HeyGen Voice Cloning Guide: Recording Tips and Limits

The 24 preset voices cover a lot of ground, but sometimes you want your own voice, or the voice of someone who has agreed to it. HeyGen Voice supports instant voice cloning on paid plans. This guide walks through how HeyGen Voice cloning works in our studio, how to record a sample that clones well, and the rules around consent.

What HeyGen Voice cloning does

You upload a recording of one speaker. HeyGen Voice uses it to build a voice you can then pick in the studio like any preset. You type text, and the cloned voice reads it.

A cloned voice works with both models. You can use it with HeyGen Voice or with HeyGen Voice Turbo, in any of the 39 supported languages, at the same credit rates as the presets.

Who can use HeyGen Voice cloning

HeyGen Voice cloning is available on paid plans: Starter, Pro and Studio. Credit packs work with the preset voices, but not cloning. You can compare plans on the pricing page.

HeyGen Voice cloning limits

Before you record, check the file rules HeyGen Voice cloning uses on this site:

One speaker only. The sample should contain a single voice.
Formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, WebM or FLAC.
Size: up to 8 MB.
Length: only the first 3 minutes are used. Anything after that is ignored.
Consent: you must own the voice or have permission, and tick a consent checkbox before uploading.

Since only the first 3 minutes count, put your best material at the start. Don't open with a long silence or a test count.

HeyGen Voice cloning is for your own voice or a voice you have clear permission to use. That means:

Your own voice, for your own content
A colleague, client or voice actor who has agreed to be cloned for a specific purpose
A team member's voice for company videos, with their written agreement

It does not cover celebrities, public figures, friends who said "sure" as a joke, or recordings pulled from someone else's video. The consent checkbox in the studio is a real statement on your part. If you clone a voice for someone else, keep a record of their permission and what they agreed to.

How to record a HeyGen Voice cloning sample

The output of HeyGen Voice cloning can only be as good as the sample you give it. You don't need a studio, but a few habits make a big difference.

Pick a quiet room

Soft furnishings help. A bedroom or a closet full of clothes usually beats a kitchen or an empty office. Turn off fans, air conditioning and notifications.

Use a decent microphone

A USB microphone or a good headset mic is plenty. A recent phone held about 20 cm from your mouth also works. Keep the same distance the whole time.

Speak the way you want the clone to sound

If the clone will narrate tutorials, record in a calm, clear tutorial voice. If it will read ads, use more energy. HeyGen Voice picks up on your delivery as well as your tone.

Read varied material

Mix short and long sentences, questions and statements. A page from an article or a few paragraphs of your own script both work. Aim for around 2 to 3 minutes of steady speech, since that is all HeyGen Voice will read.

Skip the cleanup tricks

Light trimming of silence at the start is fine. Avoid heavy noise reduction, music beds, reverb or other effects. Those can end up baked into the cloned HeyGen Voice.

Step by step: cloning a voice with HeyGen Voice

Sign in on a paid plan and open the studio.
Find the voice cloning option and choose your recording file.
Check it is one speaker, under 8 MB and in a supported format.
Tick the consent checkbox to confirm you own the voice or have permission.
Upload and wait for the clone to be ready.
Select the cloned voice, paste a short test line and generate.
Listen, then try it with both HeyGen Voice and HeyGen Voice Turbo.

Getting good results from a cloned HeyGen Voice

Test with a short paragraph first. With HeyGen Voice Turbo at 4 credits per 1,000 characters, tests cost very little.
Try a few positions on the expressiveness slider. A clone can sound different at 0.3 than at 0.8.
If the result sounds off, the sample is the first thing to fix. Re-record in a quieter spot rather than generating again and again.
Use the same cloned HeyGen Voice and settings across a series so episodes match.

Using cloned HeyGen Voice audio commercially

Paid plans include commercial use of generated audio. That covers the platform side. The permission side is still on you: if the cloned voice belongs to someone else, make sure your agreement with them covers the way you plan to use it.

Ready to clone your voice?

If you have a clean 2 to 3 minute recording and the right permission, HeyGen Voice cloning takes only a few minutes. Pick a plan on the pricing page, then head to the studio to upload your sample.

HeyGen Voice AI is an independent website that runs the HeyGen Voice models through fal.ai. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by HeyGen.