# HeyGen vs Synthesia

> HeyGen and Synthesia both make talking avatar videos. Prices, avatar counts and languages from each company's site on 20 Oct 2026, and who should pick which.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-10-30
- **Category**: AI
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-compare/heygen-vs-synthesia

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HeyGen and Synthesia both turn a script into a video of a talking avatar. HeyGen lists more stock avatars, and its paid plans start at $29 a month. Synthesia is built for company training and internal video, and also starts at $29 a month. For ads, HeyGen is usually the easier fit. For training and team videos, look hard at Synthesia.

## Side by side

| | HeyGen | Synthesia |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 3 videos a month | Yes (Basic), 10 minutes of video a month, watermarked |
| Entry paid plan | Creator, $29 a month ($24 yearly) | Starter, $29 a month ($18 yearly) |
| Next plan | Pro from $49 a month | Pro from $89 a month ($64 yearly) |
| Teams | Business, $149 plus $20 a seat | Enterprise, quote only |
| Stock avatars | 500+ on Free, 700+ on paid plans | 9 on Basic, 125+ on Starter, 180+ on Pro, 240+ on Enterprise |
| Translation or dubbing languages | 175 languages and dialects on paid plans | 140+ languages and voices, dubbing in 70+ |
| Longest video | 30 minutes on Creator and Pro, 60 on Business | Set by minutes of video per plan |
| Best known for | Marketing, sales and ad videos | Training and internal communication |

Prices are from each company's pricing page, checked 20 Oct 2026. Synthesia's page shows the same Starter plan at both $29 and $18 a month depending on billing, so choose monthly or yearly with care.

## Where HeyGen fits

- Marketers who want avatar videos for ads and social
- Teams that want a free plan and a cheap way in
- Translating a video into many languages
- Custom video avatars and voice cloning, with more use on paid plans, and 4K export from Pro up

## Where Synthesia fits

- Training, onboarding and internal videos
- Teams that want to invite guests to view and comment on videos
- Enterprise needs such as SSO and SCORM export

HeyGen's Business plan also lists SSO, SCORM export and LMS integrations, so the gap is not wide. Compare both against your own list of needs.

## A worked example

Say you make 8 short videos a month. Each is 40 seconds, so the total is about 5 minutes and 20 seconds of video.

- On Synthesia's free Basic plan you get 10 minutes a month, so this fits. The videos are watermarked, so you cannot run them as ads.
- On HeyGen, the free plan allows 3 videos a month, so 8 videos need a paid plan. Creator at $29 removes the watermark.

For a real ad, you need a paid plan on either tool. Price the plan against the minutes of video you will actually make. Re-renders use credits too, so lock the script before you generate.

## For ad teams

Neither tool is built around ad testing. If your plan is many hook versions of a UGC-style ad, look at the actor-led tools in [Arcads vs HeyGen](/compare/arcads-vs-heygen) and [Creatify vs Arcads](/compare/creatify-vs-arcads). Keep the honesty line: an AI avatar cannot claim a real customer result. See [AI UGC vs human UGC](/compare/ai-ugc-vs-human-ugc).

Marxx has a [production canvas](/features/production-canvas) for avatars, voice, dubbing, image and video, with publishing to Meta. We make Marxx, so weigh that.

## FAQ

### Which is cheaper, HeyGen or Synthesia?

At the entry level they both list $29 a month. Yearly billing is cheaper on both. Synthesia's yearly Starter is $18 a month and HeyGen's yearly Creator is $24 a month.

### Can I use free plan videos in ads?

Both free plans add a watermark, so move to a paid plan before you run a video as an ad.

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