Direct answer: for the same workload — 60 finished minutes a month, one editor, a photoreal avatar, no live presenter — official list prices on 2 November 2026 give about USD 89/month on Synthesia Pro (about 100 credits/minute), or USD 1.48/minute; HeyGen needs Business with 1,500 credits plus 360 extra credits (Avatar IV Video at 31 credits/minute), about USD 167/month, or USD 2.78/minute; Colossyan Professional includes 30 NEO + 10 NEO2 minutes (NEO2), and a 600-NEO2-minute annual pack brings it to about USD 184/month, or USD 3.07/minute. At 30 minutes a month the ranking flips: HeyGen Pro is USD 49 (USD 1.63/minute), Colossyan USD 59 (1.97), and Synthesia needs USD 89 because of its plan step (2.97). Work out your finished minutes first, then compare plans; do not multiply the homepage entry price.

This guide is for training, marketing, IT and procurement teams producing onboarding, SOP, product-demo and export videos. Data cut-off: 2 November 2026; prices come from the official HeyGen, Synthesia and Colossyan pricing pages and help centres, in USD, excluding tax, with no FX conversion. The models are editorial calculations, not quotes; quality tier, on-screen avatar ratio, retake rate and seats must be replaced with your own data.

Three rules to remember

Ask how many credits one finished minute consumes before asking the plan price; ask whether retakes, edits and deletions are billed again; and ask whether seats, API and extra avatars are separate.

Credits, minutes and seats: how do the three billing models differ?

HeyGen and Synthesia bill credits, but the credits per minute change with the model or feature. Colossyan bills NEO and NEO2 minutes directly, in two separate pools. All three charge separately for seats or extra avatars. A 60-minute video is 1,860 credits at HeyGen, about 6,000 at Synthesia and 60 NEO2 minutes at Colossyan — different units, so the unit prices cannot be multiplied directly.

PlatformBilling unitHow one 60-minute video is countedMost common trap
HeyGenCredits, 4–48 per minute depending on modelAvatar IV Video at 31 credits/minute = 1,860 creditsLook/model changes the rate 12x; extra credits are Business-only
SynthesiaCredits, about 100 per minuteAbout 6,000 credits; Pro includes 6,500Pricing page shows “6,000 extra” plus 500 base; per-second edits can be 120/minute
ColossyanNEO minutes + NEO2 minutes30 NEO + 10 NEO2, plus a 50-NEO2-minute monthly packThe pools do not mix; monthly minutes do not roll over; deleting does not refund

Sources: HeyGen “How to Use Credits”, Synthesia “What are credits” help centre, Colossyan Pricing (all accessed 2 November 2026). Synthesia’s “6,000 extra” means 6,000 on top of the 500 base credits, for 6,500 total; Starter is 1,750 total.

All three eventually reduce to “finished minutes”, but the path differs: HeyGen starts with the model (Avatar III/IV/V, Video Agent), Synthesia with how much of the video has the avatar on screen, and Colossyan with the NEO/NEO2 split. Any “USD X per minute” without the model and on-screen ratio is not comparable.

What are the official 2026 list prices?

HeyGen Creator is USD 29/month with 600 credits, Pro USD 49 with 1,000, Business USD 149 with 1,500 and USD 20/extra seat. Synthesia Starter is USD 19 with 1,750 credits, Pro USD 89 with 6,500 and Pro 2× USD 176 with 12,500. Colossyan Professional is USD 59/month annual, with 30 NEO + 10 NEO2 minutes and up to three editors.

