In this paper, a complexity-balancing algorithm is proposed for distributed video coding based on entropy coding. In order to reduce complexity of DVC-based decoders, the proposed method employs an entropy coder instead of channel coders and the complexity-balancing method is designed to improve RD performance with minimal computational complexity. The proposed method performs motion estimation in the decoder side and transmits the estimated motion vectors to the encoder. The proposed encoder can perform more accurate refinement using the transmitted motion vectors from the decoder. During the motion refinement, the optimal predicted motion vectors are decided by the received motion vector and the predicted motion vectors and complexity load of block is allocated by adjusting the search range based on the difference between the received motion vector and the predicted motion vectors. The computational complexity of the proposed encoder is decreased 11.9% compared to the H.264/AVC encoder and that of the proposed decoder are reduced 99% compared to the conventional DVC decoder.