Synthesia vs HeyGen vs Descript

Pick up to 4 tools and see their free plans, entry prices, platforms and limits in one table. Every fact comes from each vendor's own pages, checked 23 September 2026.

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

Compared on	Synthesia Free plan · from $18/mo Visit Remove	HeyGen Free plan · from $24/mo Visit Remove	Descript Free plan · from $16/person/mo Visit Remove
What it is	AI video platform that turns scripts into presenter-led avatar videos	AI avatar video generator with video translation and voice cloning	Video and audio editor that works by editing a text transcript
Free plan	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	3 videos per month, up to 1 minute each; 500+ stock video avatars; 1 custom video avatar; up to 3 photo avatars; 30+ languages	60 media minutes (1 hour) per month; 100 AI credits (one-time); 720p local export
Cheapest paid plan	$18/mo billed annually (Starter)Synthesia pricing	$24/mo billed annually (Creator)HeyGen pricing	$16/person/mo billed annually (Hobbyist)Descript pricing
What it covers	Yearly plan includes 14,500 credits per year (up to 120 minutes of video per year); 1 editor and 3 guests.	$288 billed yearly; 600 credits per month; videos up to 30 minutes; 1080p export.	10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month; 1080p watermark-free export.
Free trial	None stated	None stated	None stated
Platforms	Web, API	Web, API	macOS, Windows
Integrations (vendor's figure)	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Open source	No	No	No
Good for	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	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)	Editing podcasts and interviews by deleting words from the transcript Cleaning up audio and removing filler words Cutting short clips from a longer video
Watch out for	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	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	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
Made by	Synthesia Ltd	HeyGen	Descript

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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