Eleven Labs pricing: Features explained and how they built it

Eleven Labs powers AI audio generation for businesses worldwide. The platform creates complex computational usage behind the scenes, like text-to-speech processing, voice cloning operations, and API calls. Eleven Labs uses flexible billing to monetize that usage.

This guide breaks down how Eleven Labs structures its pricing, why usage-based models are taking over, and how Orb helps power modern billing systems.

Note: For the most up-to-date pricing, check Eleven Labs's official pricing page. Plan details may change over time.

What are Eleven Labs's pricing models?

Eleven Labs's pricing models include seven main plans: Free, Starter, Creator, Pro, Scale, Business, and Enterprise. These options cover a wide range of users, from individual developers to large organizations. Here's a breakdown of each plan.

Free

The Free plan is for developers and creators who want to explore AI voice generation without any financial commitment. With the Free plan, you can:

• Access 10,000 credits per month = 20,000 characters for text-to-speech generation.
• Use a selection of pre-made voices.
• Experience the platform's core capabilities.
• Access community support and Eleven Labs' knowledge base.

The Free plan lets users learn the platform, test voice generation quality, and evaluate whether Eleven Labs fits their needs.

Starter

The Starter plan is for individual creators who need commercial usage rights. It's priced at $5 per month and unlocks essential features for professional use. With the Starter plan, you can:

• Get up to 30,000 credits per month = 60,000 characters of text-to-speech.
• Use instant voice cloning capabilities.
• Access commercial usage rights for generated content.
• Create custom synthetic voices.
• Use a broader selection of voice options.

The Starter plan provides the foundation for content creators beginning to monetize their work with AI-generated audio.

Creator

The Creator plan is designed for professional content producers at $22 per month (discounts may apply for the first month). This plan provides enhanced capabilities for serious audio production. With the Creator plan, you can:

• Get up to 100,000 credits monthly = 200,000 characters for text-to-speech.
• Access professional voice cloning features.
• Use higher-quality audio output settings.
• Manage projects and organize your work.
• Access priority generation queues.

The Creator plan supports professionals who regularly produce audio content for various platforms and clients.

Pro

The Pro plan serves growing teams and businesses at $99 per month, offering expanded capacity and features. With the Pro plan, you can:

• Get up to 500,000 credits per month = 1 million characters of text-to-speech.
• Access the highest audio quality settings.
• Receive priority customer support.
• Use advanced API features.

It’s designed for individual use. Team seating and collaboration start at Scale (3 seats) and Business (5 seats).

The Pro plan enables businesses to integrate AI voice generation into their production workflows at scale.

Scale

The Scale plan is built for high-volume operations at $330 per month, providing substantial capacity for enterprise needs. With the Scale plan, you can:

• Get up to 2 million credits monthly = 4 million characters of text-to-speech.
• Benefit from reduced per-character pricing.
• Get priority support options, although dedicated account management appears only in Enterprise.
• Use batch processing features.
• Receive enhanced API rate limits.

Business

The Business plan offers maximum included capacity at $1,320 per month for organizations with extensive audio generation needs. With the Business plan, you can:

• Get up to 11 million credits per month = 22 million characters of text-to-speech.
• Access the most competitive per-character rates.
• Get enterprise-grade features, although priority support is only listed for Enterprise.
• Access custom integrations support.

Enterprise

Eleven Labs also offers an Enterprise plan tailored to specific organizational requirements with custom pricing. The Enterprise plan includes:

• Custom character quotas based on your needs
• Dedicated infrastructure options
• Custom service level agreements (SLAs)
• Advanced security and compliance features
• White-glove onboarding and support

Note: Want to learn about pricing AI services? We've got a free eBook on pricing AI agents you can download. Better yet, there's a how-to guide on implementing AI pricing yourself with Orb.

Remember: Pricing, plans, and features are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to Eleven Labs's official pricing page.

Key elements of Eleven Labs's pricing approach

Eleven Labs's pricing model combines accessible entry points with scalable tiers and enterprise options. The structure includes several distinct components:

• Free tier availability. Eleven Labs's Free plan provides core functionality at no cost, including access to basic text-to-speech capabilities and pre-made voices, allowing users to experience the platform before committing.
• Multiple pricing tiers. Eleven Labs offers seven distinct plans from Free to Enterprise, allowing organizations to select the tier that matches their usage patterns and feature requirements.
• Character-based metering. Each plan includes a specific monthly character allocation, providing predictable costs while directly correlating with actual usage of the AI voice generation system.
• Feature progression across tiers. Higher tiers unlock additional capabilities like professional voice cloning, higher audio quality settings, and API access, allowing users to access more sophisticated features as their needs grow.
• Commercial usage differentiation. The Free plan is designated for non-commercial use, while all paid plans include commercial rights, enabling professional and business applications.
• Transparent pricing presentation. Eleven Labs clearly displays costs, character limits, and features for each plan on their pricing page, making it straightforward for organizations to understand their options.
• Hybrid billing model. The pricing combines predictable monthly subscriptions with usage-based components, allowing for both budget predictability and usage flexibility.

Note: Want to learn about developing your own AI pricing strategy? Check out this comprehensive guide on how to approach your AI pricing strategy.

Why do companies like Eleven Labs adopt usage-based billing?

