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By the toolist.ai editors. Researched from both vendors' pages and hands-on tests published by others, not hands-on tested by toolist.ai. Updated October 16, 2026.
Synthesia vs HeyGen
Verdict
Pick Synthesia for training and internal communications: it is built for that work, with branching from the $89 Pro plan (HeyGen's branching, quizzes and SCORM start on its $149 Business plan), and its Starter plan, $19 a month in the US, includes about 27 minutes of avatar video a month by Synthesia's credits help article. Pick HeyGen for marketing and social video: Unite.AI found its digital twin convincing, and it translates with lip-sync into 175+ languages. Synthesia starts at $19 a month in the US and HeyGen at $29; Synthesia refunds nothing, and its stock avatars may not appear in paid ads.
Based on published plans and other people's hands-on tests, not on a test of our own.
Choose Synthesia if
- You make training, onboarding or internal videos and want branching for less (Pro at $89 a month; HeyGen's starts on Business at $149)
- You want more minutes for less (about 27 for $19 on Synthesia's Starter against about 19 for $29 on HeyGen's Avatar IV)
- You want a free plan to try first: 10 minutes of video a month, shared by link only (HeyGen's free plan allows three 1-minute videos for non-commercial use)
Choose HeyGen if
- You make marketing or social videos and want a realistic digital twin of yourself
- You translate videos into many languages with lip-sync (175+ languages)
- You want unused credits to roll over for an extra month, which Synthesia's do not
Side by side
| Synthesia | HeyGen | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Synthesia turns a script, document, slide deck or prompt into a presenter video spoken by a stock or personal AI avatar, aimed at business training and internal communications. Paid plans start at $19 a month in the US. | HeyGen turns a script or prompt into a video of a stock avatar or your own digital twin speaking it, with lip-synced translation into 175+ languages. Paid plans start at $29 a month. |
| Best for | Training and internal communications videos with AI presenters | Marketing and social videos with a realistic digital twin of you |
| Free plan | 10 minutes of video a month plus 500 credits, 9 stock avatars, watermarked, shared by link only with no download. | Up to 3 videos a month, 1 minute each, watermarked, for personal and non-commercial use only. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Starter ($19 a month) | Creator ($29 a month) |
| Price per unit, calculated | $0.704 per minute of avatar video (Starter) | $1.49 per minute of avatar video (Creator) |
| Prices last checked | 2026-10-16 | 2026-10-16 |
| Test result | Not tested by us; see what published tests found below. | Not tested by us; see what published tests found below. |
Price per unit is our division of each plan's monthly price by what it includes, not a measured cost.
What hands-on testers found
Synthesia
Unite.AI, October 1, 2026
- Each render needed 7 to 14 minutes, including videos shorter than a minute.
- Runtimes missed the request: 56 seconds when 90 were asked for.
- Her cloned voice was the strongest part; her personal avatar did not pass as her.
More tests in our Synthesia review.
HeyGen
Digital Karthik, August 23, 2026
- HeyGen's avatars looked more realistic than Colossyan's, with strong lip-sync.
- Emotional delivery could still feel scripted.
- It was faster for producing many language and platform variants.
More tests in our HeyGen review.
Read the full reviews: Synthesia, HeyGen. Synthesia pricing. HeyGen pricing.