ElevenLabs vs Vapi — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
ElevenLabs starts at $6/mo. Vapi starts at Free. Vapi is $6/mo cheaper on the entry tier than ElevenLabs.
See price history: ElevenLabs · Vapi
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 purely on usage — Starter. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
- Vapi (Per Usage) — Vapi 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.
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 agent platform for developers building conversational voice apps. Base orchestration at $0.05/minute PAYG (STT/LLM/TTS/telephony billed separately, ~$0.07–0.25/min all-in). 10 concurrent lines included; extra lines $10/mo each. HIPAA add-on $2K/mo, ZDR $1K/mo. Enterprise starts $40K–70K/year. Backed by Bessemer and Y Combinator. Direct competitor to Retell AI and Bland AI.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | ElevenLabs monthly | ElevenLabs annual | Vapi monthly | Vapi 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 | — | — | $3333 | $3333 |
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.
Vapi is worth it if… developers who want maximum control over the voice stack — swap any STT, LLM, TTS, or telephony provider without vendor lock-in. 05/min is the lowest orchestration fee in the category, but the real cost is what you stack on top.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose ElevenLabs over Vapi 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 Vapi if…
- You want a fully open voice stack — swap STT, LLM, TTS, or telephony providers freely.
- You're a developer prioritising maximum control over opinionated defaults.
- You need HIPAA or zero-data-retention compliance without switching platforms.
At a glance
| ElevenLabs | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $6/mo | Free |
| Enterprise available | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Per Usage |
| Last verified | September 10, 2026 | September 10, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 10, 2026. Tracked daily.