Aug 15

8 Top HeyGen Alternatives to Consider (2024 Review)

Maggie Tully
https://colossyan.com/posts/best-heygen-alternatives

HeyGen has become a well-known name in the AI video generator space, and for good reason. 

The tool offers a variety of AI-forward features that make it suitable for a range of different applications, including outreach videos and product demos. 

But every tool has its pros and cons, and some users find that HeyGen’s features aren’t the most suitable for their content needs. 

Fortunately, we’ve put together this detailed list of the 8 best HeyGen alternatives on the market, complete with key features, limitations, and pricing for each. 

Why look for a HeyGen alternative? 

HeyGen is a text-to-speech video platform in the AI video space. The tool uses AI avatars to allow teams to create video content at scale for customer outreach, product overviews, and learning content. 

While some find that HeyGen’s feature offerings work for them, others find that a different platform works best for their needs. 

For example, HeyGen might be a fit for teams looking to create marketing videos, while those creating workplace training content might find that it lacks some of the features needed to create high-quality scenario-based content. HeyGen also doesn’t support SCORM export, which many L&D teams require. 

HeyGen pros 

  1. Custom avatars 
  2. Photo avatars 
  3. Automatic translations 
  4. Templates
  5. Zapier integration

HeyGen cons

  1. No collaboration features 
  2. No side-view avatars or avatar conversations 
  3. Does not support multiple avatars in a single scene 
  4. Your plan limits your video duration, meaning you’ll need to upgrade to their more expensive Team plan if you require videos longer than 5 minutes 
  5. Only translates to 40 languages
  6. No SCORM export 
  7. Slow customer support and not enough written customer support content, according to some G2 reviews 

Comparing the 8 best HeyGen alternatives 

Searching for the best HeyGen alternative? You’re in the right place. Here is a complete breakdown of our picks for alternative tools.

1. Colossyan

Colossyan is the leading AI video platform that allows teams to turn text into engaging videos complete with AI avatars and voice overs. 

Side-view conversation avatars, automatic translations into 70+ languages, SCORM export, and branching scenarios are just a few of the features that give Colossyan the advantage over HeyGen. 

Colossyan was specifically designed to support the creation of workplace learning content, allowing teams to create professional-quality training videos at scale. The platform is trusted by industry leaders, such as Paramount, Novartis, Vodafone, and more. 

Colossyan's video editing interface
Colossyan’s video editing interface

Key features 

  • 150+ avatars: Easily ensure your presenters perfectly match your material. 
  • Custom avatars and voice cloning: Enhance the personalization of your videos with custom avatars, created in studio or at home. 
  • Branded avatars: Enterprise users can add logos to avatar clothing for additional personalization and brand alignment. 
  • Branching: Create engaging “choose your own adventure” style scenario-based training videos. 
  • Multiple avatars per scene: Give your scenario-based training videos a boost with conversational avatars.  
  • Interactivity: Add multiple choice questions to your videos to check your audience understanding. 
  • Document to video: Simply upload a file and Colossyan will transform any document into a video draft – complete with AI avatars and narration – in under 60 seconds. 
  • SCORM export: Utilize your Colossyan videos on an eLearning platform by exporting them as a SCORM file. 

Potential drawbacks 

  • Music library: Colossyan has fewer music options, but we're working on improving this by exploring new providers.
  • No photo avatars: Colossyan currently supports studio and webcam avatars, but photo-to-avatar capabilities are coming soon. 

Pricing

  • Starter plan: Start creating videos for as low as $19 per month for 10 minutes of video. This plan includes an AI script assistant, no watermarks, and full video rights. 
  • Pro plan: With 3 editor seats, the Pro plan starts at $61 for 30 minutes of video per month. Additional features in this plan include avatar conversations, AI image generation, and multiple export options. 
  • Enterprise plan: For companies scaling their video creation, the enterprise plan includes 4K video, SCORM export, a dedicated customer success manager, and more. Contact our sales team for pricing. 

2. Hour One

Hour One offers a suite of standard features for corporate teams looking for an AI video generation platform. The platform’s main use cases include sales, product marketing, and eCommerce, among others. 

In terms of AI avatars, Hour One offers stock avatars, custom avatars, and webcam selfie avatars. Users can also dub words into any video – a useful feature for teams looking to bypass AI avatars. 

Hour One's editing interface
Editing a scene in Hour One (Source: G2)

Key features 

Limitations 

  • No avatar gesturing 
  • Limited to one avatar per scene
  • No screen recording functionality 
  • Not many video templates available 

Pricing

  • Lite plan: Starts at $30 per month for 10 minutes of video 
  • Business plan: Starts at $112 per month for 20 minutes of video
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing 

3. Elai.io 

Elai is a noteworthy alternative to HeyGen, offering a comprehensive set of AI video generation features tailored for corporate teams. These include video templates, automatic translations, and unique capabilities like prompt-to-video functionality.

Just like many other HeyGen alternatives, Elai supports custom studio avatars for teams looking for professional-quality avatar creation. That said, Elai also supports the creation of custom avatars using just a selfie. 

