If you search "HeyGen vs Synthesia" today, a large share of what ranks was written before the two companies rewrote their pricing. HeyGen stopped selling its unlimited plans to new customers after May 15, 2026 and moved to credit-based plans; its own blog confirms the cutoff. Synthesia has also reshuffled what its cheaper tiers include. Comparisons that still quote HeyGen's old 200-credit Creator plan or its $99 Pro tier are describing numbers that no longer exist.
None of what follows comes from rendering test videos myself. It's assembled from HeyGen's own published documentation, Synthesia's plan breakdowns, and a set of independent 2026 comparisons, and where those sources disagree with each other, I say so rather than picking a side quietly. Language and lip-sync quality across the two tools is a separate question I covered in an earlier piece on this site, so this one sticks to what that piece didn't: what you actually pay, what the avatars look like, and which tool fits which job.
The Credit Math Is Where the Two Diverge
Both platforms now meter your usage in credits, but the credits buy very different amounts at the entry level.
~30 min
HeyGen Creator, $29/mo
600 credits at ~20 per minute
vs
~10 min
Synthesia Starter, $29/mo
1,200 credits at 120 per minute
That comparison isn't perfectly apples to apples, since the two platforms count different kinds of avatar minutes, but it captures the basic shape of the split. HeyGen's Creator plan stretches further per dollar if you're producing regular short clips; Synthesia's Starter is tighter on minutes but bundles things like AI dubbing and a set of 125-plus stock avatars.
| Plan detail |
HeyGen |
Synthesia |
| Free tier |
3 watermarked videos/month |
Basic plan, 1,200 credits (~10 min), 9 avatars |
| Entry paid plan |
Creator: $29/mo ($24 annual), 600 credits |
Starter: $29/mo (~$18 annual), 1,200 credits |
| Next tier |
Pro: from $49/mo, 1,000+ credits, 4K |
Creator: $89/mo (~$64 annual), ~30 min, API |
| Team tier |
Business: $149/mo + $20/seat, 1,500 shared credits |
Enterprise: custom, unlimited minutes, SSO |
| Credit rollover |
Yes, for one extra cycle (monthly billing) |
Reported not to roll over |
Where the sources disagree, and what I'm estimating instead:
- Synthesia Starter, annual price. Sources list $14, $18, and $22 a month. My estimate is roughly $14–18. The two most recent breakdowns I found split ($18 and $14), while the oldest ones say $18–22, which fits a price that has been cut over time.
- HeyGen credit rollover. My estimate is that monthly subscribers' unused credits carry over one extra cycle. Two breakdowns published after the May 15 change say so; the one source saying credits don't roll over describes the old 200-credit plan that existed before the change.
- Synthesia credit rollover. My estimate is that they don't roll over. One third-party breakdown says so and none I found say otherwise, but I couldn't find a statement from Synthesia itself.
- Free-plan sizes. Older sources give smaller numbers for both. I've used the newer figures: about 10 minutes of credits on Synthesia's Basic plan, and up to a minute per video on HeyGen's free plan.
Treat every number here, mine included, as a snapshot.
The "unlimited" problem: reviews posted in July 2026 describe HeyGen customers feeling that plans marketed as unlimited turn out to be capped once premium features enter the picture. Customers who bought before May 15 can keep a legacy unlimited plan while it stays active, but once they cancel or switch, they can't go back to it.
What a Finished Minute Actually Costs
Plan prices only mean something once you divide them by the video you'll actually produce. Using the credit allowances above and the same method one independent pricing analysis uses for Synthesia (monthly subscription cost divided by finished minutes at each usage level), here's how the two compare on monthly billing. HeyGen figures assume its Avatar IV avatars at roughly 20 credits per minute, the rate three independent pricing breakdowns report; I couldn't find that rate stated on HeyGen's own pricing page, so it's an estimate built on those reports. Synthesia figures assume standard avatar video at 120 credits per minute, the rate implied by its 1,200 credits equaling about 10 minutes.
| Minutes produced per month |
HeyGen (lowest workable plan) |
Synthesia (lowest workable plan) |
| 5 |
Creator, $29 → ~$5.80/min |
Starter, $29 → ~$5.80/min |
| 10 |
Creator, $29 → ~$2.90/min |
Starter, $29 → ~$2.90/min |
| 15 |
Creator, $29 → ~$1.93/min |
Creator, $89 → ~$5.93/min |
| 20 |
Creator, $29 → ~$1.45/min |
Creator, $89 → ~$4.45/min |
| 30 |
Creator, $29 → ~$0.97/min |
Creator, $89 → ~$2.97/min |
| 50 |
Pro, $49 → ~$0.98/min |
Not available self-serve (custom quote) |
At 10 minutes a month or less, the entry plans cost the same. The moment you need an 11th minute, Synthesia asks you to jump from a $29 plan to an $89 one, while HeyGen's $29 plan keeps covering you up to roughly 30 minutes. Past 30 minutes on Synthesia, published self-serve plans run out and you're into a custom quote.
Two caveats keep this table honest.
HeyGen's low per-minute figure has conditions. It only holds if you stay on Avatar IV and standard generation; lip-synced translation and other advanced features draw credits faster, per HeyGen's own documentation.
Teams pay a separate price for collaboration. On HeyGen, multi-person workflows sit on the Business plan at $149 a month plus $20 per extra seat, a big step up from $29. Synthesia's Starter lets three guests review and comment but keeps a single editor seat, and one older source reports that adding another editor means buying another full plan. My estimate is that this still holds, since every source I found describes Starter as one editor plus guests. If more than one person will be producing videos, price that in before comparing per-minute costs.
