HeyGen alternatives (and Synthesia alternatives)
The best HeyGen and Synthesia alternatives for AI avatar and talking-head videos, compared on price, quality and free plans.
Updated
This guide is being written. Below is the outline and our current price data; test results will be added once our testing is complete.
Quick comparison
| Provider | From | Starting plan | Free tier | Our rating | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HeyGenChecked | $24/mo | Creator600 credits/month; videos up to 30 min; 1080p; voice cloning; 175+ languages; credit rollover | 3 videos/month, up to 1 minute each | Not rated | VisitOfficial site |
| SynthesiaChecked | $18/mo | Starter15,000 credits/year (1,250/month on monthly billing); video up to about 12 min/month (about 150 min/year) on top of the free allowance; 125+ avatars; no watermark; 1 editor + 3 guests | 10 minutes of video/month, watermarked | Not rated | VisitOfficial site |
| DescriptChecked | $16/mo | Hobbyist10 media hours/month; 400 AI credits/month; 1080p watermark-free export; 1 person | 1 media hour/month, 720p with watermark | Not rated | VisitOfficial site |
| RunwayChecked | $12/mo | Standard625 credits/month (about 52 s of Gen-4.5); all video and image models; 5 parallel generations; 3 projects; no watermark; 4K upscaling; 20 GB storage | 125 one-time credits | Not rated | VisitOfficial site |
| ElevenLabsChecked | $5/mo | Starter30k credits/month; commercial license; Instant Voice Cloning; 20 Studio projects; Dubbing Studio; Image & Video | 10k credits/month, non-commercial use | Not rated | VisitOfficial site |
Why people look for alternatives
Price per minute of video, avatar realism, languages, watermark on free plans, and credit limits.
The alternatives at a glance
The table above, plus one line on who each suits.
For avatar videos
Synthesia and other avatar tools, compared with HeyGen on the same script. [Sample videos to be added.]
For editing and voice
When a different workflow fits better: Descript for editing by transcript, ElevenLabs for voice and dubbing, Runway for generated footage.
Free plans compared
What you can make for free on each, and the limits.
Our pick
[To be written after testing.]