MakeUGC vs HeyGen

What does a 30-second UGC ad cost on each?

On HeyGen Creator a 30-second ad costs $0.10 to $1.16 pro rata, if every credit is used. MakeUGC’s pricing page lists credits but prices no video in credits. Its API docs charge 100 credits per talking-actor video, scripts up to 1,500 characters: $4.95 on API Starter, if every credit is used.

HeyGen’s credits article (17 September 2026) bills by the minute and by avatar model. MakeUGC’s pricing page (read 2 October 2026) says only that cost depends on model, duration and resolution. Product-in-hand costs 100 or 200 credits a video or scene in the API docs.

HeyGen publishes no rounding rule, so the 30-second column is pro rata and the last column shows a started minute billed in full. MakeUGC’s API bills a flat 100 credits a video.

MakeUGC’s monthly cards strike through $89 and $119 on Start up and Growth. Those are prices from the page script, and no plan is sold at them.

Every HeyGen plan and model: HeyGen pricing. Your own volumes: the cost per AI ad calculator.

Which one makes product-in-hand and creator-style ads?

MakeUGC sells product-in-hand as a named feature on Pro. HeyGen sells creator-style ads from stock and custom avatars.

MakeUGC lists 1,000+ AI creators and B-roll on every plan and Batch Mode from Growth. Pro adds product-in-hand videos and PDF to video (pricing page). Users report that product-in-hand and talking-actor clips pass in a fast-scrolling feed (3 of 29 sources: Trustpilot, YouTube).

MakeUGC AI Review - Is it Really Worth Using? (2026)How to Easy

HeyGen’s UGC video ads page lists exports at 9:16, 1:1, 16:9 and custom sizes. Creator adds unlimited photo avatars and one custom digital twin (plans article), so a founder can front the ad in their own likeness.

What each lets you run in paid social

MakeUGC’s terms bar fabricated testimonials and deceptive claims; HeyGen bars Free-plan output from advertising and leaves paid plans open.

MakeUGC’s terms (effective 17 November 2025) bar “fraud, impersonation, deception, or misleading commercial practices” (5(b)). Clause 5(f) bars deploying output “in contexts where AI-disclosure is legally required but omitted”. The Fair Use Policy (11 July 2025) forbids misuse of outputs “to impersonate real people, fabricate testimonials, or make deceptive claims”.

A stock creator presenting a product experience as their own fits the policy’s “fabricate testimonials”. The terms and the policy name no rule on stock creators in ads.

HeyGen’s terms (last updated 23 July 2026) leave Creator, Pro and Business output free for “commercial purposes” (s.3). Section 4 bars Free output from “advertising” and “client work”. Section 2 bars “representing that the User Output is entirely human generated”.

HeyGen’s stock avatars page answers “Yes, on eligible paid plans” for ads. Its moderation policy (3.1) bars promoting weapons, alcohol, online gambling and commercial sex.

Plan by plan: HeyGen and MakeUGC in the AI commercial use matrix. Testimonial rules for AI actors: AI UGC legal guide.

What happens to your ads when you cancel?

HeyGen moves you to Free and keeps your videos; MakeUGC’s terms page gives two answers on who owns output once the subscription ends.

Two copies of MakeUGC’s 3.2(a) say you own output “including after your Subscription ends”, if you complied with the terms. The third reads “Ownership Conditioned on an Active Subscription”. The Fair Use Policy (section 6) licenses outputs only while you hold “a valid and active paid subscription”.

The terms do not say which copy governs, though all three keep 7.3: “Termination does not affect your ownership rights to previously generated Output.” Payments are non-refundable except where law requires (6.3).

The Refund Policy (4 September 2025) refunds in full within three business days of buying or renewing if credits are not substantially consumed. It refunds half if under half the credits are used (3.1, 3.2).

HeyGen’s pricing FAQ says a cancelled account “moves to the Free plan” and “Unused credits do not carry over”. Its plans article says “All of your avatars, videos, and projects will still be accessible”. Section 5 of the terms lets HeyGen delete content on any termination, and a breach ends your right to use outputs.

What 68 public reviews report

Credit and billing complaints appear in both samples, counted within each tool’s own sources.

On MakeUGC, 29 public sources from February 2025 to September 2026:

• Charges continue after cancelling, and trial cancellations often fail or need an email (17 of 29 sources: Trustpilot, Trustpilot)
• Lip sync drifts and hands move oddly, so clips need a human check (5 of 29 sources: YouTube, YouTube)
• The $1 trial gives too few credits to judge and rolls into a full-price plan (3 of 29 sources: Trustpilot, Trustpilot)

On HeyGen, 39 public sources from October 2025 to September 2026:

• Every fix or regeneration costs credits, retakes of the tool’s own errors included (8 of 39 sources: App Store, Trustpilot)
• Avatars look real and the lip sync lands, digital twins included (8 of 39 sources: G2)
• Charges arrive after cancelling or downgrading (4 of 39 sources: Trustpilot, Trustpilot)

More on each: the MakeUGC profile and the HeyGen profile.

If neither fits

For 1,000+ actors with a published credit rate, Arcads bills 800 credits an actor minute, rounded up, and publishes no price. For a 15-second billing step and an ad launcher, Creatify Starter costs $39 a month (pricing page).

Every replacement by job: HeyGen alternatives and MakeUGC alternatives. Head to head: Arcads vs MakeUGC, Creatify vs MakeUGC, Arcads vs HeyGen and HeyGen vs Synthesia.