ElevenLabs free vs paid: what the $0 plan covers, and when to upgrade
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · 11Reviews · Updated September 27, 2026 · Verified against elevenlabs.io/pricing and the ElevenLabs terms
ElevenLabs has a real free plan: $0 a month, with 10,000 credits that renew every month. That is enough to hear the voices on your own scripts and make a few short clips. It stops being enough in two situations. You run out of credits, which reviewers say happens fast, or you want to publish something that earns money, which the free license does not allow. The cheapest paid plan, Starter at $6 a month, fixes the license. Creator at $22 is the first tier with Professional Voice Cloning.
What the ElevenLabs Free plan includes
The Free plan gives you 10,000 credits a month. ElevenLabs' plan comparison puts that at about 10 minutes of text to speech, since the Multilingual v2 model charges 1 credit per character. Those credits also work in speech to text, sound effects, voice design, and music, and you get 3 Studio projects and access to the text to speech API. The comparison table lists 3 custom voice slots and 2 concurrent requests on Free.
The limits are in the license. ElevenLabs' terms limit free users to non-commercial use, and its text to speech FAQ adds that the free plan “requires attribution to ElevenLabs.” Instant and Professional Voice Cloning both need a paid plan, as does Dubbing Studio, and free credits don't roll over.
ElevenLabs Free vs Starter at a glance
| Compared on | Free | Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 per month | $6 per month ($5 a month billed yearly) |
| Credits | 10,000 per month (~10 min of speech) | 30,000 per month (~30 min of speech) |
| Commercial use | No: non-commercial, with attribution to ElevenLabs | Yes: commercial license |
| Voice cloning | No cloning; voice design and 3 custom voice slots | Instant Voice Cloning, 10 custom voice slots |
| Studio projects | 3 | 20 |
| Dubbing Studio | Not included | Included |
| Credit rollover | None | Up to two months while subscribed |
| Concurrent requests | 2 | 3 |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of September 27, 2026. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
What reviewers say about the ElevenLabs free plan
Reviewers on G2 and Capterra mostly treat the free plan as a good way to test the product before paying, and a poor fit for regular production.
“The free trial is great and let me see the platform and what it can do”Sam H., G2, August 2026
“The free plan is good for learning, while the paid plans offer more flexibility.”Ritesh G., G2, August 2026
“I do run out of my 10,000 monthly credits too quickly.”Richard L., Capterra, July 2026
“I also dislike the free tier limitation that is restricted for public use, not for commercial.”Rajat S., G2, August 2026
The credit complaints carry over to paid plans. Several reviewers say a few failed generations ate a large share of their monthly allowance, because ElevenLabs charges per generation request, including re-generations. It does offer a limited number of free re-generations when the text and certain settings stay the same, and shows whether one is free before you generate.
ElevenLabs paid plans compared
| Compared on | Monthly price | Credits and what the tier adds |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $6/mo | 30k credits. Commercial license, Instant Voice Cloning, Dubbing Studio, 20 Studio projects |
| Creator | $22/mo ($11 first month) | 121k credits. Adds Professional Voice Cloning and additional credits beyond the quota |
| Pro | $99/mo | 600k credits. Adds 44.1kHz PCM output via the API |
| Scale | $299/mo | 1.8M credits. 3 workspace seats, team collaboration, 3 professional voice clones |
| Business | $990/mo | 6M credits. 10 seats, 10 professional voice clones, low-latency TTS from 5c a minute |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom credits and seats, SSO, BAAs for HIPAA customers, priority support |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of September 27, 2026. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
Which ElevenLabs paid plan to pick
Starter ($6) suits anyone who has outgrown Free on the license alone: you get commercial rights, Instant Voice Cloning from a short sample, Dubbing Studio, and three times the credits. Creator ($22, or $11 for the first month) is where Professional Voice Cloning starts, built from 30+ minutes of your recorded audio. If cloning your own voice is the reason you are paying, go straight to Creator. Starter buyers who expected the professional clone have said so in reviews.
“Starter tier subscription purchased. Found out that voice cloning is no good in this tier.”Taranbir Singh, Google Play, August 2026
Pro ($99) is for high volume, with 600,000 credits and 44.1kHz PCM output through the API. Scale ($299) and Business ($990) add workspace seats and more professional voice clones for teams. On any paid plan, unused credits roll over for up to two months while you stay subscribed, and paying yearly costs 10 months' worth for 12. Every tier is broken down on our ElevenLabs pricing page.
The cheapest way to decide: make your real script on the Free plan first. If the voice works and you need to publish it commercially, Starter is the smallest step up.
Try ElevenLabs freeElevenLabs free vs paid FAQ
Is ElevenLabs free?+
Yes. The Free plan costs $0 a month and includes 10,000 credits, which ElevenLabs says is roughly 10 minutes of text to speech. It covers text to speech, speech to text, sound effects, voice design, music, and 3 Studio projects. Paid plans start at $6 a month.
Can I use the ElevenLabs free plan for commercial work?+
No. ElevenLabs' terms say free users may only use the service for non-commercial purposes, and its text to speech FAQ says the free plan requires attribution to ElevenLabs. The commercial license starts on Starter ($6 a month). That applies to monetized YouTube videos, ads, client work, and audiobooks you sell.
How long do 10,000 ElevenLabs credits last?+
For text to speech on the Multilingual v2 model, 1 character costs 1 credit, so 10,000 credits is about 10,000 characters or roughly 10 minutes of audio. Other tools cost more per minute: speech to text uses 330 credits a minute, music 900, and automatic dubbing at least 2,000. All of them draw on the same monthly pool.
Do unused ElevenLabs credits roll over on the free plan?+
No. Rollover does not apply to the Free plan. On paid plans, unused credits roll over for up to two months while the subscription stays active, and they expire if you downgrade or cancel.
Which ElevenLabs plan do I need for voice cloning?+
Instant Voice Cloning starts on Starter ($6 a month). Professional Voice Cloning, which ElevenLabs builds from 30+ minutes of recorded audio, starts on Creator ($22 a month, $11 for the first month). Some Starter buyers expected the professional version, so check which one you need before you subscribe.
Is ElevenLabs cheaper if I pay yearly?+
Yes. Annual billing charges 10 months for 12. That works out to $5 a month for Starter, $18.33 for Creator, $82.50 for Pro, $249.17 for Scale, and $825 for Business.