PlatformPlanMonthly feeIncludedSeatsKey limits
HeyGenFreeUSD 0Up to 3 videos/month, 1 minute each1Watermark; some regions get 1 video
HeyGenCreatorUSD 29 (annual 24)600 credits130-minute limit, 1080p
HeyGenProUSD 491,000 credits130-minute limit, 4K; Pro tiers up to 100,000 credits at USD 4,300
HeyGenBusinessUSD 1491,500 credits1 + USD 20/seat60-minute limit, SSO, SCORM; can buy extra credits
HeyGenEnterpriseCustomCustomCustomNo video-duration cap
SynthesiaBasicUSD 0500 credits + 10 video minutes/month1 editorWatermark; 9 avatars
SynthesiaStarterUSD 19 (first month 9)1,750 credits1 editor + 3 guests125+ avatars; 3 personal avatars
SynthesiaProUSD 896,500 credits1 editor + 5 guests180+ avatars; 5 personal avatars
SynthesiaPro 2×USD 17612,500 creditsSameCapacity tier; 4×/6×/8× are USD 347/514/676
SynthesiaEnterpriseCustomUnlimited minutesCustom240+ avatars, SSO, SCORM
ColossyanStarterUSD 020 NEO + 0.5 NEO2 minutes/month1 editor15 custom avatars; watermark removal not listed
ColossyanProfessionalUSD 59 (annual)30 NEO + 10 NEO2 minutes/month1–3 (+USD 30/editor)20 custom avatars, 5 SCORM exports/month
ColossyanEnterpriseCustomUnlimited NEO/NEO2CustomSSO, data residency, dedicated CSM

Sources: HeyGen Pricing, Synthesia Pricing, Colossyan Pricing (all accessed 2 November 2026). HeyGen is monthly, with Creator at USD 24 annual; Synthesia is monthly, with up to four months free on annual; Colossyan’s USD 59 is the annual effective monthly price, and the monthly price is not shown on the page. USD, excluding tax.

How many credits does one finished minute consume?

HeyGen Avatar IV Photo is 16 credits/minute and Video 31, Avatar V 48, Avatar III Video 4. Synthesia video is about 100, dubbing with lip-sync 80 and without 40, API 160, Interactive Avatar API 10, and Syren 1,000–2,000 per one-minute video. Within one platform, features can differ 200x.

Platform / featureCredits per minuteNote
HeyGen Avatar III Photo / Video7 / 4Older model, lowest rate
HeyGen Avatar IV Photo / Video16 / 31Photo and Video Look differ nearly 2x
HeyGen Avatar V48Current top photoreal avatar
HeyGen Custom Expressive Motion+40Avatar IV only, added to generation
HeyGen Video Translation6 / 10 / 4Lip-sync regular / precision; 4 without lip-sync
HeyGen Video Agent80 / 240Standard / Seedance
HeyGen B-roll / imagesFrom 12 / from 2By model and seconds
Synthesia video creationAbout 100More with on-screen avatar; some per-second edits are 2 credits/second = 120
Synthesia AI Dubbing80 / 40With / without lip-sync
Synthesia API / Interactive Avatar API160 / 1016x difference inside one platform
Synthesia Bulk Personalization / Survey180 / 350350 per survey response
Synthesia Syren1,000–2,000 per videoTypical range for a one-minute video
Colossyan NEO / NEO2Per minute, separate poolsNEO2 avatars use NEO2 minutes; NEO/no avatar uses NEO

Sources: HeyGen “How to Use Credits” (avatars, translation, Video Agent, B-roll), Synthesia “What are credits” (video, dubbing, API, Syren, survey), Colossyan Pricing (NEO/NEO2 pools). Accessed 2 November 2026. These are official published rates; the product shows the actual charge before generation.

This is the most important table in the article: the spread inside one platform is larger than the spread between platforms. Synthesia’s Interactive Avatar API is 10 credits/minute while Syren is 1,000–2,000 for a one-minute video — a 100–200x gap. HeyGen’s Avatar III Video is 4 credits/minute while Video Agent Seedance is 240 — a 60x gap. An “average price per minute” across all features will be badly wrong.

What does 60 minutes a month cost?

With one editor, 60 finished minutes, a photoreal avatar and no dubbing: about USD 167 on HeyGen (USD 2.78/minute), USD 89 on Synthesia (1.48) and USD 184 on Colossyan (3.07). The gap comes from plan steps and pack granularity, not just the unit price.

