In today’s fast-paced world, everyone looks for ways to create content more efficiently. But have you heard of AI video generators?
HeyGen is one of them. It’s an AI-powered video generator that helps businesses create professional-looking videos in just a few clicks.
In this HeyGen Review, I will explain what HeyGen is, how it works, and what it’s used for. From there, I will dive into HeyGen’s main features and explain how each is used so you can benefit from this incredible tool. I’ll even show you how I’ve created a video using HeyGen using one of their stunning 300+ templates! Finally, I will talk about my experience, the pros and cons I’ve identified, and suggest some HeyGen alternatives I have tried myself.
My goal with this article is to give you the most comprehensive HeyGen review possible so you can make a concrete decision on whether or not HeyGen is right for you and your business. From my experience, it’s at least worth looking at, so let’s dive in!
What is HeyGen?
Founded by Joshua Xu and Wayne Liang in November 2020 in Los Angeles, HeyGen (originally “Movio”) is a unique video platform that uses generative AI to create stunning, professional videos in minutes.
With its text-to-speech features, you can transform your script into natural-sounding words in over 300 voices in more than 40 languages. You can then choose from over 100 AI avatars representing various ethnicities, ages, and poses to recite your script line-by-line with natural lip-syncing capabilities.
As a result, this saves businesses significant time and money rather than hiring actors and buying expensive equipment for recording. HeyGen is excellent for businesses who want to create video content on a budget, whether for creating engaging product videos or training videos.
What is HeyGen Used For?
HeyGen is a versatile AI video generator that can be used for a wide range of purposes:
- Engaging product videos: Use HeyGen to create captivating product videos that showcase the features and benefits of your products. With HeyGen’s library of 300+ templates and 100+ AI avatars, HeyGen allows you to create visually stunning videos that resonate with your target audience.
- Training videos: Whether you need to train your employees or educate your customers, HeyGen is the perfect tool. Its text-to-speech feature ensures clear and concise narration, while the AI avatars add a human touch to keep viewers engaged.
- Explainer videos: HeyGen simplifies complex concepts by turning them into engaging explainer videos. Using its generative AI technology, you can transform technical jargon into easy-to-understand concepts.
- Social media content: HeyGen is a game-changer for creating attention-grabbing content for social media platforms. You can effortlessly create videos that drive more engagement and increase brand visibility.
- Video advertising: Say goodbye to generic, uninspiring video ads. HeyGen allows you to create dynamic and compelling advertisements that capture viewers’ attention from the first second.
- E-learning content: HeyGen is a valuable tool for educators and online course creators. Transform text into engaging e-learning content that enhances the learning experience and engages viewers.
- Presentations: Take your presentations to the next level with HeyGen. Instead of relying solely on static slides, you can incorporate dynamic video animations and elements that captivate your audience and leave a lasting impression.
And more! Those are just a few examples of how you can use HeyGen to create engaging video content.
Who Can Benefit from Using HeyGen?
Startups and small teams can create professional videos on a limited budget with HeyGen. Established enterprises can streamline their video content production using HeyGen’s AI capabilities. HeyGen caters to businesses across industries like marketing and e-learning, making it suitable for individuals and companies of all sizes. Users worldwide can take advantage of HeyGen’s powerful features.
HeyGen emphasizes being useful for businesses, specifically startups and established enterprises that want to save money. But anyone can use HeyGen!
- Startups: With its user-friendly interface and AI capabilities, HeyGen helps startups create professional videos that increase brand visibility. Whether promoting your product or sharing your company’s story, HeyGen enables you to craft dynamic video ads that captivate viewers.
- Established enterprises: Even larger companies can benefit from HeyGen’s valuable features. By streamlining video content production, HeyGen enables established enterprises to create engaging videos quickly that resonate with their audience, from e-learning content to marketing campaigns.
