ElevenLabs vs Descript vs HeyGen vs Synthesia

Written head to head: Synthesia vs HeyGen, with when to choose each side.

Compared on	ElevenLabs Free plan · from $5/mo VisitRemove	Descript Free plan · from $16/person/mo VisitRemove	HeyGen Free plan · from $24/mo VisitRemove	Synthesia Free plan · from $18/mo VisitRemove
What it is	AI voice platform for text to speech, voice cloning, dubbing and music	Video and audio editor that works by editing a text transcript	AI avatar video generator with video translation and voice cloning	AI video platform that turns scripts into presenter-led avatar videos
Free plan	10,000 credits per month (about 10 minutes of text to speech in the app); 3 Studio projects; 3 custom voice slots for Voice Design, no voice cloning; no commercial licence, and published content must credit ElevenLabs; no credit rollover	60 media minutes (1 hour) per month; 100 AI credits (one-time); 720p local export	3 videos per month, up to 1 minute each; 500+ stock video avatars; 1 custom video avatar; up to 3 photo avatars; 30+ languages	1,200 credits per month (up to 10 minutes of video, or 10 minutes of AI dubbing, or 25 AI-generated video assets); 1 editor; 9 AI avatars
Cheapest paid plan	$5/mo billed annually (Starter)ElevenLabs pricing	$16/person/mo billed annually (Hobbyist)Descript pricing	$24/mo billed annually (Creator)HeyGen pricing	$18/mo billed annually (Starter)Synthesia pricing
What it covers	30,000 credits per month; annual billing is priced at 10 months; prices exclude taxes.	10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month; 1080p watermark-free export.	$288 billed yearly; 600 credits per month; videos up to 30 minutes; 1080p export.	Yearly plan includes 14,500 credits per year (up to 120 minutes of video per year); 1 editor and 3 guests.
Free trial	None stated	None stated	None stated	None stated
Platforms	Web, API	macOS, Windows	Web, API	Web, API
Integrations (vendor's figure)	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Open source	No	No	No	No
Good for	Recording voiceovers for videos, courses and presentations without a studio Turning written content into audio Dubbing videos into other languages	Editing podcasts and interviews by deleting words from the transcript Cleaning up audio and removing filler words Cutting short clips from a longer video	Making talking-head marketing or explainer videos with an AI avatar Translating existing videos into other languages Producing training videos for a learning system (SCORM export on Business)	Turning a training script into a presenter-style video without filming Producing the same video in several languages Updating internal how-to videos by editing text rather than reshooting
Watch out for	Free plan has no commercial licence and no credit rollover Unused credits roll over for up to two months only while a paid subscription stays active Business plan ($990/month) and Enterprise are needed for more seats and professional voice clones	Free plan: 1 media hour per month, 100 one-time AI credits and 720p export Hobbyist exports up to 1080p; 4K export starts on Creator Desktop app requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or Windows 11 or newer	Free plan: 3 videos per month, each up to 1 minute Watermark removal is listed from the Creator plan up Individual plans include 1 user seat; Business adds seats at $20 per seat per month	Basic (free) plan: up to 10 minutes of video per month and 9 AI avatars Video downloads and Synthesia logo removal start on the Starter plan Yearly Starter plan is capped at 120 minutes of video per year
Made by	ElevenLabs	Descript	HeyGen	Synthesia Ltd

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

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