Last updated: 2026-09-04
HeyGen is an AI video generation platform used by more than 100,000 businesses worldwide to turn text, photos, or audio into studio-quality marketing, training, and localization videos featuring realistic AI avatars with automatic lip-sync, voice cloning, and multilingual dubbing, without cameras, actors, or a production crew.
About HeyGen
Founded in 2020, HeyGen has raised $69M+ across a seed round and Series A to build its AI video platform, which turns text, images, or audio into studio-quality videos without cameras, actors, or a production crew. The company earned G2's #1 Fastest Growing Product of 2025 recognition, and its avatar and dubbing technology now reaches more than 100,000 businesses worldwide, from Fortune 500 firms to nonprofits.
Teams use HeyGen for compliance training and onboarding, marketing and social content, personalized sales outreach, and localizing existing videos for new markets without re-recording. The platform is SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and CCPA compliant, and requires consent verification before creating any avatar to guard against deepfake misuse.
Screenshots
Pricing
Free: $0/mo, 3 videos/month up to 1 minute each, up to 1080p export, watermarked, 1 custom avatar, 30+ languages, no credit card required. Creator: $29/mo ($24/mo billed annually), 600 credits/month, unlimited videos up to 30 min at 1080p, watermark removed, 175+ languages, unlimited voice cloning. Pro: scales from $49/mo (1,000 credits) to $4,300/mo (100,000 credits) — every Pro tier has the same feature set, only the monthly credit allowance changes; 4K export, up to 30-min videos.
Business: $149/mo + $20/seat, 1,500 credits/month, up to 60-min videos, 4K, 5 custom avatars, SAML/SSO, 2x the concurrency of Pro. Enterprise (web): custom pricing, no max video duration. API access is billed from a separate balance: Pay-As-You-Go starts at a $5 minimum top-up with no monthly commitment, and Enterprise API adds dedicated developer support, the Digital Twin Creation API, and discounted rates.
Annual billing saves roughly 17-22% versus monthly on web plans. Credits roll over one extra month for monthly subscribers and accumulate until renewal for annual subscribers; they do not carry over after cancellation.
| Tier | Monthly price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 3 videos/month, up to 1 minute each, up to 1080p export with watermark, 1 custom avatar slot, 500+ stock avatars, 30+ languages, 1 voice clone, up to 3 photo avatars. No credit card required. |
| Creator | $29/mo | 600 credits/month (rolls over one extra month). Unlimited videos up to 30 min at 1080p, watermark removed, unlimited photo avatars, unlimited voice cloning, 175+ languages and dialects. Annual billing is $24/month. |
| Pro | $49/mo | Selectable credit tiers from 1,000 credits/mo at $49 up to 100,000 credits/mo at $4,300 — identical features at every tier, switch anytime. Videos up to 30 min, 4K export, faster processing, translation script editing. |
| Business | $149/mo | 1,500 credits/month, flexible top-ups or auto-reload. Videos up to 60 min, 4K, 5 custom avatars, SAML/SSO, centralized billing, SCORM export, LMS integration, n8n/Make/HubSpot/Zapier integrations. Additional seats $20/month each. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom pricing, contact sales. No maximum video duration, fastest processing, highest concurrency, 10+ custom avatars, dedicated customer success manager, invoice billing, custom commercial terms. Enterprise API pricing (separate from web plans) adds dedicated developer support, the Digital Twin Creation API, Proofread API, and discounted rates, also contact-sales only. |
| API Pay-As-You-Go | Custom | No monthly commitment — start with a $5 minimum top-up and pay only for what you use. Covers the Video Agent API, TTS API, Video Generation API (Avatar III/IV), Video Translation API, and MCP Server access. MCP usage draws from the web plan's premium-credit balance; Skills and Direct API usage draws from a separate API dashboard balance. |
Feature Comparison by Tier
| Feature | Free | Creator | Pro | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $29/mo ($24 annual) | $49-$4,300/mo (by credit tier) | $149/mo + $20/seat | Custom |
| Credits/month | — | 600 | 1,000-100,000 | 1,500 | Custom |
| Max video length | 1 min | 30 min | 30 min | 60 min | No max |
| Export resolution | Up to 1080p | 1080p | 4K | 4K | 4K |
| Watermark | Yes | Removed | Removed | Removed | Removed |
| Custom avatars | 1 | 1+ | 1+ | 5+ | 10+ |
| Support | Community | Standard | Standard | Priority + SAML/SSO | Dedicated CSM, priority |
Key Features
- Text-to-Video AI Studio: Type your idea, describe scenes and emotions, and HeyGen generates complete videos with realistic avatars, voiceovers, visuals, and animations. The text-based editor provides full control over tone, delivery, and gestures in one connected workflow.
- Hyper-Realistic Avatars: Create custom digital avatars from photos, videos, or design custom ones from scratch. Avatar IV generates studio-quality avatars with natural facial expressions, lip-syncing, and hand gestures.
- Video Translation & Dubbing: Instantly translate and dub videos into other languages with precise lip-sync, voice cloning, and auto-generated subtitles, preserving the original speaker's voice, tone, and personality.
- Sora 2.0 and Generative AI Integration: Sora 2.0 is integrated directly into HeyGen for cinematic AI video generation and realistic digital twins, and audio dubbing is now unlimited for paid users at no extra credit cost. New Premium Credit pricing shows the exact cost estimate before you generate anything.