- Content creators: HeyGen’s AI capabilities can enhance the creative process for content creators. Whether you’re a YouTuber, blogger, or social media influencer, HeyGen offers features to elevate your content. It can generate captivating intros and outros, add special effects and transitions, and help you create professional-looking videos that stand out.
- Educators: HeyGen’s e-learning capabilities make it an ideal tool for educators looking to deliver engaging and visually appealing lessons. With HeyGen, you can create interactive educational videos that simplify complex concepts and entertain students.
HeyGen’s AI capabilities take the hassle out of video creation by automating complicated and time-consuming tasks like video editing and animation. With a user-friendly interface, even those with little to no experience in video production can create professional-looking videos!
Key Features of HeyGen
HeyGen has many features using AI-powered video creation to deliver professional-quality videos that save time and money.
Here are some key features I will explain and show you how to use so you know what HeyGen is capable of:
- Text to Speech
- AI Avatars
- Custom Avatars
- Generative Outfit
- Voice Cloning
- TalkingPhoto
- Templates
- Zapier Integration
- ScriptGen AI
1. Text to Speech
With HeyGen’s Text-to-Speech feature, you can use AI to transform written text into natural-sounding words with over 300 voices in over 40 languages. You can even add half-second pauses wherever you’d like in your script to make it sound as natural as possible.
Using HeyGen’s Text-to-Speech feature couldn’t be simpler. When editing a video, type your script or upload an audio file, and HeyGen will turn your text into speech.
You can adjust the accent, speed, and pitch with the toggles on the right.
2. AI Avatars
HeyGen offers a wide selection of over 100 AI avatars representing various ethnicities, ages, and poses. Write or audio record your scripts to effortlessly generate an AI Avatar video with flawless lip-syncing in minutes!
All of the avatars offered by HeyGen are based on video footage using real actors, so you know that the quality and realism are at their highest. Each avatar also comes in several different outfits to match the tone of your video, whether the video is meant to come off as more professional, casual, etc.
3. Custom Avatars
With HeyGen, you can even turn yourself into an AI avatar! Take a peek at the a step-by-step video below to guide you on creating your custom avatar. You only need two things:
- A professional camera that shoots at 4K resolution with 60 FPS.
- A greenscreen as the backdrop.
Here are some shooting tips:
- Keep the camera stable.
- Ensure the environment is quiet.
- For the best lighting, set up at least three lights: Two pointing at the greenscreen and one on the subject.
- Ensure the lighting is even.
- Avoid loose or messy hair, beards, jewelry, or green or striped clothing.
- Show a range of mouth movements (while avoiding unnatural ones like sticking out your tongue) and close your mouth as you normally would. The same goes for your body; stay standing in one place.
Here is how you will record yourself:
- Standing 6.5 feet from the greenscreen, record yourself reciting a 2-minute speech in a loud, clear tone of voice on any topic without repeating any sentences or numbers.
- Pause for two seconds after every sentence and incorporate subtle head and hand movements below chest level.
- Do not edit the footage.
Once complete, email the footage to the HeyGen team, which will be reviewed. After approval, you can use your custom avatar repeatedly on any video you create using HeyGen.
The process takes a couple of days, and you can even upload a custom voice to be used on your avatar!
4. Generative Outfit
With HeyGen, each AI avatar comes with multiple sets of clothing (professional, casual, etc.) to match the type of video you are creating. However, if you want to take customization to the next level, you can generate your clothing for your avatar to bring your imagination to life.
To create generative outfits using HeyGen, select an avatar and click “Edit Avatar.”
In the right panel, select “Generate.”
This will open a new window where you can describe what clothing you’d like to generate for your avatar. In this case, I asked the AI to give my avatar a “Denim jacket with white T-shirt.”
After a few seconds, here is what it generated:
Some options don’t look completely real; in some, he is wearing a black T-shirt rather than a white one. Regardless, the clothes fit him well, and this feature takes customization to the next level!
