ElevenLabs
AskZyro PickOne of the best AI audio platforms available, combining highly realistic speech with powerful developer APIs, dubbing and voice-agent tools.
Best for
YouTube creators, podcasters, audiobook producers, video editors, game developers, marketing agencies, e-learning companies, accessibility products, voice applications, AI startups, customer-support teams and international content publishers.
Skip it if
Users who only need basic robotic text-to-speech, businesses without permission to clone or reproduce a voice, teams that need a complete video editor, users producing very large audio volumes on a small budget, and projects requiring unrestricted rights for every generated music use case.
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Independently researched · Pricing checked 18 August 2026 · 12-minute read
The 30-second verdict
ElevenLabs has become a complete AI audio ecosystem rather than simply a text-to-speech website.
Its core strength remains voice quality. The platform can produce speech with convincing pacing, emphasis, emotion and pronunciation across a wide range of voices and languages.
Read our full verdict ↓Collapse ↑
The latest Eleven v3 model supports expressive speech in more than 70 languages and can generate natural multi-speaker dialogue. Flash v2.5 is designed for real-time applications with approximately 75ms latency, while Multilingual v2 prioritises stable, long-form output.
ElevenLabs now also includes speech-to-text, voice changing, voice isolation, sound effects, music generation, dubbing, image and video tools, Studio production workflows and ElevenAgents for conversational systems.
This makes it particularly valuable for businesses building repeatable audio pipelines. A company can use one platform to create narration, transcribe interviews, localise videos, generate sound effects and power a voice-based assistant.
The main disadvantage is cost predictability. All products use a shared credit balance, meaning that music, dubbing, speech-to-text and voice generation compete for the same monthly allowance.
ElevenLabs is an excellent choice for professional voice and audio work. It is less suitable for someone who only needs a few short voiceovers each month or wants an all-in-one video editor.
4.9
Output quality
4.6
Ease of use
4.4
Value for money
Reviewed by AskZyro Editorial Team · 18 August 2026
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Product screenshot — ElevenLabs in use — coming soon.
What is ElevenLabs?
ElevenLabs is an AI audio company and creative platform focused on generating, transforming and understanding speech. Its products include Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Voice Design, Voice Cloning, Voice Changer, Voice Isolator, Dubbing, Sound Effects, AI Music, Studio, Productions, image and video tools, ElevenAgents and Developer APIs. The platform can be used directly through the web application or integrated into software using REST APIs and official SDKs. ElevenLabs supports both batch production and real-time audio applications. Its API documentation covers Python, JavaScript/TypeScript and other developer workflows. The latest Eleven v3 model supports expressive speech in more than 70 languages and can generate natural multi-speaker dialogue. Flash v2.5 is designed for real-time applications with approximately 75ms latency, while Multilingual v2 prioritises stable, long-form output. How ElevenLabs works A typical text-to-speech workflow is: 1. Choose a voice from the library or create a custom voice. 2. Select a speech model. 3. Paste or write the script. 4. Adjust pronunciation, pacing and delivery. 5. Generate the audio. 6. Review the result. 7. Download it or send it to an application through the API. Developers can also stream audio as it is generated, which is useful for voice assistants, games, conversational interfaces, accessibility tools, real-time customer service, AI characters and interactive applications. ElevenLabs meters most services through credits. Text-to-speech is primarily charged by characters, while transcription, dubbing, music and other tools use different consumption rates. What can you do with ElevenLabs? Generate realistic speech — convert written text into natural-sounding spoken audio with control over voice, accent, emotion, pacing, pronunciation, pauses, emphasis and delivery style. Audio tags such as [laughs], [whispers] and [sighs] can control performance. Choose from a large voice library — more than 10,000 voices filterable by gender, age, accent, language, tone, use case and energy. Clone a voice — reproduce an authorised speaker's vocal characteristics from an audio sample for narration, courses, podcasts, games, character dialogue and video localisation. Design a new voice — describe the voice you want by age, accent, tone, energy and personality, useful when a project needs an original voice rather than a clone. Create multilingual voiceovers — generate speech across 70+ languages for international advertising, e-learning, audiobooks, YouTube localisation and product tutorials. Dub videos and audio — translate spoken content while preserving the speaker's identity and delivery, including transcription, translation, voice matching, speaker separation and multilingual output. Transcribe audio — Scribe v2 converts speech to text in 90+ languages with word-level timestamps, speaker diarisation, entity detection and real-time transcription. Generate music — Eleven Music creates songs, background music and instrumental tracks from natural-language prompts with control over genre, mood, tempo, structure, instrumentation, vocals and lyrics. Generate sound effects — describe a sound effect and generate an audio file for door sounds, footsteps, weather, explosions, game effects, ambience, UI sounds and cinematic impacts. Isolate voices — reduce unwanted background sound and separate speech from surrounding noise for interviews, podcasts, phone recordings and video dialogue. Change a voice — transform recorded speech while preserving the original performance for character work, game development, dubbing and creative audio. Create dialogue — Eleven v3 supports natural multi-speaker dialogue and a Text to Dialogue API for character conversations, audio dramas, narrated explainers and interactive stories. Build voice agents — ElevenAgents creates conversational voice systems for customer support, lead qualification, appointment booking, sales assistants, AI receptionists and voice-based games. Use the API — REST APIs for text-to-speech, speech-to-text, realtime transcription, dubbing, voice management, sound effects, music, voice changer, voice isolator and agents, with official Python and JavaScript/TypeScript SDKs. Produce long-form audio — Studio and Productions workflows for audiobooks, podcasts, video series, documentaries, educational courses and multi-speaker productions.
What you can do with ElevenLabs
Realistic narration
generate natural-sounding voiceovers for YouTube, podcasts, audiobooks, e-learning and product tutorials
Voice cloning
reproduce an authorised speaker's voice for repeat content without re-recording
Voice Design
create an original voice from a written description when a real-person clone is not needed
Multilingual voiceovers
produce content in 70+ languages for international marketing and localisation
Video and audio dubbing
translate spoken content while preserving speaker identity, delivery and timing
Transcription
convert speech to text in 90+ languages with speaker diarisation and word-level timestamps
Realtime transcription
live captions, voice assistants and call-centre tools with low-latency streaming
Music generation
create songs, background music and instrumental tracks from text prompts
Sound effects
generate game effects, ambience, UI sounds and cinematic impacts from descriptions
Voice isolation
clean interviews, podcasts and field recordings by removing background noise
Key features
Text to Speech
convert written text into natural-sounding spoken audio with control over voice, accent, emotion, pacing and delivery
Eleven v3 model
expressive speech in 70+ languages with natural multi-speaker dialogue and audio tags like [laughs], [whispers], [sighs]
Multilingual v2
stable long-form output across multiple languages
Flash v2.5
real-time model with approximately 75ms latency for conversational applications
Voice Library
10,000+ voices filterable by gender, age, accent, language, tone, use case and energy
Voice Design
generate a new voice from a written description of age, accent, tone, energy and personality
Instant Voice Cloning
reproduce a speaker's voice from a short audio sample
Professional Voice Cloning
higher-fidelity cloning on supported paid plans
Voice Changer
transform recorded speech while preserving the original performance
Voice Isolator
reduce background noise and separate speech from surrounding sound
Speech to Text (Scribe v2)
transcription in 90+ languages with word-level timestamps, speaker diarisation and entity detection
Realtime transcription
low-latency streaming speech recognition for live captions and voice assistants
Automatic dubbing
translate spoken content while preserving speaker identity, delivery and timing
Dubbing Studio
professional dubbing workflow with voice matching, speaker separation and multilingual output
Sound Effects
generate audio from text descriptions for game effects, ambience, UI sounds and cinematic impacts
Eleven Music
create songs and instrumental tracks from natural-language prompts with editable sections and multilingual output
Text to Dialogue
generate natural multi-speaker dialogue for character conversations and audio dramas
Studio
long-form audio production workflow for audiobooks, podcasts and educational courses
Productions
multi-speaker production pipeline for series, documentaries and localised media
ElevenAgents
build conversational voice systems with LLM, voice, knowledge base, tools and telephony integrations
Streaming audio
stream generated audio in real time for voice assistants and interactive applications
REST APIs
programmatic access to speech, transcription, dubbing, music, sound effects, voice management and agents
Python and JavaScript/TypeScript SDKs
