HeyGen has the more convincing face. Synthesia has the better machinery around it. Neither free tier gives you a file: both stop at a watermarked share link, and the download button is the first thing the $29 plans sell.
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Pick HeyGen if the avatar is the point, because its lip sync holds up in close-up and you can make your own avatar and voice clone on the free plan.
Pick Synthesia if you are rolling out training video across a large company, because roleplay practice, quizzes, SCORM export and one-click translation into 140+ languages come together on its Enterprise plan.
Pick neither if you only need someone to read a script, because a webcam take or a voiceover over slides is faster, cheaper, and does not spend the first ten seconds making the viewer work out whether the presenter is a person.
prices checked 2026-10-13 · by dan scutaru
| HeyGen | Synthesia | |
|---|---|---|
| price | free tier · from $29/mo | free tier · from $29/mo |
| free tier | Up to 3 videos a month (1 to 3 depending on region), each up to 1 minute, 1 custom avatar and 1 voice clone. Videos are watermarked and shared as a 720p link; no export, 1080p export and watermark removal start at Creator. | Basic gives 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month plus 500 credits and 3 survey responses, with 9 stock avatars. Videos carry the Synthesia watermark and can be shared by link but not downloaded (downloads start at Starter). |
| runs on | web, ios, android, api | web, api |
| Stock avatars | 500+ on Free, 700+ on paid plans | 9 on Basic, 125+ on Starter, 180+ on Pro, 240+ on Enterprise |
| Your own avatar | 1 custom video avatar on Free, 5+ on Business | None on Basic, 3 on Starter, 5 on Pro, unlimited on Enterprise |
| What the free plan gives you | A 720p share link with a watermark, no export | A share link with a watermark, no download |
| Translation languages | 30+ on Free, 175 languages and dialects on paid plans | 70+ for dubbing, 140+ on Enterprise |
| How usage is metered | Credits (600 on Creator). The per-minute cost shows in the app, not on the pricing page | Credits, about 100 per finished minute. Starter comes to roughly 22 minutes a month |
| SCORM export | Business, $149/mo plus $20 per extra seat | Enterprise only, custom price |
HeyGen translates into more languages. Synthesia gives you more free minutes to try it on. Any paid HeyGen plan covers 175 languages and dialects, with videos up to 30 minutes (60 on Business), and from Pro you can edit and proofread the translated script before it renders. The free plan gets 30+ languages and one-minute videos.
Synthesia dubs into 70+ languages below Enterprise and 140+ on it. Lip sync is on every plan, the free one included, but it costs double: 80 credits per dubbed minute against 40 without. Through the APIs the price is almost identical. HeyGen charges $0.81 a minute for fast lip-synced translation, Synthesia $0.80.
Both start at $29 a month and both now sell credits, but only Synthesia tells you what a credit buys. Starter adds 1,250 credits to the free 10 minutes, and at about 100 credits per finished minute that is roughly 22 minutes of video a month. Billed yearly it is $18 a month. Unused minutes do not roll over.
HeyGen Creator is $29, or $24 billed yearly, for 600 credits. Neither its pricing page nor its credits help article gives a per-minute rate for the app: usage depends on the avatar model, and the help article says the cost is shown in the product before you generate, when available. Unused credits roll over for one month.
HeyGen has far more faces to pick from: 500+ stock avatars on the free plan and 700+ on paid ones. Synthesia gives you 9 on the free plan, 125+ on Starter, 180+ on Pro and 240+ on Enterprise.
Your own face is self-serve on both now, which most comparisons still get wrong. HeyGen includes one custom video avatar and one voice clone on the free plan, made from about two minutes of footage. Synthesia's personal avatars start on Starter, three of them, five on Pro. You record on a webcam or upload footage, the person in it records a live consent clip, and it is usually ready in about a business day.
HeyGen sells its API on its own. You buy credits in dollars and pay as you go, with no subscription needed and no free API credits since February. An Avatar IV video of your digital twin costs $4.83 a minute, a photo avatar $2.31, and the older Avatar III engine $0.60 to $0.99. Credits expire after 12 months.
Synthesia's video-creation API needs the Pro plan, $89 a month billed monthly, and draws on the same credits as the app, up to 360 minutes a year. Its dubbing API, $0.40 a minute or $0.80 with lip sync, is open on every plan.
Synthesia is still the one built around training, but the features every comparison cites are now Enterprise-only: SCORM export, quizzes, brand kits and one-click translation of a whole video all sit on the custom-priced plan. Branching and clickable calls to action start on Pro. AI roleplay practice can be added to any plan at $29 per learner a month.
HeyGen's Business plan, $149 a month plus $20 for each extra seat, now lists SCORM export, LMS integrations, quizzes and branching. If a small team needs a SCORM file this month, that is a published price against a sales call.
Yes, with limits. The free plan gives you up to three one-minute videos a month (the help center says one to three, depending on region), one custom avatar and one voice clone. Videos carry a watermark and come as a 720p share link. Exporting a 1080p file without the watermark starts on Creator at $29 a month.
Yes. The Basic plan gives you 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month plus 500 credits, with a Synthesia watermark. You can share a link but not download the video. Downloads start on Starter at $29 a month, or $18 billed yearly.
Yes, on both, free plans included. HeyGen's free plan allows one voice clone, Creator up to 40 and Pro up to 70. Synthesia lists voice cloning on every plan, to pair with your personal avatar.
Start with both free plans, since neither lets you download a file until you pay. Run the same one-minute script through each. If the face and the translation are what you are selling, pick HeyGen. If you need to know what a minute costs before you commit, pick Synthesia.