Is ElevenLabs Free? Plans and Limits Explained

Is ElevenLabs free? Yes. ElevenLabs has a Free plan that costs $0 per month and gives you 10,000 credits every month to try its AI voice tools, including text to speech, speech to text, sound effects and voice design. But the free plan has real limits: no commercial license, a small monthly allowance, and voice cloning listed on the paid plans.

This guide explains exactly what the ElevenLabs free plan includes, what those 10,000 credits get you, where the limits are, and when it makes sense to move to a paid plan. All plan details below were read on the official ElevenLabs pricing page on November 1, 2026. Prices and offers change often, so always check the official page before you buy.

New to the tool? Start with our full ElevenLabs review for an overview of features, then come back here for the free plan details.

Is ElevenLabs free? The short answer

ElevenLabs is free to start. You can sign up, generate speech in the web app and test most of the core tools without paying. The Free plan is designed for trying the product, not for running a channel or a business on it.

Here is what the pricing page lists for the Free plan (as of November 2026):

• Price: $0 per month.
• Credits: 10,000 credits per month.
• Tools included: Text to Speech, Speech to Text, Sound Effects, Voice Design, Music and Image.
• Studio: 3 projects in Studio (the long-form editor for audiobooks, podcasts and voiceovers).
• Text to speech in the app: around 10 minutes per month, according to the plan comparison table.
• Custom voice slots: 3.
• Audio quality: 128 kbps, 44.1 kHz.

What the Free plan does not include matters just as much. On the pricing page, the Starter plan is described as "Everything in free, plus" a commercial license, Instant Voice Cloning, 20 Studio projects, music commercial use, Dubbing Studio and image and video tools. So if you need any of those, the free plan is not enough.

How ElevenLabs credits work on the free plan

Everything in ElevenLabs runs on credits, and all products share one monthly pool. If you spend credits on sound effects, you have fewer left for voiceovers. The pricing FAQ gives these approximate costs:

• Text to Speech: 1 credit per character (for the V2 Multilingual models; some faster models cost less through the API).
• Speech to Text: 330 credits per minute.
• Sound Effects: 200 credits per generation.
• Eleven Music: 900 credits per minute.
• Voice Changer and Voice Isolator: 1,000 credits per minute.
• Dubbing: from 2,000 credits per minute (automatic, with watermark) and more for higher tiers.

In practice, 10,000 credits is roughly 10,000 characters of text to speech, which is about 1,500 words of script. That is enough for a few short voiceovers, a YouTube Shorts script or two, or a solid test of different voices. It is not enough for a long video every day.

One more detail: unused credits on paid plans can roll over for up to two months, but the FAQ states that rollover does not apply to the Free plan. Free credits reset each month and do not stack up.

Limits of the ElevenLabs free plan

The free plan is generous enough to learn the tool, but these limits are worth knowing before you build a workflow on it:

1. No commercial license. The commercial license starts on Starter. If you plan to monetize videos, sell audiobooks or create voiceovers for clients, check the ElevenLabs terms and use a paid plan.
2. Voice cloning is a paid feature. The pricing page lists Instant Voice Cloning as a Starter addition, and the docs state that Free and Starter have no Professional Voice Clone slots (PVC starts on Creator). Our ElevenLabs voice cloning guide walks through both.
3. Small monthly allowance. About 10 minutes of speech in the app per month.
4. Fewer Studio projects. 3 on Free versus 20 on Starter.
5. No rollover. Free credits do not carry over.
6. Lower concurrency and audio quality than higher plans (higher bitrates and PCM output are listed on Creator and Pro).

ElevenLabs paid plans (as of November 2026)

If the free plan feels tight, these are the monthly prices shown on the official pricing page on November 1, 2026, in US dollars, with monthly billing. Prices exclude taxes, and they change, so check the official page before upgrading.

The FAQ also says annual billing equals paying for 10 months (monthly price × 10). It lists equivalent monthly prices on annual billing of $5 for Starter, $18.33 for Creator and $82.50 for Pro. First-month discounts are promotional and may not be shown when you visit.

How to use ElevenLabs for free (step by step)

1. Go to ElevenLabs and create a free account (the button on this page takes you there).
2. Open Text to Speech, paste a short script and pick a voice from the voice library.
3. Adjust the voice settings, then generate and listen. Keep scripts short while testing so you do not burn credits on long drafts.
4. Try Voice Design to create a new synthetic voice from a text description, using your custom voice slots.
5. Test Sound Effects or Speech to Text if those are part of your workflow, keeping an eye on your credit balance in your subscription page.
6. When you find a voice you like and need commercial use or cloning, upgrade to the plan that matches your monthly volume.

To make free credits go further, write the full script first, fix pronunciation and pacing before generating, and regenerate only the lines that need it. Our guide on adding pauses and emotion in ElevenLabs shows how to get a better take with fewer attempts.

Who should stay on free, and who should upgrade?

The free plan is enough if you:

• Want to test voice quality before paying.
• Need a few short personal voiceovers or drafts each month.
• Are comparing tools, for example in our ElevenLabs vs Speechify comparison.

A paid plan makes more sense if you:

• Publish content you monetize, such as faceless YouTube videos, ads or client work (commercial license).
• Want to clone your own voice.
• Produce more than about 10 minutes of audio per month.
• Need dubbing, higher audio quality or team seats.

For most solo creators, Starter is the logical first step because it adds the commercial license and Instant Voice Cloning at the lowest price. Creator is the plan to consider if you need Professional Voice Cloning or produce long-form content regularly.

Is ElevenLabs free FAQ

How much is ElevenLabs free?

The Free plan costs $0 and includes 10,000 credits per month, which the comparison table puts at around 10 minutes of text to speech in the app.

How do you use ElevenLabs for free?

Create a free account and use the included credits for text to speech, speech to text, sound effects, voice design and music. Credits reset monthly and do not roll over on the Free plan.

How much does ElevenLabs cost?

As of November 2026 the pricing page shows Starter at $6 per month, Creator at $22, Pro at $99, Scale at $299 and Business at $990, with Enterprise on custom pricing. Check the official page for current prices and offers.

Can I use ElevenLabs free for YouTube?

The commercial license is listed as a Starter feature, not a Free one. If your channel is monetized or the audio is used commercially, read the ElevenLabs terms and use a paid plan.

Can I clone my voice on the free plan?

On the pricing page, Instant Voice Cloning is listed as something Starter adds over Free, and the ElevenLabs docs say Free and Starter have no Professional Voice Clone slots. Plan for at least Starter if cloning is the goal, and check what your account shows when you sign up.

Final thoughts

So, is ElevenLabs free? Yes, and the free plan is a genuinely useful way to hear the voice quality and learn the tools at no cost. Its limits are clear, though: a small monthly credit pool, no commercial license, and voice cloning listed on paid plans. Start free, test your scripts and voices, and upgrade only when your content needs commercial rights, cloning or more minutes.

Prices and plan details were read on the official ElevenLabs pricing page on November 1, 2026. Prices change, so check the official page before you subscribe.

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