For companies building AI audio platforms, traditional flat-rate subscription billing often doesn't align with the underlying cost structure. Eleven Labs, for example, offers products with variable computational costs: text-to-speech processing, voice cloning operations, and real-time audio generation.

These create cost structures that naturally align with usage-based pricing models. Here's why usage-based billing made sense for Eleven Labs:

• Costs scale with usage. Each voice generation request requires computational resources. Usage-based pricing ensures that revenue aligns with the actual infrastructure costs of serving customers.
• Value correlates with consumption. Organizations generating millions of characters derive substantially more value than those generating thousands. Usage-based pricing reflects this value differential.
• Diverse customer profiles. From individual creators to enterprise publishers, usage patterns vary dramatically. Character-based billing accommodates this diversity without forcing customers into ill-fitting tiers.
• Innovation enablement. Usage-based models allow Eleven Labs to continuously add features and capabilities while maintaining pricing flexibility for new offerings.

Eleven Labs now uses a hybrid pricing model. It combines predictable subscriptions with character-based allocation. This approach supports rapid product development, transparent customer billing, and sustainable business growth.

Note: Discover how modern companies are bridging the pricing gap between traditional and usage-based models.

Why is usage-based billing becoming the default?

GenAI platforms, developer tools, infrastructure companies, and many SaaS businesses are adopting usage-based billing as their primary monetization strategy. According to the 2025 State of AI Agent Pricing, this shift reflects fundamental changes in how software creates and captures value.

Usage-based models are becoming the default because they enable companies to:

• Align pricing with value delivery. Customers pay proportionally to the value they receive, creating sustainable relationships across diverse user segments.
• Support product-led growth. Low-friction entry points combined with natural expansion paths enable organic growth without sales intervention.
• Scale across segments. The same pricing model serves individual developers, growing startups, and enterprise clients.
• Enable granular monetization. Companies can price specific features, API endpoints, or resource consumption independently, maximizing revenue potential.

The shift to usage-based billing represents more than a pricing change; it's a fundamental alignment of business models with how modern software delivers value.

Note: Explore different pricing models for products to understand which approach best fits your business.

FAQs

Is Eleven Labs free?

Yes, Eleven Labs offers a Free plan. It includes 20,000 credits per month for text-to-speech generation, access to a selection of pre-made voices, and community support.

The Free plan is intended for non-commercial use and is a good way to explore the platform before upgrading to a paid plan.

How much does Eleven Labs cost per month?

Eleven Labs pricing varies depending on the chosen plan, ranging from a free option with limitations to enterprise solutions with custom pricing. Paid plans start at $5 per month for the Starter tier and increase with higher character limits and more features.

Can I use Eleven Labs commercially?

Yes, commercial use of Eleven Labs is permitted with the paid subscription plans, starting from the Starter tier. The free plan is generally restricted to non-commercial use only. So, if you intend to use Eleven Labs for business purposes, you will need to subscribe to one of their paid plans.

Does Eleven Labs offer enterprise pricing?

Yes, Eleven Labs provides enterprise pricing solutions tailored to organizations with large-scale needs.

These custom plans often include higher usage quotas, dedicated support, and enterprise-level service agreements. Interested parties need to contact Eleven Labs directly to discuss their specific requirements and obtain a personalized pricing quote.

Is Eleven Labs usage-based or flat-rate?

Eleven Labs uses a hybrid pricing model that combines subscription fees with usage-based billing. While users subscribe to a specific tier with a set credit allocation, usage is measured in credits rather than characters, and costs scale depending on the model used.

Learn how Orb supports usage-based billing

Orb is a done-for-you billing platform that provides the essential infrastructure for modern SaaS and GenAI companies to implement and manage sophisticated pricing models. We provide a more flexible alternative to Stripe Billing for usage-based pricing.

By decoupling usage data from pricing logic through its innovative Orb RevGraph, Orb empowers businesses to adopt flexible pricing strategies. Here’s how Orb supports usage-based models:

• Flexible billable metrics: Orb ingests raw usage events so that you can define your own billable metrics. Use Orb SQL Editor or a visual editor to do so without engineering.
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• Plan-based feature access: Orb enables businesses to gate features based on subscription plans. Orb allows you to unlock specific functionalities for various customer segments.
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• Overage handling: Orb provides robust mechanisms to manage overages beyond included usage limits. Orb tracks and accurately bills for consumption beyond the plan's entitlements.
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• Subscription and usage hybrid plans: Orb natively supports the combination of recurring subscriptions with usage-based charges. Orb allows for flexible pricing models that align with both predictable revenue and variable usage.
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• API-first product model: Built with an API-first approach, Orb directly integrates with existing systems, allowing for automated billing processes and seamless data access.

With Orb, companies can launch and modify pricing plans more easily, enforce access limits and dynamically unlock new features based on subscription levels, and better monetize usage at scale across different customer tiers.

Plus, Orb Simulations helps you to test, optimize, and predict the impact of pricing changes using real data before deployment, minimizing risk and maximizing revenue potential. Learn more about how our billing solution is designed specifically for GenAI companies.

Ready to build a scalable and flexible pricing strategy? Explore how Orb works and explore our flexible pricing options to take your pricing, billing, and invoicing to the next level.