ElevenLabs alternatives
Text-to-speech and voice cloning for producing audio, priced on monthly credits across a wide range of tiers. If it is not the right fit, here is what else is worth considering — and what each one gives up.
Why people leave ElevenLabs
- Credit-based pricing makes cost hard to predict from usage
- The jump from Creator to Pro is $22 to $99 with nothing between
- Voice cloning raises consent and misuse questions you have to manage yourself
Worth saying plainly: if none of those apply to you, ElevenLabs is probably still the right choice and switching will cost you time for nothing.
Speechify
A text-to-speech reader for consuming documents, articles and books aloud, rather than a tool for producing audio for an audience.
From $29/mo · free tier available
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 10 robotic voices · Up to 1.5x speed · Text to speech only |
| Premium | $29/mo | 1,000+ natural voices · 60+ languages · Up to 5x speed · Scan and listen · AI summaries · Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive integration |
Pricing verified
Speechify: who it suits
Buy it if
- Getting through a high volume of reading -- students, researchers, anyone with a large queue
- Accessibility, including dyslexia support
- Listening to documents while doing something else
Skip it if
- Producing narration or voiceover for an audience -- ElevenLabs is the tool for that
- Anyone satisfied with their operating system's built-in read-aloud, which is free
- Voice cloning, which is not what this does
Descript
Edits recorded video and audio by editing its transcript -- delete a sentence in the text and it disappears from the recording. An editor, not a generator.
From $16/mo · free tier available
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 60 minutes of media/month · 100 one-time AI credits · 720p watermark-free export · Text-based editing |
| Hobbyist (annual) | $16/mo | 10 hours media/month · 400 AI credits/month · 1080p export · Studio Sound · Voice clones |
| Hobbyist (monthly) | $24/mo | Same features, billed monthly |
| Creator (annual) | $24/mo | 30 hours media/month · 800 AI credits · 4K export · AI video generation · Unlimited stock media |
| Creator (monthly) | $35/mo | Same features, billed monthly |
| Business (annual) | $50/mo | 40 hours media/month · 1,500 AI credits · Brand Studio · 30+ language dubbing · Custom AI avatars |
| Business (monthly) | $65/mo | Same features, billed monthly |
| Enterprise | Custom | SOC 2 Type II · SSO/SCIM · Dedicated CSM |
Pricing verified
Descript: who it suits
Buy it if
- Podcasts, interviews and talking-head video where the content is speech
- Teams without a dedicated video editor
- Repurposing long recordings into clips and transcripts
Skip it if
- Generating video from a script with no recording -- Synthesia and HeyGen do that; this edits footage you already have
- Complex visual editing, motion graphics or colour work, where a real NLE is the right tool
- High-volume video on the lower tiers, since media hours run out well before AI credits do
Common questions
- What is the best alternative to ElevenLabs?
- It depends on why you are leaving. Speechify suits you if getting through a high volume of reading -- students, researchers, anyone with a large queue; Descript suits you if podcasts, interviews and talking-head video where the content is speech.
- Is there a free alternative to ElevenLabs?
- Yes. Speechify, Descript offer a free tier you can evaluate before paying.
- Why do people look for ElevenLabs alternatives?
- Credit-based pricing makes cost hard to predict from usage. The jump from Creator to Pro is $22 to $99 with nothing between. Voice cloning raises consent and misuse questions you have to manage yourself.