HeyGen is an AI video platform built around avatars. You write or upload a script, choose a presenter, and it produces a talking video. It also offers video translation, digital twins of real people, and an AI video agent that drafts videos from a prompt.
This review summarises what HeyGen’s pricing page, help centre, security page and blog say about its features, credits, consent rules and data handling. It is written for people deciding whether to pay for it, such as marketers, trainers, sales teams and course creators.
How we researched this: we did not run hands-on tests for this article. It is based on the vendor’s own documentation and public sources, checked on 11 November 2026. Features and prices change, so confirm details on the vendor’s site before you buy.
Key takeaways
- HeyGen sells a Free plan plus Creator ($29 a month), Pro (from $49), Business ($149 plus $20 per extra seat) and Enterprise, with usage measured in credits that vary by avatar type and feature.
- Credit costs differ by engine. HeyGen’s own pages list Avatar III, IV and V at very different per-minute rates, and two HeyGen pages give different figures for one Avatar IV option, so check the in-product cost.
- Making a video-based digital twin requires a live consent video, and if you create one for someone else, that person must record their own consent.
- HeyGen says it is SOC 2 Type II certified, stores data in the United States on AWS, and excludes enterprise data from AI training by default, while non-enterprise customers must opt out by email.
- The Free plan is limited to watermarked videos, so most real use needs a paid plan.
What HeyGen is
HeyGen’s pricing page presents a platform for turning scripts into avatar-led videos, with stock presenters, custom avatars, voice cloning, translation and an AI video agent. Its help centre describes credit-based plans for what it calls Avatar and Video use, with separate API credits and LiveAvatar plans that are outside the scope of this review.
Avatar types
A HeyGen blog post (last updated 2 November 2026) explains the avatar types. A Photo Avatar is made from one still photo and can animate illustrations or non-human designs. A Digital Twin is made from video footage plus a live consent clip, and the post says it can be created from as little as 15 seconds of webcam footage. Avatar V is described as an engine that renders a video-based Digital Twin rather than a separate avatar type, and Instant Avatar is described as a legacy name for an earlier flow. The post recommends Digital Twin for a real person and Avatar V for consistent likeness. Note that the post is published by HeyGen, and its comparisons come from the author’s own two-week tests with one presenter, so treat them as vendor claims.
Who it is for
Based on the documented features, HeyGen suits teams that need frequent presenter-style videos without filming each one: training and onboarding content, product explainers, sales outreach, multilingual versions of existing videos and internal communications. Business and Enterprise plans list SCORM export, LMS integration and SSO, which point to learning and compliance use.
It is less obviously suited to cinematic, scene-based video, where a tool such as Runway is closer (see our Runway review), or to work where your audience would object to a synthetic presenter. For help planning scripts, see our guide to AI for video scripts.
Key features (documented)
| Feature | What HeyGen’s pages say |
|---|---|
| Stock avatars | 500+ stock avatars on Free; 700+ on Creator, according to the help article. |
| Custom avatars and Digital Twins | Free includes one custom avatar. Paid plans list Digital Twin slots (1 or 5 on Creator and Pro depending on region and account date; 5 on Business). |
| Languages | 30+ languages on Free; 175+ languages and dialects on Creator. |
| Video translation | Credit costs are listed per minute, with lip-sync options. Pro lists translation script editing. |
| Video Agent | Drafts videos from a prompt. Free includes 3 Video Agent videos a month. |
| Export and length | Free: up to 1 minute. Creator: 1080p, up to 30 minutes. Pro: 4K, up to 30 minutes. Business: up to 60 minutes. |
| Team features | Business lists a shared workspace, centralised billing, SSO and SAML, brand kit, SCORM export and integrations including Zapier, Make, n8n and HubSpot. |
| Enterprise | No maximum video length, SCIM provisioning, multi-workspace control, team MFA and a dedicated success manager. |
Pricing model
Checked on 11 November 2026, in US dollars from HeyGen’s pricing page and help centre. Confirm on HeyGen’s site before buying.
| Plan | Price | Credits per month | Notable points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | None listed | 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each |
| Creator | $29 monthly, $24 a month billed annually | 600 | 1080p, branding removed, up to 30 minutes, credits roll over one month |
| Pro | From $49 a month | 1,000, with tiers up to 100,000 (the top tier is listed at $4,300 a month) | 4K export, translation script editing, highest usage limits |
| Business | $149 a month plus $20 per extra seat | 1,500, shared pool | Up to 60 minutes, SSO, SCORM, top-up credits |
| Enterprise | Custom | Set to usage | Custom terms, invoice billing, priority support |
The pricing page lists yearly billing as “2 months free”. Business users can buy credit packs, which the help centre prices at $0.05 per credit in 100-credit blocks, or switch on auto-reload. Creator and Pro users upgrade to a higher tier instead. Extra video avatar slots cost $29 a month or $288 a year.
What credits cost
The help centre lists example credit costs. They include 4 credits a minute for an Avatar III video look, 31 for Avatar IV and 48 for Avatar V, video translation at 4 to 10 credits a minute depending on mode, Video Agent at 80 credits a minute (240 with Seedance) and upscaling at 1 credit a second for 1080p. HeyGen’s own blog on avatar types gives 20 credits a minute for Avatar IV and Avatar V on a Digital Twin, which does not match the help article’s 31 for Avatar IV video looks. We could not tell whether this is a difference between avatar types, a change over time or an error, and HeyGen says costs can vary by account, so check the cost shown in the product before you generate.