Write the assumptions down first, or the comparison cannot be reproduced:

  • 60 finished minutes a month, one editor seat, no live presenter.
  • HeyGen uses Avatar IV Video Look (31 credits/minute); Synthesia uses a standard photoreal avatar (about 100 credits/minute); Colossyan uses NEO2 (one minute per minute).
  • Excluding tax, human editing, extra custom avatars and API.
  • HeyGen at monthly list price; Synthesia at monthly list price; Colossyan at the annual effective monthly price, the only one published.
Platform / planNeeded for 60 minutesCovering planMonthly fee (USD)Per minute
HeyGen Business + 360 credits60 × 31 = 1,860 credits1,500 included + 360 × 0.051672.78
Synthesia Pro60 × 100 = 6,000 credits6,500 included891.48
Colossyan Professional + 600 NEO2/year60 NEO2 minutes10 included + 50/month pack1843.07

Editorial calculation, not a quote. HeyGen extra credits are Business-only at USD 0.05/credit; Synthesia’s 6,500 = 500 base + 6,000 extra; Colossyan’s 600 NEO2 minutes/year = USD 1,500/year = USD 125/month for 50 minutes/month. Synthesia also includes 10 free video minutes/month; this model ignores them and counts credits only.

Unpack the formulas: of HeyGen’s USD 167, 149 is the Business base and 18 is 360 extra credits; of Synthesia’s USD 89, 6,000 of the 6,500 credits are used, leaving 500; of Colossyan’s USD 184, 59 is Professional and 125 is the annual pack, buying 90 minutes of capacity (30 NEO + 60 NEO2) while the 60-minute workload uses only 60 — USD 2.04/minute by capacity, USD 3.07 by actual use.

One procurement judgement matters here: Colossyan’s 30 NEO minutes are unusable in a 60-NEO2-minute workload, because NEO and NEO2 are separate pools; you pay for 90 minutes of capacity and use 60. HeyGen is a “base plus extra credits” linear structure: beyond 1,500 credits each extra minute costs about USD 1.55 (31 × 0.05), but the Business base lifts the average. Synthesia’s 6,500 plan covers 60 minutes, leaving 500 credits, with the least wasted capacity.

Does the ranking flip at 30, 60 or 120 minutes?

Yes. At 30 minutes: HeyGen 1.63, Colossyan 1.97, Synthesia 2.97. At 60: Synthesia 1.48, HeyGen 2.78, Colossyan 3.07. At 120: Synthesia 1.47, HeyGen 2.17, Colossyan 2.58. Synthesia is steadiest at 60/120, while HeyGen is lowest at 30.

Finished minutes/monthHeyGenSynthesiaColossyanLowest
30 minutes1.63 (Pro)2.97 (Pro)1.97 (Professional, NEO)HeyGen
60 minutes2.78 (Business + 360)1.48 (Pro)3.07 (Professional + 1 pack)Synthesia
120 minutes2.17 (Business + 2,220)1.47 (Pro 2×)2.58 (Professional + 2 packs)Synthesia

USD per minute, monthly fee divided by actual finished minutes. HeyGen 120 minutes = 3,720 credits, Business 1,500 + 2,220 × 0.05; Synthesia 120 minutes = 12,000 credits, Pro 2× includes 12,500; Colossyan 120 minutes = 30 NEO + 10 NEO2 + 100 NEO2 pack = 140 minutes of capacity, USD 309. Colossyan uses NEO at 30 minutes and NEO2 at 60/120, so the quality tier is not identical.

Why the flip: Synthesia’s 6,500/12,500 tiers have almost the same cost per credit, so the per-minute price barely moves between 60 and 120; HeyGen’s marginal rate beyond 1,000 credits is about USD 1.55/minute, but the Business base pushes the 60-minute average to 2.78 and only at 120 does it fall to 2.17; Colossyan’s pack granularity makes a 60-minute workload pay for 90 minutes of capacity and a 120-minute workload for 140, so the effective price depends on utilisation.

How do three editor seats change the bill?

HeyGen Creator/Pro have one seat; Business has one plus USD 20/seat. Synthesia Starter/Pro have one editor (guests are not editors), so three editors require Enterprise. Colossyan Professional supports up to three editors at USD 30/extra editor/month. A three-person team cannot simply multiply Synthesia’s USD 89 by three.

