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Do you need a voice, a presenter, or a dub?
Use Murf when you already have product footage and only need narration. Pick HeyGen when the ad needs a talking presenter, from $24 a month billed yearly. Synthesia suits presenter videos you plan to translate, with Starter at $14 a month billed yearly.
Where the figures come from — HeyGen and Synthesia pricing pages, read on November 9, 2026 · no ad spend or split test run by us.
Murf's Studio plans didn't load for us on November 9, so we've left its prices out. You'll find them on Murf's pricing page. Prices move often in this category, so check before you pay.
Most product ads don't need a face at all. A hand turning a bottle does the selling. So does a zipper opening in close-up. The voice explains what the shopper can't see. That's why we'd start the decision with the footage you already have.
What the free and entry plans include
| Tool | Free tier | Entry paid plan | What the entry plan adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murf | A Try for Free option; terms on Murf's pricing page | Studio plans: see Murf's pricing page | Not listed here, as the plan details didn't load for us. |
| HeyGen | 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each | Creator: $24 a month yearly, or $29 monthly | 1080p export, no HeyGen branding, 175+ languages and dialects |
| Synthesia | 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month, with a watermark | Starter: $14 a month yearly ($168), or $19 monthly | Synthesia logo removed, 125+ stock avatars |
Read the free column twice. HeyGen and Synthesia stamp a watermark on free videos, so neither free tier gives you a clean ad to run. Check Murf's free terms yourself before you plan around them. Free tiers are fine for testing a script.
Free alternative worth naming — your own voice · a quiet room · a phone held close. For a founder-led brand, that can beat any synthetic voice. It costs nothing but a few takes.
Murf: narration over footage you already shot
Murf's Studio is built around text-to-speech. You paste the script, pick a voice, then adjust pacing and pronunciation line by line. How much voice time each plan includes is set out on Murf's pricing page.
A 30-second ad is a short script, so retakes are cheap to try. The real limit is taste. A voice that sounds fine in a demo can grate on the fourth listen, so audition several.
Murf script checks — brand name pronounced right · prices read the way shoppers say them · a pause before the call to action.
HeyGen: a presenter for hooks and explainers
HeyGen makes talking-head video from a script. The free plan allows 3 watermarked videos a month, each up to a minute. Creator, at $29 a month or $24 on yearly billing, removes the branding and exports in 1080p. It also lets you build a custom avatar from your own voice and likeness. Pro starts at $49 a month and adds 4K export.
Presenter jobs — the hook · a face naming the problem · the seconds before the product appears. Product shots stay real, since synthetic hands, labels and fabric often look off.
Avatar setup — only clone a face or voice with written consent from that person · keep a copy of the consent · use stock presenters if consent isn't possible.
Synthesia: one presenter video in many languages
Synthesia also builds presenter videos, but its pricing page leans toward teams and translation. Starter is $19 a month, or $14 billed yearly. Pro is $89 a month, or $59 billed yearly. Credits are shared across video, dubbing and other features. Synthesia lists over 140 languages and voices.
Dubbing details — 70+ output languages, including regional variants · lip-sync available at double the credit cost · a glossary for brand terms and product names.
That glossary matters for stores. Product names get mangled by machine translation all the time. Set the terms once before you dub anything.
Which tool for which kind of Shopify ad?
Product demo with real footage — Murf narration · captions burned in · no avatar.
Problem-and-fix hook — a HeyGen presenter for the first few seconds · then real footage · then the offer.
Same ad for several countries — Synthesia or HeyGen translation · a native speaker checks every script · a landing page in that language.
One tool to start — whichever fits the ad you make most weeks · a second one only when a format you can't produce keeps coming up.
A production order that saves retakes
Script first, tools second. Read it out loud with a stopwatch running. If it only fits when you talk fast, cut words, because a rushed read sounds cheap from any voice engine.
Then record or generate the voice, lay it over the footage, and add captions. Many people watch with the sound off. Export one version and watch it on a phone at full brightness, and again at half.
Rights check — the plan you're on allows commercial use · music is licensed for ads · your ad platform's current rules on AI-made people and voices are met.
Related reading: localizing a Shopify video ad from one master cut, and a one-person Shopify operations playbook.
Free plans, consent and subtitles
Can I run free-plan videos as paid ads?
Free-plan exports from HeyGen and Synthesia carry a watermark. Murf's free terms are on its pricing page. Test scripts on free tiers and pay when you need a clean export.
Is a cloned voice of the founder allowed?
Only with that person's written consent. Keep the consent on file, and check the tool's own rules on custom voices and avatars.
Do I need dubbing or just subtitles?
Start with subtitles for a market you're testing. Dub once that market shows enough sales to justify a native-language voice.