ElevenLabs and HeyGen get compared a lot, but they are not really rivals. ElevenLabs is an AI voice and audio platform. HeyGen is an AI video platform built around talking avatars. Many people use both: ElevenLabs for the voice, HeyGen for the presenter on screen. HeyGen even has a built-in way to import ElevenLabs voices. This comparison covers what each does, how their pricing works and when you need one, the other or both. Everything is based on both vendors’ own pricing pages and HeyGen’s help centre, checked on 27 October 2026.
What ElevenLabs does for voice and audio
ElevenLabs covers text to speech, speech to text, voice changer, sound effects, voice isolator, music, dubbing and a Studio for long-form audio projects, plus an agents platform and an API. Its newest model, Eleven v4, is described as its most emotive model yet, with audio tags for directing delivery. Instant voice cloning starts on the $6 Starter plan, and professional voice cloning (trained on more of your recordings) starts on Creator at $22 a month. Its plans now also list image and video tools, but avatar video is not what it is known for.
What HeyGen does for avatar video
HeyGen turns a script into a video with an AI presenter. Its pricing page lists 500+ ready-made presenters, custom video avatars made from your own likeness and voice, photo avatars, its Avatar III, IV and V engines, a Video Agent, video translation into 175+ languages and dialects on paid plans, and newer AI video generation (HeyGen Video 1, plus Seedance 2.5, VEO 3.1 and Nano Banana on Pro). It also has its own text to speech, called HeyGen Voice, with 1,000+ AI voices and voice cloning.
Voice and human avatar feature comparison
The overlap is voice. HeyGen’s own voices may well be good enough for many training and marketing videos, and every plan includes at least one voice clone. ElevenLabs goes further on audio: more model choice, expressive delivery tags, professional cloning, sound effects and music, and audio you can reuse in podcasts, ads or apps.
The gap is video. ElevenLabs does not offer anything like HeyGen’s avatar library, custom video avatars or lip-synced presenter video. If you need a human-looking presenter on screen, HeyGen (or a similar avatar tool) is the part you cannot skip.
Using an ElevenLabs voice in HeyGen, a production workflow
HeyGen’s help centre explains how to connect ElevenLabs as a third-party voice provider. In short:
- Create an ElevenLabs API key in your ElevenLabs account.
- In HeyGen’s AI Studio, open the voice settings for your avatar and click New Voice.
- Choose Integrate 3rd Party Voice, then Import Voice, and pick ElevenLabs.
- Paste your API key and confirm. Your ElevenLabs voices then appear in your HeyGen voice list.
HeyGen says you can do the same from your avatar’s settings (to set an ElevenLabs voice as the avatar’s primary voice) and inside its Proofreading tool for translated videos. HeyGen’s plan comparison also lists an Upload voice option, so you can bring in recorded or generated audio instead.
The practical production workflow is to write the script, get the voice right in ElevenLabs first (pacing, emphasis, pronunciation), then connect it to HeyGen and generate the avatar video. Keep in mind that generating with an ElevenLabs voice uses your ElevenLabs credits as well as your HeyGen credits.
Pricing compared
| Tier | ElevenLabs | HeyGen |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 10,000 credits a month (about 10 minutes of TTS) | 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each, one custom video avatar |
| Entry | Starter $6: 30,000 credits, commercial licence, instant cloning | Creator $29: 600 credits, 1080p, no HeyGen branding, videos up to 30 minutes |
| Middle | Creator $22: 121,000 credits, professional cloning | Pro $49: 1,000 credits, 4K export, Avatar V, cinematic avatars |
| Upper | Pro $99: 600,000 credits | Business $149: 1,500 credits, shared workspace, SSO, extra seats $20 each |
Both give two months free on yearly billing. ElevenLabs’ unused credits roll over for up to two months, and HeyGen’s Creator credits roll over for one month. For a typical small business making avatar videos with a custom voice, a realistic combined budget is HeyGen Creator plus ElevenLabs Starter or Creator, so roughly $35 to $51 a month at monthly prices.
Pros and cons
ElevenLabs
- Pro: wide choice of voice models, with cloning from $6 a month.
- Pro: one credit pool covers TTS, dubbing, sound effects and music.
- Con: no avatar presenter video.
- Con: credits are shared, so heavy use of one tool leaves less for the others.
HeyGen
- Pro: large avatar library, custom avatars and video translation in 175+ languages.
- Pro: built-in ElevenLabs voice import.
- Con: the free plan is watermarked and limited to 1 minute videos.
- Con: 4K export and the newest avatar features need Pro or higher.
Team, support and business use
For a team producing training or product videos, the business features matter as much as the voice. HeyGen’s Business plan at $149 a month adds a shared workspace, centralised billing, SAML/SSO, a brand kit and asset library, SCORM export and LMS integrations, and integrations with n8n, Make, HubSpot and Zapier. Extra team members cost $20 a seat a month. Enterprise adds a dedicated customer success manager and priority support.
ElevenLabs’ team features start on Scale at $299 a month with 3 workspace seats, rising to 10 seats on Business. Enterprise adds custom SSO, DPAs and SLAs, HIPAA BAAs and priority support.
If you’re making a recurring character for a channel or a course (the same presenter and the same voice in every video), the combination works well: a custom HeyGen avatar of the presenter with a professional ElevenLabs voice clone, so the product sounds consistent across every video.
Review verdict, do you need both?
Not always. If HeyGen’s built-in voices or your HeyGen voice clone sound right for your videos, you can skip ElevenLabs. I would add ElevenLabs when the voice really matters (brand voice, long narration, expressive delivery) or when you also produce audio outside of video. If you only need audio, ElevenLabs alone is enough.
Alternatives
- Synthesia: an AI avatar video platform aimed at business training and communication.
- Murf AI: a voiceover studio aimed at business narration.
- Vidnoz AI: a lower cost avatar video tool with a free plan.