With the generative outfit feature, businesses can effortlessly dress their avatars for a tailored representation of their brand. Whether a sophisticated suit for a corporate video or something more casual for a promotional ad, HeyGen’s AI-generated outfits are an excellent tool.
5. Voice Cloning
After turning yourself into an AI avatar, you can bring yourself to life using the Voice Cloning feature! HeyGen allows you to record your voice in eight languages (English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Hindi).
The process only takes two minutes.
When editing a video using HeyGen, select the voice in the bottom right corner.
In the window that opens, select “Clone Voice.”
HeyGen will now take you through the process of recording your voice.
You will need a microphone, and remember that you can only upload your voice recording in eight different languages (English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Hindi). Also, ensure the audio is clear with no background noise, and keep the length between 2-10 minutes.
Once complete, you can access your custom voice and apply it to your AI avatar!
6. TalkingPhoto
Transform any image into a TalkingPhoto with HeyGen’s TalkingPhoto feature! This app allows you to infuse your photos with an authentic human voice, transforming them from static visuals into dynamic, animated ones. All you have to do is add a script to your photo’s dialogue and watch your image come to life.
Here is how I created a talking photo using HeyGen.
On the HeyGen dashboard, I selected “Make a TalkingPhoto Video.”
You will have three options:
- Generate a TalkingPhoto by describing your ideal avatar.
- Upload a TalkingPhoto by selecting a photo from your computer.
- Selecting one of the existing TalkingPhotos from HeyGen.
I selected the Mona Lisa, wrote a short script, and exported it. The entire process was straightforward and only took a few minutes. Here is how it came out:
I’m impressed by how quick and seamless the process was. Within a few minutes, I transformed the iconic Mona Lisa into a dynamic talking photo with accurate lip-syncing and an authentic human voice. I also love HeyGen’s flexibility, allowing me to choose from over 300 voices in more than 40 popular languages.
7. Templates
With HeyGen, you can access over 300 customizable templates for various industries and purposes, from advertisements, e-commerce, explainer videos, social media, and more. Depending on the platform you will post your video, these templates are available in landscape or portrait orientations.
I was impressed with how well-designed and easily customizable these templates were (some are animated to add an extra touch of engagement to your videos). Plus, you can create your custom video template to match your brand or style perfectly.
The variety of templates offered by HeyGen ensures that there is something for everyone, whether you’re a small business owner looking to create engaging advertisements or a social media influencer needing eye-catching content.
8. Zapier Integration
To enhance your workflow and boost productivity, HeyGen allows you to automate your workflow and save time by integrating HeyGen with Zapier without writing a single line of code. With Zapier, you can connect over 5,000 apps, like project management software, CRM, or social media platforms, to create a seamless workflow.
For example, you can share your videos to your preferred platforms or send notifications when a video is ready. This allows you to automate repetitive tasks in your business so you can focus on more important aspects.
9. ScriptGen AI
If you don’t have a script, let HeyGen write it for you with ScriptGen AI! This tool uses artificial intelligence to generate high-quality scripts for your videos, whether for an advertisement, an explainer video, or a social media post.
Here is how I used ScriptGen AI to write an entire script for me in a few minutes.
On my dashboard, I went to “Start with ScriptGen AI.”
This opened a window where I could tell ScriptGen my topic, the language, tone of voice, and other information. Alternatively, I could’ve given ScriptGen a URL explaining a product.
I clicked “Generate Script,” and within a few seconds, I had an entire script broken down into scenes.
I found the script to be easy to use and well-written. It generated twelve scenes altogether, so it’s generous with how much content it generates. I made some edits to create a more engaging storyline.
When I was ready, I clicked “Create Video,” and my script and scenes were automatically added to the video editor!
ScriptGen by HeyGen is an excellent way to save time and effort brainstorming ideas and crafting the perfect script from scratch, especially if you don’t know where to start or don’t consider yourself a good writer. I was amazed at how accurate and well-written the scripts generated by ScriptGen AI were by simply providing some basic information about my video’s topic and letting ScriptGen AI do the rest.