Avatar Realism: A Real Difference, With a Caveat
Across independent testing, the consistent verdict is that HeyGen's Avatar IV looks more like a real person on camera, particularly in close-ups and in subtle facial movement, while Synthesia's avatars read as polished corporate presenters. For a sales explainer or a social clip where viewers should feel a human connection, that gap matters. For an internal training video where the information is the point and the presenter is just a delivery vehicle, several reviewers argue the difference isn't worth paying extra for.
The caveat is that this picture is shifting. One recent comparison argues the old "HeyGen for marketing, Synthesia for enterprise" framing has gone stale because Synthesia closed much of the quality gap with its Express-2 avatars while cutting prices. That's one viewpoint against several that still rank HeyGen ahead on realism, so the most defensible reading is that HeyGen likely retains an edge at the top end, with a narrower margin than it once had.
Custom Avatars: Your Sources Will Disagree
Making a digital version of yourself is where the published information conflicts most. Some comparisons say Synthesia locks custom avatars behind its Enterprise plan, with per-avatar fees reported around $1,000 a year, while HeyGen offers a digital twin from any paid plan, sometimes cited with a $99 add-on. Other sources say Synthesia's Starter plan already includes personal avatars. The split isn't cleanly old versus new, so I can't settle it, but my estimate is that Starter does include at least one: the three most recent sources that address it (36, 76, and 108 days old at the time of writing) all say so, and the Enterprise-only claim keeps circulating in older articles that were never updated. HeyGen's approach is also credit-hungry in practice: training a photo avatar reportedly costs credits even though the pricing page advertises unlimited photo avatars.
If a custom avatar is central to why you're buying, treat my estimate as a starting point and verify the current terms on both pricing pages before paying, because this is exactly the kind of detail that changed while most comparison articles stayed put.
Which One for Which Job
Solo social creator
HeyGen Creator. More minutes per dollar and more lifelike avatars for short-form content.
Small-business marketer
HeyGen for customer-facing videos where realism matters; watch the credit burn on premium features.
Training and HR teams
Synthesia. SOC 2 Type II certification, SCORM export, SSO, and structured team workflows on higher tiers.
The pattern underneath these picks is that HeyGen leans toward creators and marketers who want expressive, lifelike presenters, while Synthesia leans toward organizations that need governance, predictable structure, and compliance features. Both platforms now offer things like SCORM export and quizzes on their higher tiers, but as add-ons to a video-first workflow rather than a full training-content pipeline.
Before You Pay for Either
- ☐Confirm the credit allowance and per-minute credit cost for the avatar type you'll actually use, not just the headline plan price.
- ☐Check whether unused credits roll over, since that changes what a slow month costs you.
- ☐If you need lip-synced translation, work out how many minutes your plan's credits cover; lip-sync is the most credit-hungry feature on both platforms.
- ☐If a custom avatar matters, read the current terms directly, since sources conflict.
- ☐Test on the free tier first, using the approach in the next section.
How to Test Both for Free, and What the Free Tiers Won't Show You
Both companies offer a free plan, and it's the cheapest way to find out whether an avatar works for your content. But the two free tiers are limited in different ways, which changes what you can learn from them.
- HeyGen's free plan allows three watermarked videos a month, each up to about a minute long (per the newer sources; older ones say longer). That's enough to judge avatar realism and how the editor feels, but not enough to stress-test a longer script.
- Synthesia's free Basic plan gives you 1,200 credits (about 10 minutes of video) and 9 avatars, but reportedly doesn't allow MP4 downloads. That last detail comes from a single breakdown and I couldn't confirm it on Synthesia's own page, so check it before relying on it. Assuming it holds, you can judge a render inside the platform, but you can't see how it looks embedded in your own site or social feed until you pay.
A test that's actually informative uses your real material rather than a demo script:
- Use a script with your own product names, numbers, and any jargon. Avatars tend to stumble on unusual words, and you want to know before a campaign depends on it.
- Pick the avatar you'd realistically use, not the flashiest one. Realism gaps show up most in close-ups, so check the framing you'll actually publish.
- Render a clip in your target language. If the audience isn't English-speaking, this is the test that matters most; the earlier language-quality piece covers why.
- Watch the credit counter after each render. The difference between the advertised allowance and what one clip consumed is the single most useful number a free test gives you.
- Look at the exported or previewed clip on a phone. Most avatar video is watched there, and small lip-sync and lighting issues read differently on a small screen.
The Bottom Line
The honest answer to "which is better" is still "for which job," but the more useful answer this year is that the numbers you're comparing may be stale. HeyGen changed how it sells its product in May 2026, Synthesia has been adjusting what its lower tiers include, and comparison articles lag both. Whichever way you lean, pull the current allowance from each company's own pricing page before deciding, because a few minutes of credits per month is the difference between a plan that fits your workload and one that runs out mid-month.
The plan details here come from HeyGen's published documentation on its credit-based model, Synthesia plan breakdowns from several independent reviewers, and side-by-side comparisons published across 2026. Several of those sources contradict each other on specifics like annual pricing and custom-avatar access, which is why this piece flags disagreements, gives an estimate where one is reasonable, and says what each estimate rests on; check both vendors' pricing pages for what applies on the day you buy.
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