--- title: "HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick" url: "https://dupple.com/learn/heygen-vs-synthesia" description: "HeyGen vs Synthesia in 2026: HeyGen Creator $29/mo with 600 credits vs Synthesia Starter $19/mo with 1,250. Cost per minute of avatar video, compared." published: "2026-11-05" updated: "2026-11-05" llms_txt: "https://dupple.com/llms.txt" --- # HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick Trusted by 790,000+ Techpresso subscribers · Editorial policy · How we make money Written by Louis Corneloup Founder at Dupple, covering AI tools and strategies for 790K+ readers. How our guides are researched . November 5, 2026 · Updated November 2026 8 min read Short answer: **pick HeyGen for marketing and creator video**, where expressive avatars and 4K export on Pro matter. Creator costs $29 a month. **Pick Synthesia for training and internal video**: Starter is $19 a month after a $9 first month and covers about 22 minutes of video. Both now bill in credits. Prices verified on both pricing pages on 28 October 2026. ## HeyGen vs Synthesia pricing at a glance *HeyGen vs Synthesia pricing at a glance: HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick. Last updated November 2026.* | Plan | HeyGen | Synthesia | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0: 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each | $0: 10 minutes of video a month plus 500 credits, watermarked, no download | | Entry paid plan, monthly billing | Creator, $29 a month, 600 credits | Starter, $19 a month ($9 first month), 1,250 credits | | Entry plan, yearly billing | $24 a month ($288 billed yearly) | $14 a month ($168 billed yearly) | | Mid plan, monthly billing | Pro, from $49 a month, 1,000 credits | Pro, $89 a month ($49 first month), 6,000 credits | | Mid plan, yearly billing | From $41 a month ($488 billed yearly) | $59 a month ($708 billed yearly) | | Team plan | Business, $149 a month, 1,500 credits, extra members $20 a seat | Enterprise, custom price | | Export | 1080p on Creator, 4K on Pro | Full HD (1920 x 1080) MP4 downloads on paid plans | Sources: [HeyGen pricing](https://www.heygen.com/pricing) and [Synthesia pricing](https://www.synthesia.io/pricing), both read 28 October 2026. Synthesia's $9 and $49 first-month prices are introductory; every cost on this page uses the regular monthly price after that. ## What changed this year: both tools now run on credits A year ago the comparison was about avatar quality. Now it is about credits, because **both vendors moved to a single credit pool** that every feature draws from. HeyGen keeps a help article for customers still on its legacy unlimited plans, which tells you the old model is gone for new buyers. The problem for a buyer is that the two credits are not the same unit. A HeyGen credit and a Synthesia credit buy very different amounts of video, so comparing 600 against 1,250 tells you nothing. The useful number is cost per finished minute, which we work out below from each vendor's own conversion rates. ## How do HeyGen credits compare to Synthesia credits? Synthesia prices video at a flat estimate. Its pricing page says a minute of Studio video uses about 100 credits, a minute of dubbing uses 76, and the first 10 minutes of video each month are included on every plan. Synthesia adds that actual use depends on what is in the video, since avatars, B-roll and motion graphics count differently. HeyGen charges by avatar model. According to its [help article on credits](https://help.heygen.com/en/articles/15126059-how-to-use-credits-on-heygen), the standard rates are: *How do HeyGen credits compare to Synthesia credits?: HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick. Last updated November 2026.* | HeyGen feature | Credits per minute | | --- | --- | | Avatar III, video look | 4 | | Avatar III, photo look | 7 | | Avatar IV, photo look | 16 | | Avatar IV, video look | 31 | | Avatar V, photo or video look | 48 | | Video translation with lip-sync (speed mode) | 6 | | Video Agent, standard mode | 80 | HeyGen notes these are the standard rates for most accounts and that some accounts see different costs depending on sign-up date and region; the app shows the exact cost before you generate. **Here is what that means in minutes.** HeyGen Creator's 600 credits buy about 19 minutes of Avatar IV video with a video look, about 37 minutes with a photo look, or 150 minutes on the older Avatar III video look. Synthesia Starter's 1,250 credits buy about 12 minutes of video on top of the 10 free minutes. All of that is our arithmetic on the vendors' published rates. ### Cost per finished minute *How do HeyGen credits compare to Synthesia credits?: HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick. Last updated November 2026.