ElevenLabs: Features, Pricing, Models & Alternatives (2026)

Last researched: September 26, 2026. Pricing, credit allowances, and model names change frequently at ElevenLabs; verify current figures at the official pricing page before purchasing. ElevenLabs is a voice AI company, founded in 2022 by Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski, that builds text-to-speech, voice cloning, dubbing, transcription, music, and conversational voice-agent products used by publishers, studios, developers, and enterprises.

What Is ElevenLabs?

ElevenLabs is an audio AI platform built around its own family of text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and voice-cloning models. It started as a text-to-speech and dubbing tool and has since expanded into music generation, sound-effects generation, and an "Agents Platform" for building voice-driven conversational applications. It sells access through a credit-based subscription model and a pay-as-you-go API, and it also ships a free consumer app, ElevenReader, for listening to text content aloud.

Key Capabilities

• Text-to-speech across 70+ languages on the flagship Eleven v3 model, with support for expressive delivery via inline audio/emotion tags
• Instant Voice Cloning (fast, sample-based) and Professional Voice Cloning (higher-fidelity, verification-gated) for creating custom voices
• Dubbing Studio for translating and re-voicing video/audio content into other languages
• Speech-to-text via the Scribe v2 family, including a low-latency real-time variant and a clinical-audio-tuned variant, with word-level timestamps and speaker diarization
• Eleven Music for generating instrumental and vocal music tracks from text prompts
• Text-to-sound-effects generation that is language-agnostic
• An Agents Platform for deploying low-latency conversational voice agents into web, mobile, and telephony channels

Main Features

Use Cases

• Audiobook and long-form narration production
• Video/podcast dubbing and localization into multiple languages
• IVR systems and AI voice agents for customer support or sales
• Accessibility tooling (reading articles, PDFs, or documents aloud)
• Game and animation character voicing
• Rapid multilingual content production for marketing and e-learning

Supported Models / Technologies

Current TTS models (as of this writing) are Eleven v3 (70+ languages, ~5,000-character/~5-minute limit), Multilingual v2 (29 languages, ~10,000-character limit), and Flash v2.5 (32 languages, ~40,000-character limit, lowest latency); the older Turbo v2/v2.5 models are deprecated in favor of Flash. Transcription runs on the Scribe v2 family (90+ languages). Voice cloning fidelity is not published as a numeric score by ElevenLabs; Professional Voice Cloning is described as the higher-fidelity, production-grade tier versus Instant Voice Cloning. Exact per-model maximum audio output length beyond the figures above was not publicly disclosed in a single consolidated spec at the time of research.

Platforms

• Web application (elevenlabs.io)
• REST API with official Python and JavaScript/TypeScript SDKs
• Swift, Kotlin, and Flutter SDKs for the Agents Platform
• ElevenReader mobile app for iOS (17.0+) and Android (7.0+)

Integrations

Zapier (including an MCP-based integration connecting to 7,000+ apps), Twilio and other telephony providers for the Agents Platform, and a documented REST API that third-party platforms (e.g., automation tools, CMSs) can integrate against. ElevenLabs also publishes developer documentation for building custom integrations.

Pricing

Credits are consumed per character generated (roughly 1,000 credits per minute of audio for standard models); annual billing gives roughly two months free. Confirm exact current credit costs per model at the official pricing page, since ElevenLabs periodically adjusts rates for newer Flash/Turbo models.

Advantages

• Broad language coverage on its flagship model (70+ languages) plus a dedicated low-latency model for real-time use cases
• Both fast/cheap (Instant) and higher-fidelity (Professional) voice cloning tiers
• Combines TTS, STT, dubbing, music, sound effects, and voice agents under one account/API
• Documented REST API with multiple language SDKs and an existing agents ecosystem
• Free consumer reader app with offline listening

Limitations

• Credit costs scale quickly for heavy production use, and the cheapest tiers are aimed at individuals rather than teams
• Commercial usage rights and voice cloning are gated behind paid plans, not available on Free
• Voice cloning consent relies substantially on user attestation at signup, which raises the possibility of misuse if a user falsely claims rights to a voice, despite ElevenLabs' verification steps for Professional Voice Cloning
• Maximum characters/audio length per single generation vary by model and require chunking longer scripts
• As with most TTS providers, especially expressive or emotional delivery is strongest on the flagship model and weaker on the faster/cheaper models

Security & Privacy

ElevenLabs allows users to opt out of having their audio/text used for model training via account Data Use settings, though the company states some data may still be retained for security, fraud prevention, support, and analytics purposes even with training disabled. Professional Voice Cloning includes a verification step intended to confirm the uploader owns or has consent to use a given voice. Because voice samples are commonly treated as biometric data under regulations like the GDPR, organizations doing client or public-facing work are advised to document consent separately and consult ElevenLabs' current Terms of Service and Privacy Policy directly, since exact legal obligations vary by jurisdiction.

Best For

ElevenLabs is best suited to studios, publishers, app developers, and enterprises that need multilingual narration, dubbing, or voice-agent capabilities at scale and are willing to manage a credit-based budget; individual creators can start on the low-cost Starter plan for basic commercial narration.

Alternatives

• Google Cloud Text-to-Speech / WaveNet, for teams already standardized on Google Cloud infrastructure
• Amazon Polly, for AWS-native pipelines needing TTS at scale
• Murf AI, a competing studio-style TTS/voiceover editor aimed at marketing teams
• Resemble AI, a competitor also focused on voice cloning and real-time voice conversion
• WellSaid Labs, a TTS provider focused on enterprise-grade narration voices
• OpenAI's TTS API, for teams already using OpenAI models who want a simpler, token-priced TTS endpoint

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ElevenLabs free to use?

Yes. The Free plan gives 10,000 credits a month (roughly 10 minutes of audio) with text-to-speech, speech-to-text, sound effects, and limited voice design, but it excludes commercial use rights and voice cloning.

What is the difference between Instant and Professional Voice Cloning?

Instant Voice Cloning creates a usable clone from a short sample in minutes and is aimed at quick tests; Professional Voice Cloning (PVC) requires more training audio and a verification step, and produces a higher-fidelity clone suitable for production and shareable voices. PVC is available starting on the Creator plan.

How many languages does ElevenLabs support?

Coverage varies by model: the flagship Eleven v3 model supports 70+ languages, Flash v2.5 supports 32 languages, Multilingual v2 supports 29 languages, and the Scribe v2 transcription models support 90+ languages.

Does ElevenLabs train its models on my uploaded audio?

ElevenLabs lets users opt out of having their data used for model training from the account's Data Use settings, but the company states it may still use data for security, fraud prevention, support, and analytics even when training is disabled. Review the current privacy policy for exact terms.

Can ElevenLabs be used through an API?

Yes. ElevenLabs offers a REST API with official Python and JavaScript/TypeScript SDKs, plus Swift, Kotlin, and Flutter SDKs for its Conversational AI Agents platform.

Final Summary

ElevenLabs is one of the more broadly capable voice AI platforms on the market as of late 2026, combining TTS, voice cloning, dubbing, transcription, music, and conversational agents under a single credit-based pricing system. Its pricing and per-model limits change often enough that teams evaluating it for production use should re-check the official pricing and model documentation rather than relying on cached figures.