AI video generator: what you can make from a script and what it costs

What can an AI video generator actually make from a script?

A talking video: a synthetic presenter, scenes cut together, and a generated voice track. On HeyGen, the free plan opens 500+ stock avatars and 30+ languages, and video length runs up to 30 minutes on Creator, 60 minutes on Business, with no maximum length per video on Enterprise. On Synthesia, Starter opens 125+ avatars and 160+ languages and voices, Creator moves to 180+ avatars with several avatars in a single scene, and Enterprise to 240+.

What neither does: filming, complex cutaways, or legal review of your message. A maximum video length for Synthesia does not appear in our records, so the real constraint there is the monthly quota, not the file length.

What do HeyGen and Synthesia cost, plan by plan?

Both land on the same overall score for opposite reasons: HeyGen scores 5 out of 5 on features and 2 out of 5 on GDPR, while Synthesia scores 5 out of 5 on GDPR and 3 out of 5 on price.

How should you write the script and split the scenes?

Start from the quota, not from the idea. A scene is one point and a few sentences, and it is the unit you will reread, fix, and regenerate. Because Synthesia caps usage as soon as the quota is reached, and because unused minutes do not roll over, write the whole script before you open the editor.

The free tiers are there to settle the format, not to ship. HeyGen caps free videos at 1 minute, which is enough to approve an avatar and a reading pace, not to build a training module. Synthesia Basic lets you reach 10 minutes but blocks downloads, so review happens on screen.

Picking and building the presenter is its own decision (stock avatar, personal avatar, cloned voice), and we cover it in the AI voice and video section.

What does a minute of video cost, and how do you avoid running out?

On HeyGen, everything runs through credits and the rate depends on the avatar model. Avatar IV uses 16 credits a minute from a photo look and 31 credits a minute from a video look, lip-synced translation costs 6 credits a minute, and consumption ranges from 4 to 48 credits a minute depending on the model you pick. Creator includes 600 credits a month and does not allow extra credit purchases: you move up to Pro. Pro starts at 1,000 credits a month, then steps up by tier, for example 2,000 credits for $99 or 10,000 for $460, up to 100,000 credits for $4,300 a month ($3,586 billed yearly). Business includes 1,500 credits shared by the team, added seats bring no extra credits, and top-ups cost $0.05 per credit in blocks of 100 for $5.

On Synthesia, the vendor converts credits into minutes for you: 1,200 credits a month on Starter monthly, which is up to 10 minutes of video or 48 minutes of AI dubbing, and 3,600 credits on Creator monthly, which is up to 30 minutes of video or 140 minutes of dubbing.

In our reading, annual billing changes what the Synthesia offer actually is. Starter shows 14,500 credits a year, up to 120 minutes of video or 580 minutes of dubbing, and Creator 44,000 credits, up to 360 minutes of video. The yearly commitment does not just cut the monthly price from $29 to $18: it swaps a tight monthly ceiling for an annual reserve, which suits production in bursts far better.

How do you review, fix, and export without burning credits?

Every regeneration costs credits, so review the text before you render the video. For translated content, HeyGen puts editing of translated scripts on Pro, at $49 a month ($41 billed yearly): if you publish in several languages, that is the line that justifies the gap with Creator. Synthesia puts one-click translation into 80+ languages on Enterprise, on a custom quote.

On export, HeyGen moves to 4K from Pro and adds SCORM export, interactive videos, and SAML/SSO on Business, at $149 a month ($119 billed yearly) for the first seat. Synthesia delivers 1080p MP4 with no logo from Starter, adds interactive videos and branded video pages on Creator, and keeps SCORM export for Enterprise. Note that Synthesia Creator also includes API access up to 360 minutes a year, deducted from the same quota.

If your real bottleneck is a voiceover on footage you already have rather than an avatar, ElevenLabs starts at $6 a month ($5 billed yearly); its free tier of 10,000 credits a month does not include the commercial license, which is a paid feature.

What are the rights and the data constraints?

Both free tiers block professional use, by different means: HeyGen keeps a watermark, Synthesia blocks downloads. Removing the watermark or the logo comes with the first paid plan in both cases.

On hosting, the gap is wide. Synthesia stores customer data in the EU, in data centers in Ireland, with secondary backups in the AWS Frankfurt region and some processing in the United States covered by Standard Contractual Clauses; the vendor lists audited SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, a published DPA and subprocessor list, and data deletion within 90 days of a request or account closure. HeyGen stores all customer data in the United States on AWS, with no EU hosting option mentioned, alongside SOC 2 Type II, stated GDPR and CCPA compliance, EU-US Data Privacy Framework certification, Standard Contractual Clauses, and a Data Protection Officer based in Europe. Hence the GDPR scores: 5 out of 5 for Synthesia, 2 out of 5 for HeyGen.

Which one should you pick for your situation?

If you produce training or internal communication videos and employee data has to stay in Europe, Synthesia is the consistent choice: Starter at $18 a month billed yearly gives you up to 120 minutes of video across the year, in 160+ languages and voices.

If your priority is multilingual volume and lip-synced translation, HeyGen is ahead, with 175+ languages from Creator at $24 a month billed yearly and translation at 6 credits a minute. Budget for Pro at $41 billed yearly as soon as you need to edit translated scripts or export in 4K.

For a team sharing projects, HeyGen Business at $119 a month billed yearly for the first seat adds SAML/SSO, SCORM export, and 5 custom avatars, but its 1,500 credits are shared and the $20 extra seats bring none. On Synthesia, collaboration stays framed by guests (3 on Starter, 5 on Creator) before you move to Enterprise.

For a zero-budget test, start with HeyGen if you want an exportable file quickly despite the watermark, and with Synthesia Basic if you want to judge the quality of a 10-minute module before committing anything.