I’ve spent many hours testing HeyGen, and I’m genuinely impressed by how far AI video creation has come. As someone who’s created many videos and written many reviews, I can tell you this ability is a game-changer for businesses and content creators looking to produce professional content without breaking the bank.
With HeyGen, I’ve been able to create videos in minutes that would have taken days with traditional methods—and the results are surprisingly good.
Let´s dive into this platform and make a video so you can check if this can be your next video tool.
Read on to learn more.
What is HeyGen, Really?
HeyGen isn’t just another video tool—it’s a complete reimagining of how we create video content. Born as Movio in 2022, this platform has evolved dramatically through 32 version updates and over 100 new features.
I remember when AI avatars first appeared, looking robotic and unconvincing. Now? The technology has matured into something genuinely useful for businesses of all sizes.
Check how HeyGen works in this video.
What Makes HeyGen Different
- No cameras or actors are needed (a lifesaver for smaller clients)
- No complex editing skills required (though I still use Premiere for certain projects)
- Localization is ridiculously simple (I recently created a training video in 5 languages in under an hour!)
- Production costs are slashed dramatically (your clients will love this part)
What Can You Actually Create With HeyGen?
I’ve used HeyGen for:
- Quick social media explainers (perfect for LinkedIn)
- Product demos for clients (without needing to film physical products)
- Training modules (especially helpful for multilingual teams)
- Marketing videos (the templates are effective because you don´t have to start from scratch every video)
But let’s be real—HeyGen isn’t replacing my Adobe suite anytime soon. It’s a complementary ability with specific strengths and limitations. For quick, avatar-based content, it’s fantastic. For complex, highly produced videos, I recommend using traditional methods.
You should consider HeyGen as a complement to your existing tools instead of a replacement.
HeyGen Main Features
- 175+ languages in 300+ voices.
- Custom voice emotions.
- 120+ diverse human avatars.
- 400+ pre-made customizable video templates.
- Up to 60 minutes per video duration.
- Free-royalty music, graphic, and video assets.
- Face Swap: Upload your photo and swap your face onto the AI avatar.
- Talking photo: Upload your photo, type the text, and bring it to life.
- Screen recorder.
- 1 click Amazon URL to video: Create a video from Amazon´s url.
- Auto captions and auto translations.
- Canva integration.
- ChatGPT integration for easy script creation.
- Custom avatars: Turn yourself into a talking avatar to create your videos.
- Branding kit.
- PPT to video: Convert PPT files to video with voiceovers and many languages.
- Proprietary API
- Full video editor, including transitions.
- Voiceover uploads: Record and upload your voice to create a custom avatar.
- Multi-scene videos.
- Up to 4K video download.
- Commercial rights: You own the copyright of videos for monetizing or commercial purposes.
How to create a video with HeyGen
Once you log in to the webpage, the main dashboard appears. From there, you can create videos with lifelike avatars, build your digital avatars, or translate a video.
You can start creating a video by choosing an avatar or using a pre-made template.
HeyGen offers a well-populated library of pre-made templates, a useful feature to bring some inspiration when creating a video. All of these are customizable, but you can make your template from scratch too.
You must select landscape or vertical templates from 180+ available explainer video, social media, learning and development, and more categories. Clicking on the template plays a preview video:
The template includes an avatar, but it is easy to change it and choose close-up, half-body, circle view, left, center, or right screen position.
There is a massive library of 714+ avatars with many ethnicities, genders, and outfits. Notice that most avatars have many different outfits and backgrounds, so you can rest assured you will find the right option to meet your target audience.
Once I choose a template, I am on the main dashboard where the creation process occurs.
Clicking on the avatar lets me position it on different parts of the screen, choose view mode (close up, full body or circle screen) and add animations (on enter or exit)
But if I am uncomfortable with the avatar look, I can set another one from the left side. All of them offer many looks and can replace the original figure that was included in the template.
Let´s see how this works. I go for Georgia (who has five views) and click the “Casual Front” view
The system copied the avatar, including the background, but don´t panic. I click on the avatar, and on the upper row, there is a command to suppress the background. Check it out:
Here is how it resulted:
Needless to say, this HeyGen functionality is impressive.
Now, it is time to craft the script. I click on the left tab and the script screen appears.
HeyGen offers an impressive library of voices and languages. You can also create a new voice or integrate a third-party voice (a unique feature of this platform)
HeyGen voice management is quite powerful. You can set volume, pitch, and voice models. You can add pauses between the script, add your recording and use the ChatGPT integration for script writing. It is also possible to add your script using the PC microphone. For this review, I added some words to the original script.
