Is HeyGen or Synthesia better?

Neither wins everywhere. HeyGen is the more creator- and marketing-oriented tool, with long videos and 4K export on higher tiers. Synthesia is built around business training and communication, with interactive surveys, roleplays, SCORM export and a large language list. D-ID focuses on real-time conversational avatars and an API.

Do HeyGen and Synthesia have free plans?

Yes. HeyGen's Free plan allows 3 videos a month of up to 1 minute. Synthesia's free Basic plan includes 10 minutes of video a month, and its videos carry a Synthesia watermark. Paid tiers are on each official pricing page.

Which tool has an API?

All three. HeyGen offers developer APIs, including LiveAvatar and voice cloning. Synthesia lists a video creation API, a Dubbing API and an Interactive Avatars API. D-ID API usage draws on the same credits as its web app.

Can I clone my own face and voice?

HeyGen and Synthesia both offer custom or personal avatars and voice cloning on their plans, with limits by tier. Use only your own likeness or someone who has consented, and follow each vendor's consent process.

Which is best for translating videos?

Both HeyGen and Synthesia translate and dub videos with lip sync. Synthesia notes that lip-sync dubbing uses twice the credits. HeyGen lists 175+ languages and dialects on paid plans.

HeyGen vs Synthesia vs D-ID: Which Avatar Tool Fits

Quick answer: pick HeyGen for marketing, social and creator videos: long avatar videos, 4K export on higher tiers and lots of translation languages. Pick Synthesia for company training and internal communication, with surveys, roleplays, SCORM export for an LMS and a free Basic plan to try. Pick D-ID if you need a real-time talking avatar in your own product through its API. All three have free or trial tiers. Compare paid tiers on each official pricing page: HeyGen, Synthesia and D-ID.

How do HeyGen, Synthesia and D-ID differ?

All three turn a script into a video of a talking AI presenter (an “avatar”). They differ in focus:

	HeyGen	Synthesia	D-ID
Main focus	Creator and marketing video, translation, developer tools	Business training and communication	Real-time conversational avatars (“visual agents”) and API
Max video length	Up to 1 min on Free; up to 30 min on Creator and Pro; up to 60 min on Business; no maximum on Enterprise	Usage-based: 10 free minutes a month, plus credits on paid plans	Credit-based: each credit covers up to 15 seconds of video, per D-ID FAQ
Export	Up to 1080p on Creator; up to 4K on Pro and above	Full HD (1920×1080) MP4	Standard presenters up to 1280×1280 on all plans; premium (HQ) presenters 1080p on Trial, Pro, Advanced and Enterprise (not on Lite), per D-ID FAQ
Watermark	Removed on paid plans	Free Basic videos carry a Synthesia watermark	D-ID logo watermark on Trial and Lite; a generic AI watermark on Pro and Advanced; customizable but not removable on Enterprise
Translation and dubbing	30+ languages on Free; 175+ languages and dialects on paid plans; lip-sync translation	AI dubbing with voice preservation; lip sync uses 2× credits; 140+ languages and voices	Video Translate: clones the speaker’s voice and matches lip movement; up to 29 languages; in the Studio and API, per D-ID Video Translate
API	Yes, including LiveAvatar and Professional Voice Clone in the API	Video creation API, Dubbing API, Interactive Avatars API	Yes; API usage draws on your credits
Newest feature (2026)	Avatar V; open-source real-time avatar stack (Sep 2026)	Syren prompt-to-video agent, beta (Oct 9, 2026)	V4 Expressive Visual Agents (Mar 16, 2026)

Sources: HeyGen pricing, HeyGen September 2026 update, Synthesia pricing, Synthesia Syren, D-ID pricing FAQ, D-ID FAQ, D-ID Video Translate, D-ID V4. All read October 18, 2026.

How do the plan tiers compare?

Tier names and what changes between them, per each official pricing page. We don’t list prices; follow the links.

Tier	Best for	Key differences	Official pricing
HeyGen Free	Trying it out	3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each; 1 custom video avatar	HeyGen pricing
HeyGen Creator	Solo creators	Videos up to 30 min, 1080p, watermark removal, voice cloning, 175+ languages	HeyGen pricing
HeyGen Pro	Heavier individual use	4K export, faster processing, credit levels you can scale	HeyGen pricing
HeyGen Business	Teams	Videos up to 60 min, more custom avatars, SSO, shared workspace, SCORM and LMS integrations, per-seat add-ons	HeyGen pricing
Synthesia Basic (free)	Trying it out	10 minutes of video a month, templates; watermark	Synthesia pricing
Synthesia Starter	Individuals	Adds a monthly credit pool for more video and dubbing; AI Video Assistant; guests	Synthesia pricing
Synthesia Pro	Regular business use	Larger credit pool with adjustable levels; personal avatars; more stock avatars	Synthesia pricing
Synthesia Enterprise	Large organizations	Custom volume, full avatar library, SSO and live collaboration, 140+ dubbing languages	Synthesia pricing
D-ID Trial / Lite	Trying it out, light use	Watermarked videos; credits renew monthly	D-ID pricing
D-ID Pro and Advanced (API plans: Launch, Scale)	Business and API use	Premium (HQ) presenters in 1080p; generic AI watermark instead of the D-ID logo; Advanced adds more options, per the FAQ	D-ID pricing, D-ID FAQ
D-ID Enterprise	Large organizations	Premium (HQ) presenters in 1080p; watermark is customizable, not removable	D-ID pricing, D-ID FAQ

Annual billing is cheaper per month than monthly billing on HeyGen and Synthesia, per their pricing pages.

How do credits work?

HeyGen: credits are its “single currency for video and asset creation”. Monthly subscribers’ unused credits roll over for one more month, and annual subscribers’ credits build up until renewal (HeyGen).
Synthesia: credits are a shared pool across all features. A typical finished minute of avatar video uses about 100 credits, and allowances reset each billing period (Synthesia).
D-ID: credits, each worth up to 15 seconds of video; longer videos use more credits. Credits renew monthly and don’t carry over (D-ID FAQ).

Which one should you pick?

Marketing, social and YouTube videos with your own avatar: HeyGen. It has long videos, 4K on Pro and above, and many translation languages.
Training courses, onboarding and internal comms: Synthesia. SCORM export, interactive surveys and roleplays fit learning teams. HeyGen Business also has SCORM and LMS integrations, so compare them on those features.
An avatar that talks to users live, inside your app: D-ID, with its real-time visual agents and API. HeyGen’s LiveAvatar API is the other option to evaluate.
A small team on a budget: start on both free tiers with the same script and compare. As with choosing a ChatGPT plan for a small team, pay only for the seats and features you will use.

What about motion graphics instead of a talking avatar?

If you don’t need a presenter on screen, a code-based workflow can be easier to keep on brand: an AI coding agent writes the animation as code you can edit. See Claude Code + Remotion. To animate a still image instead, see image-to-video AI.

Can you use your own face and voice?

Yes, on all three, within limits. HeyGen includes custom video avatars and voice cloning, with amounts that vary by tier. Synthesia offers personal avatars and voice cloning on paid plans. HeyGen added Professional Voice Clone to its API in September 2026 (HeyGen). Use only your own likeness, or that of someone who has given written consent, and follow each vendor’s consent and verification steps.

Are there HeyGen alternatives beyond these three?

Yes. Several other avatar and lip-sync tools exist, and open-source options are growing. We’ll cover them in a separate guide. In the meantime, browse the AI video tools hub.