ElevenLabs vs Cartesia — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
ElevenLabs starts at $6/mo. Cartesia starts at $5/mo. Cartesia is $1/mo cheaper on the entry tier than ElevenLabs.
See price history: ElevenLabs · Cartesia
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- ElevenLabs (Per Usage) — ElevenLabs bills on usage — Starter on top of a paid plan starting at $6/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
- Cartesia (Hybrid) — Cartesia is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $5/mo plus metered usage on top. Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
AI voice generation and speech synthesis platform, and the category-defining player in generative audio — voice cloning, multi-language dubbing, and text-to-speech that competitors benchmark against. Credit-based pricing from Free (10K credits) up to Business ($990/mo, 6M credits). Powers podcast creators, product teams building voice UX, and voice agent platforms. Best-in-class voice quality is the durable moat.
Voice AI research lab building state-of-the-art speech synthesis models (Sonic) with ultra-low latency (<100ms). Usage-based pricing: pay-per-character generation, entry rate around $0.017/1K characters. Enterprise custom for volume. Popular with voice agent developers who need faster-than-ElevenLabs synthesis for real-time conversations.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | ElevenLabs monthly | ElevenLabs annual | Cartesia monthly | Cartesia annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Starter / Pro | $6 | $5 | $5 | $5 |
| Mid tier 1 | Creator / Startup | $22 | $18.33 | $49 | $49 |
| Mid tier 2 | Pro / — | $99 | $82.5 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Scale | $299 | $249.17 | $299 | $299 |
| Teams | Business / — | $990 | $825 | — | — |
| Enterprise | — / Enterprise | — | — | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
ElevenLabs is worth it if… creators and product teams who want the highest-quality synthetic voices on the market — particularly for voice cloning, multilingual dubbing, and long-form narration. Free tier is enough to test but restricts commercial use; Starter ($6) unlocks it.
Cartesia is worth it if… developers building real-time voice agents where sub-100ms TTS latency matters (voice interruption handling, conversational feel). Sonic model is competitive with ElevenLabs on quality and faster on latency.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — ElevenLabs is per usage, Cartesia is hybrid.
Choose ElevenLabs over Cartesia if…
Choose ElevenLabs if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $6/mo).
- You match the profile ElevenLabs is built for: creators and product teams who want the highest-quality synthetic voices on the market — particularly for voice cloning, multilingual dubbing, and long-form narration.
- You need a general-purpose voice agents & speech/audio option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Cartesia if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $5/mo).
- You match the profile Cartesia is built for: developers building real-time voice agents where sub-100ms TTS latency matters (voice interruption handling, conversational feel).
- You need a general-purpose voice agents & speech/audio option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| ElevenLabs | Cartesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $6/mo | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Hybrid |
| Verification | Checked October 3, 2026 | Checked September 29, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Verification cadence varies by tool; check each tool page.
Frequently asked questions
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Common questions about ElevenLabs and Cartesia
- How much does ElevenLabs cost in 2026?
- Does ElevenLabs have a free plan?
- How often does ElevenLabs change prices?
- What are the best ElevenLabs alternatives in 2026?
- How much does Cartesia cost in 2026?
- Does Cartesia have a free plan?
- How often does Cartesia change prices?
- What are the best Cartesia alternatives in 2026?