What's the difference between ElevenLabs and Retell AI?

ElevenLabs is 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, while Retell AI is AI voice agent platform. PAYG at $0.07+/min base ($10 free credits, 20 free concurrent calls); real all-in cost $0.13–0.31/min. Enterprise drops to $0.05+/min base rate. Supports GPT-5.x variants and Claude 4.5/4.6 Sonnet; Fast Tier LLM adds 1.5–2× charge for lower latency. Direct competitor to Vapi and Bland AI. On price, elevenLabs starts at $6/mo; Retell AI uses custom pricing, so a direct comparison requires a quote. Both bill on a per usage model, so the tiers below compare directly.

Which costs less, ElevenLabs or Retell AI?

ElevenLabs starts at $6/mo; Retell AI uses custom pricing, so a direct comparison requires a quote.

Is ElevenLabs or Retell AI priced per seat or 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. Retell AI bills purely on usage — PAYG. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.

Does ElevenLabs have a free plan?

ElevenLabs's free-plan availability isn't confirmed — check the pricing page for the latest.

Does Retell AI have a free plan?

Retell AI's free-plan availability isn't confirmed — check the pricing page for the latest.

How does ElevenLabs pricing compare to Retell AI for enterprise use?

Neither ElevenLabs nor Retell AI publishes a dedicated enterprise tier. Contact each vendor to discuss custom volume pricing.

When were these prices last verified?

One or more prices are currently under review.

ElevenLabs vs Retell AI — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)

TL;DR

ElevenLabs starts at $6/mo. Retell AI uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.

Pricing under review

See price history: ElevenLabs · Retell AI

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.
Retell AI (Per Usage) — Retell AI bills purely on usage — PAYG. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.

Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.

ElevenLabs

Voice Agents & Speech/Audio

Starts at

$6/mo

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.

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Retell AI

Voice Agents & Speech/Audio

Starts at

Pricing not published

AI voice agent platform. PAYG at $0.07+/min base ($10 free credits, 20 free concurrent calls); real all-in cost $0.13–0.31/min. Enterprise drops to $0.05+/min base rate. Supports GPT-5.x variants and Claude 4.5/4.6 Sonnet; Fast Tier LLM adds 1.5–2× charge for lower latency. Direct competitor to Vapi and Bland AI.

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All plans compared

Tier role	Plan	ElevenLabs monthly	ElevenLabs annual	Retell AI monthly	Retell AI annual
Free / starter	Free / PAYG	Free	Free	Free	Free
Entry paid	Starter / —	$6	$5	—	—
Mid tier 1	Creator / —	$22	$18.33	—	—
Mid tier 2	Pro / —	$99	$82.5	—	—
Pro / power	Scale / —	$299	$249.17	—	—
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

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.

Retell AI

Retell AI is worth it if… developers who want a slightly more opinionated voice stack than Vapi — bundled defaults that ship faster, with paid unlocks for premium voices and Fast Tier LLM latency. Free credits make prototyping frictionless.

Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.

Choose ElevenLabs over Retell AI 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 Retell AI if…

You want bundled defaults that ship faster than assembling components yourself.
You're building voice agents where developer experience and UI matter more than stack flexibility.
You want premium voices and low-latency model tiers behind a simple paid unlock.

At a glance

	ElevenLabs	Retell AI
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Entry price	$6/mo	Pricing not published
Enterprise available	No	Yes
Pricing model	Per Usage	Per Usage
Verification	Checked October 3, 2026	Pricing under review
Full pricing	View full pricing	View full pricing