Side-by-side comparison · Video & Audio
CapCut vs HeyGen vs Luma AI
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Anyone making short social videos who wants a capable editor without a steep learning curve.
Pick it if: Founders, marketers and trainers who need lots of on-camera video but hate filming.
Pick it if: Agencies and in-house creative teams who want one workspace to brief, generate and adapt ad creative.
HeyGen scores highest overall, but CapCut gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Free phone and desktop editor for TikToks and Reels, with auto captions and templates. | Type a script and a lifelike presenter reads it on camera, in your voice or any language. | AI video studio with creative agents, Luma's Ray3.2 model and Veo, Kling and Seedance. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | AUD $37.99/mo | $29/mo | $30/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.1Winner | 3.6 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | No | No |
| API access | No | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | – | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | – |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | No | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 11/ 17 | 12/ 17 | 10/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Most everyday social editing. | Free Free Testing an avatar and the translation feature. | PlusOur pick $30/mo, or $25/mo billed yearly Solo creators and small teams trying it seriously. |
ProOur pick AUD $37.99/mo, or AUD $299.99/yr Anyone posting several times a week. | CreatorOur pick $29/mo, or $24/mo billed yearly Solo founders and marketers publishing regularly. | Pro $90/mo, or $75/mo billed yearly Regular campaign work. | |
Ultra AUD $111.99/mo, or AUD $1,299.99/yr Heavy users of CapCut's AI video and image generation. | Pro From $49/mo Heavier users who want 4K and flexible usage. | Ultra $300/mo, or $250/mo billed yearly Agencies running agents daily. | |
Teams From AUD $18/seat/mo Small teams sharing templates and a brand kit. | Business $149/mo Teams with several presenters. | Team and Enterprise See website Companies that need shared credits and security controls. | |
Enterprise Custom Large companies producing video across departments. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Stay on Free until a template or effect you need turns out to be Pro-only. When that happens, take Pro on the yearly plan. Ultra's extra AI credits only matter if you generate a lot of AI video or images inside CapCut. | Creator covers most solo founders and marketers: no watermark, your own avatar and 30-minute videos. Move to Business only when you need SSO, more than one custom avatar or a team sharing the account. | Start on Plus for a month and watch the usage page closely, especially when the agent is working. Only move up to Pro once you know which models and workflows you'll use, because Veo clips cost about three times as much as Ray3.2. |
Key features
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | CapCut | HeyGen | Luma AI |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, CapCut, HeyGen or Luma AI?
HeyGen scores highest overall in our ratings (CapCut 4.0/5, HeyGen 4.1/5 and Luma AI 3.6/5). CapCut is best for TikToks, Reels and Shorts and automatic captions. HeyGen is best for explainer and product videos and translating your videos. Luma AI is best for turning one brief into many ad variations and trying several video models under one subscription.
Which is cheaper, CapCut, HeyGen or Luma AI?
CapCut: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at AUD $37.99/mo. HeyGen: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. Luma AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $30/mo.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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