HeyGen vs Synthesia: Which AI Avatar Video Tool Fits a Store?

For an online store making product videos and ads, HeyGenHeyGenAI video adsHeyGen creates videos with AI avatars that speak your script, including a custom avatar of yourself. Free plan, paid from $29/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis is the better fit: its paid plans allow videos up to 30 minutes, translation into 175+ languages, 700+ stock avatars, and 4K export from $49 a month. SynthesiaSynthesiaAI video adsSynthesia turns scripts into videos presented by AI avatars, with dubbing and translation. Free plan, paid from $19/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis is cheaper to start at $19 a month (with a $9 first month) and is built mainly for training and explainer videos, so it suits stores that also need onboarding or how-to content.

Quick comparison

Neither tool has a Shopify App Store listing.

The short version

Choose HeyGen if you are making marketing videos, product explainers or ads, want a custom avatar of yourself, and plan to translate videos for other markets.

Choose Synthesia if you want the lowest entry price for a presenter video, or you also make training, onboarding or how-to videos where its interactive videos and surveys help.

What each one is built for

HeyGenHeyGenAI video adsHeyGen creates videos with AI avatars that speak your script, including a custom avatar of yourself. Free plan, paid from $29/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis creates videos with AI avatars that speak your script, including a custom avatar made from your own footage and voice. It pitches itself at marketing, product explainers and ads, and lists access to models such as Veo 3.1 on Pro.

SynthesiaSynthesiaAI video adsSynthesia turns scripts into videos presented by AI avatars, with dubbing and translation. Free plan, paid from $19/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis turns scripts into avatar-presented videos with dubbing and translation, and is aimed mostly at business training, explainer and marketing videos. It adds interactive videos, surveys and branded video pages, and lists SCORM export and SSO on Enterprise, which are training-team features most stores will not need.

Pricing in detail

HeyGen

• Free: $0, no card required. Up to 3 watermarked videos a month of up to 1 minute, 1 custom video avatar, 500+ stock presenters, 30+ languages, 1 seat.
• Creator: $29/month, or $24/month billed yearly. 600 credits, up to 1080p, videos up to 30 minutes, 175+ languages and dialects, 1 seat.
• Pro: from $49/month for 1,000 credits, with tiers up to 100,000 credits at $4,300/month. Up to 4K.
• Business: $149/month, with seats listed at $20 per seat per month. 1,500 credits, videos up to 60 minutes, 5+ custom avatars, SSO and a brand kit.
• Enterprise: contact sales.

On monthly Creator plans, unused credits roll over for one month. Yearly billing is advertised as "2 months free," but the page only gives an exact yearly price for Creator.

Synthesia

Synthesia reorganized its plans on October 1, 2026; Creator was renamed Pro.

• Basic (free): 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month, 500 credits, 9 avatars, Synthesia watermark, 1 editor.
• Starter: $19/month ($9 first month). 1,250 credits, about 12 minutes of video from credits on top of the 10 included minutes, 125+ avatars, 3 personal avatars, logo removed, 1 editor and 3 guests.
• Pro: $89/month ($49 first month). 6,000 credits, about 60 minutes from credits plus the 10 included, 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars, 1 editor and 5 guests. Larger Pro tiers cost $176, $347, $514 and $676 a month for 12,000 to 48,000 credits.
• Enterprise: custom, with unlimited video minutes, 240+ stock avatars and unlimited personal avatars.

Yearly billing "saves up to 4 months," but annual prices are not listed. Studio Express-1 avatars are a $1,000/year add-on for annual plans only.

Head to head

Entry price. Synthesia wins: $19 a month, and $9 for the first month, against HeyGen Creator at $29 ($24 billed yearly).

Video length and quality. HeyGen states its limits clearly: up to 30 minutes on Creator and Pro, 1080p on Creator, 4K from Pro. Synthesia's pricing page does not state export resolution per plan. For short product ads, length limits rarely matter.

Avatars of yourself. Both include them on entry paid plans. HeyGen lists 1 custom video avatar even on Free, with more as an add-on. Synthesia lists 3 personal avatars on Starter and 5 on Pro.

Translation. HeyGen lists translation into 175+ languages and dialects on paid plans. Synthesia lists 140+ languages and voices on all plans and dubbing into 70+ languages, rising to 140+ on Enterprise. If you sell internationally, HeyGen covers more languages at the self-serve level.

