Cheaper ElevenLabs Alternatives in 2026: Real Cost per Hour of Speech
ElevenLabs is the best-known AI voice tool, but not the cheapest. Here is what an hour of generated speech costs on ElevenLabs and its main alternatives, worked out from each tool's own plan limits.
Today's prices
Checked automatically · 2026-11-10 23:19| Tool | Plan | Paid monthly | Paid yearly | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | Starter | $6 | $5 | 30,000 credits |
| Murf AI | Creator | $19 | – | 24 hours |
| Cartesia | Pro | $5 | – | – |
Cheapest paid plan per tool, in US dollars, read from each tool's official pricing page. Prices in tables below update too; some figures in the running text were written when this article was published. Compare these tools side by side →
Cheapest per hour of speech: Cartesia, from $5/mo, three to four times cheaper than ElevenLabs.
Best value at high volume: ElevenLabs Pro or Murf AI Business, both about $8 an hour.
Keep ElevenLabs if you need dubbing, music, sound effects and its voice library.
Last checked: 2026-11-10
ElevenLabs vs the alternatives
| Tool | Plan | Monthly price | Speech a month | Cost per hour of speech |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartesia | Pro | $5/mo | about 133 minutes | about $2.30 |
| ElevenLabs | Pro | $99/mo | about 13 hours | about $7.70 |
| Murf AI | Business | $66/mo | about 8 hours (96 a year) | about $8.25 |
| ElevenLabs | Creator | $22/mo | about 2.6 hours | about $8.50 |
| ElevenLabs | Starter | $6/mo | about 39 minutes | about $9.30 |
| Murf AI | Creator | $19/mo | about 2 hours (24 a year) | about $9.50 |
Monthly prices update automatically every morning. Speech time is estimated with Cartesia's own rule of thumb of about 775 characters per minute, for both Cartesia and ElevenLabs (both charge about 1 credit per character). Murf's hours are its yearly allowance divided by 12. Cost per hour was worked out on 2026-11-07.
Which alternative should you pick?
Cartesia: the cheapest by far
Cartesia's Pro plan costs $5 a month and includes a commercial license and instant voice cloning. Per hour of speech it is three to four times cheaper than ElevenLabs, and unused credits roll over up to twice your monthly amount.
Murf AI: built for voice-overs
Murf sells voice time by the hour, with an editor that lines speech up with video. The Business plan gives Murf's lowest cost per hour, and it is the only Murf plan with a business license.
When ElevenLabs is still worth it
ElevenLabs does more than text to speech: dubbing, music, sound effects and a large voice library all share one credit pool. If you use those, it can still be the best deal. Starter is $1 for the first month, and Creator is $11 for the first month.
Other options
Descript is an audio and video editor with AI voices, priced by media hours rather than speech. Speechify and WellSaid Labs are also on our voice price list.
Watch out
- Free plans are not for commercial use on ElevenLabs, Cartesia or Murf.
- ElevenLabs: unused paid credits expire if you downgrade or cancel.
- Murf: the Free plan can't download audio.
See every voice plan on the voice price list, compare them on the Compare page, or read about the cheapest PlayHT alternatives.
Sources: the official pricing pages of ElevenLabs, Cartesia and Murf AI, read 2026-11-07. Prices change often. Always confirm on the official sites.