HeyGen vs Synthesia (2026): Free Plans, Prices and Which AI Avatar Tool Fits Creators

Key takeaways

Verdict: HeyGen vs Synthesia for creators

In HeyGen vs Synthesia, the plans point to two different users. HeyGen’s plans are built around YouTube and social creators. Synthesia’s lean towards training and course videos. Both are AI avatar tools: you type a script, and a digital presenter reads it on video. We read both pricing pages on 22 October 2026. All prices are in US dollars.

• For YouTube and social creators: HeyGen Creator is $29 a month, or $24 a month paid annually. It removes HeyGen branding, exports at 1080p and allows videos up to 30 minutes. Pro (from $49) adds 4K and access to other companies’ video models.
• For course and training creators: Synthesia offers training features such as SCORM export (a format for online-course platforms) on Enterprise, plus roleplays and surveys. Starter is $29 a month monthly, or $18 a month billed yearly.
• Free plans: both add a watermark. HeyGen Free is “3 videos a month”, up to 1 minute each. Synthesia Basic is “10 minutes of video” a month.
• We don’t name a winner on quality. We haven’t made test videos yet.

Research-based overview. We have not tested these tools hands-on yet. Everything below comes from each maker’s published pages, checked 22 October 2026. Cost note: both are paid if you want videos without a watermark.

At a glance: free plans and the first plan without a watermark (USD)

Tool	Free plan	First plan without watermark	Max export	Languages
HeyGen	$0: 3 videos a month, up to 1 min each, watermarked	Creator $29/mo, or $24/mo paid annually	1080p on Creator; 4K on Pro and Business	"175+ languages and dialects" on Creator
Synthesia	Basic $0: 10 min of video a month, watermarked	Starter $29/mo monthly, or $18/mo billed yearly	Full HD (1920×1080)	"140+ languages & voices"

Based on each maker's published pricing. We have not made test videos yet, so this table says nothing about avatar quality. All prices in US dollars. Facts checked 22 Oct 2026 on each maker's own pages. Prices change, so check before you buy.

What we checked, and what we haven’t tested yet

We checked free plans, prices, credits, export limits and languages (the list under the table). We have not made any videos yet. Before we add a verdict on quality, we plan to run the same 60-second script on both free plans and:

1. Make a stock-avatar video, and note the render time and where the watermark sits.
2. Make a custom avatar from our own footage. HeyGen’s free plan includes “One Custom Video Avatar”; on Synthesia, the Pro plan lists “5 personal avatars”.
3. Dub the video into two other languages (for example Spanish and Hindi), check the lip-sync, and note the credits used.
4. Record the credits used for one finished minute on each.
5. Ask three people to rate both clips blind for how natural they look and sound.

Free plans compared

	HeyGen Free	Synthesia Basic
Price	$0, “no credit card required”	$0, “No credit card required”
How much	3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each	10 minutes of video or dubbing a month, plus 500 credits
Watermark	Yes	Yes: “Videos carry a Synthesia watermark”
Custom avatar	1 custom video avatar	Not listed on Basic; Pro lists 5 personal avatars
Languages	30+	“140+ languages & voices” overall

Sources: HeyGen pricing, Synthesia pricing, checked 22 Oct 2026.

Pros and cons

These come from the makers’ own pages. They are not quality claims.

HeyGen

• Pros: a free plan with no card; videos up to 30 minutes on paid plans; “175+ languages and dialects” on Creator; credits roll over (monthly plans: one extra month; annual plans: until renewal); Pro lists access to “Seedance 2.0”, “VEO 3.1 and Nano Banana” (other companies’ AI video and image models) with “no second subscription”; Business connects to n8n, Make, HubSpot and Zapier. (HeyGen pricing)
• Cons: free videos are watermarked and capped at 1 minute; 4K starts on Pro ($49); Business is $149 a month plus $20 per extra seat a month; credit use per video “can vary”.

Synthesia

• Pros: 10 free minutes a month; a clear credit guide (“A typical finished minute uses about 100 credits”); open dubbing API prices ($0.40 a minute voice only, $0.80 a minute with lip-sync); training features. (Synthesia pricing)
• Cons: free videos are watermarked; export is Full HD, with no 4K listed; credits don’t roll over month to month; its “Syren” video agent “typically uses 1,000–2,000 credits” per minute, which is about 1 minute on Starter’s monthly credits.