* | Plan (monthly billing) | Minutes of avatar video a month | Cost per minute | | --- | --- | --- | | HeyGen Creator, Avatar IV video look | About 19 | About $1.50 | | HeyGen Creator, Avatar IV photo look | About 37 | About $0.77 | | HeyGen Creator, Avatar III video look | 150 | About $0.19 | | Synthesia Starter | About 22 (12 from credits plus 10 included) | About $0.84 | | Synthesia Pro | About 70 (60 from credits plus 10 included) | About $1.27 | **Dupple data:** at full use on monthly billing, a minute of HeyGen's Avatar IV video-look output costs about $1.50 on Creator, against about $0.84 a minute on Synthesia Starter (our arithmetic on both vendors' published credit rates, 28 October 2026). On HeyGen's older Avatar III model, the order flips and HeyGen is far cheaper. ## Is HeyGen cheaper than Synthesia? It depends on how much video you make and which HeyGen avatar model you use. Here is the monthly bill for one editor at two volumes, on monthly billing. *Is HeyGen cheaper than Synthesia?: HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick. Last updated November 2026.* | Scenario | HeyGen | Synthesia | | --- | --- | --- | | 10 minutes a month | Creator, $29 (Avatar IV video look uses 310 of 600 credits) | Starter, $19 (the 10 included minutes cover it; Starter adds downloads and removes the logo) | | 60 minutes a month | Pro at the 2,000-credit tier, $99 (Avatar IV video look needs 1,860 credits) | Pro, $89 (50 minutes from credits after the 10 included) | | 60 minutes a month on Avatar III | Creator, $29 (240 credits) | Pro, $89 | At 10 minutes a month, **Synthesia is $10 a month cheaper** for the same finished length, and $120 cheaper over a year at the regular monthly prices (our arithmetic). At 60 minutes with HeyGen's newer avatars, the two are close, with Synthesia $10 a month lower. HeyGen only wins clearly on price if you are happy with the Avatar III model. The first-year bill is where Synthesia's introductory price helps. Starter costs $218 in year one on monthly billing ($9, then 11 months at $19), and Pro costs $1,028 ($49, then 11 at $89). HeyGen Creator costs $348 over the same year on monthly billing, or $288 billed yearly. ## Which has better avatars? Here is what each vendor documents. HeyGen sells avatar models as the product: Creator includes Avatar III and Avatar IV with limited Avatar V use, while Pro adds full Avatar V access, Cinematic Avatars placed in prompted scenes and 4K export. Free includes one Custom Video Avatar, and HeyGen lists 700+ stock avatars on paid plans. Synthesia focuses on presenters for business video. Starter includes 125+ stock avatars, Pro 180+ plus 5 Personal Avatars, and Enterprise 240+ with unlimited Personal Avatars. A Studio Express-1 avatar, filmed for higher quality, is a $1,000 a year add-on for annual plan users. **HeyGen wins on avatar range and expressiveness** by its own feature list, with Pro's 4K export and cinematic scenes aimed at marketing work. Synthesia's avatar line-up is built for presenters who explain things, not for ads. ## Which is better for training videos? Synthesia, for most training teams. Its whole product is aimed at business explainers: PowerPoint import, voiceover uploads, a multilingual video player, interactive videos on Pro and roleplay and survey sessions. Pricing is predictable too, since video costs a flat rate per minute instead of varying with the avatar model. There is one exception worth knowing. **SCORM export, the format most learning management systems need, sits on HeyGen's $149 Business plan but only on Synthesia's custom Enterprise plan.** A small training team that must upload to an LMS may find HeyGen Business the cheaper route to that one feature. ## Do HeyGen and Synthesia have free plans? Both do, and neither free plan is usable for client or company work. HeyGen Free gives you 3 videos a month, watermarked, up to 1 minute each, with access to Avatar IV, Video Agent and 30+ languages. Synthesia Basic gives you 10 minutes of video a month and 500 credits, but videos carry a Synthesia watermark and you can only share them by link, since downloads start on Starter. **Synthesia's free plan is more generous for testing a full script**, because 10 minutes is enough for a real training module. HeyGen's free plan is better for trying its newest avatar models on short clips. ## Strengths and weaknesses **HeyGen** - Strength: 4K export on Pro and Avatar V and Cinematic Avatars for marketing video. - Strength: SCORM export and LMS integrations from the $149 Business plan. - Weakness: credit cost per minute swings twelvefold with the avatar model, from 4 to 48 credits. - Weakness: Creator cannot buy extra credits; you upgrade to Pro instead. **Synthesia** - Strength: a flat rate of about 100 credits per minute of video and 10 free minutes on every plan. - Strength: Starter at $14 a month on yearly billing is the cheapest paid entry of the