If you're looking for an AI dubbing tool to translate your YouTube videos, HeyGen is probably the first name you'll find — they rank #1 for almost every dubbing keyword on Google. But ranking first doesn't mean they're the best fit for every creator.
I wanted to compare the two workflows side by side — not the voice quality or the AI models, but the actual process of going from "I have a YouTube video" to "my video has dubbed audio tracks in multiple languages."
The HeyGen Workflow
Based on HeyGen's documentation and their published tutorials:
Download your video from YouTube
Log into HeyGen
Upload the video file
Select your target language
Configure speaker settings
Wait for processing
Download the dubbed video
Repeat steps 4–7 for each additional language
Go to YouTube Studio
Upload each dubbed audio track manually
For one language, this is manageable. For 10 or 20 languages, you're repeating the configure-wait-download cycle for each one.
Pricing: According to HeyGen's pricing page, the Creator plan starts at $24/month. The Business plan at $108/month is required for higher usage limits. These are monthly subscriptions regardless of how much you use.
The MLALab Workflow
Go to mlalab.ai
Paste your YouTube video URL
Select all the languages you want (up to 27)
Click generate
Download your dubbed audio tracks
That's it. No video download. No file upload. No per-language configuration loop. Select 5 languages or 27 — it's the same number of clicks.
Pricing: Pay-per-use only. No monthly subscription. You pay for the minutes you actually dub. If you don't publish a video this month, you pay nothing.
The Key Difference: Automation
This isn't about which AI produces better voices — both use modern neural TTS. The difference is in how much manual work sits between you and your dubbed video.
Step HeyGen MLALab
Download video from YouTube Yes No (paste URL)
Upload video to platform Yes No (automatic)
Per-language configuration Yes (each language separately) No (select all at once)
Software download required No No
Monthly subscription Yes ($24–$108/mo) No (pay-per-use)
Number of clicks for 27 languages 100+ ~5
Who Should Use What
HeyGen is a full video creation platform — avatars, video generation, and dubbing. If you need AI-generated spokesperson videos or advanced video editing features, HeyGen offers a broader toolkit.
MLALab does one thing: takes your existing YouTube video and creates dubbed audio tracks in multiple languages with minimal effort. If you're a YouTube creator who just wants to add MLA (Multi-Language Audio) tracks to reach international audiences, the fully automated workflow saves hours per video.
The Subscription Question
Most dubbing tools charge monthly subscriptions between $24 and $199. If you're dubbing videos daily, a subscription makes sense. But most YouTube creators publish 1–4 videos per month. Paying $49–$108/month for a tool you use 4 times means you're paying $12–$27 per use — plus you're locked in during months you don't publish at all.
Pay-per-use pricing means your cost scales with your actual output. Publish more? Pay more. Take a month off? Pay nothing.
Bottom Line
Both tools will get your video dubbed. The question is how much of your time you want to spend on the process versus the content itself.
If you want the shortest path from "YouTube video" to "dubbed in 27 languages," the fully automated approach removes the most friction.
Try it yourself at mlalab.ai — no account required to see the workflow.
Pepper Gor builds tools for YouTube creators who want to reach global audiences without the manual work.
Top comments (0)