Is HeyGen Free? What You Actually Get on the Free Plan

What the Free Plan Includes

HeyGen's free plan allows you to create up to 3 videos per month. Each video is capped at 3 minutes in length. Exports are limited to 720p resolution and include a mandatory HeyGen watermark that cannot be removed without upgrading.

You get access to over 500 stock avatars, 3 photo avatar slots, and more than 1,000 AI voices across 30+ languages. The most realistic avatar generation technology — Avatar IV — is available on the free plan but with a 30-second cap per video, which severely limits what you can produce with their best output quality.

What the Free Plan Cannot Do

The free tier does not include watermark removal, 1080p or 4K export, voice cloning, Zapier integration, team workspace, or priority processing. Commercial usage rights are ambiguous on the free tier, meaning you may not have clear legal permission to use free-plan videos in paid advertising or client work.

The 3-video monthly cap is the biggest practical limitation. If you're producing weekly content — which most marketers and creators need to do — you'll hit the ceiling before the month is halfway through.

A Practical Free Workflow Stack

For users who want AI-assisted video without committing to a paid plan, consider this free stack: use HeyGen's free plan to test avatar video and see if the synthetic presenter format works for your audience. Then use BIGVU's free plan for day-to-day content — the AI script writer helps you draft video scripts in seconds, the teleprompter lets you record confidently, and AI subtitles are included at no cost.

BIGVU's free plan provides 500 AI credits per month with no watermark on basic features. Those 500 credits translate to approximately 10 seconds of OmniHuman full-body AI talking-head video or 12 advanced AI images — plus unlimited access to the script writer, teleprompter, and subtitle tools. That's a significantly more versatile daily toolkit than HeyGen's 3 watermarked videos per month.

Whether you use HeyGen, BIGVU, or both, the foundation of good video content is a strong script and a confident delivery. BIGVU's free plan includes tools that address both:

AI Script Writer and Rewriter

Tell the AI what your video is about and it generates a complete script tailored to your topic. The rewriter can adjust tone, length, and style — turning a formal script into a casual social media hook or vice versa. This is available on the free plan with no credit cost.

Built-in Teleprompter

Record your video while reading your script directly on screen. The teleprompter scrolls at your pace and helps you maintain eye contact with the camera. This single feature eliminates the biggest barrier to consistent video production: the anxiety of going off-script or forgetting key points.

AI Subtitles

After recording, BIGVU automatically generates subtitles that you can customize with brand fonts and colors. Subtitled videos consistently outperform non-subtitled ones across every social platform — and this feature is included free.

AI Talking Photo (OmniHuman)

BIGVU's free plan includes enough credits to generate AI talking-head video from a single photo using OmniHuman technology from ByteDance. Unlike HeyGen's face-focused avatars, OmniHuman produces full-body animation with natural hand gestures and posture. While the free plan's 500 credits cover approximately 10 seconds of OmniHuman video, it's enough to create social media hooks or test the technology before upgrading.

Both platforms serve different primary needs. HeyGen specializes in generating synthetic avatar videos — ideal for translation, dubbing, and creating content in languages you don't speak. If your core need is automated video translation across 175+ languages with lip-synced dubbing, HeyGen is the specialist tool.

BIGVU is purpose-built for people who present on camera. The workflow — script, teleprompter, record, edit, subtitle, brand, publish — is designed for coaches, real estate agents, consultants, and marketers who want to maintain their authentic presence while producing content efficiently. The AI talking photo feature (OmniHuman) adds avatar-style capability without replacing your real-camera workflow.

For most creators and small marketing teams, the practical question is: do you need a synthetic presenter, or do you need help being a better real presenter? If it's the latter, BIGVU's teleprompter-first approach with AI assistance will serve you better than an avatar tool.