Synthesia vs HeyGen (2026)
AI avatars that speak for you. Which platform creates the most convincing video presenters?
⚡ Quick Verdict
Choose Synthesia for enterprise training, compliance videos, and polished corporate content.
Choose HeyGen for marketing videos, social content, and faster turnaround at lower cost.
Synthesia is the enterprise standard. HeyGen is the scrappy, feature-rich challenger.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Synthesia | HeyGen |
|---|---|---|
| Avatar Realism | ★ Very natural | Good (improving fast) |
| Stock Avatars | 230+ diverse avatars | ★ 300+ avatars |
| Custom Avatars | ★ Professional (studio quality) | Instant Avatar (faster) |
| Languages | ★ 140+ languages | 100+ languages |
| Video Templates | Corporate-focused | ★ More variety (social, ads) |
| Enterprise Features | ★ SOC 2, SSO, LMS integration | Growing enterprise tier |
| Starting Price | $22/mo (Starter) | ★ $19/mo (Creator) |
Avatar Quality & Realism
Synthesia's avatars have a slight edge in natural movement and lip sync. They've been perfecting this since 2017 and it shows — the uncanny valley effect is minimal. For professional content where polish matters, Synthesia delivers.
HeyGen has closed the gap significantly. Their avatars are very good, and for most use cases (social media, marketing), the difference won't matter. They iterate faster and frequently ship improvements.
Custom Avatar Creation
Want your own face as an AI avatar? Synthesia's custom avatar process is more involved (studio recording recommended) but produces extremely accurate results. For executives who need their avatar to be indistinguishable from real video, it's worth it.
HeyGen's "Instant Avatar" is faster — submit a few minutes of footage and get a usable avatar quickly. Quality is good, not quite Synthesia-level, but the speed advantage is significant for teams that need to move fast.
Enterprise & Compliance
Synthesia dominates in enterprise. SOC 2 Type II certification, SSO, LMS integrations (Cornerstone, SAP, etc.), and dedicated support. If you're creating training videos at scale for a Fortune 500, Synthesia is the safe choice.
HeyGen is building enterprise features but isn't quite at Synthesia's level yet. For startups and mid-market companies, it's often sufficient. For heavily regulated industries, Synthesia's compliance credentials matter.
Templates & Use Cases
HeyGen has more template variety — TikTok-style vertical videos, ad formats, social cuts. If you're creating marketing content for multiple platforms, HeyGen's template library is more diverse.
Synthesia's templates lean corporate: training videos, explainers, internal comms. Professional and polished, but less variety for consumer-facing content.
The Bottom Line
- Enterprise L&D teams: Synthesia (compliance + LMS integration)
- Marketing teams: HeyGen (more templates + faster iteration)
- Regulated industries: Synthesia (SOC 2 + enterprise support)
- Social media creators: HeyGen (vertical formats + pricing)
- Budget-conscious teams: HeyGen (lower entry price)
Create Your First Video
Both offer free trials. Create the same video on each and compare avatar quality.