official client libraries for developer integration
Pronunciation dictionaries
customise how specific words and phrases are pronounced
Audio tags
control performance with tags like [laughs], [whispers], [sighs] and [excited]
Batch and real-time processing
generate audio in batch or stream as needed
Pricing
Checked 18 August 2026| Plan | Price | Best for | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Testing voices and workflows | Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Sound Effects, Voice Design, Music, Productions, image/video tools, 3 Studio projects, 10,000 credits per month, no commercial licence |
| Starter | $6/mo | Occasional commercial voiceovers and short-form content | 30,000 credits per month, commercial licence, Instant Voice Cloning, 20 Studio projects, music commercial use, Dubbing Studio, image/video tools |
| Creator | $22/mo (first month $11 promotional) | Regular creators, podcasters, YouTubers and freelancers | 121,000 credits per month, Professional Voice Cloning, additional credits, everything in Starter |
| Pro | $99/mo | Publishers, developers and businesses producing larger audio volumes | 600,000 credits per month, 44.1kHz PCM audio output via API, 192kbps audio quality, professional production capacity, everything in Creator |
| Scale | $299/mo | Agencies and small production teams | 1.8 million credits per month, 3 workspace seats, team collaboration, 3 Professional Voice Clones, everything in Pro |
| Business | $990/mo | Organisations building substantial audio production or voice-agent operations | 6 million credits per month, 10 workspace seats, 10 Professional Voice Clones, low-latency TTS pricing, everything in Scale |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Large organisations | Custom terms, DPA and SLA, HIPAA BAA, custom SSO, more seats and voices, elevated concurrency, fully managed dubbing, priority support, volume discounts, custom credit allowances |
Free
$0/mo
Best for: Testing voices and workflows
Includes: Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Sound Effects, Voice Design, Music, Productions, image/video tools, 3 Studio projects, 10,000 credits per month, no commercial licence
Starter
$6/mo
Best for: Occasional commercial voiceovers and short-form content
Includes: 30,000 credits per month, commercial licence, Instant Voice Cloning, 20 Studio projects, music commercial use, Dubbing Studio, image/video tools
Creator
$22/mo (first month $11 promotional)
Best for: Regular creators, podcasters, YouTubers and freelancers
Includes: 121,000 credits per month, Professional Voice Cloning, additional credits, everything in Starter
Pro
$99/mo
Best for: Publishers, developers and businesses producing larger audio volumes
Includes: 600,000 credits per month, 44.1kHz PCM audio output via API, 192kbps audio quality, professional production capacity, everything in Creator
Scale
$299/mo
Best for: Agencies and small production teams
Includes: 1.8 million credits per month, 3 workspace seats, team collaboration, 3 Professional Voice Clones, everything in Pro
Business
$990/mo
Best for: Organisations building substantial audio production or voice-agent operations
Includes: 6 million credits per month, 10 workspace seats, 10 Professional Voice Clones, low-latency TTS pricing, everything in Scale
Enterprise
Custom quote
Best for: Large organisations
Includes: Custom terms, DPA and SLA, HIPAA BAA, custom SSO, more seats and voices, elevated concurrency, fully managed dubbing, priority support, volume discounts, custom credit allowances
Strengths, limitations & watch-outs
What it does brilliantly
- Extremely realistic speech
- Strong emotional delivery
- Large voice library with 10,000+ voices
- Excellent pronunciation control
- Voice cloning and Voice Design
- Multilingual support across 70+ languages
- Fast real-time model with approximately 75ms latency
- High-quality long-form model
- Strong dubbing tools with voice matching
- Accurate transcription with speaker diarisation
- Music generation with editable sections
- Sound-effect generation
- Voice isolation for cleaning recordings
- Voice changing for character work
- Comprehensive developer APIs with streaming support
- Voice-agent platform for conversational systems
- Good documentation and official SDKs
- Useful commercial plan options
- Suitable for both creators and developers
- Free plan available for testing
Where it falls short
- Credit system can be confusing with shared pool across all products
- Music and dubbing consume credits quickly
- Higher-quality plans become expensive
- Commercial rights differ by feature and plan
- Music may require an additional licence for advertising, film, TV, games and enterprise
- Voice cloning creates consent and identity risks
- AI pronunciation can still require correction
- Emotion is not perfect in every generation
- Long-form generation may need editing
- Free users have limited commercial access
- API costs can be difficult to forecast
- Some features are split across Creative, Agents and API products
- Not a replacement for a complete video editor
