# Alternatives to HeyGen

> Source: https://theagentsindex.com/heygen/alternatives/ (re-verified)
> Updated: 18 October 2026

## At a glance

| Name | Best for | Starts at | Better than HeyGen at | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [HeyGen](https://theagentsindex.com/heygen.md) | teams and creators making avatar videos and localising them into many languages | Free, then $29/month | — | 18 October 2026 |
| [Runway](https://theagentsindex.com/runway.md) | marketing and creative teams producing ad and social video from product assets | From $15/month | Model choice, In your editor | 18 October 2026 |

Best match first.

## Shortlist

### 1. Runway

Credit-metered AI video, image and audio generation with an agent, API and MCP server.

**Where it improves on HeyGen:**
- [Model choice: yes — You can let Runway pick or name the model yourself, and the developer platform adds a router that chooses per request against your cost, quality and latency rules.](https://runway.com/product/agent)
- [In your editor: yes — Runway's MCP server is designed to be added to developer-facing clients, with Cursor and Replit named alongside the chat assistants, and Dev MCP covers Cursor, Claude Code and Codex.](https://runway.com/mcp/chatgpt)

**Trade-offs against HeyGen:**
- [Runs autonomously: partial — The agent plans and generates a campaign in one conversation, but the vendor stresses the human stays in the loop; only through a ChatGPT dot does it describe work finishing unattended.](https://runway.com/product/agent)
- [MCP server: partial — A hosted MCP server lets other agents generate through your account, but on the individual plans it appears only from Pro upward, so Free and Standard buyers do not get it.](https://runway.com/pricing)
- [Opt out of training: partial — The Terms of Use let Runway train on inputs and outputs by default, and only the Enterprise plan column promises that your data is excluded from training.](https://runway.com/terms-of-use)

[View Runway](https://theagentsindex.com/runway)