ElevenLabs vs MiniMax Audio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick ElevenLabs: it is first in our ranking of AI voice generators, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
ElevenLabs grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. MiniMax Audio grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ElevenLabs
AI voice platform for speech, voice cloning, dubbing and voice agents
MiniMax Audio
Speech and music generation with voice cloning on monthly credit plans
Which one is for you
Pick ElevenLabs if
- Fits if you voice videos, podcasts or audiobooks and will pay for a commercial license
- Works for apps that need an API and voice agents on the same account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're staying free, since the free plan carries no commercial license or cloning
- Tight if you dub a lot, as dubbing costs 2,000 to 10,000 credits a minute from the same pool as speech
- Not for you if you need a professional clone of a voice that isn't yours
- Pricey if you need more than 30 minutes a month: Creator is $22 monthly for about 121 minutes, Pro $99 for about 600
- Watch out: downgrading or cancelling forfeits rolled-over credits, and there's no desktop app
Pick MiniMax Audio if
- Fits if you want cloned speech and songs on about $5 a month
- Works for developers who may move to the pay-as-you-go API later
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: about 12 minutes of speech a month
- Watch out: a subscription cancelled early is not refunded for the paid period
- Watch out: commercial rights for songs depend on the plan and when they were made
- Skip it if you want the API on these plans, since it is billed separately on the platform site
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAElevenLabsVery good | 2.4GPAMiniMax AudioFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CAn hour of voiceover a month means Creator: $18.33 a month billed yearly ($22 monthly) for 121,000 credits, about 121 minutes of speech. Starter at $5 covers only about 30 minutes. That's the middle of what this category charges, and dubbing and music eat the same credits. | BStarter is $4.50 a month yearly ($5 monthly), inside the cheapest quarter. Creator $13, Standard $25, Pro $80. |
| Free plan and trial | C10,000 credits a month, about 10 minutes of speech, and 3 Studio projects. There's no commercial license and no cloning, so nothing you make on it can go in a video you publish. Enough to hear the voices, not to do the job. | C10,000 credits a month, about 12 minutes of HD speech or 33 songs, 3 voice slots and slower generation. Enough to try, not to run on. |
| Features | AText to speech in 70+ languages, instant and professional cloning, voices designed from a prompt, dubbing, a long-form Studio, transcription, music, sound effects and voice agents. That covers more than any other tool here, and the listing shows no gap. | BSpeech in HD, songs, cloning and voice slots from 3 to 250. It covers the job, with minutes approximate and commercial rights for songs depending on plan and date. |
| Ease of use | A4.84 from 22,674 App Store ratings, the highest in this category. Paste text, pick a voice, press play. Working out what each product costs in credits is the fiddly part. | CNo store rating on record. Credits and voice slots are small things to learn in a web app. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with an API and SDKs, and Zapier, Make, n8n, Salesforce and Zendesk connections. No desktop app, which an A needs. | CWeb only. API access lives on the separate MiniMax platform site. |
| Best for | AI voiceovers, dubbing and voice cloning | speech and songs from one credit pool |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ElevenLabs and MiniMax Audio. How we grade
Price against what you get
ElevenLabs starts at $5 a month and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MiniMax Audio starts at $4.50 a month and scores 2.3.
ElevenLabs scores higher, and starts $0.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI voice generators on the chart, none scores higher than ElevenLabs for less, and none scores higher than MiniMax Audio for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- ElevenLabs also covers transcription and video generation.
At a glance
| ElevenLabs | MiniMax Audio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) | $4.50 per month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 10,000 credits a month (about 10 minutes of text to speech) and 3 Studio projects. No commercial license and no voice cloning. | Free: 10,000 credits a month (about 12 minutes of HD speech or 33 songs), 3 voice slots, standard generation speed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Eleven Labs Inc. | MiniMax |
| Price read from | elevenlabs.io | minimax.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ElevenLabs
- The Free plan has no commercial license or voice cloning; both start on Starter, and Professional Voice Cloning starts on Creator.
- One credit pool covers every product: text to speech costs about 1 credit per character, and dubbing 2,000 to 10,000 credits per minute.
- Professional Voice Clones are limited to your own voice and need a voice check; for instant clones you must confirm you have the right and consent.
- Unused credits roll over for up to two months on paid plans, but downgrading or cancelling forfeits them at the end of the cycle.
MiniMax Audio
- The page opens on yearly pricing; monthly-billed prices are $5, $17, $38 and $150, and a subscription cancelled early is not refunded for the paid period.
- Credits are a monthly allowance, and minutes shown are approximate for the HD model.