PlatformIncluded seatsExtra seatMonthly fee for 3 editors (excluding minute packs)Note
HeyGen Business1USD 20/seat/month189SSO, SCORM; credits separate
Synthesia Pro1 editor + 5 guestsNo self-serve editor add-onEnterprise quoteGuests can view/comment, not edit
Colossyan Professional1USD 30/editor/month, up to 3119Annual effective price; 20 custom avatars

Sources: HeyGen Pricing (Business +USD 20/seat), Synthesia Pricing (Starter 1 editor + 3 guests; Pro 1 editor + 5 guests), Colossyan Pricing (Professional 1–3 editors, +USD 30/member). The three-editor fee covers seats only, not the credits or minute packs needed for 60 minutes.

For a three-person team, Colossyan has the friendliest seat structure (USD 119/month for three), HeyGen Business is USD 189/month for three but includes 1,500 credits and SSO/SCORM, and Synthesia requires an Enterprise conversation. Add “seats + minutes + extra avatars” on three lines and the conclusion may differ from the per-minute table alone.

Retakes, edits and deletions: what is billed twice?

Colossyan states that only generated videos count, drafts are free, deletion does not refund and monthly minutes do not roll over. Synthesia recalculates credits after an edit and may consume more. HeyGen bills generated output and model usage, and a retake generates a new video; whether it is billed again depends on the in-product quote and invoice. Run five real scripts through a POC and measure the retake rate.

ItemHeyGenSynthesiaColossyan
Retakes / editsBilled by generated output and model; a retake generates again, per in-product quote/invoiceCredits recalculated on the new version and may be consumed againOnly generated videos count; drafts free; deletion does not refund
Unused allowanceMonthly rolls over one cycle (about 60 days); annual accumulates to renewalAnnual plans receive the full year upfront; monthly rollover is not stated on the verified pageMonthly does not roll over; annual receives the full year upfront
Extra allowanceBusiness only, USD 0.05/credit, 100 credits for USD 5Upgrade to Pro 2×/4×/6×/8×; no standalone credit pack600 NEO2 minutes/year for USD 1,500
Custom avatars1 / 1+ / 5 / 10+; extra price not publishedStarter 3 / Pro 5 personal avatars; Studio Express USD 1,000/year15/20; Studio USD 1,000/year
APISeparate API credits, pay-as-you-go; no free API credits since Feb 2026; plan credits cannot be used for HubSpot/Clay/Zapier/Make/n8nAPI 160 credits/minute; Interactive Avatar API 10 credits/minuteProfessional includes 360 API minutes/year
WatermarkFree tier watermarked; paid removesBasic watermarked; paid removesStarter does not list watermark removal; Professional does

Sources: HeyGen “How to Use Credits” and “API Pricing”, Synthesia “What are credits” and Pricing, Colossyan Pricing FAQ. “Not published/not stated” means the verified page gives no number; no guess is substituted.

The retake rate is the most underestimated cost in avatar video. A three-minute script may take four to six generations to finalise; if every generation is billed, the real cost can be two to three times the “finished-minute” price. The 60-minute model above assumes one generation per finished minute and excludes retakes; record the retake rate in the POC and multiply it into the monthly bill.

Which option fits which scenario?

20–40 minutes/month, one person: HeyGen Pro or Colossyan Professional. 60–120 minutes/month, one person: Synthesia Pro/Pro 2×. Three editors at 60 minutes: Colossyan Professional or HeyGen Business. API/automation: HeyGen API or Synthesia API. Premium photoreal: test five scripts before comparing.

ScenarioFirst choiceWhyWatch out
20–40 minutes/month, one personHeyGen Pro / Colossyan ProfessionalLowest cost at 30 minutesHeyGen 30-minute cap; Colossyan NEO pool
60–120 minutes/month, one personSynthesia Pro / Pro 2×USD 1.47–1.48/minute with enough capacityAt 120 credits/minute for avatar-heavy video, upgrade a tier
Three editors, 60 minutesColossyan Professional / HeyGen BusinessSelf-serve seat add-onsColossyan pack granularity; HeyGen credit price
API / automationHeyGen API / Synthesia APIPay-as-you-go and integrableHeyGen plan credits do not transfer; Synthesia API 160/minute
Premium photoreal Avatar V / NEO2Test five scripts firstQuality differences are largeUnit price can double
Compliance / SSO / SCORMHeyGen Business / Synthesia Enterprise / Colossyan EnterpriseSelf-serve tiers already include SSO/SCORMData residency/DPA needs Enterprise

“First choice” is an editorial judgement, not a vendor recommendation; the final decision depends on quality, language, seats, data boundary and the existing LMS.

