ElevenLabs is the AI voice platform most YouTube creators end up trying: text to speech that sounds human, voice cloning from a short recording, and dubbing into other languages. This review covers what each feature does, what the plans really cost in minutes of audio, the rules around commercial use, and who should pick which plan. We use ElevenLabs for Vietnamese voiceovers on our own channel, BizMate AI. We point out which parts we have tested ourselves and which come from ElevenLabs’ documentation.
Some links in this review are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Plans, prices and features were checked on ElevenLabs’ official pricing page and documentation on October 5, 2026. Temporary promotions are left out. We have not yet tested the dubbing feature on our channel; that test is next and we will add the results.
Verdict: 4.7 / 5
- Best for: faceless and tutorial channels, narration, and creators who want their own cloned voice in several languages.
- Standout: the most natural AI voices we have used, including in Vietnamese. Eleven v4 covers 90+ languages and keeps a native accent when a cloned voice speaks another language.
- Watch out for: credits run out fast on long videos, there is no PayPal, and the free plan cannot be used commercially.
- Price: free plan with 10,000 credits a month. Paid plans from $6/month (Starter, commercial use and instant voice cloning).
What ElevenLabs does
- Text to speech: paste a script, pick a voice and download the audio. The newest model, Eleven v4 (launched September 28, 2026), supports 90+ languages, up to 10,000 characters per generation, and inline audio tags for laughter, whispering or excitement. A faster v4 Turbo targets real-time use at around 100 ms latency.
- Voice cloning: Instant Voice Cloning creates a usable copy of your voice from a short sample. Professional Voice Cloning trains a high-fidelity model from at least 30 minutes of your recordings.
- Dubbing: translates a video into another language while keeping each speaker’s voice, tone and pace. Over 90 languages are supported, Vietnamese included, as source and target.
- Speech to text (Scribe): transcription in 90+ languages, useful for captions and turning videos into articles.
- Extras: sound effects, music generation (tracks up to 5 minutes), a voice changer, a voice isolator that removes background noise, and Studio, an editor for long-form audio and video with captions.
Our experience
We use ElevenLabs to voice Vietnamese tutorials, including our faceless workflow video that pairs animated images with an ElevenLabs voiceover. Two things stood out. Vietnamese voices handle tones and pauses well when the script uses short sentences and clear punctuation, and the free credits are enough to judge quality before paying. The friction comes at scale: a 10-minute script is roughly 8,000 to 10,000 characters, so long videos quickly push you from Starter to Creator.
We have not yet dubbed a full video with ElevenLabs. Our dubbing case study will report the real cost, editing time and audience results once we do.
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Credits per month | Commercial use | Voice cloning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | – | 10,000 | No (attribution required) | No |
| Starter | $6 | $5/mo | 30,000 | Yes | Instant |
| Creator | $22 | $18.33/mo | 121,000 | Yes | Instant + 1 Professional |
| Pro | $99 | $82.50/mo | 600,000 | Yes | 1 Professional |
| Scale | $299 | $249.17/mo | 1.8M | Yes | 3 Professional, 3 seats |
| Business | $990 | $825/mo | 6M | Yes | 10 Professional, 10 seats |
Yearly billing equals two months free. Unused credits roll over for up to two months on paid plans. Prices exclude tax.
What the credits buy
- Voiceover: about 1 credit per character. A minute of narration is roughly 800 to 1,000 characters, so Starter covers about 30 minutes of audio a month and Creator about 2 hours.
- Dubbing: the pricing page lists 2,000 to 3,000 credits per minute of video for automatic dubbing, and 5,000 to 10,000 for the editable Dubbing Studio (the higher figure without watermark). ElevenLabs’ newer dubbing documentation also describes per-minute pricing in US dollars for its latest dubbing model, so check the cost shown in the app before a long job.
- Transcription: 330 credits per minute.
Voice cloning: what you need
- Instant Voice Cloning (Starter and up): ElevenLabs recommends 1 to 2 minutes of clean audio. Longer samples can make the clone worse.
- Professional Voice Cloning (Creator and up): at least 30 minutes of audio, ideally 1 to 3 hours. Training takes a few hours.
- Consent: Professional clones are for your own voice only and require a short read-aloud verification. For Instant clones you confirm you have the rights and consent to use the voice.
With Eleven v4, a cloned voice speaking another language keeps a native accent for that language. For multilingual creators this is the key feature: you can publish Spanish or Indonesian narration that still sounds like you.
Free plan and commercial use
- The free plan gives 10,000 credits a month with no rollover.
- Content made on the free plan cannot be used commercially, now or later, and anything you publish must credit ElevenLabs. If your channel is monetized, start on Starter or above.
- Free dubs carry a watermark. ElevenLabs says its audio watermark does not affect YouTube monetization.
Payment
ElevenLabs accepts credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. PayPal is not offered, and prepaid cards are not officially supported. If your card is declined, enable online and international payments in your banking app first.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Most natural voices we have tested, including Vietnamese | Long videos consume credits quickly |
| Your cloned voice in 90+ languages with a native accent (v4) | No lip sync for on-camera videos |
| Dubbing exports a clean audio track for YouTube multi-language audio | Editing a dub’s transcript is limited to the older Dubbing Studio or Enterprise |
| Cheap entry: commercial use from $6/month | No PayPal; the free plan is non-commercial |
Which plan should you choose?
- Testing voices: Free, but do not publish the results on a monetized channel.
- A few short videos a month: Starter ($6), about 30 minutes of narration and instant cloning.
- A weekly YouTube channel or dubbing a few videos: Creator ($22), the sweet spot for most creators, with a professional clone of your voice.
- Agencies and daily publishing: Pro or higher.
Alternatives
If you appear on camera and want lip sync, HeyGen’s video translation is the stronger choice. If you only need an English track for a non-English channel, YouTube’s free auto-dubbing may be enough to start. See our comparison of the best AI dubbing tools for prices per dubbed minute, and our YouTube auto-dubbing guide.
FAQ
Can I use ElevenLabs voices on a monetized YouTube channel?
Yes, on any paid plan (Starter and above). Free-plan content is non-commercial and requires attribution.
Does ElevenLabs support Vietnamese?
Yes. Vietnamese is supported in Eleven v4, v4 Turbo and v3 text to speech, in dubbing (as source and target) and in speech to text. It is not in the older Multilingual v2 model.
How much audio do I need to clone my voice?
About 1 to 2 minutes for an instant clone, and at least 30 minutes for a professional clone.
Is there a yearly discount?
Yes. Yearly billing costs ten times the monthly price, so two months are free.
