Synthesia vs HeyGen
Synthesia and HeyGen are both AI video platforms that turn a script into presenter-led videos using digital avatars and synthetic voices. They are compared because both start at $29 per month, both offer free plans, and both cover text-to-video, AI voiceover, subtitles, multi-language output, templates and brand kits. Synthesia suits learning, HR and internal-communications teams producing training content, while HeyGen suits marketers, sales teams and developers who want custom avatars, video translation with lip sync and API access.
Which should you choose?
Choose Synthesia if
- L&D and HR teams producing training and onboarding videos
- Companies localizing explainer videos into many languages
- Product marketers who need frequent, easily updated explainer clips
Choose HeyGen if
- Marketers producing multilingual product and ad videos
- Sales teams sending personalized outreach videos at volume
- Developers embedding avatar generation into their own apps
Cheapest to start
Synthesia · From $29/mo
Free plan
Synthesia, HeyGen
Highest editor rating
Synthesia · 4.6
| Compare | Synthesia |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Free trial | No |
| Starting price | From $29/mo |
| Editor rating | 4.6 |
| Ease of use | Very easy (5/5) |
| Category | Video |
| Pricing model | Free Basic plan usable for up to 10 minutes of video per month; Starter is $29/month billed monthly (about $18/month annually) for roughly 10 minutes per month, Creator $89/month (about $64 annually) for roughly 30 minutes; Enterprise is custom with unlimited minutes. |
| Plans |
|
| Platforms | Web, API |
| Integrations | Zapier |
| Best for |
|
| Pros |
|
| Cons |
|
| AI avatars | Yes |
| AI content generation | No |
| AI voiceover | Yes |
| API access | Yes |
| Auto subtitles & captions | Yes |
| Brand kit | Yes |
| Multi-language support | Yes |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes |
| Roles & permissions | Yes |
| Screen recording | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | Yes |
| Templates | Yes |
| Text to video | Yes |
Common questions
- Does Synthesia or HeyGen have a free plan?
- Both do. Synthesia and HeyGen each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.
Our verdict
Choose Synthesia if you produce training and onboarding videos at scale and want enterprise controls such as SSO, shared workspaces and SCORM export; Starter is $29 per month (about $18 billed annually) for roughly ten minutes of video, and a custom avatar and API access require the $89 Creator tier. Choose HeyGen if you want a custom avatar from a short clip or photo on the entry plan, video translation with lip sync, or a streaming avatar API; Creator is $29 per month (about $24 billed annually), while multi-user collaboration needs the Business plan at $149 per month plus $20 per additional seat. Both score 5 out of 5 for ease of use and neither offers a trial beyond its free plan: Synthesia's free Basic plan is usable for up to ten minutes of video per month and HeyGen's produces a few short videos. Synthesia integrates with Zapier only, while HeyGen adds Make and Canva.