---
title: When to use HeyGen or Synthesia vs invideo
description: HeyGen or Synthesia for avatar-first training, SCORM and long dubbing. invideo for explainers with no avatar, one-scene updates and bulk slides.
---
Use HeyGen or Synthesia when a presenter on screen is the point, your LMS wants SCORM, or you dub long videos into many languages. Use invideo for explainers with no avatar, for changing one scene and keeping the rest, and for turning many slide decks into videos.

All three tools make training and explainer videos from a script. HeyGen and Synthesia build around an AI avatar. invideo builds around a timeline, and can add an avatar as one clip.

## One brief, three tools

The brief: a five minute onboarding video from a slide deck and a script, then a fix to one line after a policy change.

**In HeyGen or Synthesia.** You drop in the deck or the script. The tool makes a draft video with an avatar presenter and a voice. You pick the avatar and adjust scenes in its editor. You publish as a link, an embed or a SCORM package for your LMS. To fix the line, you edit the script and publish again. Synthesia says embedded videos update when you edit.

**In invideo.** Your agent turns the deck into images with `media` `document.pages`, which is free. It voices each slide with a TTS model such as `elevenlabs_text_to_speech.elevenlabs_tts_v4`, places the slides and the voice on a timeline, and adds captions with `add_captions`. To fix the line, it voices only the new line, swaps that clip on a branch, and exports again. The rest of the video stays as it was.

## At a glance

Checked on 29 October 2026 against HeyGen's and Synthesia's sites. They may change.

| | HeyGen | Synthesia | invideo |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Editable timeline after the cut | Editable video, a text-based editor | An editor by scene | Yes, on a branch you can review |
| Generation | Avatars, text, image and PDF to video | Avatars from a script, deck or URL to video | Many models; avatars as one clip with `heygen_photo_avatar` or `kling_avatar.pro` |
| Captions | Yes | Not stated on its homepage | `add_captions` from a transcript |
| Agent access | APIs, including a Video Agent API | An API | CLI and skills for terminal agents; MCP server for clients without a shell |
| Project files out | MP4 and SCORM | Link, embed or SCORM | MP4, or a project for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve |
| Offline | No, it runs in the cloud | No, it runs in the cloud | No, invideo runs in the cloud |
| Batch | APIs | Videos at scale from one template | `duplicate_timeline` and `export` per deck, run in parts |

## Use HeyGen or Synthesia when

These tools are built for presenter-led training.

- You want an avatar presenter on screen for most of the video.
- Your LMS needs a SCORM package. invideo exports MP4, not SCORM.
- You dub long videos into many languages with the speaker's own voice.
- You want a personal avatar of yourself, made once and used again.

## Use invideo when

invideo fits training that does not need a face.

- You want an explainer from slides, screen shots, stock or generated scenes, with no avatar.
- You change one scene or one line often, and want the rest of the video untouched.
- You turn many decks into videos, one timeline per deck.
- Your agent builds the video from a document and you review it.

## Use both

Make the presenter in HeyGen or Synthesia, then finish in invideo. Export the avatar video as MP4. Your agent adds it with `add_media`, cuts it next to your slides and screen shots, and adds captions and music. For SCORM, export the final MP4 from invideo and wrap it in your LMS tool. The steps are on [Use HeyGen or Synthesia with invideo](/integrations/heygen-synthesia).

## What HeyGen and Synthesia do better

Say it plainly. These tools are better at some things.

- **Avatars.** Their avatars are the core product. HeyGen says Avatar V keeps "a single, coherent identity across every video". invideo runs avatar models as clips, not as a presenter studio.
- **SCORM.** Both publish SCORM for an LMS. invideo does not.
- **Translation at length.** HeyGen translates a video "with one click", and Synthesia dubs existing videos in the speaker's voice. invideo has no one-shot dubbing or translation model. Your agent dubs step by step. It reads the words with `audio.transcript` and translates them. It voices the new script with a TTS model, or clones the voice with `seed_audio_1_0.ta2a`. It swaps the sound with `video.replaceAudio`, then re-syncs the lips with `sync_lipsync_v3.video` or `kling_lipsync`.
- **Embeds that update.** Synthesia updates shared links and LMS embeds when you edit. An invideo export is a new file.

## Try the brief in invideo

Set up your agent first with [invideo for AI agents](/agents). Then give it the brief in your own words, like this.

```text
Turn onboarding.pdf into a narrated video, one slide per scene, with
captions. Use a calm voice. Price the voice first. Then show me how
you would change only the slide on leave policy.
```

## Cost

Edits and exports are free in invideo. Generation and transcripts cost credits. Paid stock costs a small credit charge, or one of your workspace's iStock licenses. Your agent runs a dry run first and tells you the price before it spends anything. Models retire. If a model is not found, your agent runs `find_models` with the job in words, uses the best match, and tells you. Prices are on [Credits and what they cost](/account/credits).

## Related

- [AI video tools compared, including invideo](/compare/alternatives)
- [Use HeyGen or Synthesia with invideo](/integrations/heygen-synthesia)
- [Make a training explainer from a document, without an avatar](/how-to/training/explainer-from-a-document)
- [Update one line and re-render, keep the rest](/how-to/training/update-one-line)
- [Turn slides into a narrated video, one deck or hundreds](/how-to/training/slides-to-narrated-video)
- [Dub existing footage](/how-to/training/dub-existing-footage)