Multilingual Content

Localize video content into 175+ languages with the HeyGen API. Preserves voice characteristics and lipsync; pairs with translation for end-to-end global.

See It in Action

One video, generated in English, then translated into multiple languages with lip-sync — stitched together:

The Problem

Professional dubbing costs thousands of dollars per language. Most companies either skip localization entirely or settle for subtitles — missing the large audience that prefers content in their native language.

How It Works

Create source video (Video Agent) → Translate (Video Translation API) → Distribute per region

Generate your video once in one language. Then translate it into as many languages as you need — with lip-sync so the avatar’s mouth matches the translated audio.

Build It

1. Create your source video

   Generate the original video using any workflow — social content, product demo, training, etc.

   import requests
   
   resp = requests.post(
       "https://api.heygen.com/v3/video-agents",
       headers={
           "X-Api-Key": HEYGEN_API_KEY,
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
       },
       json={
           "prompt": "Create a 60-second product overview of TaskFlow, a project management app..."
       },
   )
   source_video_id = resp.json()["data"]["video_id"]
   # ... poll until completed, get video_url
   
2. Translate into multiple languages

   Use the Video Translation API to translate into multiple languages in a single request.

   target_languages = ["es", "fr", "de", "ja", "zh", "pt-BR", "ko", "ar", "hi"]
   
   resp = requests.post(
       "https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate",
       headers={
           "X-Api-Key": HEYGEN_API_KEY,
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
       },
       json={
           "video_url": source_video_url,
           "output_languages": target_languages,
           # "translate_mode": "precision"  # For premium lip-sync quality
       },
   )
   translation_id = resp.json()["data"]["video_translate_id"]
   

   See Video Translation docs for all supported languages and options.

3. Choose your quality mode

   Two modes with different cost/quality tradeoffs:

   Mode	Cost	Lip-sync quality	Best for
   Speed (default)	$0.05/second	Good	Most content, fast turnaround
   Precision	$0.10/second	Premium	Face-heavy videos, brand content

   For a 60-second video translated into 9 languages:

   • Speed mode: 60s × 9 × $0.05 = **$27**
   • Precision mode: 60s × 9 × $0.10 = **$54**

   See Pricing for current rates.

4. Generate captions

   Get subtitle files for each translated version.

   # After translation is complete
   resp = requests.get(
       f"https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate/{translation_id}/caption",
       headers={"X-Api-Key": HEYGEN_API_KEY},
       params={"format": "srt"},  # or "vtt"
   )
   captions = resp.json()
   

   Caption URLs expire after 7 days but are regenerated each time you request them.

5. Distribute per region

   Now you have the source video + 9 translated versions + captions for each. Distribute based on your audience’s region.

   # Example: organize outputs by language
   for lang in target_languages:
       print(f"{lang}: video_url=..., caption_url=...")
       # Upload to regional CDN, post to regional social accounts, etc.
   

Real-World Results

These results are reported by companies via HeyGen’s customer stories:

Company	What they did	Reported result
Trivago	Localized TV ads across 30 markets	Halved post-production time
Würth	Translated employee training	Reported 80% reduction in translation costs
McDonald’s	”Grandma McFlurry” campaign translated globally	Used HeyGen for multi-language distribution

Workflow: Translate Everything You Generate

Once you have a translation pipeline, apply it to every video you create:

Social Media Pipeline → Generate 5 English videos → Translate each to 9 languages = 45 videos
Training Pipeline → Generate 10 module videos → Translate to 7 languages = 70 training videos
Product Demo → Generate 1 demo → Translate to 5 key markets = 5 localized demos

The marginal cost per additional language is minimal compared to the reach it unlocks.

Variations

• Audio-only translation: Keep the original video visuals, just change the voiceover — useful when lip-sync isn’t critical
• Subtitle-only: Generate captions without re-rendering the video — cheapest option for supplementary languages
• Regional adaptation: Use different Video Agent prompts per region (not just translation but cultural adaptation) for high-priority markets

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Next Steps

Training & Onboarding

Generate the training content that feeds into this pipeline.

Social Media Pipeline

Multiply your social content across languages.