Teams. HeyGen Creator and Pro are 1 seat; Business adds seats at $20 each. Synthesia's Starter and Pro have 1 editor plus 3 or 5 guests, and more editors require Enterprise.

Watch out

HeyGen:

• The free plan's videos are watermarked and capped at 1 minute, so they are only good for testing.
• Creator and Pro are single-seat plans. Adding people means Business at $149/month, with seats listed at $20 per seat per month; the page does not spell out exactly how the base price and seat price combine.
• Pro and Business yearly prices are not listed, only the "2 months free" claim.

Synthesia:

• The $9 and $49 first-month prices are introductory; after that, Starter is $19 and Pro is $89 a month.
• Starter's paid video allowance is small, about 12 minutes a month from credits on top of the 10 included minutes.
• Plans changed on October 1, 2026, so older guides that mention a "Creator" plan are out of date.
• Dubbing uses credits (Synthesia's help center lists 80 credits per minute with lip-sync and 40 without), which eats into your video allowance.

How a store might use each

Product explainers and ads. Both can turn a script into a presenter video. HeyGen's longer limits, 4K on Pro and wide translation fit a store that wants the same product video in several markets.

Customer how-to and onboarding videos. If you sell products that need setup or care instructions, Synthesia's interactive videos, surveys and branded video pages are useful extras.

Founder-led content. Both let you build an avatar of yourself. HeyGen lists one even on its free plan; Synthesia starts at Starter with 3 personal avatars.

What it costs at two store sizes

Published prices only.

Solo owner making a few short product videos a month:

• SynthesiaSynthesiaAI video adsSynthesia turns scripts into videos presented by AI avatars, with dubbing and translation. Free plan, paid from $19/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis Starter: $9 the first month, then $19/month
• HeyGenHeyGenAI video adsHeyGen creates videos with AI avatars that speak your script, including a custom avatar of yourself. Free plan, paid from $29/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis Creator: $29/month, or $24/month billed yearly ($288/year)

Brand making longer or translated videos every week:

• HeyGenHeyGenAI video adsHeyGen creates videos with AI avatars that speak your script, including a custom avatar of yourself. Free plan, paid from $29/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis Pro: from $49/month, with 4K export and 175+ translation languages
• SynthesiaSynthesiaAI video adsSynthesia turns scripts into videos presented by AI avatars, with dubbing and translation. Free plan, paid from $19/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis Pro: $89/month ($49 first month), with about 60 minutes from credits plus 10 included minutes

Which one should you choose?

• Choose HeyGenHeyGenAI video adsHeyGen creates videos with AI avatars that speak your script, including a custom avatar of yourself. Free plan, paid from $29/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis if you make marketing and product videos and want 4K and wide translation without an enterprise contract.
• Choose SynthesiaSynthesiaAI video adsSynthesia turns scripts into videos presented by AI avatars, with dubbing and translation. Free plan, paid from $19/mo.Click for Scout's full analysis if you want the cheapest paid start or also make training and onboarding videos.
• Choose neither if you mainly want UGC-style product ads. Our AI video ad generator roundup covers tools built for that.

Common questions

Is HeyGen or Synthesia cheaper? Synthesia Starter is $19/month, with $9 for the first month. HeyGen Creator is $29/month, or $24/month billed yearly.

Do HeyGen and Synthesia have free plans? Yes. HeyGen's free plan allows 3 watermarked videos a month of up to 1 minute. Synthesia's free Basic plan includes 10 minutes of video a month and 500 credits, with a watermark. Neither offers a free trial of its paid plans.

Can I make an AI avatar of myself? Yes, with both. HeyGen lists 1 custom video avatar on Free and Creator, and Synthesia lists 3 personal avatars on Starter and 5 on Pro.

Which supports more languages? HeyGen lists translation into 175+ languages and dialects on paid plans. Synthesia lists 140+ languages and voices, and dubbing into 70+ languages on self-serve plans.

How we put this together

We did not test HeyGen or Synthesia hands-on. Facts and prices come from HeyGen's pricing page and from Synthesia's pricing page and its help center article on the October 1, 2026 plan changes, all checked in November 2026. Where a page did not state something, such as Synthesia's export resolution, we say so. Prices change, so confirm them before you subscribe.