HeyGen vs Synthesia
Buy Synthesia if a real organisation needs presenter video it can govern, translate and reuse. Buy HeyGen if one person wants a talking avatar clip cheaply, with voice cloning, this week. And if you came here to build faceless YouTube Shorts, the honest answer is that neither of these is the tool for that job.
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
The list price is not the price
Both entry tiers cost $29/month. That tells you almost nothing. Synthesia Starter includes up to 10 minutes of finished video per month; HeyGen Creator includes 600 credits, and HeyGen prices Avatar IV/V at 20 credits per minute and Avatar III at 3 credits per minute. Ten minutes a month at $29 is roughly $2.90 per finished minute at list. Work out how many minutes you actually need before you compare the headline numbers, because that is the axis the two products genuinely differ on.
Synthesia wins on governance, Synthesia loses on volume
SAML/SSO, brand kits, SCORM export and an editor-plus-guests seat model are Enterprise-shaped features, and they are why Synthesia keeps winning training and internal-comms budgets. The same shape is why an individual creator hits its minute ceiling fast: Creator at $89/month is still 30 minutes of video per month.
HeyGen wins on languages, cloning and headroom
Voice cloning and 175+ languages from the $29 Creator tier, videos up to 30 minutes, 4K from Pro at $49, and unused credits that roll over on paid plans. For a solo operator who wants a presenter and does not need an audit log, this is the more generous side of the table.
The free tiers are not comparable, and Synthesia’s is better
Synthesia Basic gives 1,200 credits and up to 10 minutes of video per month — the same minute allowance as its $29 Starter plan — with 9 avatars and 160+ languages, in exchange for a Synthesia logo on the output. HeyGen Free gives 3 videos per month capped at 1 minute each. If you are evaluating rather than shipping, Synthesia lets you test far more before paying.
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 | Synthesia | |
|---|---|---|
| What it actually is | Puts a synthetic presenter on screen reading your script, with heavy investment in avatars, voice cloning and languages. | Enterprise-leaning avatar video: training, internal comms and localisation, with governance features to match. |
| Needs an existing video? | No. You write a script, pick an avatar and it renders a talking-head clip. | No. You write a script, pick an avatar and it renders a presenter video. |
| Free tier | Free plan: $0, 3 videos per month up to 1 minute each, 1 custom digital twin, 30+ languages and 500+ stock avatars. | Basic free plan: $0, 1,200 credits/month, up to 10 minutes of video per month, 25 AI-generated video assets, 9 AI avatars, 160+ languages and voices, 1 editor seat. The Synthesia logo appears on the video. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Creator $29/month, or $24/month billed annually | Starter $29/month, or $18/month billed yearly |
| 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). | Basic free $0 (10 min/mo, Synthesia logo) · Starter $29/mo, or $18/mo billed yearly (1,200 credits/mo or 14,500/year; 10 min/mo or 120 min/year; 125+ AI avatars, 3 personal avatars; 1 editor, 3 guests) · Creator $89/mo, or $64/mo billed yearly (3,600 credits/mo or 44,000/year; 30 min/mo or 360 min/year; 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars; 1 editor, 5 guests) · Enterprise custom (unlimited video minutes, 240+ avatars, unlimited personal avatars, SAML/SSO, brand kits, SCORM export). |
| Watermark | Watermark removal is included from the Creator tier up. | The Synthesia logo is on free-plan video; it is removable on paid plans. |
| Aspect ratio | Multiple, including 9:16 vertical. | Multiple, including vertical. |
| Voice / narration | A large built-in voice library plus voice cloning on paid plans; 175+ languages from Creator up. | 160+ languages and voices on every tier, free plan included. |
| Where the visuals come from | Not the point of the product — the avatar is the shot. | Not the point of the product — the avatar and the slide behind it are the shot. |
| 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. | Metered in minutes of finished video per month as well as credits: 10 minutes/month on Basic and Starter, 30 minutes/month on Creator. |
Sources: HeyGen pricing · Synthesia 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 want voice cloning and you do not want to pay enterprise money for it — it is in the $29 Creator tier.
- You need many languages: 175+ from Creator up, with translation workflows built around them.
- You want long single videos: up to 30 minutes on Creator, 60 on Business.
- You want 4K without a sales call — that is Pro at $49/month.
- Your usage is spiky, and credits rolling over month to month matters more than a fixed minute quota.
Pick Synthesia if…
- The video is for a company: training, onboarding, policy, internal comms.
- You need SAML/SSO, brand kits or SCORM export — those are on the Enterprise tier and they are the reason to be here.
- You want the most generous free tier to evaluate with: 10 minutes a month, 9 avatars, 160+ languages, at the cost of a logo.
