What it is
HeyGen makes videos with AI presenters. You type a script, pick a stock avatar or your own digital twin, and it renders a talking-head video with lip-synced speech in many languages. It also translates existing videos into other languages in your own voice.
In April 2026 HeyGen launched Avatar V, which builds a realistic digital twin from a 15-second recording. June 2026 brought 30-minute talking-head videos in a single generation, a real-time avatar API for live streaming agents, and connectors for Claude and Cursor. Video Agent turns a prompt into a finished video with avatar scenes and cinematic shots.
Plans use credits. According to the help centre, a minute of Avatar IV costs 16 or 31 credits depending on the look, and a minute of Avatar V costs 48. The API is billed separately in dollars.
Our review
HeyGen leads the avatar category on realism and the pace of its releases. Avatar V's twins from a 15-second clip and lip-synced translation are the features reviewers and Reddit users praise most, and June's 30-minute single-pass generation means a full training module no longer has to be stitched from five-minute pieces.
The credit maths matters more than the plan price. The help centre puts Avatar V at 48 credits a minute, so Creator's 600 credits cover about 12 minutes a month. Creator cannot buy top-ups; Business can, at $0.05 a credit. The API is a separate wallet and costs more: $7.20 a minute for an Avatar V twin against roughly $2.40 for the same minute bought as Business credits. The help centre's current rates are higher than those in HeyGen's own older blog posts, which still circulate.
Data terms are uneven across tiers. HeyGen holds a SOC 2 Type II report and stores customer data in the US on AWS. Its Trust and Safety page says data from non-enterprise customers may be used to train its models, with an opt-out by email, while the FAQ claims nothing is used for training; the privacy policy sides with the former. A no-training commitment is an Enterprise contract term. Using a face for training needs a separate consent from the one that creates the avatar.
The output still has tells. Long, emotional or fast-moving scenes give avatars away, and HeyGen's support pages suggest checking the cost panel before every generation because rates vary by model and look. Synthesia is the steadier choice for a large company's training library; HeyGen ships features months earlier and expects its customers to absorb the churn.
Where it earns its place
A SaaS founder recording weekly product updates
Publish a five-minute update without filming each week
One Avatar V twin and 20 minutes a month comes to 960 credits, beyond Creator's 600, so Pro at $49 for 1,000 credits is the realistic plan. Opting out of training needs an email to HeyGen.
An L&D team of six at a 2,000-person manufacturer
Turn written SOPs into 20-minute training videos with SCORM export
Business at $149 plus $100 for five more seats includes SAML SSO, a brand kit and SCORM export; 1,500 credits buys about 31 minutes of Avatar V, with top-ups at $0.05 a credit. SCIM and a no-training clause need Enterprise.
A developer adding personalised sales videos to a CRM workflow
Generate 500 one-minute videos a month from HubSpot data
Through the API at $4.83 a minute for an Avatar IV twin, 500 minutes costs about $2,400. The same minutes bought as Business top-ups would cost about $1,200, so the API only pays off where nobody wants to run the web app.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Record a 15-second clip, with on-camera identity verification of the person shown, to create an Avatar V twin; stock avatars work immediately from a script.
- Integrations
- REST API, a real-time streaming avatar API, MCP connector for Claude, a Cursor plugin, and Zapier, Make, n8n, HubSpot and Canva integrations.
- Data and privacy
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR with a European DPO; data stored in the US on AWS. Non-enterprise data may be used for training unless you opt out by email; Enterprise contracts exclude it.
- Cost at scale
- A 10-seat Business plan is $329 a month for 1,500 credits; at 48 credits per Avatar V minute, every extra 100 minutes costs about $240 in top-ups.
- Limits
- Creator videos run up to 30 minutes and Business up to 60; unused monthly credits roll over for one month only.
What's good
- Digital twins from a 15-second recording
- Up to 30 minutes of talking head in one generation
- Lip-synced translation from $0.81 a minute on the API
- SOC 2 Type II; SAML SSO from Business
What's not
- Avatar V costs 48 credits a minute, about 12 minutes on Creator
- Only Business plans can buy extra credits
- Non-enterprise data may train models unless you opt out by email
- API minutes cost roughly three times plan credits
Best for
Creators, marketers and sales teams who want to produce presenter-led or translated videos without filming.
Alternatives
HeyGen: common questions
- Is HeyGen worth it?
- HeyGen makes the most convincing digital twins on the market, and charges for it in credits that a few minutes of Avatar V will use up. We rate it 4.5 out of 5.
- How much does HeyGen cost?
- Free (3 watermarked 1-minute videos/month); Creator $29/month ($24 yearly, 600 credits); Pro from $49 (1,000 credits) up to $4,300 (100,000); Business $149 + $20/extra seat (1,500 credits); Enterprise custom. API pay-as-you-go from $5.
- What are the downsides of HeyGen?
- Avatar V costs 48 credits a minute, about 12 minutes on Creator; only Business plans can buy extra credits; non-enterprise data may train models unless you opt out by email; aPI minutes cost roughly three times plan credits.
- Who is HeyGen best for?
- Creators, marketers and sales teams who want to produce presenter-led or translated videos without filming.
- How much does HeyGen cost for a team or in production?
- A 10-seat Business plan is $329 a month for 1,500 credits; at 48 credits per Avatar V minute, every extra 100 minutes costs about $240 in top-ups.
- Is HeyGen safe for company data?
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR with a European DPO; data stored in the US on AWS. Non-enterprise data may be used for training unless you opt out by email; Enterprise contracts exclude it.
- What are the best HeyGen alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Synthesia, Descript and CapCut.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.
Make HeyGen? Show this rating on your site
