ElevenLabs vs Cartesia 2026 — Pricing, Free Tier & Verdict
Quick verdict: ElevenLabs is our overall pick for ElevenLabs vs Cartesia.
- Best overall: ElevenLabs (4.6/5)
- Best free: Cartesia
- Best for teams: Cartesia
- Pricing last checked: 2026-09-30
ElevenLabs (4.6) and Cartesia (4.1) differ on creator subscriptions versus unlimited-seat API and per-minute agent billing; the higher-rated ElevenLabs is the default unless the other matches your buying model.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs Best overall | 4.6/5 | Free $6/mo (Starter, 30k credits) | ElevenLabs is the quality benchmark in AI voice: credit-metered plans from $6/mo, a free 1… |
| Cartesia Best free Best for teams | 4.1/5 | Free $5/mo (Pro, 100k credits) | Cartesia is the developer-and-voice-agent platform: unlimited seats on every plan, credits… |
Bottom line: The clearest split in the class: ElevenLabs sells creative subscriptions with per-seat concurrency, Cartesia sells API access with unlimited workspace seats and per-minute voice agents. Take Cartesia when voice is a feature you ship, with $0.06 per minute live agent calls and $0.014 telephony; take ElevenLabs when you are making finished audio in an editor. Cartesia's free 20,000 credits also beat ElevenLabs' 10,000 for prototyping.
Pricing and details
ElevenLabs · 4.6/5
Free plan available · $6/mo (Starter, 30k credits)
Credits are shared across TTS, speech-to-text, sound effects and dubbing. Concurrency rises by tier (about 10 on Free up to 30 on Creator, 160 on Business). Enterprise is custom-quoted.
Annual billing charges 10 months for 12: Starter $5/mo, Creator $18.33/mo, Pro $82.50/mo, Scale $249.17/mo, Business $825/mo equivalent
ElevenLabs is the quality benchmark in AI voice: credit-metered plans from $6/mo, a free 10,000-credit tier, and the widest voice library and cloning options in the class.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Widest voice library and the deepest cloning options in the class, including professional voice cloning and instant cloning from a short sample
- One credit meter covers text-to-speech, speech-to-text, sound effects, voice changer and dubbing, so a studio can run several products from one bill
- Audio quality ceiling is the highest here: 44.1 kHz PCM and 192 kbps options on Pro and above, MP3 up to 128 kHz on the entry tiers
Cons
- Free 10,000 credits a month disappear quickly once you render studio-quality audio
- Concurrency, not minutes, is what forces the jump from Creator to Pro and Scale, and it is priced per seat
- Business at $990/mo is a large jump for a team that only needs a second workspace seat
Pricing verified 2026-09-30
Cartesia · 4.1/5
Free plan available · $5/mo (Pro, 100k credits)
Workspace seats are unlimited on every plan. Credits cover text-to-speech, speech-to-text and voice agents; prepaid agent minutes run $1 on Free, $5 on Pro, $49 on Startup, $299 on Scale. Live agent calls are $0.06/min plus $0.014/min telephony, with per-plan concurrent-call and provisioned-number limits.
No annual pricing published on the pricing page; monthly rates shown
Cartesia is the developer-and-voice-agent platform: unlimited seats on every plan, credits from $0 on the free tier to 8M on Scale, and voice agents at $0.06 per minute.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Unlimited workspace seats on every plan, so inviting contractors or the whole company costs nothing extra
- Voice agents are billed per minute at $0.06 plus $0.014 telephony, with concurrency and provisioned numbers rising by tier
- Sub-100 ms time-to-first-audio on the conversational model and instant voice cloning from a short sample
Cons
- No visual browser studio comparable to Murf, so it is a poor fit for one-off voiceover work
- Non-English voice coverage is narrower than the studio-first tools in this comparison
- Credit allowances are abstract, and a busy production integration can consume 100,000 credits far faster than expected
Pricing verified 2026-09-30
Frequently asked questions
Which is better overall, ElevenLabs or Cartesia?
ElevenLabs is our overall pick (4.6/5 vs 4.1/5). ElevenLabs (4.6) and Cartesia (4.1) differ on creator subscriptions versus unlimited-seat API and per-minute agent billing; the higher-rated ElevenLabs is the default unless the other matches your buying model.
Do ElevenLabs and Cartesia offer free plans?
ElevenLabs and Cartesia have a free tier. ElevenLabs paid plans start at $6/mo (Starter, 30k credits); Cartesia paid plans start at $5/mo (Pro, 100k credits).
What does ElevenLabs cost?
$6/mo (Starter, 30k credits) — Credits are shared across TTS, speech-to-text, sound effects and dubbing. Concurrency rises by tier (about 10 on Free up to 30 on Creator, 160 on Business). Enterprise is custom-quoted. Prices were last verified on 2026-09-30.