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Side-by-side comparison · Video & Audio

Google Flow vs HeyGen vs Synthesia

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Google Flow

3.8

From AUD $7.99/mo

Best overall

HeyGen

4.1

From $29/mo

Synthesia

3.8

From $29/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Google Flow

3.8

Pick it if: Creators and marketers who want realistic AI video with sound and want to build it into longer pieces.

HeyGen

4.1
Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Founders, marketers and trainers who need lots of on-camera video but hate filming.

Synthesia

3.8

Pick it if: Teams that produce training and internal videos and need them updated often and in multiple languages.

Overview

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
In one lineGoogle's AI studio for short films, built from Veo clips that come with sound.Type a script and a lifelike presenter reads it on camera, in your voice or any language.Turn training docs and announcements into polished avatar videos in over 140 languages.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting priceAUD $7.99/mo$29/mo$29/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code No Yes No

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
Overall rating3.84.1Winner3.8
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
3.5
4.5
4.0
FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
4.5
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.0
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
3.5
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
3.5
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app No Yes–
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension No No No
API access No Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace No Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO No 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 No
Makes images Yes No Yes
Makes video Yes Yes Yes
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No Yes No
Learns your brand or style No Yes Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score6/ 1712/ 1710/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
Plans

Free

Free

Trying a few clips a day.

Free

Free

Testing an avatar and the translation feature.

Basic

Free

Seeing what an avatar video looks like.

Google AI Plus

AUD $7.99/mo

Light users who also want more Gemini.

CreatorOur pick

$29/mo, or $24/mo billed yearly

Solo founders and marketers publishing regularly.

Starter

$29/mo, or $18/mo billed yearly

One or two short videos a month.

Google AI ProOur pick

AUD $32.99/mo

Anyone making video most weeks.

Pro

From $49/mo

Heavier users who want 4K and flexible usage.

ProOur pick

$89/mo, or $64/mo billed yearly

Teams producing training regularly.

Google AI Ultra

From AUD $149.99/mo

Studios and agencies living in Flow daily.

Business

$149/mo

Teams with several presenters.

Enterprise

Custom

Companies rolling video out across departments.

Enterprise

Custom

Large companies producing video across departments.

Which plan to pickGoogle AI Pro is the sensible pick. The 1,000 Flow credits a month cover regular use of the fast model, and you get Gemini, 5TB of storage and YouTube Premium Lite for the same price. Ultra is for studios living in Flow every day.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.Starter is only worth it if you make one or two short videos a month. Pro gives you around an hour of video, personal avatars and interactive features, and the yearly price of $64 a month is a fair deal for a team. Larger companies will need Enterprise for SSO and LMS export.

Key features

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
Standout features
  • Veo with sound
  • Ingredients to video
  • Frames to video
  • Extend and sequence
  • Nano Banana images
  • Built-in assistant
  • Digital twin
  • Video translation
  • Stock avatars
  • Photo avatars
  • Templates and brand kit
  • API
  • Document to video
  • Personal avatars
  • 140+ languages
  • Interactive video and roleplays
  • Brand kit and templates
  • SCORM export

Pros and cons

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
Pros
  • Veo clips with native sound are among the most convincing available
  • Reference images keep characters and products consistent
  • Bundled with a Google AI plan many people already have
  • Simpler to learn than Runway
  • Digital twins and translation are the best in the category for short clips
  • You can learn it in an afternoon
  • Big library of stock avatars, voices and templates
  • API and Zapier make personalised video at scale possible
  • Clean, consistent results with almost no learning curve
  • Translation and language coverage are excellent
  • Update by editing the script rather than reshooting
  • Enterprise features like SSO and SCORM are mature
Cons
  • Free credits run out after a few clips a day
  • The best model costs several times more credits per clip
  • No way to edit footage you already have
  • Results vary between runs, so budget for retries
  • Free plan is only enough for a test
  • Credits make the real cost hard to predict, especially for longer videos
  • Avatars look less natural the longer they talk
  • Your own avatar needs good lighting and a careful recording to look right
  • Expensive per minute of video next to HeyGen
  • Avatars feel corporate and a bit stiff for marketing
  • Minute caps are small on the lower plans
  • Learner seats for interactive content cost extra

Who each one is for

AttributeGoogle FlowHeyGenSynthesia
Best for
  • Short ads and films built scene by scene
  • Consistent characters across scenes
  • Realistic clips with sound
  • Animating reference images
  • Explainer and product videos
  • Translating your videos
  • Personalised sales videos
  • Training content at scale
  • Training and onboarding videos
  • Multilingual internal comms
  • Product update videos
  • Documents turned into video
You'll find it used by
  • Content creators
  • Marketers
  • Filmmakers
  • Agencies
  • Founders
  • Marketers
  • Sales teams
  • Trainers
  • L&D teams
  • HR teams
  • Enterprises
  • Internal comms

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.

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