Synthesia vs HeyGen
Both vendors publish a free plan and a paid creator tier. On Nov 11, 2026, Synthesia Starter is $19 / month (first month $9; $14 / month at $168 / year) and HeyGen Creator is $29 / month (or $24 / month billed annually). The tools do not sell the same unit — Synthesia leads with credits plus a 10-minute Studio allowance; HeyGen leads with a credit pool (600 credits on Creator). This is a price and allowance comparison, not a quality ranking.
| Synthesia (official, Nov 11, 2026) | HeyGen (official, Nov 11, 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Basic, $0 / month: 500 credits, 10 minutes Studio video or dubbing, 3 survey responses, watermark | Free, $0 / month: 3 watermarked videos up to 1 minute; one custom video avatar; 500+ presenters; 30+ languages |
| First paid plan | Starter $19 / month (first month $9) or $14 / month yearly ($168 / year), 1,250 extra credits, logo removed, 125+ avatars | Creator $29 / month or $24 / month yearly, 600 credits, 1080p, branding removed, 175+ languages |
| Next paid plan | Pro $89 / month (first month $49) or $59 / month yearly ($708 / year), 6,000 extra credits | Pro from $49 / month with 1,000 credits, 4K export, videos up to 30 minutes; tiers up to 100,000 credits at $4,300 / month |
| Team plan | Enterprise, custom (the comparison table also mentions Business features such as SCORM and SSO; a public Business dollar price was not clearly printed as a self-serve card separate from Enterprise) | Business $149 / month plus $20 / seat / month, 1,500 credits, 60-minute videos, SSO, SCORM |
| Custom / studio avatar | Personal avatars included on paid plans; Studio Express-1 avatar $1,000 / year, annual plans only, up to 10 days to process | Custom video avatars are listed on paid plans (1+ on Creator/Pro, 5+ on Business). A “Custom Studio Avatar Shoot” is listed as an Enterprise add-on; no public dollar amount was printed for that shoot. |
Synthesia’s FAQ says a typical finished minute uses about 100 credits. That is Synthesia’s figure, not a lab measurement of ours, and HeyGen does not print a single credits-per-minute rate (use “can vary”). We are not converting the two credit systems into one “price per minute.”
Synthesia is the vendor on this site with an approved affiliate link (25% of payments for 12 months). The prices below are still the official list prices.
Sources (as of Nov 11, 2026)
- Synthesia pricing and Synthesia credits help article
- HeyGen pricing
- Colossyan pricing
- D-ID Studio pricing (plan dollar amounts from the official pricing JavaScript on that page)
- Hour One: hourone.ai/pricing did not load when we checked (Nov 11, 2026); no current official Hour One price is listed.
FAQ
Is Synthesia cheaper than HeyGen?
It depends on the plan and billing period. On Nov 11, 2026, Synthesia Starter is $19 a month or $168 a year; HeyGen Creator is $29 a month or $24 a month billed annually. Synthesia Basic includes 10 Studio minutes at $0; HeyGen Free includes 3 one-minute watermarked videos. Credit allowances are not the same, so the lower sticker is not automatically the lower cost for a given workload.
Do both have a free plan?
Yes. Synthesia Basic is $0 per month with a watermark. HeyGen Free is $0 per month with 3 watermarked videos of up to 1 minute, no credit card required.