Pricing breakdown
ElevenLabs Pricing (2026): Plans, Credits & API Rates
A clear-eyed look at ElevenLabs pricing for 2026 — what the Free plan actually includes, how the seven Studio tiers stack up, what the API and Pay-As-You-Go billing cost, and which plan fits your workflow. For the full feature verdict, read our ElevenLabs overview and rating and see how it stacks up in ElevenLabs vs Murf AI.
Table of contents
Pricing overview
ElevenLabs runs on a credit-based subscription model spanning seven tiers — Free, Starter, Creator, Pro, Scale, Business and Enterprise. Every plan draws from a monthly credit pool shared across Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Dubbing, Voice Changer, Sound Effects and Music. The differences between tiers come down to credit volume, voice cloning fidelity, workspace seats, audio quality and enterprise features. Because pricing and promotions change, treat the figures below as a snapshot and confirm current numbers on the official ElevenLabs pricing page.
Free plan
The ElevenLabs Free plan is genuinely usable for evaluation: 10,000 credits per month and 3 Projects in Studio, covering Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Sound Effects, Voice Design, Music, Productions and Image. It's enough to sample the voice library and core tools, but voice cloning and commercial usage rights are both locked to paid plans.
Plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Best for | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Testing voices and features before committing | 10,000 credits/month, 3 Projects in Studio. Includes Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Sound Effects, Voice Design, Music, Productions and Image — but no commercial rights or voice cloning. |
| Starter | $6/month | Individuals starting to publish real projects | 30,000 credits/month, 20 Projects in Studio. Everything in Free, plus Commercial License, Instant Voice Cloning, music commercial use, Dubbing Studio and Image & Video. |
| Creator | $22/month (often $11 for the first month) | Creators publishing regularly — the most popular plan | 121,000 credits/month. Everything in Starter, plus Professional Voice Cloning and additional credits. |
| Pro | $99/month | Professionals needing higher-fidelity API audio | 600,000 credits/month. Everything in Creator, plus 44.1kHz PCM audio output via API and 192kbps quality audio. |
| Scale | $299/month | Small teams and businesses | 1.8M credits/month, 3 workspace seats. Everything in Pro, plus team collaboration and 3 Professional Voice Clones. |
| Business | $990/month | Larger teams needing low-latency TTS at volume | 6M credits/month, 10 workspace seats. Everything in Scale, plus low-latency TTS as low as 5¢/minute and 10 Professional Voice Clones. |
| Enterprise | Custom — contact sales | Large organizations needing compliance and scale | Custom credits and seats. Everything in Business, plus custom DPA/SLAs, HIPAA BAAs, custom SSO, elevated concurrency, fully managed dubbing via Productions and priority support. |
Prices verified July 2026, billed monthly. Yearly billing is also offered — always confirm the latest figures on the official ElevenLabs pricing page.
API & Pay-As-You-Go pricing
The ElevenAPI is billed from the same credit pool as the app. Once your plan's included minutes run out, extra usage is billed at a per-minute overage rate that drops as you move up tiers, or you can enable Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) — a prepaid balance, available on every self-serve tier including Free, that's drawn down automatically after your subscription credits are exhausted and can be set to auto top-up.
| Plan | Included minutes (TTS UI) | Extra usage | Audio quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | ~10 min included | ~$0.36/min | 128 kbps, 44.1kHz |
| Starter | ~30 min included | ~$0.20/min | 128 kbps, 44.1kHz |
| Creator | ~121 min included | ~$0.18/min | 128 kbps, 44.1kHz |
| Pro | ~600 min included | ~$0.17/min | 128 & 192 kbps (Studio/API), 44.1kHz |
| Scale | ~1,800 min included | ~$0.17/min | 128 & 192 kbps (Studio/API), 44.1kHz |
| Business | ~6,000 min included | ~$0.17/min | 128 & 192 kbps (Studio/API), 44.1kHz |
Eleven Flash v2.5 — the low-latency model built for real-time and conversational use — is priced roughly 50% lower per character for API generations than the flagship models, making it the cost-efficient choice for voice agents and IVR at volume.
Which plan should you choose?
- • Free — testing voice quality and core tools before paying anything.
- • Starter — solo creators who need commercial rights and Instant Voice Cloning on a small budget.
- • Creator — the default pick for regular creators who want Professional Voice Cloning and a larger credit pool.
- • Pro — developers and producers who need higher-fidelity 44.1kHz/192kbps API audio.
- • Scale — small teams needing multiple seats and more Professional Voice Clones.
- • Business — larger teams needing low-latency TTS at volume and 10 seats.
- • Enterprise — organizations needing HIPAA BAAs, custom SSO, custom SLAs or managed dubbing.
Is ElevenLabs worth it?
For anyone who needs the most realistic AI voice quality available, ElevenLabs is worth the spend — the free and Starter tiers make it easy to confirm that before committing further. The value case weakens if you regenerate outputs heavily, since failed and re-rolled generations still consume credits, or if your workflow needs a full studio production suite (video sync, team dubbing) more than raw voice quality, where a tool like Murf AI fits better. See our ElevenLabs vs Murf AI comparison for that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Is ElevenLabs free to use?
Yes. The Free plan includes 10,000 credits per month across Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Sound Effects, Voice Design, Music, Productions and Image, with 3 Projects in Studio. Voice cloning and commercial rights require a paid plan.
How much does ElevenLabs cost per month?
Starter is $6/month, Creator is $22/month (frequently discounted to $11 for the first month), Pro is $99/month, Scale is $299/month, and Business is $990/month. Enterprise is custom-priced.
Does ElevenLabs offer yearly billing?
Yes, ElevenLabs' pricing page offers a yearly billing option alongside monthly. Confirm the current annual rate on the official pricing page, since promotional discounts can change.
How do ElevenLabs credits work?
Every plan comes with a monthly credit allowance spent across Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Dubbing, Voice Changer, Sound Effects and Music. Higher tiers include more credits and lower per-minute overage rates once you exceed your monthly allowance.
What happens if I exceed my ElevenLabs plan's credits?
You can purchase extra minutes at your plan's overage rate (roughly $0.36/minute on Free down to about $0.17/minute on Pro and above), or use Pay-As-You-Go: a prepaid balance that's drawn down automatically once your subscription credits are exhausted.
What is ElevenLabs Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG)?
PAYG lets you prepay for usage without a monthly subscription commitment. It's available on all self-serve tiers including Free. If you have both a subscription and a PAYG balance, your subscription credits are consumed first, and PAYG extends you beyond your monthly quota.
Does ElevenLabs offer free credits for startups?
Yes. The Startup Grants Program offers eligible early-stage teams 12 months free with 33M characters, intended for building, launching and testing conversational AI agents.
Is ElevenLabs pricing confusing?
The most common complaint in independent reviews is that failed generations and re-rolls still consume credits, so real-world cost per finished clip can run higher than the advertised rate. Budget for some regeneration overhead, especially on the Free and Starter tiers.