How to Migrate From HeyGen to Synthesia
The reverse migration happens more than people expect. HeyGen gets a lot of attention for video translation and voice cloning, and those features pull users in. But companies building standardized internal training programs, compliance modules, or onboarding video libraries at scale often hit a ceiling on HeyGen where Synthesia's toolset is better matched to the actual job.
The specific pain points that drive people toward Synthesia are usually one of three things: they need SSML voice controls to fine-tune pacing and pronunciation in ways HeyGen doesn't support, they're an L&D team that wants a template system designed for course-style content rather than marketing video, or their enterprise IT procurement team has approved Synthesia and not HeyGen. All three are legitimate reasons to make the move.
What's actually different
The platforms share a surface-level similarity but are aimed at somewhat different buyers. Synthesia's design assumptions favor structured training content and enterprise compliance. HeyGen's assumptions favor marketing, social, and localization use cases.
| Feature | HeyGen | Synthesia |
|---|---|---|
| SSML controls | Basic | Strong: breaks, prosody, say-as tags |
| Template system | Scene builder | Structured templates + Learning Paths |
| Stock avatars | 100+ | 230+ |
| Custom avatar | Creator plan+ | Enterprise or add-on |
| Learning Path / course builder | No | Yes |
| Quizzes and interactions | No | Yes (via integrations) |
| Brand kit | Yes | Yes, more structured |
| Team and permissions | Growing | Strong, enterprise-grade |
| SOC 2 / enterprise compliance | Yes | Yes, often ahead on certifications |
| Pricing | From ~$29/month | From ~$22/month |
The SSML point is worth expanding. Synthesia's voice controls let you insert XML-style tags into your script to control things like: pause length in milliseconds, emphasis on specific words, speaking rate changes mid-sentence, and how numbers or abbreviations are pronounced. For training content where exact diction matters for compliance or technical accuracy, this is a meaningful quality lever. HeyGen doesn't expose SSML at the same depth.
The Learning Paths feature is Synthesia-specific: you can structure videos into sequential modules, track completion, and attach assessments. This is not a video generation feature, it's an LMS-adjacent delivery feature that some L&D teams find valuable enough that they'd rather use Synthesia's native version than integrate HeyGen with a separate LMS.
Mapping your existing workflow
Avatars: HeyGen and Synthesia have different avatar libraries. No direct transfer exists. Audit Synthesia's library and match your most-used HeyGen avatars to reasonable equivalents. Synthesia's library is larger, so you'll likely find close matches. The style of avatars differs slightly: Synthesia's tend toward a slightly more formal, studio-lit presentation.
Custom avatars: If you built a custom avatar in HeyGen, you'll need to build a new one in Synthesia. The consent and recording process is similar. Budget 2-3 business days for processing.
Scripts: Plain text scripts transfer directly. If you've been adding any HeyGen-specific markup or using voice characteristics set via the voice selector, you'll need to remap those to Synthesia voices and add SSML tags for any timing or emphasis effects.
Voice selection: Synthesia's voice library covers 140+ languages and includes multiple voice options per language. Map your HeyGen voices to Synthesia equivalents by language, gender, and general tone. The match won't be exact, especially for regional accents, so test your top voices before committing to a migration batch.
Video layout and slides: HeyGen's scene-based layout and Synthesia's template-based layout are structurally similar but not compatible. You'll rebuild your layouts in Synthesia. For teams with many videos, this is the most significant time investment. Consider whether your most-used formats could be rebuilt as reusable Synthesia templates before you start the batch.
Brand kit: Both platforms support a brand kit with colors, fonts, and logos. Recreate yours in Synthesia's brand settings before you start rebuilding content.
The actual migration steps
1. Export your HeyGen video library Download MP4 versions of all videos you want to preserve. Export scripts as text. Document which avatar, voice, and layout each video used.
2. Recreate your brand kit in Synthesia Set up your brand colors, fonts, and logos in Synthesia's settings. This should be your first action so every video you create from the start is on-brand.
3. Build reusable templates for your most common formats Before rebuilding individual videos, identify your two or three most-repeated video formats. Build those as Synthesia templates first. Every video you rebuild from those templates goes faster.
4. Map voices and test SSML on your highest-priority scripts Find your voice equivalents, then take your most complex scripts, the ones where pacing and pronunciation matter most, and add SSML tags. Render a test version and have a subject matter expert review it for accuracy before assuming the voice behavior matches your quality bar.
5. Rebuild priority content first Your most-watched videos, your onboarding essentials, and any compliance-required content should be rebuilt before anything else. Preserve HeyGen versions in your archive until the Synthesia versions are approved and in active use.
6. Set up Learning Paths if applicable If you want to use Synthesia's Learning Paths feature for structured delivery, set up the course architecture before you populate it with videos. Retrofitting content into a course structure after the fact is more work than building the structure first.
7. Migrate team access and permissions Synthesia's enterprise permissions are more structured than HeyGen's current offering. Set up roles and access controls before onboarding your team.
Gotchas you'll hit
SSML has a learning curve. The tags aren't complicated, but they are specific. A malformed tag breaks the voice synthesis for that sentence. Test any SSML-heavy scripts on short sections before running a full render.
Template rebuilding takes longer than expected. If you have a large HeyGen library, don't underestimate the time to recreate layouts in Synthesia's editor. It's worth doing properly rather than rushing, because the template quality determines the quality of every video built from it.
Voice matching is imperfect. If your HeyGen audience is used to a specific voice for your brand, they may notice a change. Consider recording a short notice to your audience if the content is internal training, or simply use the transition as an opportunity to refresh the voice selection.
Custom avatar processing takes time. If you're migrating a custom avatar, submit the request early. Don't plan to use it in a live video on the same week you submit the training data.
Pricing structure is different. Synthesia measures usage in video minutes. Understand your typical monthly minute volume before choosing a plan.
When NOT to switch
Don't migrate to Synthesia if your primary use case is video translation and lip-synced dubbing for marketing or social content. HeyGen's Video Translate feature is meaningfully better for that job. Also stay if voice cloning of a specific person's voice is a business requirement, since HeyGen's approach to this is more accessible than Synthesia's.
Synthesia earns the switch when your content is structured training rather than marketing, when SSML voice control matters for compliance or technical accuracy, or when your IT department has already approved it as the vendor. For enterprise L&D teams producing at volume, the template system and course delivery features are a genuine advantage over HeyGen's more marketing-oriented design.
If you're still deciding, both platforms offer free trials that are generous enough to run a real benchmark on your specific content type. That comparison on your own material is more reliable than any feature table.