Descript vs Hedra vs HeyGen vs InVideo AI
A side-by-side look at Descript, Hedra, HeyGen and InVideo AI for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
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Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript, with an AI co-editor built in
- Price
- Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
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Character video AI: a portrait plus audio becomes a directed talking or acting performance
- Price
- From $20/mo (Basic, 2,000 credits); Pro $50/mo; Ultra $100/mo; Teams $75/mo; Enterprise custom
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Talking-character explainers and spokesperson videos from a single portrait
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AI avatars, lip sync and dubbing for talking-head video in 175+ languages
- Price
- Free (3 videos/mo, 1-min cap) · Creator $29/mo · Pro from $49/mo · Business $149/mo + $20/seat
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Presenter explainers when you cannot put a person on camera
-
AI assistant editor on a real multitrack timeline, with a free manual editor
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans per seat from €20/mo (€10/mo billed annually)
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Short social, ad and explainer videos built from generated clips, stock and talking-head footage
The short version
Where they differ
- InVideo AI is the only one without public API.
All 4 offer: AI agent, team collaboration, text to video, third-party models, MCP server, free tier.
Feature by feature
Descript vs Hedra vs HeyGen vs InVideo AI: capabilities
| Descript | Hedra | HeyGen | InVideo AI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person) | From $20/mo (Basic, 2,000 credits); Pro $50/mo; Ultra $100/mo; Teams $75/mo; Enterprise custom | Free (3 videos/mo, 1-min cap) · Creator $29/mo · Pro from $49/mo · Business $149/mo + $20/seat | Free plan; paid plans per seat from €20/mo (€10/mo billed annually) |
| Infinite canvas | No | Yes | Partial | No |
| AI agent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Chat assistant | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Team collaboration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text to image | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image editing | Partial | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Text to video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image to video | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video to video | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed |
| Native audio in video | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Lip-sync | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice / TTS | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Music & SFX | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Upscaling | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Character consistency | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Camera control | Not confirmed | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Custom training | Partial | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed |
| Third-party models | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop / local | Not confirmed | No | Partial | No |
| Open source | No | No | Partial | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Not confirmed | Yes | Partial | Not confirmed |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
Descript
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|---|
| Hobbyist | $16 annual / $24 monthlyper person |
| Creator | $24 annual / $35 monthlyper person |
| Business | $50 annual / $65 monthlyper person |
| Enterprise | Customcustom |
Hedra
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|---|
| Basic | $20monthly |
| Pro | $50monthly |
| Teams | $75monthly |
| Ultra | $100monthly |
| Enterprise | Customcustom |
HeyGen
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|---|
| Creator | $29monthly |
| Pro | $49monthly |
| Business | $149 + $20/seatmonthly |
| Enterprise | Contact salescustom |
InVideo AI
| Free | €0weekly quota |
|---|---|
| Starter | €20monthly (€10/mo billed annually) |
| Plus | €60monthly (€30/mo billed annually) |
| Max | €150monthly (€75/mo billed annually) |
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Descript
Pick it for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
- Talking-head YouTube videos: filler word removal, retakes, captions
- Webinar and course repurposing into clips with captions and translation
Stands out
- Text-first editing: cut, reorder and remove filler words by editing the transcript, which is faster than frame-by-frame cutting for talking-head and interview footage.
- Recording and editing in one place: Rooms records each participant locally (up to 4K on paid plans) and the files open directly in the editor, with SquadCast now part of the product.
Watch out
- Underlord is still labelled beta and its per-prompt credit cost varies between runs of the same prompt
- Free plan is limited to 1 hour per month, 720p, with a watermark, and one seat
Hedra
Pick it for
- Talking-character explainers and spokesperson videos from a single portrait
- UGC-style ads and product walkthroughs with an illustrated or AI-generated presenter
- Music videos and animated shorts where a character must sing or talk on camera
Stands out
- Built for character performance first: one portrait plus audio gives lip-sync, expression and gesture, and it works on illustrated characters as well as photos.
- Character-3 clips run up to 10 minutes per generation, far longer than most single-shot video models, and are priced per second at 2.5c (540p), 5c (720p) or 6.25c (1080p).
Watch out
- Output tops out at 1080p on Character-3 and Omnia, below 4K-capable rivals
- Credits expire monthly and do not roll over, according to third-party reviews
HeyGen
Pick it for
- Presenter explainers when you cannot put a person on camera
- Localizing one finished talking-head video into many languages with dubbing
- Course and internal training videos built from a script
Stands out
- Avatar V builds a full upper-body digital twin from one 15-second recording, and the same twin works in Video Agent, Avatar Shots and the API.
- Long single-pass talking video: a 30-minute avatar clip in one generation on Avatar III, IV and V, where many rivals cap clips far shorter.
Watch out
- Free plan is capped at 3 videos a month and 1 minute each
- Credit cost varies by model and length, so monthly output is hard to predict
InVideo AI
Pick it for
- Short social, ad and explainer videos built from generated clips, stock and talking-head footage
- Cutting talking-head, podcast and multicam recordings: silences, filler, angle switching and chapters
- Editors who want an AI first pass and then finish in Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve
Stands out
- The AI works on a real multitrack timeline, and every edit it makes can be adjusted by hand afterwards.
- Exports an editable project to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve with cuts and layers intact, so the AI cut can move into a finishing workflow.
Watch out
- Credits are per seat and do not roll over to the next month
- Seedance 2.0 at 4K and Seedance 2.5 are only on Plus and Max; Starter gets Seedance 2.0 Fast and Mini
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page, checked against vendor pricing and changelog pages (oldest check: ). Sources are listed on each tool's page.
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