Arcads vs HeyGen: Which Should You Pick?
arcads.ai · heygen.comPrices verified Sep 2026
Our verdict
Pick HeyGen unless you specifically need Arcads' ad-actor library. HeyGen costs less to start ($24/mo vs $110/mo), lets you test free (3 videos/month, no card — Arcads has no trial at all), and its 4.8/5 G2 rating across ~1,900 reviews dwarfs Arcads' 2.7/5 Trustpilot, where reviewers report videos that 'look NOTHING like their ads'. Arcads' case is narrow but real: 1,000+ UGC-style AI actors and ~$11/video economics tuned for Meta/TikTok hook testing, where HeyGen's presenter-style avatars can read too corporate. If you go Arcads, demand output samples before paying.
Arcads vs HeyGen at a glance
Scroll the table sideways to see both columns.
| Dimension | Arcads | HeyGen |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $110/mo, no free trial or plan | $24/mo annual; free plan to testWinner |
| UGC-native ad look | Actor library built specifically for casual UGC-style adsWinner | Avatars skew polished/presenter-style |
| Avatar realism | Glitch and lip-sync complaints on Trustpilot (2.7/5, 170 reviews) | G2 '#1 most realistic avatars' (4.8/5)Winner |
| Languages | 30+ | 175+Winner |
| Usage rights | Not publicly documented | Commercial use included on paid plansWinner |
| Support | Four emails unanswered over 23 days per one reviewer | Complaints exist (automated replies) but at a 3.7/5 baseline across 3,078 reviewsWinner |
| Best for | High-volume paid-social hook testing by teams who've verified output quality | Most teams needing AI avatar video, especially multilingualWinner |
Quick facts about Arcads
- Pricing model
- Subscription
- Starting price
- $110/mo(10 videos, ~$11/video)
- Free trial
- No
- Minimum spend
- $110/mo (Starter plan; no free tier)
- Turnaround
- Minutes per generated video (AI generation, no creator shipping/filming)
- Usage rights
- Not publicly documented; AI-generated actor videos are delivered for ad use, but Arcads publishes no clear usage-rights terms on public pages
- Founded
- 2024
- Headquarters
- Paris, France
- Ratings
- 2.7(170)on Trustpilot4.7(3)on ProductHunt
Pricing verified 2026-09-02 — may change.View official pricing
Quick facts about HeyGen
- Pricing model
- Subscription
- Starting price
- $24/mo(Creator plan, billed annually; $29 month-to-month)
- Free trial
- Yes
- Minimum spend
- $0 (free plan); $24/mo for paid entry (Creator, annual billing)
- Turnaround
- Minutes for standard avatar videos (self-serve generation); custom avatar training takes longer
- Usage rights
- Videos generated on paid plans are usable commercially as part of the subscription; no separate per-video usage-rights fees like creator marketplaces. Custom avatars/voices are built from your own likeness with your consent.
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- Los Angeles, USA
- Ratings
- 4.8(1,924)on G24.7(319)on Capterra3.7(3,088)on Trustpilot
Pricing verified 2026-09-02 — may change.View official pricing
Frequently asked questions
Third-party pricing breakdowns in 2026 report a Starter plan at $110/month for 10 videos and a Creator plan at $220/month for 20 videos — about $11 per finished video — plus a custom-priced Pro plan with API access. Arcads does not publish a public pricing page; you must create an account to see plans.
No. There is no free plan or free trial; the cheapest way in is the $110/month Starter plan. Arcads occasionally runs limited promotions, such as a 7-day unlimited-generation offer in Arcads Studio.
Arcads uses AI-generated actors, not real UGC creators. It offers a library of 1,000+ AI actors with emotion control, and custom AI avatars on the Pro plan. If you need authentic footage of a real person using your product, a human creator marketplace is a better fit.
Yes, HeyGen has a free plan with no credit card required that includes 3 videos per month up to 1 minute each, 1 custom video avatar, and 500+ stock avatars. Paid plans start at $24/month (Creator, billed annually) for 600 credits, longer videos, and voice cloning.
Creator is $29/month ($24 annual), Pro is $49/month, and Business is $149/month plus $20 per seat, with Enterprise custom-priced. All paid plans use a monthly credit allowance that rolls over while you stay subscribed.
Yes — HeyGen's avatars and Video Agent can generate UGC-ad-style talking-head videos from a prompt or script, including in 175+ languages. The output is AI-generated rather than filmed by real creators, so test whether it reads as authentic enough for your audience.