Synthesia vs HeyGen
Enterprise training vs expressive marketing: Synthesia targets company training and L&D workflows (SCORM export, governance, credits shared across video and dubbing, 160+ languages); HeyGen leads on avatar realism and dubbing existing footage into 175+ languages with lip-sync, and its credits roll over one month. HeyGen's Pro tier price is reported inconsistently across sources ($49/mo vs $99/mo) and is marked 'not verified'. We did not generate videos on either platform, so no quality ranking is claimed.
| Decision point | Synthesia | HeyGen |
|---|---|---|
| Best suited to | Training, onboarding, and narrated explainers where a consistent avatar presenter and repeatable script updates matter more than filming a person. | Short presenter-led explainers, training introductions, or localized narration when an avatar is a suitable stand-in for the speaker. |
| Plans and cost | Basic is displayed at $0/month with 500 credits/month and a separate 10-minute creation or dubbing allowance. Starter is shown at $29/month or $18/month equivalent billed annually; Pro at $89/month or $64/month equivalent billed annually. Confirm the billing currency and full annual charge. Avatar footage and dubbing consume credits at different rates; the allowance is not a promise of finished avatar-video runtime. | The pricing page displays Free with 3 videos/month up to 1 minute, Creator at $29/month, Pro at $49/month, and Business at $149/month plus $20 per additional seat. Help documentation says the Free quota can be 1–3 videos by region. Confirm the billing currency and account-specific allowance. |
| Limitations | Basic uses share links and includes a watermark; downloads and logo removal begin on paid plans shown on pricing. Credits are shared across some actions, and video and dubbing consumption differ, so a credit balance is not guaranteed finished runtime. | Free video quotas can vary by region, and free exports are watermarked and restricted to noncommercial use under published terms. Paid plans change duration, resolution, credits, and export options; use screen recordings for demonstrations of software behavior. |
Use the same input
Create one 2-minute talking-head product explainer with a stock avatar, then dub the same video into Spanish and download both versions as MP4 files.
What a successful result must preserve
The video must be downloadable without a watermark, the avatar must support the needed language, and the total cost must stay within one month of the entry paid plan.
Evidence and test status
Official specification comparison. Synthesia prices (Basic free: 10 video min/mo, 9 avatars, watermarked, no downloads; Starter $29/mo or $18/mo annual, 120 video min/yr, 125+ avatars, 3 personal avatars; Creator $89/mo or $64/mo annual, 360 video min/yr, 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars, API; Enterprise custom) and HeyGen prices (Free: 3 videos/mo, 720p, watermarked; Creator $29/mo or $24/mo annual, 600 credits/mo, 1080p, voice cloning, 175+ languages; Pro price not verified — reported $49/mo or $99/mo; Business $149/mo + $20/seat; Enterprise custom) come from both companies' official pricing pages, re-checked 2026-10-24. We did not generate or compare output videos; no quality ranking is claimed.
- Synthesia — Synthesia current plan and allowance comparison ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15), Synthesia October 2026 plan and credit changes ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15), Synthesia plan overview and legacy-plan status ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15), Synthesia PowerPoint-to-video workflow ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15)
- HeyGen — HeyGen current plan comparison ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15), HeyGen subscription and credit allowances ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15), HeyGen watermark removal guidance ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15), HeyGen terms and Free-plan use limits ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-15)