Comparison
HeyGen vs Synthesia
HeyGen: Create videos with realistic AI avatars and translation into 175+ languages. Synthesia: Create professional videos with AI avatars and voices in 160+ languages.
| HeyGen | Synthesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Price | Freemium From $29/month (Creator plan). Free plan available with limits (3 videos/month, watermark, 720p). | Freemium From $18/month (Starter plan, annual) or $29/month (monthly). Free plan available with 10 minutes/month and a Synthesia watermark. |
| Free plan | ||
| API available | ||
| Open source | ||
| In Spanish | ||
| No watermark | ||
| Platforms | Web | Web |
HeyGen or Synthesia?
These are the two big names in avatar video and the choice usually comes down to company size. Synthesia is more established in large organisations: 160 languages, brand controls and compliance processes. HeyGen has slightly more natural avatars, better voice cloning and works out cheaper for small teams, although its credit system is confusing.
Choose HeyGen if…
You are a small team, want more natural avatars, or need to clone a specific voice.
Choose Synthesia if…
You produce corporate training at scale and need brand control and compliance.
HeyGen
- Highly realistic avatars with Avatar IV/V and natural lip sync in 175+ languages
- Professional-quality voice cloning that preserves the original tone and accent
- Robust, well-documented API for enterprise automation and integrations (HubSpot, Zapier, Make)
- Confusing credit system: premium avatars (Avatar IV) burn 20 credits/minute, limiting real output
- Mandatory watermark on the free plan; removing it requires upgrading to Creator ($29/month)
Synthesia
- Exceptional support for 160+ languages with lip sync included, ideal for global content
- Intuitive interface that lets you create professional videos with no technical experience
- API available on the Creator plan and above to automate video creation at scale
- The free plan carries a Synthesia watermark that only paid plans remove
- Unused video minutes do not carry over to the next month
The differences that actually matter
Corporate training versus marketing video
Synthesia has spent years focused on corporate training: course templates, compliance, user controls, review before publishing. HeyGen leans more towards marketing and social: expressive avatars, translation of existing videos, short clips. Both do avatars, but the product around them differs.
Translating a video you already have
HeyGen has pushed hard on translation with lip sync: you upload your video and it comes out speaking another language in your own voice. For reaching new markets without re-recording, it is the feature that most justifies the subscription. Synthesia also localises, but its starting point is generating from a script.
Consent and control
Both require verification to clone a face or voice, and rightly so: in the EU likeness and voice are personal data. Synthesia has stricter, enterprise-oriented processes, which is a nuisance if you are in a hurry and a safeguard when your legal department starts asking.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my own face as an avatar?
Yes, both allow it through a verification process where you record a consent statement. Using someone else's face requires their express permission, and it is not a formality: using a person's likeness without authorisation infringes their rights, not just the app's terms.
Can people tell the video uses an avatar?
Less and less in static talking-head shots, which is exactly the corporate training format. It still shows in broad gestures, hand movement and strong emotion. For an internal course it works very well; for a piece meant to move people, less so.