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AI Avatars Comparison

HeyGen vs. Synthesys

At a glance

At a glance

HeyGen

Best for

Best for creators, marketers and agencies who need lifelike presenter videos, translation and cloning.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Synthesys

Best for

Best for marketing teams and agencies producing the same message as avatar video across many languages.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion HeyGen Synthesys
Starting price Creator $29 / month $24 / month billed annually. A free plan allows 3 videos a month; Business seats beyond the first cost $20 each per month. lower value Indie from $20 / month Billed annually; $29 / month billed monthly. Plans are credit-based, and annual billing is advertised as 40 percent cheaper than monthly.
Free trial Free plan, 3 videos a month Not stated
Commercial use Yes on paid plans Yes, full commercial rights on all plans with no royalties or attribution
Output Industry-leading lip-sync (Avatar IV) in 175+ languages Avatar and ad video, up to 4K, plus voiceover
API Yes Yes for text to speech; the avatar video products are not covered by it
Avatar library Yes, 1,100+ avatars with best-in-class lip-sync and micro-expressions (Avatar IV) Yes, 1,000+ AI avatars grouped by role: corporate presenters, lifestyle hosts, tutors and sales spokespeople
Custom and cloned avatars Yes, personal and cloned avatars from a short video Yes, digital twins from the user's own face plus voice cloning; 5 twins on Indie, 15 on Studio, unlimited on Agency
Languages and translation Yes, 175+ languages with video translation Yes, 140+ languages with lip-sync matched to each language's phonemes, and 400+ voices
Editor Yes, brand templates Yes, a script-driven line-by-line editor with templates for UGC ads, commercials, product demos and training clips; export in HD or 4K in several aspect ratios
Learning features Yes, from the Business tier: interactive video, interactive quizzes, video branching and decisioning, and SCORM export into a learning management system No. Neither quizzes, branching nor SCORM export to an LMS is offered; training and course video is made with the same avatars, templates and editor as any other video
Deployment Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
Support Chat Email helpdesk
Onboarding more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding Documentation and knowledge base
Company size Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
Integrations Zapier, Make, n8n, Canva, Adobe Express, Figma, Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Drive, Airtable, Intercom, Zoom, Vimeo, GitHub Not stated

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Starting price HeyGen Creator $29 / month Synthesys Indie from $20 / month
  • Support HeyGen Chat Synthesys Email helpdesk
  • Commercial use HeyGen Yes on paid plans Synthesys Yes, full commercial rights on all plans with no royalties or attribution
  • Output HeyGen Industry-leading lip-sync (Avatar IV) in 175+ languages Synthesys Avatar and ad video, up to 4K, plus voiceover
  • API HeyGen Yes Synthesys Yes for text to speech; the avatar video products are not covered by it

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

HeyGen

Strengths

  • Most lifelike realism and lip-sync
  • Most languages
  • Self-serve custom avatar cloning
  • Strong for marketing and social

Limitations

  • Less enterprise governance than Synthesia
  • Free tier is very limited and watermarked

Synthesys

Strengths

  • 140+ languages and 400+ voices, with lip-sync matched per language
  • Full commercial rights on every plan, with no royalties or attribution
  • Unlimited voice-cloning slots and digital twins on the Agency plan

Limitations

  • No free tier or free trial, so evaluation starts at a paid plan
  • Credit-based, so long or high-resolution videos consume the monthly allowance quickly
  • No learning features such as quizzes, branching or LMS export
  • 4K export and a second seat only from the Agency plan upwards

Plans

Pricing

HeyGen

  • Free $0 3 videos a month, basic features.
  • Creator $29 Per month, or $24 / month billed annually. 600 credits, videos up to 30 minutes, 1080p export.
  • Pro $49 Per month, or about $41 / month billed annually. 1,000 credits, 4K export and faster processing.
  • Business $149 Per month, or about $124 / month billed annually. 1,500 credits, videos up to 60 minutes, team collaboration, and $20 per additional seat per month.
  • Enterprise Not stated Custom. No maximum video duration, highest concurrency and dedicated support.
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Synthesys

  • Indie $20 Per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly). 1,000 credits per month, 10 voice-cloning slots, 5 digital twins, 1,080p export, 1 seat.
  • Studio $41 Per month, billed annually ($59 billed monthly). 2,500 credits per month, 25 voice-cloning slots, 15 digital twins, fast processing, 1,080p export, 1 seat.
  • Agency $83 Per month, billed annually ($119 billed monthly). 5,400 credits per month, unlimited voice cloning and digital twins, 4K export, 2 seats.
  • Enterprise Not stated Custom. Everything in Agency plus volume discounts, a dedicated account manager, custom contracts and an SLA.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

HeyGen

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Synthesys

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

HeyGen https://www.heygen.com · no check date recorded yet

Synthesys https://synthesys.io · no check date recorded yet

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.