How much does ElevenLabs cost?
The real price of AI voice generation, plan by plan, credits included.
Short answer: ElevenLabs has a free plan (10,000 credits/month, around 10 minutes of voice) but with no commercial rights. The first paid tier is Starter at $6/month, and that is the one that unlocks commercial use and voice cloning. For regular work you move quickly to Creator at $22/month (pro cloning) or Pro at $99/month. Everything runs on credits: roughly 1,000 credits equals 1 minute of speech. We walk through every plan and what you actually pay based on your volume.
Affiliate links: if you sign up through our links, you support us at no extra cost.
ElevenLabs, the key numbers
How much each ElevenLabs plan costs
Here are the individual and business plans. Everything is counted in credits: 1,000 credits is about 1 minute of voice in Multilingual v2 quality. Credits also cover speech-to-text, sound effects, music and conversational agents. Monthly prices shown; annual billing saves roughly 17% (two months free).
Prices in USD, billed monthly. Checked in June 2026.
Free
To test the quality
- 10,000 credits per month (~10 min)
- Text-to-speech and speech-to-text
- 3 projects, voice design
- No commercial rights
Starter
First commercial tier
~$5/month billed yearly
- 30,000 credits per month (~30 min)
- Commercial license included
- Instant voice cloning
- 20 projects, dubbing studio
Creator
For regular creators
~$18/month yearly · first month ~$11
- ~121,000 credits per month (~100 min)
- Professional voice cloning (PVC)
- Additional credits available
- Higher audio quality
Pro
High volume and API
~$66/month billed yearly
- 600,000 credits per month (~600 min)
- 44.1kHz PCM audio via API
- 192kbps quality
- Additional credits available
Scale
For teams
- ~1.8M credits per month
- 3 workspace seats included
- 3 professional voice clones
- Low-latency TTS, team collaboration
Business
Large voice workloads
- 6M credits per month
- 10 seats and 10 professional clones
- Low-latency TTS (~5¢/min)
- Priority support
Prices checked in June 2026 on elevenlabs.io/pricing and cross-referenced across several sources. Credit allowances vary slightly by source (Creator ~100,000 to 121,000, Scale 1.8M to 2M), worth confirming on the official page. A custom Enterprise plan exists beyond these tiers, with bespoke credits, seats, SSO and DPA or HIPAA commitments.
ElevenLabs is billed per credit
The headline price buys you a monthly credit quota. The moment you go over it, or switch on certain features, the bill climbs. Here is what burns credits and what costs extra.
The credit quota
Each plan includes a monthly quota: 10,000 (Free), 30,000 (Starter), ~121,000 (Creator), 600,000 (Pro). Count roughly 1,000 credits per minute of voice in Multilingual v2 quality. A weekly 30-minute podcast alone eats the entire Starter quota.
Credit overages
Past your quota, you buy additional credits (on Creator and above) or wait for the next month. This is the line that surprises people most: spiky, heavy usage can cost more than simply upgrading a tier.
Voice clones and seats
Professional voice cloning (PVC) starts on the Creator plan. The number of clones is capped per tier (3 on Scale, 10 on Business). To collaborate as a team, extra seats are paid for on the business plans.
Agents and the API
Conversational agents and per-minute API calls draw from the same credits. A live voice agent can drain a Pro quota fast: count the cost per minute, not per month, if you are automating real-time voice.
- Just testing? The Free plan is enough, outside commercial use.
- Publishing commercial content? Starter ($6) is the legal minimum.
- Want to clone your own voice in pro quality? Aim for Creator ($22).
- Producing high volume or via API? Pro ($99) avoids overages.
- Working as a team? Extra seats and clones live on Scale/Business.
How we work out the real cost
The sticker price does not tell you what you actually pay, because it all comes down to how many minutes you generate. To estimate real cost, we start from each plan's credit quota and the rule "1,000 credits ≈ 1 minute." Here is how we reason tier by tier.
- Free (10,000 credits)~10 min/month, no commercial rights$0
- Starter (30,000 credits)~30 min/month, commercial use OK$6
- Creator (~121,000 credits)~100 min/month, pro cloning included$22
- Pro (600,000 credits)~600 min/month, API and high quality$99
Estimate based on the rule 1,000 credits ≈ 1 minute in Multilingual v2. Actual yield varies by model, language and the quality you pick.
