Creatify Boreal vs HeyGen Avatar IV: Which Fits?

TL;DR

• Choose Creatify Boreal to build product, UGC or short presenter scenes from text. Consider HeyGen Avatar IV when a specific portrait should speak from a recording.
• Boreal costs $0.0145 per requested second at 720p; HeyGen costs $0.15 per output second. See the Boreal pricing guide. These samples were billed $0.174 and $1.80 per clip, respectively.
• Both are available on HiAPI: open Boreal for visual directions or open HeyGen for a portrait and recording.

At a glance: choose the input workflow

Two examples using shared portraits and one recording

Each pair uses the same reference image. Both the bookshop and kitchen groups also use this actual MP3, approximately 11.1805 seconds long. The kitchen pair reuses the bookshop recording; the scene name does not establish the spoken content.

Both sides requested 720p and 9:16 and produced 720×1280 MP4 files. Boreal requested 12 seconds and returned 12.042 seconds at 24fps; HeyGen returned 11.2 seconds at 25fps. This is an example-level comparison of existing assets: duration, frame rate and some encoding differ, preventing a controlled ranking under identical output conditions.

All four clips contain non-silent audio. The narration has no transcript or semantic listening review. The complete original Boreal prompts below are visual directions, not transcripts; their lip-sync instructions are requests, not verified results.

Group one: bookshop presenter

The presenter speaks the narration to the camera, friendly and relaxed, small hand gestures, cozy bookshop background.

Both covers are 720×1280 PNG frames at 3 seconds: Boreal shows a broader smile, while HeyGen's mouth is slightly open. At 6 and 10.5 seconds, Boreal introduces brown handled objects absent from the reference; HeyGen's hands remain near the pockets. These are visible observations, not lip-sync accuracy judgments.

Generate with this prompt → prefills only Boreal's visual text. Add this reference and the MP3, then select 720p, 9:16 and 12 seconds. For HeyGen, use the same image and MP3 without this visual text.

Group two: kitchen presenter

The presenter talks warmly to the camera in her kitchen, with small natural gestures, lip-synced to the provided narration.

Both covers are 720×1280 PNG frames at 3 seconds: Boreal shows a tilted head and toothy smile; HeyGen shows a more upright head and open mouth. Frames at 0.5, 3, 6 and 10.5 seconds retain the yellow sweater and kitchen setting. Stills cannot establish speech-to-mouth synchronization.

The HeyGen kitchen link is a reencoded MP4 hosted copy; the original is preserved. The original is 21,629,182 bytes (about 21.6 MB), versus 8,263,233 bytes (about 8.26 MB) hosted. Resolution, duration and frame rate are preserved; reencoding can affect texture and compression detail.

Generate with this prompt →, then add the kitchen reference and the same MP3 and choose 720p, 9:16 and 12 seconds. HeyGen again uses only the image, audio, resolution and aspect ratio.

Sample charges and workflow choices

The billing record for these tasks allocates each group's wallet change as 348 credits / $0.174 for Boreal and 3,600 credits / $1.80 for HeyGen: 3,948 credits / $1.974 per pair, or 7,896 credits / $3.948 across both groups. These two HeyGen tasks each billed 12 seconds. Multiplying the 11.2-second file length into $1.68 would misstate their charges; two samples also do not establish a universal rounding rule. HiAPI rates were checked on October 27, 2026.

• A short advertising scene from text: choose Boreal. Reference images are optional; describe the product and visual action.
• A presenter built around a fixed portrait: consider HeyGen. Supply the image, then choose recorded audio or a spoken script.
• A short narration is already recorded: consider both. Review the full clip against your budget; the bookshop example shows why later-added objects matter.

Switching APIs: two request bodies

These are the bookshop requests used with HiAPI POST https://api.hiapi.ai/v1/tasks. Boreal keeps its visual prompt and duration. HeyGen's audio mode omits prompt, voice and duration.

Boreal:

{
  "model": "creatify-boreal",
  "input": {
    "prompt": "The presenter speaks the narration to the camera, friendly and relaxed, small hand gestures, cozy bookshop background.",
    "image_url": "https://static.hiapi.ai/gallery/2026/10/eef85bddf11cec79.webp",
    "audio_url": "https://static.hiapi.ai/admin-assets/2026/10/27/1793080254274-375bf62b57aabd92-boreal-driving.mp3",
    "resolution": "720p",
    "aspect_ratio": "9:16",
    "duration": 12
  }
}

HeyGen:

{
  "model": "heygen-avatar-iv",
  "input": {
    "image_url": "https://static.hiapi.ai/gallery/2026/10/eef85bddf11cec79.webp",
    "audio_url": "https://static.hiapi.ai/admin-assets/2026/10/27/1793080254274-375bf62b57aabd92-boreal-driving.mp3",
    "resolution": "720p",
    "aspect_ratio": "9:16"
  }
}

Save the returned data.taskId and query the task result; the API tutorial covers the steps. For the kitchen pair, replace image_url in both requests with its reference above and replace Boreal's visual prompt with the kitchen prompt. Keep audio_url unchanged.

FAQ

Did the two groups use different narration?

No. All four requests use the same MP3, and each pair shares one image. The kitchen setting does not imply a separate kitchen script.

Can the same prompt be sent unchanged to both?

No. Boreal uses visual directions; HeyGen's prompt is spoken text and is omitted in this audio workflow.

Why did these 11.2-second HeyGen clips each cost $1.80?

The billing record for these tasks assigns 12 billed seconds to each sample: 12 × $0.15. Record file duration and billed seconds separately.

Do these examples establish perfect lip sync?

No. Checks cover audio presence, signal level and visible frames. Without transcription or semantic listening, speech and lip accuracy remain unverified.

What if narration exceeds Boreal's duration range?

Split it into segments suitable for 1–20-second requests, or consider HeyGen's allowance of up to 600 seconds of driving audio. Boreal retains the first duration seconds and pads shorter audio with silence.

Next, prepare the portrait and recording using the fields above and configure these inputs in Boreal. The Boreal case guide provides more visual directions.