ElevenLabs Pricing Explained: Free, Starter, Creator and Pro in 2026
ElevenLabs runs from Free (10k credits) to Business ($990/mo). Here is every plan, what a credit buys and the real cost per 1,000 characters.
By ToolVerdict Editorial · Data verified October 4, 2026
import TLDR from ‘../components/TLDR.astro’; import Verdict from ‘../components/Verdict.astro’;
ElevenLabs pricing plans (October 2026)
Pricing as of October 2026 (official pricing page, monthly billing):
| Plan | Price | Credits / month | High-quality TTS minutes | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10,000 | ~10 min | Attribution required, non-commercial, 3 Studio projects |
| Starter | $6/mo | 30,000 | ~30 min | Commercial license, Instant Voice Cloning, 20 Studio projects, Dubbing Studio, Image & Video |
| Creator | $22/mo | 121,000 | ~121 min | Professional Voice Cloning, top-up credits, 192 kbps audio |
| Pro | $99/mo | 600,000 | ~600 min | 44.1 kHz PCM output via API, 192 kbps, 10 concurrent requests |
| Scale | $299/mo | 1,800,000 | ~1,800 min | 3 workspace seats, 3 Professional Voice Clones |
| Business | $990/mo | 6,000,000 | ~6,000 min | 10 seats, 10 PVCs, low-latency TTS as low as 5c/min |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | SSO, BAA/HIPAA, elevated concurrency, managed dubbing |
Annual billing is “two months free”: you pay ten months upfront, which works out to Starter $5/mo, Creator $18.33/mo, Pro $82.50/mo, Scale $249.17/mo, Business $825/mo. Live promotions on the page in early October 2026: Starter first month 83% off ($1, through October 18), Creator first month 50% off ($11), plus a limited-time Eleven v4 credit promotion running to about October 12 — check the in-app banner before you count on it.
What a credit actually buys
All products draw from one shared monthly pool (official credit rates):
| Product | Credit cost |
|---|---|
| Text to Speech (standard models) | ~1 credit per character |
| Text to Speech (Flash / Turbo) | 0.5–1 credit per character |
| Speech to Text | 330 credits per minute |
| Eleven Music | 900 credits per minute |
| Sound Effects | 200 credits per generation |
| Voice Changer / Voice Isolator | 1,000 credits per minute |
| Automated Dubbing | 2,000–3,000 credits per minute; Dubbing Studio 5,000–10,000 |
That table is the whole pricing model: your narration, your voice cloning, your music, and your dubbing all spend the same credits, so a music-heavy month quietly shrinks your TTS budget.
Cost per 1,000 characters
Using the standard rate of one credit per character:
| Plan | Monthly price | Characters included | Cost per 1,000 chars | Effective rate with annual billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10,000 | $0.00 (non-commercial) | — |
| Starter | $6 | 30,000 | $0.20 | $0.17 ($5/mo) |
| Creator | $22 | 121,000 | $0.18 | $0.15 ($18.33/mo) |
| Pro | $99 | 600,000 | $0.17 | $0.14 ($82.50/mo) |
| Scale | $299 | 1,800,000 | $0.17 | $0.14 |
Extra minutes beyond the allowance are listed at about $0.20/min (Starter), $0.18 (Creator), $0.17 (Pro and above). For developers, ElevenLabs sells API access separately from these subscription credits: list rates are roughly $0.08 per 1,000 characters on Eleven v3 and v4 and $0.04 on v4 Turbo, with the v4 launch promotion cutting those to about $0.022 and $0.011 until October 12, 2026. Credits are cheaper than API characters at every tier above Starter, which is the main reason to subscribe rather than meter.
The catch: one pool, and a clock on it
Three things to know before you pick a tier:
- Everything shares the same credits. TTS, STT, music, sound effects, dubbing, voice changer — one pool, no per-product allowance.
- Unused credits roll over, but only for two months. Paid plans carry up to 2x your monthly quota forward (your balance can reach 3x your monthly allotment). Downgrading or cancelling forfeits the remainder, Free never rolls over, and top-up credits sit outside the cap.
- The plan day is your anniversary. Credits reset on the day you subscribed, not on the 1st, and a failed generation only refunds credits if the app marks the regeneration as free.
Which plan is actually right for you?
Free ($0) — evaluating ElevenLabs or occasional personal use. Ten minutes of high-quality speech, real models, full API access. It requires attribution and has no commercial license, so it cannot ship in a client project, a monetized video, or a product.
Starter ($6/mo) — the minimum viable plan. The commercial license plus Instant Voice Cloning turns it from a demo into a pipeline, and 30,000 credits cover roughly half an hour of narration a month. Buy it the moment you need to publish anything.
Creator ($22/mo) — the sweet spot for professionals: 121,000 credits (about two hours of narration), Professional Voice Cloning for a high-fidelity replica from longer samples, 192 kbps audio, and the option to top up credits instead of jumping tiers.
Pro ($99/mo) — volume, not features. 600,000 credits and 44.1 kHz PCM output via API; the feature list over Creator is nearly empty. Take it when Creator’s credit bills show you are buying top-ups every month.
Scale ($299) / Business ($990) — only for teams: workspace seats, more Professional Voice Clones, and lower per-minute costs. Individuals should never start here.
Money-saving moves
- Annual billing — two months free on every tier; Creator drops to $18.33/mo and Pro to $82.50/mo.
- Stay on Flash/Turbo models where quality allows — 0.5–1 credit per character effectively doubles your minutes.
- Watch the rollover — your balance can reach 3x your monthly quota, so a light month can fund a heavy one if you stay on a paid plan.
- Top up instead of upgrading — Creator already sells additional credits, so step to Pro only when top-ups beat the $77 price gap.
- Bank the launch promos — first-month discounts and the Eleven v4 credit promotion are time-boxed (mid-October 2026) and only visible in the app.
Frequently asked questions
How much does ElevenLabs cost per 1,000 characters? About $0.20 on Starter, $0.18 on Creator, and $0.17 on Pro at standard quality, falling to roughly $0.14–$0.15 with annual billing. Flash and Turbo models halve that again.
Is ElevenLabs free tier usable commercially? No. The Free plan requires attribution and does not include a commercial license; that starts at Starter.
What is the difference between Instant and Professional Voice Cloning? Instant Voice Cloning ships with Starter from a short sample. Professional Voice Cloning needs more audio and starts at Creator, producing a higher-fidelity replica.
Does ElevenLabs have annual billing? Yes — pay for ten months to get twelve, giving Starter $5/mo, Creator $18.33/mo, Pro $82.50/mo, Scale $249.17/mo, Business $825/mo.
Do unused credits expire? They roll over for up to two months on paid plans (capped at 3x your monthly quota), and are forfeited if you downgrade or cancel. Free credits do not roll over.
The bottom line
ElevenLabs pricing is a ladder of credit volume, not features: after Starter unlocks commercial use and cloning, Creator and Pro mostly buy more of the same pool. Price your script in characters first — a 10,000-character script is 10,000 credits, so Creator covers about 12 of them a month — then buy the smallest plan that clears your monthly number with room for regeneration.