ElevenLabs vs Cartesia: Voice APIs Pricing (2026)
Compare / ElevenLabs vs Cartesia
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Team size
25 seats

ElevenLabs vs Cartesia

Voice APIs pricing comparison · 2026

ElevenLabs pricing ranges from $0–$990/month, while Cartesia ranges from $0–$299/month. These products use different pricing models (Hybrid (seat + usage) vs Per-seat subscription), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit ElevenLabs pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Visit Cartesia pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · AI Voice Tools
Side-by-side · live
ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs is an AI voice technology platform specializing in text-to-speech (TTS), voice
verified 5w ago
$6.6K $15K
View pricing →
Cartesia
Cartesia is a text-to-speech API platform offering plans from $0/month (Free, with 10K cre
verified 9w ago
$6.6K $15K
View pricing →
Verdict · list-price math · year 1
ElevenLabs saves $8.1K vs Cartesia · 25 seats
Cheapest $6.6K
Spread 55%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Creator
$6.6K/yr
year 1 license · $22/seat
Startup
$15K/yr
year 1 license · $49/seat
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 35 sourced facts
31 hidden-cost · 3 contract · 1 review platform
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 5 sourced facts
4 hidden-cost · 1 contract
Last verified 2mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Premium Voice Model Surcharge
    100% premium on high-quality voices
    1 source
  • Conversational AI Per-Minute Charges
    $5.50/hour for conversational AI calls
    2 sources
  • Concurrent Agent Limits
    Requires multiple accounts for scaling
    1 source
  • Multiple Voice Slots Require Higher Tiers
    $67-$197/month for multiple voices
    1 source
  • Credit Burn from Regenerations and Errors
    10-30% of license costs
    4 sources
4 documented
  • Overage Charges
    1 source
  • Pro Voice Cloning Training Fee
    1 source
  • Telephony Rates
    $0.06/minute
    1 source
  • Lack of Enterprise Features
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

ElevenLabs
Cartesia
Auto-renewal
Yes
—
Cancellation
✓ Cancel anytime but credits are forfeited immediately upon cancellation
—
Commitment
✓ Monthly (no annual commitment required based on current tier data)
one year to receive a 20% discount
Price escalation
No published price escalation schedule; users report ElevenLabs has changed pricing structures and removed features (e.g., custom voice marketplace pricing) without extensive notice
—
Can downgrade
✓ Yes
—
Based on 4 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Trustpilot
1.7out of 5 (25)
Best for
Building and testing for free
Watch out
Credits lost immediately upon cancellation with no refund or grace period
No public ratings yet
Best for
Evaluating Sonic latency and quality
Watch out
Limited Voice Library and Language Support
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit ElevenLabs pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Visit Cartesia pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Option A

ElevenLabs

$0–$990
/month
7 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Option B

Cartesia

$0–$299
/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — ElevenLabs uses Hybrid (seat + usage) pricing while Cartesia uses Per-seat subscription pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Hybrid (seat + usage)

ElevenLabs

$0–$990 / month
From $0.17 per extra minute
See full ElevenLabs pricing →
vs
Per-seat subscription

Cartesia

$0–$299 / month
See full Cartesia pricing →

ElevenLabs and Cartesia are both voice apis competitors. This page compares their list pricing tier by tier so you can see which is cheaper for your workload shape.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan ElevenLabs Cartesia
Free Free /month Free /month
Starter $6 /month $5 /month
Creator $22 /month $49 /month
Pro $99 /month $299 /month
Scale $299 /month Custom
Business $990 /month —
Enterprise Custom —

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

ElevenLabs

14 scenarios
$0/month (free tier with basic features)
Solo / Getting Started
$99/month
Growing Business
Custom pricing — typically negotiated annually, contact sales for quote
Enterprise (100+ users)
See all 14 scenarios →

Cartesia

7 scenarios
$0/month (Free plan)
Individual Developer
$4/month (Pro plan)
Pro User
$48/year
$39/month (Startup plan)
Early-Stage Startup
$468/year
See all 7 scenarios →

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

ElevenLabs 19 hidden costs

high
Premium Voice Model Surcharge 100% premium on high-quality voices
critical
Conversational AI Per-Minute Charges $5.50/hour for conversational AI calls
medium
Concurrent Agent Limits Requires multiple accounts for scaling
medium
Multiple Voice Slots Require Higher Tiers $67-$197/month for multiple voices
high
Credit Burn from Regenerations and Errors 10-30% of license costs
See all ElevenLabs hidden costs →

Cartesia 4 hidden costs

high
Overage Charges
medium
Pro Voice Cloning Training Fee
medium
Telephony Rates $0.06/minute
critical
Lack of Enterprise Features
See all Cartesia hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term ElevenLabs Cartesia
Auto-renewal Yes —
Cancellation Cancel anytime but credits are forfeited immediately upon cancellation —
Minimum commitment Monthly (no annual commitment required based on current tier data) one year to receive a 20% discount
Price escalation No published price escalation schedule; users report ElevenLabs has changed pricing structures and removed features (e.g., custom voice marketplace pricing) without extensive notice —
Can downgrade Yes —

Continue researching

ElevenLabs

Cartesia

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