HeyGen vs OpusClip
Buy OpusClip if you already record long-form and the shorts are a distribution problem. Buy HeyGen if there is no footage and the video needs a person delivering a script. If you have hours of unclipped recordings, OpusClip is the higher-leverage purchase by a wide margin, because the raw material is already paid for.
Disclosure: this page is published by Kineo, which is not one of the two tools compared here and does not compete with either on the job they do. There is a short, clearly labelled note about Kineo at the bottom. Everything above it is written as if we had nothing at stake, because on this comparison we do not.
The verdict
One of them cannot start without your footage
OpusClip’s input is a long video you upload or link; every frame it outputs came from that source. HeyGen’s input is a script and it renders the frames itself. If you have no recordings, no OpusClip tier changes that — and if you have a hundred hours of them, HeyGen does not help you use any of it.
OpusClip is the cheaper entry and the shorter ladder
Free with 60 credits a month at up to 1080p, Starter at $15/month with 150 credits and monthly billing only, Pro at $29/month or $14.50 billed annually at $174/year with 3,600 credits released up front and 2 seats, then custom Business. HeyGen runs $29 Creator, $49 Pro, $149 Business plus $20/seat, then Enterprise. OpusClip’s cheapest real plan is half HeyGen’s.
The free tiers hide a clock and a ceiling respectively
OpusClip Free clips are watermarked and stop being exportable after 3 days — the single most-missed line in this category. HeyGen Free gives 3 videos a month up to a minute each with no expiry stated. If you plan to evaluate over a couple of weekends, only one of those free tiers survives the wait.
Neither is metered the way you would guess
OpusClip credits meter clip processing and are paired with export windows: 3 days on Free, 30 days on Starter, no limit on Pro. HeyGen credits meter rendering minutes at a published rate that swings sevenfold by avatar generation, and unused credits roll over for paid subscribers. Two credit systems, no shared unit.
Side by side
Every figure below was read off each vendor’s own pricing page on July 26, 2026. Where a tier table did not resolve to readable prices, the cell says so rather than guessing — a wrong competitor price is worse than no price at all.
| HeyGen | OpusClip | |
|---|---|---|
| What it actually is | Puts a synthetic presenter on screen reading your script, with heavy investment in avatars, voice cloning and languages. | Finds the best moments in a long video you already recorded and cuts them into vertical clips. |
| Needs an existing video? | No. You write a script, pick an avatar and it renders a talking-head clip. | Yes — you upload a long video or paste a link. There is nothing to clip from an idea. |
| Free tier | Free plan: $0, 3 videos per month up to 1 minute each, 1 custom digital twin, 30+ languages and 500+ stock avatars. | Free plan: $0, 60 credits per month, renders up to 1080p, auto-reframe and AI captions with emoji and keyword highlighting. Clips are watermarked, and after 3 days they are no longer exportable. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Creator $29/month, or $24/month billed annually | Starter $15/month (150 credits/month, monthly billing only) |
| Full pricing | Free $0 (3 videos/mo, 1 min each) · Creator $29/mo, or $24/mo billed annually (600 credits/mo, videos up to 30 min, 1080p export, voice cloning, 175+ languages) · Pro $49/mo (1,000 credits/mo, 4K export) · Business $149/mo plus $20/seat/mo (1,500 credits/mo, videos up to 60 min, 4K, 5 custom digital twins) · Enterprise custom (no video duration maximum, 10+ custom digital twins). | Free $0 (60 credits/mo) · Starter $15/mo (150 credits/mo, monthly billing only) · Pro $29/mo, or $14.50/mo billed annually at $174/year (3,600 credits released up front, 2 seats) · Business custom. |
| Watermark | Watermark removal is included from the Creator tier up. | Watermarked on the free plan; watermark-free from Starter up. |
| Aspect ratio | Multiple, including 9:16 vertical. | Vertical clips auto-reframed from your horizontal or square source. |
| Voice / narration | A large built-in voice library plus voice cloning on paid plans; 175+ languages from Creator up. | Whatever voice is already in your footage. There is no text-to-speech narration of a written script. |
| Where the visuals come from | Not the point of the product — the avatar is the shot. | None. Every frame in the output came from the video you uploaded. |
| Export & usage limits | Credit-metered. The pricing page lists Avatar IV/V at 20 credits per minute and Avatar III at 3 credits per minute. Unused credits roll over for paid subscribers. | Free: clips stop being exportable after 3 days. Starter: 30-day limit on MP4 exports. Pro: no limit on MP4 exports. |
| Verified | Verified July 26, 2026 — read from https://www.heygen.com/pricing | Verified July 26, 2026 — read from https://www.opus.pro/pricing |
Sources: HeyGen pricing · OpusClip pricing — both checked on July 26, 2026. Vendors change tiers without notice, so confirm on their site before you pay. If you find something here that is out of date, we would rather fix it than keep the click.
