Comparison
Selvia AI vs HeyGen
Both offer real-time AI avatars. The biggest differences are what's included, price, per-user memory, and kiosk mode — here's an honest, side-by-side comparison.
Selvia AI is an all-inclusive, turnkey real-time AI avatar starting at $1/hour — the avatar, speech, language brain and per-user memory are all included. HeyGen's real-time avatars are API-only, priced from about $6/hour, and its cheapest tier is just the avatar visual (you add your own speech-to-text, text-to-speech and LLM). Choose Selvia AI for an affordable, all-in-one live avatar with memory and always-on kiosk mode; choose HeyGen if you need a custom avatar or large-scale AI presenter video.
Price: Selvia AI vs HeyGen
And Selvia AI's $1/hour is all-inclusive — HeyGen's cheapest real-time tier is just the avatar visual.
Selvia AI starts at $1 per hour, and that price is all-inclusive. HeyGen's real-time avatars are API-only at around $0.10/min (Lite, ~$6/hour) to $0.20/min (Full, ~$12/hour) as of our testing. But the headline rate understates the gap, because the Lite tier is pixels only:
What you actually get for the price
Selvia AI — one price
- Avatar visual (rendering)
- Speech-to-text (STT)
- Text-to-speech (TTS)
- LLM brain / dialogue
- Per-user memory
Everything included — works out of the box.
HeyGen Lite — pixels only
- Avatar visual (rendering)
- Speech-to-text (STT) — you add & pay for this
- Text-to-speech (TTS) — you add & pay for this
- LLM brain / dialogue — you add & pay for this
- Per-user memory — you add & pay for this
You build the brain (STT + TTS + LLM) yourself.
HeyGen's “Lite” real-time tier gives you the avatar on screen — but a talking face isn't a working assistant. You still have to add speech-to-text, text-to-speech, an LLM brain and the engineering to wire them together (and there's still no per-user memory). Everything is bundled into Selvia AI's single $1/hour price, so the total cost of ownership gap is far larger than the per-minute numbers suggest.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Selvia AI | HeyGen |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $1 / hour — all-inclusive | ~$6–12 / hour (API; Lite is pixels-only) |
| What's included | Avatar + STT + TTS + LLM + memory | Lite = avatar visual only (bring your own brain) |
| Real-time access | Turnkey — works out of the box | API only — no studio / no-code path |
| Per-user memory | Yes — remembers returning users | No — stateless across sessions |
| Always-on kiosk mode | Yes — runs all day | No — session/duration limits |
| Works in noisy, crowded spaces | Yes | Not designed for it |
| Facial expression / emotion | Emotion-rich — matches the conversation | Baseline loop + lip-sync |
| Face technology | Real-time 3D face | Pre-modeled 2D video avatar |
| Custom avatar | Not yet — curated library | Yes (higher-tier plan) |
| Billing | Pay-for-use, no forfeited credits | Credits expire monthly, no rollover |
| Best for | All-inclusive live avatars with memory + kiosk | AI presenter video + custom avatars |
Where Selvia AI comes out ahead
All-inclusive & turnkey
One price covers the avatar, speech, language brain and memory — it works out of the box. HeyGen's real-time path is API-only, and its cheap tier is just pixels, so you build and pay for the rest.
Per-user memory
Selvia AI recognizes returning customers and recalls past conversations. HeyGen treats each session as new — no memory of who came before.
Always-on kiosk mode
Selvia AI runs all day as an unattended kiosk and keeps working in noisy, crowded spaces. HeyGen's session limits make continuous kiosk use impractical.
Emotion-rich expression
Selvia AI's face responds to the conversation — it can smile, show concern, or add emphasis as it speaks. HeyGen's real-time avatar holds a steady baseline with lip-sync.
When HeyGen is the better choice
HeyGen is a strong, established platform. If you need a custom avatar of a specific person or brand persona, HeyGen offers that today and Selvia AI does not yet. And if your primary goal is producing AI presenter videos at scale — marketing clips, training content, localized spokesperson videos — HeyGen's video-generation heritage is a real advantage. Selvia AI is focused on the other end: live, two-way conversation that runs continuously, remembers people, and ships complete.
An honest note
We won't overclaim. HeyGen is a polished, well-funded product with a large avatar library and a genuine edge we don't match yet — custom avatars. The case for Selvia AI isn't “we beat HeyGen at everything” — it's that for a live, always-on assistant that remembers your customers, Selvia AI is all-inclusive, turnkey, and a fraction of the real cost.
Selvia AI vs HeyGen — FAQ
Is Selvia AI cheaper than HeyGen?
Yes. Selvia AI is $1 per hour, all-inclusive. HeyGen's real-time avatars are API-only, priced around $0.10/min for the Lite tier (about $6/hour) and $0.20/min for Full (about $12/hour). The Lite tier is just the avatar visual, so you also build and pay for speech-to-text, text-to-speech and an LLM. Selvia AI includes all of that in the $1/hour.
Does HeyGen have a no-code studio for real-time avatars?
No. HeyGen's real-time interactive avatars are API-only — there is no studio or no-code path for them; a developer has to wire it up. Selvia AI is turnkey: the avatar, brain, voice and memory work together out of the box.
What's included in HeyGen's price vs Selvia AI's?
Selvia AI's $1/hour bundles the avatar, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, an LLM brain and per-user memory. HeyGen's cheapest real-time tier (Lite) is the avatar visual only — you supply and pay for the speech, language and memory layers yourself, plus the engineering to connect them. Compare total cost of ownership, not just the headline per-minute rate.
Does HeyGen remember returning users?
No. HeyGen does not offer per-user memory — each session starts fresh. Selvia AI recognizes returning users and recalls their previous conversations, preferences and history.
Can HeyGen run as an always-on kiosk?
Not practically. HeyGen's real-time sessions have duration limits and it isn't built for noisy, crowded public spaces. Selvia AI is designed to run all day as an unattended kiosk and to keep working in loud, real-world environments.
Does HeyGen's avatar show emotion?
Only in a limited way. In our testing — and as widely observed — HeyGen's real-time avatar holds a steady, attentive baseline with lip-sync and doesn't shift its facial expression to match the conversation. Selvia AI is emotion-rich: its expression changes with the tone of the conversation in real time.
What does HeyGen do better than Selvia AI?
Custom avatars. HeyGen offers a custom avatar (for example, on its higher-tier plan), and Selvia AI does not offer custom avatars yet — it ships a curated, production-ready library instead. HeyGen is also a strong, established platform for generating AI presenter videos at scale.
Do HeyGen credits roll over?
No. HeyGen's credits expire monthly with no rollover — use them or lose them. Selvia AI is simple pay-for-use at $1/hour, with no forfeited credits.
Is Selvia AI a good HeyGen alternative?
Yes — especially if you want an all-inclusive, turnkey real-time avatar with per-user memory and always-on kiosk mode at a flat, low price. HeyGen is the better fit if you specifically need a custom avatar or large-scale AI presenter videos.
See the all-inclusive alternative
Try a free Selvia AI demo — real-time conversation, per-user memory, everything included, from $1/hour.
Book a Free DemoComparison based on hands-on testing and publicly available pricing as of June 2026. Product features and pricing change over time; check each vendor's site for the latest. HeyGen is a trademark of its respective owner; this is an independent comparison, not an endorsement.