 10 minutes of video or dubbing, 1 editor and 9 avatars, and videos carry a Synthesia watermark
• Starter has 1,250 credits a month, which the vendor estimates at about 12 minutes of video, and 1 editor and 3 guests. Pro has 6,000 credits, about 60 minutes, and 1 editor and 5 guests
• Video costs 100 credits a minute in the vendor's calculator, and lip-sync dubbing uses twice the credits

Synthesia profileVisit site ↗

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