Getting Started with HeyGen
Setting up an account with HeyGen is quick and straightforward (you don’t even need to sign in, and they don’t ask you for your credit card!) The user interface is clean and user-friendly, allowing easy navigation. The platform even has tutorials directly from the CEO, which I found very useful.
Here was my experience getting started with HeyGen that you can follow as well!
I started by going to the HeyGen homepage and selecting the “Try HeyGen for Free” button.
Immediately, I was taken to the HeyGen dashboard. I was impressed with how clean and user-friendly the dashboard was, making navigation a breeze. Everything was laid out clearly, and I quickly found the features I needed to start creating my video.
Before getting started, I took advantage of the free Tutorials which I accessed on the top left of the dashboard, which I found very clear and helpful. By scrolling to the bottom of the page, I could easily access all their tutorials on the HeyGen official YouTube channel.
At the top, I had four different ways to start making an AI video:
- With an Avatar
- Using ScriptGen AI
- Making a TalkingPhoto Video
- Starting with a Template
The fastest and easiest way to create a video using HeyGen is by selecting one of their premade templates, so that’s what I will show you in the HeyGen tutorial.
How to Create an AI Video Using HeyGen
At the top of the dashboard, I selected “Start with a Template.”
With HeyGen, you can create your custom template or choose from hundreds of premade templates for every purpose (advertising, e-commerce, social media, explainer videos, etc.) They also have many options in the vertical format to create videos optimized for mobile viewing. I went with one of the horizontal premade templates!
I selected “Use This Template” and was immediately taken to a customization page where I could personalize the video.
From adding a template, selecting a different avatar, adding text, adding elements like graphics and background music, or uploading my own assets, HeyGen provided me with extensive options to make my video exactly how I wanted.
Here are the other editing features that come with HeyGen:
- Upload previously recorded audio scripts.
- Add 0.5-second pauses.
- Translate the script into 50 languages.
- Use ChatGPT to assist with crafting the perfect script.
- Add and rearrange scenes.
- Adjust the speed and pitch.
- Change the accent and voice tone.
- Change the outfit of the avatar.
As you can see, there are many customization options to make your video look and feel exactly how you want it to. HeyGen keeps things really flexible, so even if you started creating your video using an avatar and wish you had started with a template instead, you can always switch seamlessly within the editor without losing any progress.
Overall, I found the editing process to be smooth and intuitive. The interface of HeyGen is user-friendly, making it easy for me to navigate through the different customization options and apply changes effortlessly.
I selected a template and added all the pages, which sped up the process significantly. Once I was ready to finalize my video, I selected “Submit” on the top right.
A 1-minute HeyGen video consumes one credit and is rounded up from 30 seconds. I selected “Submit,” and HeyGen began processing the video immediately.
After a few minutes of processing, I could go to my video library on my account and choose how I wanted to export the video. You can instantly share it on social media, automatically add captions, and download it in 720P, 1080P, 4K, and more. I downloaded my video and uploaded it to YouTube.
Here’s how my video came out using HeyGen:
Pros
- A user-friendly interface for easy navigation.
- Simplifies the video creation process, eliminating the need for expensive equipment.
- Over 300 customizable templates.
- Create a custom template to match your brand exactly.
- You can begin a free plan immediately (no credit card required!)
- Over 100 avatars to choose from across a range of genders, ages, and ethnicities.
- ChatGPT integration to help with writing the script and speed up the process.
- Translate the script into 50 languages.
- The Avatars are believable and high resolution (4K).
- Zapier integration allows you to streamline your workflow.
- Create your own custom avatars with custom voices.
- ScriptGen instantly writes scripts to save time.
- HeyGen is cloud-based, and everything is stored on the Internet – no download required!
Cons
- Some customization options are limiting. For example, it would be nice to make the avatar’s body language and facial expressions more relaxed or excited.
- Recording a custom voice is limited to only eight languages (English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Hindi).
