HeyGen Review: Avatars, Video Translation and Free Plan
HeyGen turns scripts into avatar videos, translates recordings and creates digital twins. Here’s what its free plan includes and what video minutes cost.
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HeyGen turns a script into a video with a talking avatar, translates existing recordings into other languages with matched lip movements, and can create a digital copy of you from a short recording. Polish is among its supported languages, and the free plan lets you make three short videos a month. Here’s how it works, what you get for free, what a minute of video really costs, and when another tool may be a better fit.
My test on 24 October 2026: fictional faces and Polish text
I created two avatars from fictional portraits. The clips cost $0.5011 and $0.4035, and their transcripts had CER scores of 2.4% and 0%. I did not test Avatar V or avatars of real actors. In this configuration, the speech.language parameter caused an error with selected Polish voices; omitting the parameter allowed the task to run. The test was conducted in Polish.
Method: API test results from 24 October 2026. Models in each trial received the same prompt or input material; differences in settings and limitations are described alongside the results. Scores out of 10 come from the test documentation, costs from API responses, and elapsed time includes waiting for the result.
| Model / variant | Score out of 10 | Average cost per result (USD) | Average time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| heygen-avatar-iv | 8.5 | 0.4523 | 76.9 |
These are the actual costs of the API trials, not subscription prices or the provider’s advertised rates. The small number of trials limits how broadly you can generalize the results.
Test data
At a glance
HeyGen is worth considering if you regularly make training videos, courses or sales materials, or need to adapt one video for several markets. The free plan includes three videos a month, each up to one minute long, with a watermark. The Creator plan costs $29 a month ($24 a month with annual billing) and includes 600 credits. According to HeyGen’s Help Center, that’s enough for about 37 minutes of video with a photo avatar or about 12 minutes with the latest Avatar V. If you need one video a year or just a Polish voice-over, a tool from our guide to AI voice-over tools may cost less.
What is HeyGen and what can you do with it?
HeyGen began as an avatar video generator: choose a character from its library, paste in your text, and the software creates a video of the avatar speaking your words with matched lip movements. Three features have since become central to the product. The first is the Digital Twin: a short recording of your face is used to create an avatar that can deliver any script without another recording session. The second is video translation: upload an existing video in Polish, choose a target language, and get a version with a voice similar to the original and lip movements adapted to the new language. The company says it supports more than 175 languages and dialects. The third is Video Agent, which turns a single text prompt into a complete video, including a script, scenes, an avatar and captions.
HeyGen’s avatar technology has changed several times. Avatar IV, introduced in spring 2025, animates a face from a single photo. Avatar V, released on 8 April 2026, learns movement and facial expressions from a 15-second video and maintains the same identity in longer clips. Avatar IV is still available for photo avatars and non-photorealistic characters. HeyGen offers live, conversational avatars through a separate service, LiveAvatar, with its own pricing.
How to make your first video
- Account and script. After signing up, open AI Studio, choose a format (landscape for YouTube or vertical for short-form videos) and paste in your Polish text. Break the script into short sentences: the avatar follows punctuation, so long sentences without commas can sound breathless.
- Avatar. Choose from the library, which has more than 500 characters on the free plan, or use your own. To create your own, you need a recording at 1080p or higher. HeyGen recommends two minutes of continuous speech; a quick version recorded on a phone takes 30 seconds. You also need a separate consent video under 30 seconds in which the same person reads an on-screen code. Without it, the avatar cannot be created.
- Voice. Choose a Polish voice from the list or clone your own (voice cloning is available from the Creator plan). For difficult names, try a phonetic spelling and listen to a sample before rendering.
- Render and export. Every render uses credits, including a correction after a typo. Before generating your first video, read the script aloud and check the scene preview. Exports on the free plan have a watermark.
How well does HeyGen work in Polish?
HeyGen’s Help Center lists “Polish (Poland)” among its video translation languages. The company also has a dedicated page for its Polish text-to-speech feature, where it says lip movements are matched to Polish nasal vowels and consonant clusters. HeyGen does not publicly distinguish between languages with full lip-sync and those with dubbing only, so you’ll need to check lip-sync quality using your own material. My view: dubbing from Polish into English usually works better than the other way around, because speech models have much more English-language data. Voice cloning works across languages: record a sample in Polish and your avatar can speak in your voice in German.
HeyGen plans and pricing
| Plan | Monthly price | Credits | Limits and features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No credits; video limit | 3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each, watermark, 1 custom avatar |
| Creator | $29; $24 with annual billing | 600 | Up to 30 minutes per video, 1080p, no watermark, voice cloning |
| Pro | From $49 | From 1,000 | 4K, script editing for translations, higher credit bundles available |
| Business | $149 + $20 per seat | 1,500 shared | Up to 60 minutes per video, team collaboration, SSO |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing, no video length limit | ||
These are the provider’s prices in US dollars, before VAT. Credits are not equivalent to minutes. HeyGen’s Help Center says a minute of video uses 4-7 credits for Avatar III, 16 for Avatar IV from a photo or 31 from a recording, 48 for Avatar V, and 40 for Video Agent. Video translation uses 6 credits in Speed mode and 10 in Precision mode, or 4 without lip-sync. That means 600 Creator credits work out to about 37 minutes of Avatar IV from a photo, about 12 minutes of Avatar V, or about 100 minutes of video translation. Unused credits on monthly plans roll over for one billing cycle; on annual plans, they accumulate until the end of the year. You can buy extra credits only on Business, at $0.05 per credit. On Creator, you need to upgrade to a higher plan. For more on plans and the limitations of buying extra credits, see our guide to HeyGen pricing.
HeyGen alternatives
- Synthesia - similar range of features, with a stronger focus on corporate training and compliance, but fewer tools for creators. If you’re making onboarding videos for 500 people, compare the two pricing plans.
- Google Vids - available in Workspace and useful for simple presentation videos, but it can’t create a Digital Twin or translate a recording with lip-sync.
- Voice tools - if you only need a Polish voice-over for an existing video, a speech generator costs less and gives you more control over intonation. See our guide to AI voice-over tools.
- Scene generators - for clips without a talking character, such as B-roll or product ads, try the tools in our guide to AI video generators.
Frequently asked questions
Is HeyGen free?
Partly. The Free plan lets you make three videos a month, each up to one minute long, with a watermark and one custom avatar. To remove the watermark and make longer videos, you need the Creator plan, which costs $29 a month.
Can you clone your own face?
Yes. The Digital Twin feature requires a recording of your face. Avatar V can learn from 15 seconds of video, and you also need to submit a separate consent recording. The free plan includes one custom avatar slot; Creator and Pro include five each.
Do HeyGen videos need to be labeled as AI-generated?
HeyGen says it adds an invisible watermark and provenance metadata to files in line with Article 50 of the AI Act. However, the user must add a visible “AI” label if a video depicts a real person or is intended to pass as a genuine recording. The requirement applies in the EU from 2 August 2026. See our article on labeling deepfakes for details. This is an overview, not legal advice.
Does HeyGen work on a phone?
HeyGen offers a mobile app, but the full scene editor and video translation are easier to use in a desktop browser.
Sources and date checked
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