- Several people need to review a video without each needing a paid editor seat — the plans are structured as 1 editor plus guests.
- Your volume is genuinely low and predictable, so a 10 or 30 minute monthly ceiling is not a constraint.
The differences that actually matter
Neither one makes a faceless Short
This is the part the affiliate pages skip, and it is the whole reason a lot of people land on this comparison. Both products render a person talking to camera. A faceless Short is the opposite format: narration over cut footage, no presenter, retention carried by the visuals changing every couple of seconds. You can export 9:16 from either, and you will still have a talking head in a vertical frame. If your channel format is a presenter, these are the right tools. If your channel format is faceless, you are shopping in the wrong category and the price comparison above does not matter.
Minutes per month is the binding constraint, not credits
Synthesia states its ceiling in minutes: 10 per month on Basic and Starter, 30 on Creator, unlimited only on Enterprise. HeyGen states credits and then a per-minute burn rate that depends on which avatar generation you use — so the same 600 credits buys you wildly different amounts of finished video depending on whether you pick Avatar III at 3 credits per minute or Avatar IV/V at 20. Post daily and either ceiling arrives quickly; the difference is that HeyGen lets you trade quality for volume and Synthesia does not.
The watermark question has different answers
Synthesia puts its logo on free-plan output and makes it removable on paid plans. HeyGen lists watermark removal as a Creator-tier-and-up feature. Practically: neither free tier gives you something you should be posting to a monetised channel, because platforms have historically been unkind to clips carrying another app’s branding.
Custom avatars are metered, and that is the real upsell
HeyGen Free includes 1 custom digital twin; Business at $149/month includes 5; Enterprise 10+. Synthesia Starter includes 3 personal avatars and Creator 5, with unlimited only on Enterprise. If your plan is one recognisable presenter, any tier works. If your plan is a roster of characters, this line is what you will actually be paying for.
Frequently asked questions
Is HeyGen or Synthesia cheaper?
Both start at $29/month, and both discount for annual billing — Synthesia to $18/month billed yearly, HeyGen to $24/month billed annually, as listed on their own pricing pages on July 26, 2026. On sticker price Synthesia annual is cheaper. On what you get for it, HeyGen Creator includes 600 credits, videos up to 30 minutes, voice cloning and 175+ languages, while Synthesia Starter includes up to 10 minutes of video per month. Which is cheaper therefore depends entirely on how many finished minutes you need — work that out first.
Which has the better free plan, HeyGen or Synthesia?
Synthesia, by a clear margin, if you are evaluating. Its Basic plan gives 1,200 credits and up to 10 minutes of video per month with 9 AI avatars and 160+ languages, in exchange for a Synthesia logo on the output. HeyGen Free gives 3 videos per month capped at 1 minute each, though it does include 1 custom digital twin and 500+ stock avatars. Verified on both pricing pages on July 26, 2026.
Can I make faceless YouTube Shorts with HeyGen or Synthesia?
You can export vertical video from either, but you will get a synthetic person talking to camera, which is a presenter format rather than a faceless one. A faceless Short is narration over cut b-roll with no human on screen. If that is what you are building, an avatar platform is the wrong category regardless of which of these two you pick.
Does either one let me clone my own voice?
HeyGen lists voice cloning on its Creator tier at $29/month. Synthesia lists personal avatars — 3 on Starter, 5 on Creator, unlimited on Enterprise. They are not the same feature: a personal avatar is your likeness, a cloned voice is your voice. Check which of the two you actually need before choosing, and confirm the current terms on their pricing pages.
How many avatars does each one have?
As listed on July 26, 2026: HeyGen advertises 500+ stock avatars on its free plan. Synthesia lists 9 AI avatars on Basic, 125+ on Starter, 180+ on Creator and 240+ on Enterprise. Raw avatar count is a weak buying signal though — you will use one or two consistently, and the constraint you will actually hit is minutes per month.
Do unused credits roll over on either platform?
HeyGen states that unused credits roll over for paid subscribers, with annual subscribers accumulating credits until renewal. Synthesia states monthly and annual credit allowances but we did not find a rollover guarantee on its pricing page, so treat the monthly minute allowance as use-it-or-lose-it unless they confirm otherwise.
One disclosed third option
Disclosure: this page is published by Kineo, and Kineo is not one of the two tools above. It is a different category — you type a topic and it returns a finished faceless 9:16 Short with an AI voiceover over matched footage, no presenter and no source video. If the faceless format is what you were actually looking for when you searched for an avatar tool, that is the honest reason to click through. If you genuinely need a synthetic presenter, buy HeyGen or Synthesia; Kineo will not do that job as well as either of them.
Make one free →Up to 3 watermarked Fast videos / 24h · No card · Starter $4.90 first month
Other comparisons
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 Synthesia, 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.