These tools make different things. ElevenLabs makes audio: voiceovers, cloned voices, dubbed soundtracks and voice agents. HeyGen makes video: an AI avatar presents your script on screen. Pick ElevenLabs if the output is sound, or a voice track for a video you'll edit yourself. Pick HeyGen if you need a finished talking-head video, such as a product explainer, training module or personalized sales clip, and don't want to film one.
Pick ElevenLabs if
- You produce voiceovers for ads, YouTube, podcasts, audiobooks or e-learning.
- You want a cloned voice that you can use across many projects and tools.
- You're building a voice agent or need a speech API inside your own product.
- You already edit video and only need the audio track to be better.
Pick HeyGen if
- You want a presenter on screen but don't want to hire talent or set up a shoot.
- You make training, onboarding or explainer videos at volume.
- You want to translate an existing video so the speaker appears to talk in another language.
- You want a custom avatar of yourself or a team member.
How they differ
Pricing. As of November 2026, ElevenLabs has a free plan with 10,000 credits a month. Starter costs $6 per month for 30,000 credits and includes a commercial license and instant voice cloning. Creator costs $22 per month for 121,000 credits and adds professional voice cloning. Annual billing costs ten times the monthly price. HeyGen's free plan allows 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each. Creator costs $29 per month, or $24 per month billed annually, for one seat, 600 credits, videos up to 30 minutes and no watermark. Pro starts at $49 per month.
Where they overlap. HeyGen has its own voice cloning and translates videos into more than 175 languages and dialects, so it can handle the whole job on its own. ElevenLabs offers dubbing in its Dubbing Studio, but it dubs the audio and doesn't put a face on screen. If you care about the voice above everything else, use ElevenLabs for the audio. If you need a presenter, HeyGen does both parts in one tool.
Core strength. ElevenLabs is a voice specialist, with text to speech, voice cloning, dubbing, voice agents and an API, all priced in credits. HeyGen is a video tool. Its avatars, templates and translation turn a script into a finished video.
Where each falls short. ElevenLabs leaves the visuals to you, and long dubbing projects burn through credits quickly. HeyGen's avatar videos suit explainers and training better than brand campaigns, and its free plan is too limited for real use.