What should procurement and acceptance specify?

At least eight things: the credits-per-minute for the exact model, whether retakes and edits are billed, allowance expiry and rollover, seat definitions and add-on price, custom-avatar/4K/watermark fees, API metering and concurrency, data region/DPA/likeness consent, and the POC’s actual consumption per finished video.

Acceptance itemAsk the vendorEvidence to obtain
Credit → minutesAt the chosen avatar model, on-screen ratio and resolution, how many credits per minute?Official rate table plus in-product quote screenshot
Retakes / editsAre retakes, script changes and voice changes billed again? Are drafts billed? Does deletion refund?Written rule plus a five-script POC invoice
Allowance expiryDo monthly/annual credits roll over? Do they expire?Contract terms plus billing cycle
SeatsHow are editors, guests and reviewers counted? What is an extra seat? Is SSO extra?Plan comparison plus quote
Add-onsCustom avatar, Studio avatar, 4K, watermark removal and SCORM: how much each?Price list with one-time/annual terms
APIAre API credits separate? Rate, concurrency, expiry, can plan credits be used?API docs plus billing example
Data and complianceWhich region? DPA, likeness/voice consent, deletion mechanism?DPA, security page, consent template
POCFive real scripts: record finished minutes, retakes, actual credits and human editing hours.POC log plus reconciliation

This is a procurement checklist, not any vendor’s contract terms; prices and features are governed by the official quote and contract at signing.

FAQ

How many credits does one finished minute use on HeyGen?

It depends on the model and Look: Avatar III Photo 7, Video 4; Avatar IV Photo 16, Video 31; Avatar V 48; Custom Expressive Motion adds 40; Video Translation is 6 lip-sync regular, 10 precision and 4 without lip-sync; Video Agent is 80 standard and 240 Seedance. The product shows the charge before generation.

How many credits does one finished minute use on Synthesia?

The official typical value is about 100 credits/minute; avatar-heavy video is a little more, and some per-second edits are 2 credits/second (120/minute). Dubbing is 80 with lip-sync and 40 without; API 160; Interactive Avatar API 10; Syren 1,000–2,000 per one-minute video. Starter totals 1,750 and Pro 6,500, including 500 base credits.

Which is cheapest for 60 minutes a month?

Under this article’s assumptions (Avatar IV Video, Synthesia about 100 credits/minute, Colossyan NEO2, one editor): Synthesia Pro about USD 89 (1.48/minute), HeyGen Business plus 360 credits about USD 167 (2.78), and Colossyan Professional plus a 600-NEO2 annual pack about USD 184 (3.07). Changing the model, on-screen ratio or seats changes the ranking.

Why does the ranking change between 30 and 60 minutes?

Because of plan steps. At 30 minutes, HeyGen Pro’s 1,000 credits cover the 930 needed, so USD 49 is cheapest; Synthesia Starter has only 1,750 credits (about 17.5 minutes), so 30 minutes requires Pro at USD 89, or 2.97/minute. At 60 minutes, Synthesia Pro’s 6,500 credits cover the 6,000 needed and the price falls to 1.48; HeyGen needs Business plus extra credits beyond 1,000, and the base lifts the average.

How do three editor seats work?

HeyGen Business is one seat plus USD 20/seat/month, so three seats are USD 189 excluding credits. Synthesia Starter/Pro have one editor, and three editors require an Enterprise quote. Colossyan Professional supports up to three editors at USD 30/extra editor/month, so three seats are USD 119 on the annual price, excluding minute packs.

Are retakes or edits billed twice?