What you actually pay per month
The right plan depends on how many minutes of voice you generate each month. Four typical profiles, with the tier that fits best and the overage risk.
Estimates in USD, monthly. Credit overages not included.
Solo creator
A few videos a month
- Starter plan, ~30 min of voice
- Commercial rights included
- Instant cloning available
Regular podcaster
Cloned voice, ~100 min
- Creator plan, ~100 min of voice
- Professional voice cloning
- Additional credits if you go over
Studio / high volume
Production via API
- Pro plan, ~600 min of voice
- 44.1kHz API, high quality
- Headroom before overages
Team / agency
Multi-seat, multi-voice
- Scale plan, ~1.8M credits
- 3 seats, 3 pro clones
- Low-latency TTS, collaboration
Estimates billed monthly (June 2026), based on the rule 1,000 credits ≈ 1 minute. Adjust for your real volume and language. Annual billing cuts these prices by roughly 17%. A real-time voice agent via API burns through credits far faster than plain text narration.
ElevenLabs pricing versus the alternatives
ElevenLabs' entry plan compared with the other AI voice generators. ElevenLabs stays the benchmark on cloning quality, while Murf and Play.ht play on different pricing models. Sort by price or by score.
| Best for | Model | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  ElevenLabs | Benchmark quality | Per credit | 4.6/5 | $6/month | ✓ | Solo to studio | Visit → |
| 2 | Murf AI | Full voice studio | Subscription | 4.2/5 | $29/month | ✓ | Marketing and training | Visit → |
| 3 | Play.ht | Unlimited volume | Flat unlimited | 4.0/5 | $49/month | ✓ | High text volume | Visit → |
Entry prices checked in June 2026 on official pages and third-party comparisons. ElevenLabs bills per credit (minutes generated), whereas Play.ht offers a near-unlimited flat plan and Murf a studio subscription. For high-quality cloned voice, ElevenLabs is the cheapest to start; for very high text-reading volume, Play.ht's unlimited plan can work out cheaper.
So, is ElevenLabs expensive?
Our take after testing it: the value is excellent at entry, but the cost climbs with volume. Here is when it is worth it, and when it stings.
Good value if…
You do high-quality cloned voice at moderate volumes. At $6/month to start commercially and $22 for pro cloning, no competitor matches ElevenLabs' output quality at that price. For a creator or podcaster, it is hard to beat.
Too expensive if…
You generate huge volumes or run a voice agent via API around the clock. Credit overages and the forced jump to Pro ($99) then Scale ($299) add up fast. For very high text-reading volume, an unlimited flat plan like Play.ht can come out cheaper.
The verdict
ElevenLabs is the best value on the market for premium voice at reasonable volume. Pick the plan that matches your real minutes, pay yearly to save 17%, and watch your credit usage to avoid overages.
- Pay yearly: about 17% off, the equivalent of two free months.
- Pick your tier by real minutes, not by default.
- Watch your credit gauge before month-end to avoid overages.
- Use the Free plan to validate quality before paying.
- Keep the API and agents on Pro or above, they burn credits fast.
Frequently asked questions about ElevenLabs pricing
How much does ElevenLabs cost per month?
ElevenLabs has a free plan (10,000 credits/month, about 10 minutes of voice) but with no commercial rights. The first paid tier is Starter at $6/month (30,000 credits, commercial use and instant cloning). Then come Creator at $22/month (~121,000 credits, professional voice cloning), Pro at $99/month (600,000 credits, high-quality API), Scale at $299/month and Business at $990/month. Everything is counted in credits: figure roughly 1,000 credits per minute of speech. The smart move is to pick the tier that matches your real monthly minutes.Does ElevenLabs have a free plan?
Yes, ElevenLabs has a permanent free plan with 10,000 credits per month, about 10 minutes of voice in Multilingual v2 quality. It gives access to text-to-speech, speech-to-text, voice design and 3 projects. The big catch: it includes no commercial rights. You can test the quality and generate voice for personal use, but as soon as you publish monetized content, client work or ads, you need at least the Starter plan at $6/month. The free plan is ideal for validating the output before you pay.How do ElevenLabs credits work?
