Side-by-side comparison · Video & Audio

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.

Best overall

HeyGen

4.1

From $29/mo

Details Visit

Luma AI

3.6

From $30/mo

Details Visit

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

HeyGen4.1

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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

Luma AI3.6

Pick it if: Agencies and in-house creative teams who want one workspace to brief, generate and adapt ad creative.

Overview

Attribute	HeyGen	Luma AI
In one line	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	Paid
Starting price	$29/mo	$30/mo
Free plan	Yes	No
Works with Claude Code	Yes	Yes

Rating breakdown

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

Attribute	HeyGen	Luma AI
Overall rating	4.1Winner	3.6
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	4.5	3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	4.5	4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	4.0	4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	3.5	2.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	4.0	3.5

Feature comparison

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

Attribute	HeyGen	Luma AI
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	No
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	No	No
Browser extension	No	No
API access	Yes	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	Yes	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes
Connects to other apps	Yes	–
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	Yes
Understands images	Yes	Yes
Makes images	No	Yes
Makes video	Yes	Yes
Writes code	No	No
Runs agents or automations	Yes	Yes
Learns your brand or style	Yes	Yes
Works in many languages	Yes	–
Capabilities score	12/ 17	10/ 17

Pricing

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

Attribute	HeyGen	Luma AI
Plans	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.
	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.
	Pro From $49/mo Heavier users who want 4K and flexible usage.	Ultra $300/mo, or $250/mo billed yearly Agencies running agents daily.
	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	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	HeyGen	Luma AI
Standout features	Digital twin Video translation Stock avatars Photo avatars Templates and brand kit API	Luma Agents Ray3.2 video Other top models Modify and Reframe Skills and Variants HDR and EXR export

Pros and cons

Attribute	HeyGen	Luma AI
Pros	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	Agents can run a brief across image, video and audio in one place Several leading video models under one subscription Strong controls for production: keyframes, reframe, HDR, editing footage Public API for Ray3.2 and Uni-1.1
Cons	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	No free plan, and $30 a month is the minimum to use it properly The agent spends credits on thinking and questions, with no cost estimate first Premium models like Veo eat credits fast Reports of cancellation problems and slow support Old Dream Machine guides and plans still float around and confuse buyers

Who each one is for

Attribute	HeyGen	Luma AI
Best for	Explainer and product videos Translating your videos Personalised sales videos Training content at scale	Turning one brief into many ad variations Trying several video models under one subscription Reframing video for every social format Production work that needs HDR for grading
You'll find it used by	Founders Marketers Sales teams Trainers	Agencies Creative teams Filmmakers Brand marketers

Questions people ask

Which is better, HeyGen or Luma AI?

HeyGen scores highest overall in our ratings (HeyGen 4.1/5 and Luma AI 3.6/5). 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, HeyGen or Luma AI?

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.

Which is easier to use, HeyGen or Luma AI?

HeyGen rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Founders, marketers and trainers who need lots of on-camera video but hate filming.

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

Swap in another tool

More tools from Video & Audio in the library.