Colossyan states that only generated videos count, drafts are free and deletion does not refund. Synthesia recalculates credits on the new version and may consume more. HeyGen bills generated output and model usage; a retake generates a new video, and whether it is billed again depends on the in-product quote and invoice. A five-script POC that records the retake rate is more reliable than the unit price.

Do API credits and subscription credits share a balance?

HeyGen says no: API credits are separate and pay-as-you-go, there have been no free API credits since February 2026, and plan credits cannot be used for HubSpot/Clay/Zapier/Make/n8n integrations. Synthesia’s API uses plan credits at 160 credits/minute; Colossyan Professional includes 360 API minutes/year. Confirm “is the API separately metered” before signing.

What can the free tiers do?

HeyGen Free allows up to 3 videos/month, 1 minute each, watermarked; Synthesia Basic gives 500 credits + 10 video minutes/month, 9 avatars and a watermark; Colossyan Starter gives 20 NEO + 0.5 NEO2 minutes/month with one editor. Free tiers are for validating quality and workflow, not for formal training or marketing delivery.

Research method and limitations

This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: plan fees, credits per minute, seat prices and rollover/billing rules come from official pricing pages or help centres; the 60-minute bill, the 30/60/120 comparison and the per-minute costs are arithmetic on one set of assumptions, not a vendor quote.

Six limitations: (1) the three vendors do not share a quality tier, so the main model uses HeyGen Avatar IV Video, a Synthesia standard photoreal avatar and Colossyan NEO2, with a sensitivity table for model changes; (2) HeyGen is priced monthly, Colossyan at the annual effective price and Synthesia monthly, so annual discounts are not applied uniformly; (3) only platform fees are counted, not human editing, scripting, review, retakes or training; (4) tax and FX are excluded; (5) enterprise discounts, annual commitments and cloud-marketplace offers are excluded; (6) the retake rate is not in the main model, so the real bill can be higher. Treat this as a unit-alignment template and replace the assumptions with five real scripts.

Sources and basis

  • HeyGen, Pricing: heygen.com/pricing. Free up to 3 videos/month, 1 minute each; Creator USD 29/month (USD 24 annual) with 600 credits; Pro USD 49 with 1,000; Business USD 149 with 1,500 and +USD 20/seat; Enterprise custom; Pro tiers up to 100,000 credits at USD 4,300. Accessed 2 November 2026.
  • HeyGen, How to Use Credits: help.heygen.com. Avatar III Photo/Video 7/4, Avatar IV 16/31, Avatar V 48, Custom Expressive Motion +40, translation 6/10/4, Video Agent 80/240, B-roll from 12; Business extra credits USD 0.05/credit; monthly rollover one cycle, annual accumulates to renewal.
  • HeyGen, API Pricing & Credits: help.heygen.com. API credits are separate and pay-as-you-go; no free API credits since February 2026; plan credits cannot be used for HubSpot/Clay/Zapier/Make/n8n; pay-as-you-go credits expire after 12 months (last updated 28 October 2026).
  • Synthesia, Pricing: synthesia.io/pricing. Basic 500 credits + 10 minutes; Starter USD 19 with 1,250 extra + 500 base; Pro USD 89 with 6,000 extra + 500 base; Pro 2×/4×/6×/8× at USD 176/347/514/676; Enterprise custom; Studio Express avatar USD 1,000/year. Accessed 2 November 2026.
  • Synthesia, What are credits: help.synthesia.io. Video about 100 credits/minute; Starter 1,750 and Pro 6,500 including 500 base; dubbing 80/40, API 160, Interactive Avatar API 10, Bulk Personalization 180, Survey 350, Syren 1,000–2,000/minute.
  • Colossyan, Pricing: colossyan.com/pricing. Starter free with 20 NEO + 0.5 NEO2 minutes; Professional USD 59/month annual with 30 NEO + 10 NEO2 and 1–3 editors at +USD 30/editor; Enterprise unlimited; 600 NEO2 minutes/year for USD 1,500; Studio avatar USD 1,000/year; monthly minutes do not roll over, deletion does not refund, drafts are free. Accessed 2 November 2026.

Data cut-off 2 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement, legal or financial advice.

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