How long should a video take in HeyGen ?
Processing times in HeyGen can vary, but here’s what to expect. Each plan has a concurrency limit, which means how many videos you can process at the same time.
🛎️ This Concurrency should not be confused with LiveAvatar concurrency limit which refers to how many LiveAvatars can speak to visitors at once - see LiveAvatar article for that.
Video Concurrency limits for simultaneously processing videos:
Free: 1
Creator / API Pro: 3
Team / API Scale: 6
Enterprise: 20
For Avatar Studio videos, every 1 minute of video usually takes about 10 minutes to generate- often much faster.
For Video Translation (including Proofreading), every 1 minute of content takes about 5 minutes to process.
Several factors can affect your speed, including:
The day and time you submit (Monday mornings EST are our busiest)
Whether you’re using 720p, 1080p or 4K
Your subscription tier (higher tiers get higher priority)
Which engine you use for video and voice (Unlimited, Avatar IV, 11Labs, starfish, etc.)
Many other background factors that vary per project
As a general rule, if you’re within your monthly priority quota, no video should take more than a few hours. If it’s taking significantly longer, there may be an issue with the job. The fastest fix is usually to cancel and resubmit the video - most temporary processing issues resolve themselves within 1–2 resubmissions.
To clarify- if a video is cancelled mid-way or failed- you will not be charged any GenCredits or Priority Processing quota.
If you’ve tried this and still can’t get your video to complete, contact our Support team and we can help terminate the stuck job so you can try again.
Priority Processing for Your HeyGen Videos
Under the unlimited plans, we are using Priority process queues ("Lines") to ensure fair access for everyone and protect against misuse.
This means that each tier is entitled to a specific amount of videos to be priority processed (fast) per month, after which they will be subjected to the regular queue processing time.
The regular queue currently is just under 24h on average during weekdays, and is known to be faster during weekends (based on US time zones).
Why is my video on "Pending"?
As soon as you submit a video, it's status will be currently "Pending". Seconds later, it will fall into the Priority or Regular queue for processing. This would depend on the type of plan you are on:
Free Plan: Videos are processed after those from paid plans, with a standard wait time.
Creator and Team Plans: Get priority processing for the first 100 videos each month [per seat for Team plans]. After that, videos may take anywhere between a few hours to up to 36 hours to complete.
Enterprise Plan: Enjoy full priority processing for all your videos, ensuring the fastest turnaround times.
In the future we hope to be able to present more accurate timeline for these queues, but currently we can assess regular processing times are around 24h.
My videos have been pending for a long time - What can I do?
Usually, a “Pending” video status means you’ve submitted more videos than your concurrency limit allows. Since only a few videos can process at the same time, the extra ones will wait in line. This is normal if you’re submitting multiple videos and letting the system run in the background.
If your videos appear stuck, it’s likely due to submitting too many at once. Please terminate the pending videos and resubmit a number of videos that fits within your concurrency limit.
Security & Abuse-Prevention Limits
To keep HeyGen fair, stable, and fast for everyone, we have automated security safeguards that detect and temporarily block activity that looks like system abuse. These limits aren’t published with exact numbers, but they help prevent extreme or automated behavior that could impact other users. This includes:
Submitting an exceptionally high number of videos in a single day or month
Uploading an unusually large number of total video minutes in a single day or month
Using an extreme number of voice previews in Studio
Using "Render Scene" to preview scenes in Studio an unusually amount of times per day.
When these thresholds are hit, you’ll see a “Daily Rate Error” message. This limit usually resets within 24 hours, or at the end of your billing cycle if the overuse occurred on a monthly basis.
If this happens, please wait 24 hours and try creating fewer videos, minutes, or previews in the following days or billing cycle. These safeguards help ensure the platform remains reliable and fair for all users.
Thank you for being a part of the HeyGen community. We’re excited to see what you create next!
💜 The HeyGen Team