Pricing compared

All prices in US dollars, as shown on each maker’s own pricing page, checked 22 October 2026.

Plan	Monthly	Yearly	Included	Source
HeyGen Free	$0	$0	3 videos/mo, up to 1 min, watermarked	HeyGen
HeyGen Creator	$29	$24/mo	600 credits, 1080p, no branding, custom avatar with your voice	HeyGen
HeyGen Pro	From $49	Unconfirmed (“2 months free”)	1,000 credits, 4K, other companies’ models	HeyGen
HeyGen Business	$149 + $20/seat	Unconfirmed (“2 months free”)	1,500 credits, videos up to 60 min, 5 custom avatars, SSO	HeyGen
Synthesia Basic	$0	$0	10 min video or dubbing + 500 credits/mo, watermark	Synthesia
Synthesia Starter	$29	$18/mo (15,000 credits a year)	1,250 credits/mo, downloads, no logo, 125+ avatars, 3 guests	Synthesia
Synthesia Pro	From $89	$64/mo (72,000 credits a year)	6,000 credits/mo, 5 personal avatars, 180+ avatars	Synthesia
Synthesia Enterprise	Custom	Custom	240+ avatars, 140+ translation languages, SSO	Synthesia

Credits, in plain words

• HeyGen: “The number of credits a video or asset uses can vary based on which AI model is used, video duration, and the complexity.” HeyGen publishes no fixed per-minute rate, so how many credits one minute costs is unconfirmed until we test.
• Synthesia: “A typical finished minute uses about 100 credits.” Dubbing uses 80 credits a minute with lip-sync and 40 without. Synthesia notes lip-sync “Uses 2× credits”.

New this week: HeyGen Video and Voice Turbo

HeyGen announced two products on 21 October 2026, on its own blog:

• HeyGen Video: makes 5 to 15-second clips with matching sound (dialogue, background sound and effects) from text, an image or references, at up to 2K. It’s “available today through the HeyGen API and Creative Studio” and “runs on paid API keys”. On the API, 1080p and 2K cost 3× the 768p rate. Cost note: this one is paid.
• HeyGen Voice Turbo: a text-to-speech voice in HeyGen’s API, “Free through November 30, 2026”. It’s “best effort” with no uptime guarantee, works with public voices and instant voice clones, and needs no card. HeyGen says it ranks first on the Artificial Analysis text-to-speech leaderboard. That’s HeyGen’s own claim; we haven’t checked it.

Languages and dubbing for a global audience

• HeyGen: 30+ languages on Free, “175+ languages and dialects” on Creator.
• Synthesia: “140+ languages & voices”. Dubbing covers “70+ languages” on Basic to Pro, and 140+ on Enterprise.

If you make videos for viewers in several countries, check that your languages are on the plan you pick, and budget for the extra credits that lip-synced dubbing uses.

Who it's for

Which one should you pick?

• YouTube or social creator: start with HeyGen’s free plan. Creator removes the branding and allows long videos.
• Course or training creator: look at Synthesia. Start with Basic’s 10 free minutes; Starter is the cheapest plan without the logo.
• Team: compare HeyGen Business ($149 plus seats) with Synthesia Pro (from $89) on the features you need.

Once your avatar video is made, you can post one video to 15+ platforms automatically with AIFix Creator Autopilot, with your approval or on rules you set. That’s our own service.

Alternatives

People also compare HeyGen with InVideo, Hedra, D-ID, Creatify and Arcads, and Synthesia with Colossyan. We haven’t checked their prices for this piece, so they’re unconfirmed here.

FAQ

Is HeyGen free?

Yes, with limits. HeyGen Free gives 3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each, with a watermark. No card is needed. (HeyGen pricing)

Does Synthesia have a watermark?

On the free Basic plan, yes: “Videos carry a Synthesia watermark”. Starter removes the Synthesia logo. (Synthesia pricing)

Which has more languages?

On paper, HeyGen Creator lists “175+ languages and dialects”, and Synthesia lists “140+ languages & voices”. We haven’t tested quality in any language.

Which is cheaper without a watermark?

Paid yearly, Synthesia Starter ($18 a month) is cheaper than HeyGen Creator ($24 a month). Paid monthly, both are $29. Prices checked 22 Oct 2026.

Have you tested these tools?

Not yet. This comparison is based on each maker’s published pages.