ElevenLabs bills in credits, formerly called characters. The simple rule: count about 1,000 credits for 1 minute of voice in Multilingual v2 quality. Each plan includes a monthly quota: 10,000 (Free), 30,000 (Starter), about 121,000 (Creator), 600,000 (Pro). Credits cover text-to-speech but also speech-to-text, sound effects, music, dubbing and conversational agents. When you use up your quota, you can buy additional credits (on Creator and above) or wait for the monthly reset. The exact yield varies by model and language.What is the discount for paying ElevenLabs yearly?
Annual billing saves about 17% on all paid plans, the equivalent of two free months. In practice the Pro plan works out to about $66/month yearly versus $99 monthly, and the Scale plan to about $220/month versus $299. It is the main lever for paying ElevenLabs less. Always check the exact price at checkout, because one-off promotions sometimes stack on top, like the first month of the Creator plan shown around $11 instead of $22.Which ElevenLabs plan should I choose for commercial use?
For any commercial use, the minimum plan is Starter at $6/month: it is the first tier that includes the commercial license, essential for monetized YouTube, client work, advertising or an app. The free plan does not allow these uses. If you want to clone your own voice in professional quality, you need to move up to Creator at $22/month, which unlocks professional voice cloning (PVC). For high volume or API use, Pro at $99/month avoids credit overages. Choose based on the number of minutes you actually produce each month.How much does voice cloning cost on ElevenLabs?
Instant voice cloning is included from the Starter plan at $6/month: you provide a few minutes of audio and the tool reproduces the voice quickly. Professional voice cloning (PVC), which is far more faithful, starts on the Creator plan at $22/month. The number of professional clones is then capped per tier: 3 on Scale ($299) and 10 on Business ($990). There is no extra charge per clone within those limits, but if you need more cloned voices you have to move up a tier. For a creator who wants a single signature voice, Creator is enough.What makes the ElevenLabs bill climb?
Three main drivers. First, credit overages: past your monthly quota you pay for additional credits, and heavy but spiky usage can cost more than an upgrade. Second, seats and voice clones: business plans add seats (3 on Scale, 10 on Business) and cap professional clones. Third, the API and conversational agents, billed per minute, which draw from the same credits and drain a quota fast in real-time production. The habit to build is thinking in minutes generated per month, not just the headline subscription price.Is ElevenLabs more expensive than Murf or Play.ht?
It depends on your usage. At entry, ElevenLabs is the cheapest with its Starter plan at $6/month, whereas Murf starts around $29/month monthly and Play.ht around $49/month on its unlimited plan. ElevenLabs bills per credit, so per minute generated: that is favorable at moderate volume and for high-quality cloned voice. But for very high text-reading volume, Play.ht's near-unlimited plan can come out cheaper overall. Murf positions itself as a full voice studio for marketing and training. On raw output quality, ElevenLabs stays the benchmark.How much does ElevenLabs cost for a team or agency?
For a team, the first suitable plan is Scale at $299/month: it includes about 1.8 million credits, 3 workspace seats, 3 professional voice clones and low-latency TTS for real-time use. Above that, the Business plan at $990/month moves up to 6 million credits, 10 seats and 10 professional clones, with priority support. For heavier needs (SSO, DPA or HIPAA commitments, custom quotas), there is a custom-priced Enterprise plan. The right calculation is to add up the minutes for the whole team and the number of cloned voices you need before picking the tier.Can you cancel or change your ElevenLabs plan easily?
Yes, the subscription is managed from your account and you can change plan or cancel with no long commitment on the monthly options. If you pay yearly, you get the discount but commit for twelve months. The point to watch is credits: they do not roll over indefinitely from one month to the next, so avoid overpaying for a tier you do not use fully. Before downgrading or leaving, remember to export your audio files and check what happens to your cloned voices, which are tied to your active subscription.
Get our real tool prices in your inbox
Join 2,400+ makers who get our tool tests, with pricing broken down, every week.