two. - Weakness: SAML/SSO, SCORM and live team collaboration are Enterprise only, at a custom price. - Weakness: Starter includes 1 editor and 3 guests, so a second editor means Enterprise. ## What are alternatives to HeyGen and Synthesia? If neither fits, our [best AI avatar generators](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-avatar-generators) guide ranks the wider field, and the [best AI video generators](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-video-generators) covers tools that make video without a presenter. On a zero budget, start with the [best free AI video generators](https://dupple.com/learn/best-free-ai-video-generators). If you plan to publish on YouTube, our guide to [making AI YouTube videos](https://dupple.com/learn/how-to-make-ai-youtube-videos) shows the full workflow, and the [best AI video editors](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-video-editors) cover the cutting stage. **Toolradar data:** Toolradar, our software directory, tracks 158 AI video generation tools as of 28 October 2026. 71% of them are free, freemium or open source, and the median cheapest paid plan is $19.95 a month across the 46 that publish one, which puts Synthesia Starter just under the median and HeyGen Creator above it ([Toolradar AI video ranking](https://toolradar.com/best/ai-video-generation), [HeyGen on Toolradar](https://toolradar.com/tools/heygen), [Synthesia on Toolradar](https://toolradar.com/tools/synthesia)). ## How we compared We read HeyGen's pricing page and its credits help article, and Synthesia's pricing page, on 28 October 2026. Costs use monthly billing and the regular price after Synthesia's first-month promotion, unless a row says yearly. Minutes and cost per minute are our arithmetic on each vendor's published credit rates, which both vendors describe as estimates that vary by feature. For every HeyGen plan and tier in detail, see our [HeyGen pricing guide](https://dupple.com/learn/heygen-pricing). A version written for individual professionals is on [AIpresso's HeyGen vs Synthesia page](https://aipresso.com/blog/heygen-vs-synthesia). ## FAQ **Is HeyGen or Synthesia cheaper?** Synthesia is cheaper at low volume: Starter costs $19 a month after a $9 first month, against $29 for HeyGen Creator. Per minute, Synthesia Starter works out to about $0.84 against about $1.50 for HeyGen Creator on Avatar IV video looks, but HeyGen's older Avatar III model is far cheaper per minute. **How many minutes of video do HeyGen and Synthesia credits buy?** Synthesia estimates 100 credits per minute of video, plus 10 included minutes a month on every plan. HeyGen charges by model, from 4 credits a minute on Avatar III video looks to 48 on Avatar V, so Creator's 600 credits buy between about 12 and 150 minutes. **Which is better for training videos?** Synthesia for most teams, thanks to PowerPoint import, interactive videos and a flat per-minute credit rate. If you need SCORM export for an LMS without an enterprise contract, HeyGen Business at $149 a month includes it. **Do HeyGen and Synthesia have free plans?** Yes. HeyGen Free includes 3 watermarked videos a month up to 1 minute each. Synthesia Basic includes 10 minutes of video a month with a watermark and no downloads. **Do HeyGen credits roll over?** On monthly billing, unused HeyGen credits roll over for one more month; on yearly billing they build up until the renewal date. They expire if you cancel. **Which has 4K export?** HeyGen, from the Pro plan. Synthesia's pricing page lists Full HD (1920 x 1080) MP4 downloads. ## Bottom line For a marketer or creator who wants the most lifelike avatars and 4K output, HeyGen is the stronger tool, and Creator is the right start. For a team producing training and internal explainers, Synthesia is cheaper per finished minute on its regular plans, easier to budget and built around the formats trainers use. Price the volume you actually expect, not the credit count on the card, before you pick. **Cite this:** Dupple, "HeyGen vs Synthesia 2026: Price, Credits and Which to Pick", November 2026. **Making AI video part of your job?** [Start the Dupple X trial](https://checkout.dupple.com/checkout/dupple-x-yearly-trial/) for hands-on AI courses built for work. Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links. Related Articles Article ### Fireflies.ai Pricing 2026: Plans, AI Credits and What a Team Pays Fireflies.ai pricing in 2026: Free $0, Pro $10 and Business $19 per seat a month billed annually, Enterprise $39. What AI credits cost and what a 10-seat team pays. Article ### v0 Pricing 2026: What Plus, Business and Credits Cost a Small Team v0 by Vercel pricing in 2026: Free, Plus $30 and Business $100 per user a month, token rates per model, and what a landing page or internal tool costs monthly. 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