The pricing page lists Seedance 2.5 access on Pro, while the help article lists Seedance 2.0, another sign that the pages are updated at different times. As a rough illustration, 600 credits on Creator would cover about 12 minutes at 48 credits a minute; that is our arithmetic from published figures, not a HeyGen claim.
Rollover and cancellation
On monthly plans, unused credits roll over for one additional billing cycle while you stay on a paid plan, so they last up to 60 days. On annual plans, credits are issued monthly and accumulate until renewal. Cancelling to Free forfeits unused credits. Our guide to reading an AI tool’s pricing page explains how to turn credits into a monthly cost.
Strengths
- Purpose-built for presenter video. Avatars, voice, translation and agent drafting are in one place.
- Clear published consent process. Digital Twins require a recorded consent video.
- Compliance claims on a public page. HeyGen lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CCPA statements and encryption details.
- Plan ladder. From Free to Enterprise, with seats and credits explained.
- Credit rollover. One extra billing cycle on monthly plans.
- Team integrations. SSO, SCORM, LMS and automation connectors are listed for Business.
Limits and cautions
- Credit costs vary. Different engines and looks cost very different amounts, and the pages we read do not agree on every figure.
- Free is limited. Watermarked, short videos only.
- Top-ups are limited by plan. One-time credit packs are described for Business, while Creator and Pro must upgrade tiers.
- Vendor-published comparisons. The avatar comparison post is HeyGen’s own, based on one presenter over two weeks.
- Region and date variations. Digital Twin slot numbers depend on region and account date.
- Synthetic presenters need disclosure. Audiences may expect to know a presenter is AI, which is a policy decision for you.
Privacy and data
Security and training
HeyGen’s security page states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and says it meets GDPR, CCPA, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the EU AI Act. It says data is stored in the United States on AWS, encrypted in transit with TLS 1.2 or higher and at rest with AES-256 or equivalent. It says enterprise customer data is excluded from AI model training by default, non-enterprise customers can opt out at any time by emailing HeyGen’s privacy contact, and its AI subprocessors are contractually barred from training on customer data. These are vendor statements we have not verified, and compliance language on a web page is not a substitute for reading the contract.
The security page does not describe consent mechanisms for using a person’s likeness or voice; for that, see the Terms of Service and the consent video rules below. For wider practice, see our guide to protecting company data when using AI tools.
Consent for digital twins
HeyGen’s help centre says every video-based Digital Twin requires a short consent video recorded before the avatar is created. The person must read the provided script exactly, must be the same person shown in the avatar footage, and must record it live, not as a screen recording of a statement. If you create an avatar for someone else, that person must record their own consent video, and the help page says this can be done from a phone via a QR code. The video must be under 30 seconds. Enterprise accounts can submit a pre-recorded consent video through the API. This is general information, not legal advice; get written permission from anyone whose likeness or voice you use.
Alternatives
We did not research competitors in depth. If you only need narration, our ElevenLabs review covers a voice-focused platform. If you need cinematic clips rather than a presenter, our Runway review covers one option. For comparing any shortlist, use our guide to comparing AI tools side by side fairly with the same script for each.
Who should and should not use it
| Best for | Look elsewhere if |
|---|---|
| Teams producing frequent training, explainer or sales videos with a presenter | You want film-style scenes rather than a talking presenter |
| Organisations that need multilingual versions of the same video | You cannot accept default US data storage or need on-premises hosting |
| Businesses needing SSO, SCORM or LMS integration | You need predictable costs and cannot model per-minute credit use |
| People who can document consent for any likeness used | You cannot obtain a live consent video from the person you want to depict |
Questions to ask before buying
- Which avatar type and engine will we use, and what does that cost per finished minute?
- Do we need one Digital Twin or several, and who will record the consent video?
- Do we need to opt out of training by email, and who will do it?
- Do we need Business features such as SSO, SCORM or shared seats?
- How will we tell viewers that a presenter is synthetic?
Follow our guide to testing an AI tool before you pay for it, and our guide to choosing an AI tool to set criteria first.
Frequently asked questions
Is HeyGen free?
There is a Free plan with 3 watermarked videos a month of up to 1 minute each, according to the pricing page.
How are credits used?
Credits are spent per minute or per action, and the cost depends on the avatar type and feature. Check the cost shown in the product before generating.
Do credits roll over?
On monthly plans, unused credits roll over for one additional billing cycle while you stay on a paid plan. Cancelling to Free forfeits them.
Do I need consent to make a digital twin of someone?
Yes. HeyGen requires a live consent video from the person shown, recorded under its rules.
Does HeyGen train on my data?
HeyGen says enterprise data is excluded from training by default and non-enterprise customers can opt out by email.
Can I check the result for errors?
Always review scripts, pronunciation and lip-sync before publishing. See our guide to checking AI output for mistakes.
Conclusion
From its own documentation, HeyGen is a presenter-video platform with a clear plan ladder, credit rollover, published security claims and a strict consent process for digital twins. The main things to check are credit costs for your engine of choice, the default data-training setting and your own disclosure policy for synthetic presenters.
Start with our guide to choosing an AI tool and confirm every price on HeyGen’s pricing page.
Sources
- HeyGen pricing, 11 November 2026
- HeyGen credit-based pricing plans explained (HeyGen Help Centre), 11 November 2026
- How to use credits on HeyGen (HeyGen Help Centre), 11 November 2026
- HeyGen Avatars: Photo vs Digital Twin vs Avatar V (HeyGen blog), 11 November 2026
- HeyGen security practices, 11 November 2026
- Recording your consent video (HeyGen Help Centre), 11 November 2026