- Interactive & Streaming Avatars: Deploy real-time, interactive avatars via WebRTC for live customer support, sales conversations, and training experiences. LiveAvatar technology enables natural two-way interactions connected to any LLM backend.
- Enterprise Collaboration & Governance: Team workspaces with role-based access control, centralized brand kits, version control, SCORM export for LMS platforms, video commenting for approvals, and integrations with Zapier, Make, HubSpot, and n8n.
Pros
- No camera, editing software, or production skills needed: professional results in minutes.
- Avatar IV's facial expressions and lip-sync realism are a clear step up from most competing avatar tools.
- Voice cloning and dubbing preserve the original speaker's emotional tone across translated languages, not just the words.
- The free tier lets anyone test full video creation before paying, no credit card required.
- One workspace covers text-to-video, translation, voice cloning, and generative-model access, so teams do not need to juggle multiple tools.
- Enterprise-grade compliance covers SOC 2 Type II alongside GDPR and CCPA, plus consent checks designed to prevent deepfake abuse.
Cons
- Credits roll over only one extra month for monthly subscribers (annual subscribers accumulate until renewal) — heavy Avatar IV or translation users on a monthly plan still lose credits older than one cycle rather than banking them indefinitely.
- Avatar IV and translation usage draws from the same shared credit pool as everything else, so Free and Creator users who need heavier avatar or translation work have to move up the Pro credit ladder ($49-$4,300/mo) rather than hitting a small, separate cap.
- The Creator plan's entry price is higher than several competing avatar tools, and Business-tier seats cost extra on top of the monthly base.
- Limited post-render customization: once a video renders, editing it back to match a revised script is not straightforward.
Data Handling
- Training-data policy
- HeyGen's privacy policy states user input (text, voice, scripts, images, and videos) is used by default to "train and enhance the models that power our Services"; opting out requires contacting support directly (privacy@heygen.com). Enterprise customers are governed by separate customer contracts not covered by the public privacy policy, so those contract terms — not this policy — determine whether their data is excluded from training. Deleted data is retained in backups for 60 days for disaster recovery, then erased; deletion requests are processed within about 72 hours.
- Compliance
- SOC 2 Type II · GDPR · CCPA · EU AI Act alignment · Data Privacy Framework (DPF) certified
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do you pay for HeyGen?
The Creator plan runs $24 to $29 a month for videos up to 30 minutes at 1080p. Pro starts at $49 a month for 1,000 credits and scales up to $4,300 a month for 100,000 credits — the feature set stays the same across every Pro tier, only the credit allowance changes. Business is $149 a month plus $20 for each extra seat. Annual billing cuts roughly 17 to 22 percent off any paid plan, and Enterprise pricing for both the web app and the API is custom, quoted by sales.
Can you use HeyGen without paying?
Yes. The Free plan includes 3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each, exported at up to 1080p with a HeyGen watermark, plus one custom avatar slot and access to 500+ stock avatars in 30+ languages. Getting the Free plan takes an email and nothing more, no credit card required.
What should you use instead of HeyGen?
Synthesia is a straightforward alternative if you want avatar videos without HeyGen's credit-tier system. Translate.video focuses specifically on dubbing and lip-sync if translation is your main need. VEED works well for a lighter, browser-based editor with basic avatar and subtitle tools.
Is HeyGen better than Synthesia?
HeyGen leans on Avatar IV realism plus built-in Sora and Veo access for B-roll, while Synthesia keeps its workflow centered on straightforward text-to-avatar videos. Choose HeyGen for deeper generative-video tooling in one place; choose Synthesia for a simpler, single-purpose avatar tool.
What does it take to start using HeyGen?
Create a free HeyGen account with just an email, no card needed. Choose or upload a photo to create your first avatar, type a script in the text-based editor, and generate your first video in minutes. Upgrade once you need more than 3 videos a month, more than 1 minute per video, or want to remove the watermark.
Top Alternatives
- Synthesia: HeyGen brings Avatar IV plus native Sora and Veo generation; Synthesia stays simpler with an avatar-only workflow and no Premium Credit limits.
- Translate.video: Translate.video does one job cheaply: dubbing only; HeyGen adds full avatar video creation on top of that.
- VEED: VEED keeps a lightweight browser editor with basic avatars and subtitles; HeyGen goes deeper on Avatar IV fidelity and dubbing controls.
HokAI guides covering HeyGen
- The Best Free AI for Turning a Photo Into a Video in 2026: Kling, CapCut, HeyGen and Fliki compared for free photo-to-video, checked 22 Sept 2026. See which free tiers actually renew, and which one just quietly stopped.
- Best AI Video Generators in 2026: Pick the Category Before You Pick the Tool: Kling AI generates a second of 1080p video for about 13 cents, cheaper than Runway's 23 cents. See how 31 AI video tools split into three buying decisions.
- How to Create AI Video and Visual Content Without a Production Team: DALL-E is retired and CapCut's AI tools now cost $19.99/month. Here is the updated 2026 stack for camera-free AI video, with real prices for every tool.
- AdsMaker.ai vs Creatify: Creatify Tripled Its Price, AdsMaker Didn't: Creatify's Pro tier jumped from $49 to $99 a month while AdsMaker.ai held pricing flat. The real cost-per-video math and which tool fits a tight budget.
- Creatify vs Kling AI: Which Is Better for AI Video Ads in 2026?: Creatify assembles finished, trackable video ads from product pages; Kling AI generates original footage from a prompt. Real pricing and which to pick first.