- Video duration may be limiting, especially for those who want to create longer videos.
HeyGen Alternatives
Here are some of the most popular HeyGen alternatives I’ve tried and how they compare to HeyGen.
Synthesys
Synthesys is an AI video generator that transforms text into high-quality voiceovers using a vast library of human-like voices. It also offers Text-to-Video (TTV) technology with avatars, templates, and an AI Image generator, making it a versatile solution for generating a wide range of content.
With Synthesys, you can choose from 69 avatars (based on real humans) and have them speak over 140 languages in 254 creative styles using the easy-to-use interface. Like HeyGen, you can create your own custom avatar!
If you’re looking for a HeyGen alternative with more languages and flexible pricing, consider Synthesys.
Read our Synthesys Review or visit Synthesys.
DeepBrain AI
DeepBrain AI is another powerful AI video generator that allows you to create a video from text in five minutes or less. There’s a range of over 100 avatars who can speak over 80 languages and over 65 customizable templates. My favorite part? The ChatGPT integration writes out your script with the click of a button.
DeepBrain also has more export options, including the entire video (.MP4), only audio (.WAV), and Chromakey, which only contains that AI model. So, if you’re looking for an AI video generator with more export options, I’d highly recommend DeepBrain AI!
Read our DeepBrain AI Review or visit DeepBrain AI.
Synthesia
Synthesia is another popular AI video generator for generating videos using AI avatars. It offers many features, including over 140 avatars, more than 120 languages, over 60 templates, a screen recorder, and much more.
It also comes with many customization features, like creating custom-made templates and your custom avatar. Plus, you can upload brand assets to maintain brand consistency. And did I mention that it’s used by some of the biggest companies in the world, like Google and Nike?
Synthesia is very similar to HeyGen with its user-friendly interface and flexibility. I recommend giving Synthesia a shot to see which AI video platform you prefer.
HeyGen Review: Final Thoughts
Having used HeyGen extensively, I can confidently say that it is a revolutionary platform for businesses wanting to generate videos at scale. Thanks to its user-friendly interface and customizable templates, anyone can create high-quality videos easily.
HeyGen has significantly improved my video creation process, allowing me to save time, money, and effort. The realistic human avatars have impressive audio and seamless lip-syncing that looks authentic.
Furthermore, HeyGen offers a wide range of customization options. From hundreds of customizable templates to choose from to creating custom avatars and voiceovers, you have complete control over the look and feel of your videos. This level of personalization ensures that your brand’s unique identity shines through in every video you create.
The opportunities are truly endless with HeyGen. Individuals and businesses of all sizes can benefit from using HeyGen to create explainer videos, product demos, social media content, and more. The versatility of HeyGen makes it a valuable asset for content creators and marketers alike.
There’s no question that artificial intelligence is revolutionizing video creation, with HeyGen at the forefront. Now, you can be at the forefront as well!
Click Here to visit HeyGen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HeyGen worth it?
Considering how much time and money you will save and how easy it is to create videos, HeyGen is a valuable tool for any business. Plus, you can create a custom avatar, voice, and template to make videos that match your brand exactly.
Is HeyGen free to use?
Yes, HeyGen is free to use. HeyGen has a Free plan that doesn’t require a credit card to generate a video of up to one minute. If you’d like to access more features and functionalities, consider upgrading to one of their paid plans.
Who is HeyGen?
HeyGen is an AI-powered video generator designed for businesses to create text-to-speech videos in over 300 voices in more than 40 languages using over 100 AI avatars in minutes. HeyGen also offers customizable templates and user-friendly editing tools to assist businesses in creating engaging video content quickly and efficiently.
How to create AI video for free?
HeyGen is an excellent way to create AI videos for free. HeyGen has a free plan that requires no credit card, allowing you to create an AI video of up to one minute while giving you access to over 100 AI avatars, over 300 voices, and Voice Clone as a paid add-on feature.
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