Best AI lip-sync tools 2026: Hedra, Sync, HeyGen
Hedra Character-3, Sync's lipsync-2 and sync-3, HeyGen Avatar V, Vidu S2 and the Kling, LTX 2.5 and Wan rows compared by job, with credits for each.
There is no single best AI lip-sync tool in September 2026. There are five jobs, and each has a clear winner. Dub real footage: Sync. Animate a still or a stylised character: Hedra Character-3, or Kling Avatar on Versely. Run a recurring presenter: HeyGen Avatar V. Talk to a character live: Vidu S2-Avatar. Generate the shot and the voice together: Veo 3.1 or Seedance 2.5.
This page was first written in May. A lot has moved since. Hedra merged its models, Sync shipped a 4K model, HeyGen replaced Avatar IV, and real-time avatars arrived. Here is the current map.
What changed between May and September
Hedra merged Avatar and Omnia into Character-3. On 29 July, Hedra retired its two native models, Avatar and Omnia, and folded both into a single Character-3 model at 6 Hedra credits a second (UsagePricing's Hedra teardown). If you had a pipeline pointed at Omnia, it now runs on Character-3.
Sync added a 4K model. Sync's model docs now list sync-3 next to lipsync-2 and lipsync-2-pro. Sync describes it as "4K native output" with obstruction detection and support for "extreme angles and partial faces" (Sync lipsync models). That closes the side-profile gap this page used to hold against Sync.
HeyGen shipped Avatar V. It replaced Avatar IV in spring 2026. HeyGen says you need a 15-second recording to build the twin, lip-sync covers 175+ languages and dialects, and identity holds for "over 30 minutes" across wide, medium and close shots (HeyGen Avatar V).
Real-time arrived. ShengShu launched Vidu S2 on 15 September. S2-Avatar is a real-time interactive character: you upload a character image, then talk to it by text or voice, and it answers with expressions and poses. Output went from 540p to 720p (ShengShu press release).
Video models learned to talk. Veo 3.1 and Seedance 2.5 both generate dialogue and picture in one pass. For a new shot, you often don't need a separate lip-sync step at all.
The comparison table
| Tool | Input you bring | Output ceiling | Vendor's own price | On Versely? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedra Character-3 | Image + audio (+ text) | 10 min, up to 1080p | 2.5 to 6.25 US cents/s by resolution (Hedra) | No |
| Sync lipsync-2 / 2-pro | Existing video + audio | 512×512 listed resolution; plan caps from 1 to 30 min | $0.04–0.05/s and $0.067–0.083/s (Sync) | Yes: 4 and 7 credits/s |
| Sync sync-3 | Existing video + audio | 4K native | $0.107–0.133/s (Sync) | No |
| Sync react-1 | Existing video + audio | Emotion and head control | $0.133–0.167/s (Sync) | Yes: 14 credits/s |
| HeyGen Avatar V | 15 s recording, then script or audio | 30+ min, 175+ languages | Plan-based (HeyGen) | Yes: 8 credits/s |
| Vidu S2-Avatar | Character image + live text or voice | Real-time, 720p | Not published in the launch release | No |
| Kling Lipsync | Existing video + audio | Up to 4K | n/a | Yes: 6 credits per 5 s |
| Kling Avatar Pro / Standard | Still + audio | 4K / 720p | n/a | Yes: 10 / 5 credits/s |
| LTX 2.5 audio-to-video | Audio + prompt, optional first frame | Pro takes up to 10 s of audio | n/a | Yes: Pro 14, Fast 11 credits/s |
| Wan 2.2 Speech-to-Video | Still + audio | 720p (Turbo 1080p) | n/a | Yes: 8 SD / 16 HD credits/s |
Versely credit numbers come from the live catalog on 24 September 2026. Vendor prices are the vendor's own, linked. They change often, so re-check them before you sign an annual plan.
Hedra Character-3: stills and stylised characters
Character-3 is now Hedra's only native model. It takes a start frame plus audio, and optionally text, and returns up to 10 minutes per generation at 540p, 720p or 1080p (Hedra's Character-3 page).
Where it wins. It animates more than the mouth: brows, eye darts and head tilt all follow the audio. It is also strong on non-photoreal inputs: illustrated characters, 3D renders, mascots, and a synthetic face you made in an image model.
