kitio.aiElevenLabs vs Cartesia
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Cartesia has the lower starting price: about $5 a month, against $6 for ElevenLabs.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Instant and professional voice cloning
- Multilingual text to speech
- AI dubbing studio
- Sound effects generator
- Voice agents platform
- Streaming API
- Sonic streaming TTS
- Ink speech-to-text
- Instant voice cloning
- Emotion and speed controls
- Voice agent platform
| Feature | ElevenLabs | Cartesia |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Lifelike AI voices for narration, dubbing, cloning and sound effects | Low-latency text-to-speech and speech-to-text models for voice apps |
| Category | Audio & voice | Audio & voice |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $6/mo | $5/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | ElevenLabs | Cartesia |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Cartesia has the lower starting price: about $5 a month, against $6 for ElevenLabs.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
6 plans
Free
Free
- 10k credits per month
- Text to speech and speech to text
- 3 Studio projects
Starter
$6/mo
- 30k credits per month
- Commercial license
- Instant voice cloning
Creator
$22/mo
- 121k credits per month
- Professional voice cloning
- Additional credits
Pro
$99/mo
- 600k credits per month
- 44.1kHz PCM output via API
- 192kbps audio
Scale
$299/mo
- 1.8M credits per month
- 3 workspace seats
- 3 professional voice clones
Business
$990/mo
- 6M credits per month
- 10 workspace seats
- Low-latency TTS from 5c/min
5 plans
Free
Free
- 20K credits/month
- $1 prepaid agents/month
- Text to speech and speech to text
Pro
$5/mo
- 100K credits/month
- Commercial use license
- Instant voice cloning
Startup
$49/mo
- 1.25M credits/month
- Pro voice cloning
Scale
$299/mo
- 8M credits/month
- Priority support
- High concurrency limits
Enterprise
Custom
- Volume pricing
- DPAs and BAAs
- SSO
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
ElevenLabs
- Very natural, expressive voices
- Voice cloning from short samples
- Covers TTS, dubbing, SFX and music
- Credits run out fast on long projects
- Professional cloning needs a higher plan
Cartesia
- Very low latency for real-time use
- Cheap entry plan with commercial rights
- Strong voice quality rankings
- Built for developers, not casual users
- Agent usage billed separately
Which one should you choose?
Choose ElevenLabs if you want:
- Very natural, expressive voices
- Voice cloning from short samples
- Covers TTS, dubbing, SFX and music
Watch out: credits run out fast on long projects.
Choose Cartesia if you want:
- Very low latency for real-time use
- Cheap entry plan with commercial rights
- Strong voice quality rankings
Watch out: built for developers, not casual users.
ElevenLabs vs Cartesia FAQ
What is the difference between ElevenLabs and Cartesia?
ElevenLabs: Lifelike AI voices for narration, dubbing, cloning and sound effects. Cartesia: Low-latency text-to-speech and speech-to-text models for voice apps. Both are audio & voice tools.
Is ElevenLabs or Cartesia cheaper?
Cartesia has the lower starting price: about $5 a month, against $6 for ElevenLabs.
Do ElevenLabs and Cartesia have free plans?
ElevenLabs: Yes. Cartesia: Yes.
Who makes ElevenLabs?
ElevenLabs is made by ElevenLabs, based in United States.
Who makes Cartesia?
Cartesia is made by Cartesia, based in United States.
Which should I choose, ElevenLabs or Cartesia?
Choose ElevenLabs if you value very natural, expressive voices and voice cloning from short samples. Choose Cartesia if you value very low latency for real-time use and cheap entry plan with commercial rights.