The platform provides tons of royalty-free assets (called elements) available from a left tab. Here, you will find shapes, logos, images, videos, and music. Music items need organization and the option to filter files by file type and genre. Anyway, the music library has many resources you can preview by clicking the play button.
Despite the assets library, the system allows you to upload your images, videos, or logos and include them in your video. This is a useful resource if you have specific media to show.
If you have some experience with video editing, you know that it is not always easy to match the video with the length of the script. HeyGen does here an excellent job by adding a button you can toggle on and off to adjust both automatically.
Once you have your video ready, you can preview it before submitting it. In this stage, the avatar is fixed with no animation (this is standard behavior in this type of software)
Let’s click “Submit” on the upper right. Rendering this 18-second video took 3 min 22 seconds, a standard ratio considering the video is quite simple and I am on the free plan.
Check it out
Lip syncing and avatar quality are pretty good, though not flawless. In any case, I created this simple video in just a few minutes, and the overall process was easy to follow.
Try HeyGen FREE (No Credit Card Required)
HeyGen integrations
HeyGen is a huge step ahead from its beginning, where the only integration available was Zapier. Today, this platform integrates with
- Tolstoy AI Video Player: You can publish your HeyGen videos on your website, in emails, and via SMS.
- Trupeer AI Screen Recorder: This tool converts a regular screen recording into a professional-looking video.
- Flowshare: This is used to create step-by-step guides and tutorials.
- Mindstamp: A third-party tool to make your videos interactive with quizzes, buttons and hotspots.
- Repurpose.io: An excellent tool for repurposing long videos into short clips.
- Zapier: A proven tool to connect HeyGen with hundreds of applications.
- Make: Make lets you automate workflows in a friendly and visual environment.
- Plainly Videos: Automatically add your HeyGen videos to your After Effects templates.
HeyGen pricing and Value for Money
HeyGen offers a flexible and competitive pricing structure for beginners and professional content creators. Here’s a closer look at what each plan provides and how it delivers exceptional value:
Free Plan– $0/mo
Ideal entry point to test AI video without commitment.
- Price: $0/month
- Video generation:
- 3 videos per month.
- Up to 3 minutes per video.
- 720p export.
- Standard processing.
- Access to Avatar IV video generation.
- Avatars & voices:
- 1 custom video avatar
- 500+ stock video avatars
- 30+ languages
- Other:
- Share & download videos.
Best for: Absolute beginners, testing the quality of avatars and voices, or one-off experiments.
Creator Plan– $29/mo
Unlimited avatar videos for solo creators and freelancers.
- Price: $29/month (monthly; yearly discount available)
- Video generation:
- Unlimited videos
- Up to 30 minutes per video
- 1080p export
- Fast processing
- Extended video generation with Avatar IV
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Still 1 custom video avatar
- 700+ stock video avatars
- Voice cloning
- 175+ languages and dialects
- Generate Looks & Look Packs
- Watermark removal
- Brand Kit
Best for: Solo creators, YouTubers, course creators, and marketers who publish regularly and need full‑HD, watermark‑free content with brand consistency.
Pro Plan– $99/mo
For power users who need more AI capacity and higher quality.
- Price: $99/month
- Video generation:
- Unlimited videos
- Up to 30 minutes per video
- 4K export
- Faster processing
- Maximum video generation with Avatar IV
- Everything in Creator, plus:
- 10× more generative usage (credits/AI capacity)
- Extended access to Video Agent
- Maximum access to advanced AI models (images & videos)
- Early access to new features
Best for: Professional creators, agencies, and educators who care about 4K quality, speed, and heavy use of AI features (e.g., lots of avatar generations, image/video AI experiments).
Business Plan– $149/mo (+ $20/extra seat)
Team‑oriented plan for companies that need collaboration and governance.
- Price: $149/month (additional seats at $20/seat/month)
- Video generation:
- Unlimited videos
- Up to 60 minutes per video
- 4K export
- Faster processing
- Everything in Creator, plus:
- 5× more generative usage (per account vs Creator)
- 5 custom video avatars
- Scale your brand and centralize assets
- Edit & proofread translation scripts
- SAML/SSO
- Centralized billing & auto‑reload credits
- Add team members for $20/seat/month
- Workspace collaboration (comments, drafts, team management)
- Interactive video (quizzes, links, branching)
- Screen recorder
- SCORM export & LMS integrations
- Integrations with n8n, Make, HubSpot & Zapier
Best for: Marketing, L&D, or localization teams that need collaboration, security, integrations, and learning features like interactive video and SCORM.