Where it limits. It starts from a still, not from footage you shot. If you need to re-voice a real video of a real person, this is the wrong tool. After the merge there is also one model to tune, not two. The Omnia-style scene and camera control now lives inside the same model and the same price.
Best fit. Mascots, animated explainers, and talking portraits generated elsewhere. Hedra is not on Versely. The closest Versely rows for the same job are Kling Avatar Pro (a still plus audio, 4K, 10 credits a second) and Wan 2.2 Speech-to-Video, which adds body movement and camera work to a still.
Sync: re-voicing footage you already have
Sync remains the engine for footage that exists. You bring the video and the new audio, and Sync rewrites the mouth. There is no avatar library and no script-to-video. That is the point.
Where it wins. Real people in real footage, including motion. lipsync-2 keeps each speaker's own speaking style. lipsync-2-pro adds diffusion super-resolution for beards and teeth. react-1 adds emotion and head movement. The new sync-3 handles 4K, partial faces and extreme angles (Sync docs). Max length depends on the plan: 1 minute on Hobbyist, up to 30 minutes on Scale+.
Where it limits. It is an engine, not a studio. You still need the voice, the translation and the edit. Sync lists lipsync-2 and lipsync-2-pro at 512×512, so check close-ups on a big screen before you ship.
Best fit. Dubbing a finished ad or a creator's talking head into another language. On Versely, Sync Lipsync 2.0 is 4 credits a second, 2.0 Pro is 7, and React-1 is 14. sync-3 is not in the Versely catalog yet.
HeyGen Avatar V: a presenter you reuse
HeyGen is an avatar platform with lip-sync inside it, not a lip-sync engine. Avatar V is the current model. You record 15 seconds, HeyGen builds the twin, and you type scripts from then on (HeyGen).
Where it wins. Language breadth (175+ languages and dialects) and length (identity holds for 30+ minutes). It also covers wide, medium and close-up framings from one recording. Training libraries and internal comms still choose it for those reasons.
Where it limits. You get the twin, not your footage. It won't re-voice an arbitrary clip you shot on a phone the way Sync or Kling Lipsync does. It is also a photoreal presenter tool, not a tool for mascots.
Best fit. A recurring on-camera person across many languages. Versely carries the model as HeyGen Avatar V5, a digital-twin row at 8 credits a second with 4K output. The photo-in HeyGen image-to-video row is also 8 credits a second.
Vidu S2-Avatar: the real-time option
Until this month, the honest answer to "can I lip-sync live?" was no. Vidu S2-Avatar changes that for one shape of job: a character you talk to. You upload a character image and talk to it by text or voice, and it answers with expressions and poses. You can even drop in an outfit, object or background mid-conversation (ShengShu).
It tops out at 720p. It is a live character, not a renderer for finished ads. Try it on Vidu's stream page and API. Vidu S2 is not on Versely. Versely's Vidu rows are Q3 generators, not the live avatar.
Versely: every lip-sync row in one place
Versely is not a lip-sync model. It's the studio where the lip-sync rows sit next to the voice, the video models and posting. The AI lipsync tool routes to the row you pick, and each row has a different contract.
- Mouth-only on existing video: Kling Lipsync at 6 credits per 5-second block, up to 4K. It's the cheapest way to re-voice a short clip. Sync 2.0 (4 credits/s) and Sync 2.0 Pro (7 credits/s) are for longer takes where the mouth has to hold.
- Still plus audio: Kling Avatar Standard (5 credits/s, 720p), Kling Avatar Pro (10 credits/s, 4K), Wan 2.2 Speech-to-Video (8 credits/s SD, 16 HD).
- Audio drives the whole shot: LTX 2.5 audio-to-video. You supply the audio clip, a prompt and an optional first frame, and the video is timed to it. Pro is 14 credits a second and takes up to 10 seconds of audio. Fast is 11 credits a second and takes 2 to 20 seconds. Use it when music or dialogue should drive the edit, not just the lips.
- Voice first: clone the voice in AI voice cloning, then run the mouth pass.
- Presenter formats: build the talking-head ad in the UGC video generator.
Where it limits. Hedra Character-3, Sync's sync-3 and Vidu S2 are not in the catalog. If one of them is exactly your job, go direct.