- Generated music may need human arrangement and mixing
- Voice quality varies between languages and models
What to know before paying
- All products draw from a shared monthly credit pool — text-to-speech costs ~1 credit/character, transcription ~330 credits/minute, music ~900 credits/minute, sound effects ~200 credits/generation, voice changer/isolator ~1,000 credits/minute, dubbing ~2,000–10,000 credits/minute
- Starter is the minimum plan for commercial use; the free plan does not include a commercial licence
- Creator is the logical starting point for regular creators who need Professional Voice Cloning and higher credit allowances
- Pro becomes worthwhile when a user needs 44.1kHz PCM API output, higher audio quality or professional production capacity
- Music licensing should be checked carefully — ElevenLabs states that music may require an additional licence for advertising, film, television, games and enterprise distribution
- Voice cloning should only be used with clear permission from the person whose voice is being reproduced
- Paid credits can roll over for up to two months subject to plan limits; free-plan credits do not roll over
Privacy & data
Voice cloning should only be used with clear permission from the person whose voice is being reproduced.
Businesses should maintain documentation covering who owns the voice, what consent was granted, where the voice may be used, whether commercial use is permitted, how long the permission lasts, how the voice can be deleted or revoked, and whether the output can be used in advertising or public communications.
Extra care is required for public figures, employees, customers, children, political content, financial services, healthcare, customer-support calls and identity-sensitive applications.
Enterprise customers should review ElevenLabs' data-processing, security, retention and compliance terms before deploying voice systems at scale.
Commercial use
ElevenLabs states that content generated through its API using ElevenLabs models is commercially licensed. Music may require an additional licence for advertising, film, television, games and enterprise distribution.
Commercial users should check the plan's commercial licence, voice ownership, voice-cloning permission, music licensing, third-party voice restrictions, copyright in uploaded material, advertising disclosure obligations, local laws around synthetic media, and consent for customer or employee recordings.
The free plan does not include a commercial licence. Starter or higher is required for commercial use.
Alternatives to ElevenLabs
| If you need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| AI voice generation and multilingual narration | PlayHT | Broad voice and language coverage with a simpler voice-generation workflow |
| Business voiceovers and marketing narration | Murf AI | Presentation-friendly workflow for business voiceover production |
| Enterprise voiceovers and controlled content | WellSaid Labs | Controlled professional voices for enterprise narration |
| Personal text-to-speech and accessibility | Speechify | Simple reading and accessibility-focused text-to-speech experience |
| Podcast and video editing with AI voice | Descript | Text-based audio and video editing with AI voice features |
| Voice cloning and enterprise voice applications | Resemble AI | Enterprise voice controls for cloning and localisation |
| Creator-focused voiceovers and avatar content | LOVO AI | Voice and avatar workflow for creators |
| Improving recorded speech and cleaning audio | Adobe Podcast | Speech enhancement and podcast audio cleanup |
| Developers building with OpenAI APIs | OpenAI Text to Speech | Convenient for teams already using OpenAI models and APIs |
If you need…
AI voice generation and multilingual narration
Choose
PlayHT
Why
Broad voice and language coverage with a simpler voice-generation workflow
If you need…
Business voiceovers and marketing narration
Choose
Murf AI
Why
Presentation-friendly workflow for business voiceover production
If you need…
Enterprise voiceovers and controlled content
Choose
WellSaid Labs
Why
Controlled professional voices for enterprise narration
If you need…
Personal text-to-speech and accessibility
Choose
Speechify
Why
Simple reading and accessibility-focused text-to-speech experience
If you need…
Podcast and video editing with AI voice
Choose
Why
Text-based audio and video editing with AI voice features
If you need…
Voice cloning and enterprise voice applications
Choose
Resemble AI
Why
Enterprise voice controls for cloning and localisation
If you need…
Creator-focused voiceovers and avatar content
Choose
LOVO AI
Why
Voice and avatar workflow for creators
If you need…
Improving recorded speech and cleaning audio
Choose
Adobe Podcast
Why
Speech enhancement and podcast audio cleanup
If you need…
Developers building with OpenAI APIs
Choose
OpenAI Text to Speech
Why
Convenient for teams already using OpenAI models and APIs
More video & audio tools to consider:
HeyGen
Video & Audio
Create professional AI avatar videos, voiceovers and multilingual content without cameras, actors or editing software.