Which one you should pick
Pick HeyGen if…
- You have a script and no footage, and the format needs a human delivering it.
- Localisation is the job: 175+ languages from Creator up, voice cloning at the same tier.
- You want 4K, which is Pro at $49/month.
- Your production is bursty and rollover matters — HeyGen states credits roll over for paid subscribers.
- A recognisable presenter is part of the brand rather than an accident of what you filmed.
Pick OpusClip if…
- You already record long-form — podcasts, streams, webinars — and it is sitting unclipped.
- You want the cheapest real plan in this comparison: Starter at $15/month.
- Auto-reframe from a horizontal source is the specific automation you want.
- Annual billing suits you: Pro at $14.50/month, $174/year, 3,600 credits released up front, 2 seats.
- Your own face and voice are the channel, so a synthetic presenter would be a step backwards.
The differences that actually matter
The export clock is OpusClip’s hidden cost
Free-plan clips stop being exportable after 3 days and Starter carries a 30-day limit on MP4 exports; only Pro removes it entirely. If you batch-produce and publish over the following quarter, you are on Pro whether or not any feature made you want it. HeyGen does not publish an equivalent export window on its pricing page.
Voice: yours versus theirs
OpusClip uses whatever audio is already in your footage — there is no text-to-speech narration of a written script. HeyGen has a large built-in voice library plus voice cloning on paid plans, and 175+ languages from Creator up. If keeping your own voice is non-negotiable, only one of these two gives it to you without cloning it first.
Seats are cheap on one side and a line item on the other
OpusClip Pro includes 2 seats at $29/month. HeyGen Business is $149/month plus $20 per seat per month. For one person this is noise; for a small team it is the biggest number on the page.
Both can produce 9:16, and neither produces faceless narration
OpusClip reframes your source vertically; HeyGen exports vertical avatar video. Neither writes a script, sources stock footage and narrates it with nobody on screen. If that is the format you want, this comparison does not contain the answer and the price columns are irrelevant.
Frequently asked questions
Is OpusClip or HeyGen cheaper?
OpusClip, clearly, at entry: Starter is $15/month against HeyGen Creator at $29/month, or $24 billed annually. OpusClip Pro billed annually is $14.50/month at $174/year. Both sets of figures were read from their own pricing pages on July 26, 2026.
Can OpusClip make a video from a script?
No. Its input is a long video you upload or link — there is nothing to clip from a written script, and no plan tier changes that. HeyGen is the one of these two that starts from a script.
What happens to OpusClip free-plan clips after 3 days?
OpusClip states that on the free plan clips are no longer exportable after 3 days. Starter raises that to a 30-day MP4 export window and Pro removes the limit. Verified on opus.pro/pricing on July 26, 2026.
Does HeyGen need me to film anything?
No. You write a script, pick an avatar and it renders a talking-head clip. Filming is only involved if you want a custom digital twin of yourself — the free plan includes 1, Business includes 5, Enterprise 10+.
Could I use both?
Yes, and it is coherent if you record some weeks and not others: OpusClip for the weeks with footage, HeyGen for the weeks where a scripted presenter piece is faster than filming one. At $15 and $29 monthly that is $44 a month, and neither subscription blocks the other.
One disclosed third option
Disclosure: this page is published by Kineo, which is neither of the tools above and is not a clipper or an avatar platform. Kineo makes faceless 9:16 Shorts from a typed topic. Relevant only if you have no footage to clip and do not want a presenter on screen — which is a specific enough situation that we would rather say it plainly than imply we compete with either.
Make one free →Up to 3 watermarked Fast videos / 24h · No card · Starter $4.90 first month
Other comparisons
Looking to replace one of these rather than choose between them? HeyGen alternatives · OpusClip alternatives
Prices, free-tier terms and limits on this page were verified on July 26, 2026 by reading each vendor’s own published pricing page, linked above. They change. Nothing here is an endorsement by, or affiliation with, HeyGen or OpusClip, and no comparison on this site is paid for or sponsored. Kineo is a product of the same company that publishes this page, which is stated on every comparison whether or not Kineo is one of the tools being judged.