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HeyGen vs Synthesia

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Cheaper paid plan
Synthesia — $18/mo vs $24/mo for HeyGen
Free plan
Both have one
Public API
Both have one
Best fit
HeyGen: Marketing and product teams shipping talking-head video without a studio · Synthesia: Learning and development teams producing course video in many languages
Trust score
About even — HeyGen 94, Synthesia 90

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

HeyGenAvatar videos and translation with lip-syncSynthesiaEnterprise avatar video platform for training content

Side by side

FactHeyGenSynthesia
CategoryAI Avatars & Talking HeadsAI Avatars & Talking Heads
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$24/mo$18/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score94 / 10090 / 100
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, API
CompanyHeyGenSynthesia Ltd
Launched20202017
Last verifiedOct 15, 2026Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

HeyGen

The strongest avatar fidelity on the market right now, but the credit arithmetic decides whether it is affordable, not the sticker price.

Pros

  • Avatar and lip-sync quality is ahead of most competitors at the price
  • Free plan lets you judge output quality before paying anything
  • Video translation covers a wide language list with synchronised lips
  • Credits roll over for a month rather than expiring at the billing date

Cons

  • Newer avatar models cost roughly seven times the credits of the older ones
  • Free tier is watermarked and capped at three one-minute videos
  • Business tier stacks a $20 per-seat charge on top of a $149 base
  • Custom avatars and the better models are gated behind higher tiers

Synthesia

The safe institutional choice for training video at scale — SCORM export and review workflows are what you are paying for, not the avatars themselves.

Pros

  • Review workflows and SCORM export fit corporate training pipelines properly
  • A free Basic tier with 10 minutes a month lets you test the output before committing
  • Annual billing cuts the Starter seat from $29 to $18
  • Multi-language voiceover and dubbing are built in rather than bolted on

Cons

  • Starter's credits add only about 12 minutes of video a month on top of the free 10
  • Avatar expressiveness trails HeyGen at comparable prices
  • Paying yearly fixes the credit budget for 12 months, so a busy month can drain it
  • SCORM export, brand kits and unlimited minutes sit behind quote-only Enterprise

Which one fits

Choose HeyGen if you need

  • Marketing and product teams shipping talking-head video without a studio
  • Localising existing footage into other languages with matched lip movement
  • Creators who want a cloned avatar for repeatable short-form output

Choose Synthesia if you need

  • Learning and development teams producing course video in many languages
  • Internal communications needing brand kits and an approval step
  • Organisations that have to export finished video into an LMS via SCORM

HeyGen vs Synthesia: the questions people ask

Is HeyGen cheaper than Synthesia?

On published entry prices, Synthesia starts lower — $18/mo against $24/mo for HeyGen. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it; what each plan includes differs.

Does HeyGen or Synthesia have a free tier?

Both: HeyGen has a free tier, and Synthesia has a free tier.

Which has a public API, HeyGen or Synthesia?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All HeyGen alternatives →All Synthesia alternatives →Browse all AI Avatars & Talking Heads →