Descript
Video & Audio
Edit video and podcasts like documents using transcripts, AI editing, voice cloning, captions and screen recording.
Runable AI
Video & Audio
One AI agent for researching, building and delivering websites, apps, presentations, videos, reports and business workflows.
Frequently asked questions
What is ElevenLabs?+
ElevenLabs is an AI audio platform for text-to-speech, voice cloning, dubbing, transcription, music and conversational voice applications.
Is ElevenLabs free?+
Yes. The free plan includes 10,000 monthly credits and access to several core tools.
How much does ElevenLabs cost?+
Paid plans start at $6 per month for Starter. Creator costs $22, Pro costs $99, Scale costs $299 and Business costs $990.
Does ElevenLabs have a free trial?+
The Free plan allows users to test core features without paying.
Can ElevenLabs clone voices?+
Yes. Instant Voice Cloning and Professional Voice Cloning are available on supported plans.
Can ElevenLabs create voices from prompts?+
Yes. Voice Design can generate a voice based on a written description.
Can ElevenLabs generate music?+
Yes. Eleven Music can generate music from natural-language prompts, including vocals and instrumental tracks.
Can ElevenLabs generate sound effects?+
Yes. Users can describe a sound effect and generate an audio file.
Can ElevenLabs transcribe audio?+
Yes. Scribe v2 supports speech-to-text in more than 90 languages.
Can ElevenLabs transcribe audio in real time?+
Yes. Scribe v2 Realtime is designed for low-latency streaming transcription.
Can ElevenLabs dub videos?+
Yes. ElevenLabs includes automatic dubbing and Dubbing Studio workflows.
How many languages does ElevenLabs support?+
Language coverage depends on the model. Eleven v3 supports more than 70 languages, while other models support smaller language sets.
Does ElevenLabs have an API?+
Yes. APIs are available for speech, transcription, dubbing, music, sound effects, voice management and agents.
Can ElevenLabs be used commercially?+
Yes, when the chosen plan and feature provide the relevant commercial licence. Music may require additional licensing.
Can I use a celebrity's voice?+
You should not clone or imitate a real person without the necessary permission and rights.
Is ElevenLabs good for YouTube?+
Yes. It is useful for narration, dubbing, character voices, podcasts and audio production.
Is ElevenLabs good for audiobooks?+
Yes. Its expressive models and Studio workflows make it suitable for audiobook narration, although human review remains important.
Is ElevenLabs good for podcasts?+
Yes. It can create introductions, narration, adverts, character dialogue, translated versions and cleaned-up audio.
Is ElevenLabs good for developers?+
Yes. Its APIs, streaming support, SDKs, documentation and voice-agent tools are major advantages for developers.
Is ElevenLabs better than PlayHT?+
ElevenLabs is often stronger for expressive quality, cloning, APIs and the wider audio platform. PlayHT may suit users prioritising a simpler voice-generation workflow.
Is ElevenLabs better than Murf?+
ElevenLabs is better for advanced audio generation and developers. Murf may be easier for business presentations and straightforward voiceover production.
Reviewed by AskZyro Editorial Team
We assess AI tools for output quality, ease of use, pricing, practical value and limitations. Where possible, we test tools directly and verify product and pricing details with the provider.
Last reviewed: 18 August 2026
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