Elai's AI avatars
Elai’s AI avatar options (Source: G2)

Key features 

  • 80+ stock AI avatars
  • Automatic translations
  • Cloned voices
  • Prompt-to-video workflow

Limitations 

  • Lacks screen recording capabilities 
  • No avatar gesturing
  • Not as many stock AI avatar options as competitors 
  • No collaboration features

Pricing

  • Basic plan: Starts at $29 per month for 15 minutes of video
  • Advanced plan: Starts at $125 per month for 50 minutes of video
  • Enterprise plan: Contact for pricing 

4. Veed 

Veed is a video editing platform that primarily focuses on traditional video creation, although they’ve expanded to offer some AI features. As a result, the platform’s AI features are more lightweight than other HeyGen alternatives. 

These AI features include enhanced eye contact, cloned voices, and audio cleaning. Standard video translation and transcription features are also available. 

Veed's AI avatars
Veed’s AI avatar options (Source: G2)

Key features 

  • Screen and webcam recording 
  • Automatic subtitles and translations 
  • Eye contact AI feature that redirects your eyes to the camera 
  • Stock library of audio and video clips

Limitations 

  • Platform is primarily focused on traditional video editing
  • Unintuitive user interface, according to some G2 reviewers
  • Extensive AI avatar usage is limited to Veed’s most expensive plans

Pricing

  • Basic plan: Starts at $25 per user/month 
  • Pro plan: Starts at $38 per user/month
  • Business plan: Starts at $70 per user/month
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing 

5. Synthesia 

Synthesia is a popular AI video generator on the market today. The platform offers a similar selection of features compared to HeyGen, such as automatic translations, video templates, and a large selection of AI avatars. 

However, without SCORM export and interactive features like branching scenarios, it may not be a great fit for teams looking to create engaging training content. 

Synthesia's editing interface
Synthesia’s editing interface (Source: G2)

Key features

Limitations

  • Doesn’t offer SCORM export 
  • No branching scenarios
  • Lacks avatar hand gestures and side views 
  • No content library 

Pricing

  • Starter plan: $29 per month for 10 minutes of video
  • Creator plan: $89 per month for 30 minutes of video 
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing 

6. D-ID

D-ID is a versatile video editing platform that can be used to create AI videos, in addition to its video-based email marketing and conversational AI agent offerings. 

Although the platform doesn’t offer professional studio-quality custom avatars, users can create an avatar by uploading an image. 

D-ID's creative studio
D-ID’s Creative Studio (Source: G2) 

Key features

  • Mobile app for animations 
  • Photo avatars 
  • AI agents 

Limitations 

  • Lacks templates
  • Limited video translation capabilities 
  • Doesn’t offer custom studio-quality avatars 

Pricing 

  • Lite plan: $5.99 for a personal license with watermarked content 
  • Pro plan: $29 per month for up to 15 minutes of video
  • Advanced plan: $196 per month for up to 100 minutes of video
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing

7. DeepBrain AI

DeepBrain aims to serve a wide range of use cases, including news media and finance – two industries that most HeyGen alternatives aren’t specifically tailored to. 

The platform’s AI features are relatively standard compared to most competitors on this list, with a wide range of templates, avatars, and translatable languages. However, its conversational avatars are a main area of differentiation.

DeepBrain's templates
Sample of DeepBrain AI’s template collection (Source: G2)

Key features 

  • 80+ digital avatars
  • Workspace-based team collaboration
  • Conversational avatars

Limitations 

  • Fewer AI avatar options compared to competitors 
  • No interactive features
  • Templates could use updating 

Pricing

  • Personal plan: Starts at $29 per month for 15 minutes of video
  • Team plan: Starts at $89 per month for 30 minutes of video
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing 

8. Rephrase.ai 

Rephrase’s text-to-video platform is perhaps most useful for three different use cases: marketing campaigns, stakeholder communications, and customer journey content. 

By introducing greater personalization into the sales and marketing processes, Rephrase aims to help users create content that’s both more engaging and likely to convert. 

That said, Rephrase is a lightweight solution, lacking features that are standard among most HeyGen alternatives, such as automatic translations. Rephrase’s website doesn’t offer much visibility into its feature offerings either. 

Rephrase's AI actors
Rephrase’s stock AI actors (Source: G2) 

Key features

  • Stock AI actors 
  • Monetized avatars for digital creators 
  • API integration

Limitations 

  • Doesn’t offer automatic translations 
  • Animations and transitions are unavailable 
  • Not many templates 
  • Lacks robust feature offerings needed for most enterprise teams 

Pricing 

  • Personal plan: $25 per month for 10 credits 
  • Customer plan: Custom pricing 

Get started with a free AI video generator today

With so many high-quality HeyGen alternatives on this list, landing on the right one can feel like a difficult choice. 

If interactive video content is a priority for your team though, you’ll want to check out Colossyan. With branching scenarios and in-scene quizzes, Colossyan stands out as one of the best HeyGen alternatives for engaging content. 

Don’t worry – you can try it completely free today. Or schedule a time with our team to learn more.

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