Which to use for which job
| Job | Use | Versely credits | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-voice a 5–10 s UGC clip | Kling Lipsync | 6 per 5 s | Mouth-only, cheapest, keeps your footage |
| Dub a 60 s talking head into Spanish | Sync Lipsync 2.0 Pro | 7/s | Holds real faces over long takes |
| Dub with a new emotional read | Sync React-1 | 14/s | Changes expression and head, not just lips |
| Make a still or mascot talk | Kling Avatar Pro | 10/s | 4K, audio-driven face |
| Cheap draft of a talking still | Kling Avatar Standard | 5/s | Same job at 720p |
| Still to a talking shot with body and camera | Wan 2.2 Speech-to-Video | 8 SD / 16 HD per s | Movement beyond the face |
| Music or dialogue drives the whole shot | LTX 2.5 audio-to-video | Pro 14/s, Fast 11/s | The picture is cut to the audio |
| New shot with dialogue, no footage yet | Veo 3.1 | 32/s audio on (4, 6 or 8 s) | Voice and picture in one pass |
| Long single take with dialogue | Seedance 2.5 | 9 SD / 19 HD per s during the current discount | 4 to 30 s, native audio, 720p |
| Recurring presenter, many languages | HeyGen Avatar V | 8/s | Twin from a 15 s recording |
| Animated character, stylised input | Hedra Character-3 | Not on Versely | Best on non-photoreal faces |
| Live character you talk to | Vidu S2-Avatar | Not on Versely | Real-time, 720p |
The rule underneath the table: if the footage exists, sync the mouth. If it doesn't, generate the talking shot. Adding a mouth pass to a clip that Veo 3.1 or Seedance 2.5 could have rendered with dialogue wastes credits and usually softens the mouth. For a row-by-row decision tree, see how to pick a lipsync model.
What to actually buy
- Animated characters and stylised avatars: Hedra Character-3.
- A dubbing API on your own footage at scale: Sync, with sync-3 when faces turn or go 4K.
- A multi-language presenter for enterprise training: HeyGen Avatar V.
- A live, interactive character: Vidu S2-Avatar.
- Short-form ads where the voice, the mouth, the b-roll and the post all happen in one place: Versely, picking Kling Lipsync, Sync, Kling Avatar or LTX 2.5 per shot.
If you do three of those jobs, don't force one tool to cover all of them. Compose the stack. Most UGC teams end up with Versely for daily output and one direct vendor for their edge case.
FAQ
Which AI lip-sync tool handles side-profile and three-quarter angles best?
For existing footage, Sync's sync-3 is the only model here whose vendor docs claim "extreme angles and partial faces". HeyGen Avatar V holds wide, medium and close framings from one recording. For stills, Hedra Character-3 and Kling Avatar Pro do best when the source image is near-frontal.
Can I lip-sync live video in real time?
For an interactive character, yes: Vidu S2-Avatar launched on 15 September as a real-time avatar at 720p. For re-voicing a live human stream, no production tool on this list does it.
What happened to Hedra Omnia?
Hedra merged Avatar and Omnia into Character-3 on 29 July 2026. Character-3 is billed at 6 Hedra credits a second.
Do I still need lip-sync if Veo 3.1 or Seedance 2.5 can talk?
Only when the footage already exists. For a new shot, write the dialogue into the prompt and let the video model render voice and mouth together. Use lip-sync to change what an existing clip says.
Can I use these tools to dub footage I do not own?
No. All of these vendors require rights to both the source video and the audio. Dubbing a competitor's clip and posting it as yours is a copyright problem and, in a growing number of places, a synthetic-media disclosure problem too.
How do I avoid the uncanny mouth?
Three rules. Pick a row that animates the face, not just the lips, when the face fills the frame (React-1, Kling Avatar Pro, Character-3). Keep social clips short, because every extra second is another chance for a phoneme to drift. And always grade and add a little grain to the output, because a perfectly clean studio look is itself a tell.
Takeaway
Pick by the job, not the brand. Hedra owns stylised characters. Sync owns re-voicing real footage, and sync-3 fixed its angle problem. HeyGen owns the reusable multilingual presenter. Vidu S2 opened the real-time lane. For creators shipping daily, Versely puts Kling Lipsync, Sync, Kling Avatar, Wan speech-to-video, LTX 2.5 audio-to-video and HeyGen Avatar V behind one credit balance. Each row is priced per second in credits, so the cost of a shot is known before you render it.