- Commercial rights for songs depend on the plan and on when they were generated; the page has a separate FAQ on this.
- API access is billed separately on the MiniMax platform site, not through these plans.
Key features
ElevenLabs
- Text to speech
- Generate speech from text in more than 70 languages with Eleven v3 and other models, using stock voices, the shared voice library or voices you design from a prompt.
- Instant and Professional Voice Cloning
- Instant clones are made from a short sample and start on Starter. Professional clones are trained on longer recordings, start on Creator and must be of your own voice.
- Dubbing
- Translate a video's speech into another language automatically, or edit the result line by line in Dubbing Studio, which starts on the Starter plan.
- Studio editor
- A long-form editor for audiobooks, podcasts and voiceovers. The Free plan allows 3 Studio projects and Starter allows 20.
- Speech to text, music and sound effects
- Transcribe audio, generate music and sound effects, isolate voices from noise and change one voice into another, all paid from the same credit pool.
- ElevenAgents and API
- Build voice and chat agents for phone, chat and WhatsApp, or call the speech, transcription and dubbing models from your own app through the API and SDKs.
MiniMax Audio
- Speech models
- Speech 2.8, 2.6, 2.5 and 02 in Turbo and HD variants, across 40+ languages and accents.
- Voice cloning and design
- Voice slots hold cloned or designed voices; the count runs from 3 on Free to 250 on Pro.
- Music generation
- Music-3.0 and Music-2.6 generate songs from the same credit pool, about 33 a month on Free and 10,000 on Pro.
- Voice modifier and isolator
- The plan table lists a voice modifier and voice isolator among its advanced controls.
- Developer API and packages
- A separate platform site sells model pricing and audio packages for API use, outside these subscription plans.
Plans
ElevenLabs
Free$0
10,000 credits a month, about 10 minutes of text to speech, and 3 Studio projects. Not licensed for commercial use.
Starter$5
per month for 30,000 credits, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
About 30 minutes of speech a month, a commercial license, Instant Voice Cloning, Dubbing Studio and 20 Studio projects.
Creator$18.33
per month for 121,000 credits, billed annually ($22 monthly)
About 121 minutes of speech a month, 1 Professional Voice Clone and the option to buy more credits. The first month is $11 on monthly billing.
Pro$82.50
per month for 600,000 credits, billed annually ($99 monthly)
About 600 minutes of speech a month, 192 kbps audio and 44.1 kHz PCM output through the API.
Scale$249.17
per month for 1.8M credits, billed annually ($299 monthly)
About 1,800 minutes of speech a month, 3 workspace seats, team collaboration and 3 Professional Voice Clones.
Business$825
per month for 6M credits, billed annually ($990 monthly)
About 6,000 minutes of speech a month, 10 seats and 10 Professional Voice Clones. Enterprise above it is custom-priced, with SSO and BAAs.
MiniMax Audio
Free$0
10K monthly credits, about 12 minutes of HD speech, 3 voice slots, limited long-text support.
Starter$4.50
per month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly)
100K credits, about 120 minutes of HD speech, 10 voice slots, fast generation.
Creator$13
per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly)
330K credits, about 400 minutes of HD speech, 30 voice slots.
Standard$25
per month, billed annually ($38 billed monthly)
750K credits, about 900 minutes of HD speech, 50 voice slots.
Pro$80
per month, billed annually ($150 billed monthly)
3 million credits, about 3,600 minutes of HD speech, 250 voice slots.
Ways to pay less
ElevenLabs
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
ElevenLabs prices a year at ten times the monthly price: Starter works out to $5 a month instead of $6, and Creator to $18.33 instead of $22.
- Other savings
First month of Creator for $11
The pricing page shows Creator at 50% off for the first month on monthly billing.
- Startups
Startup Grants: 12 months free
Startups building conversational AI agents can apply for a grant of 33 million characters, valid for 12 months.
- Nonprofit
Impact Program for nonprofits
The Impact Program gives free access to nonprofits in healthcare, education and culture, and to people with accessibility needs or permanent voice loss.
- Education
Impact Program for professors and students
Professors and their students can apply to the Impact Program for free access to ElevenLabs.
MiniMax Audio
- Annual discount
Yearly billing, up to 47% off
The subscription page's Yearly toggle shows 10% to 47% off, for example Pro at $80 a month billed yearly ($960) against $150 monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ElevenLabs or MiniMax Audio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MiniMax Audio is cheaper to start with: $4.50 a month, against $5 a month for ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs starts at $5 per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly), and MiniMax Audio starts at $4.50 per month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, ElevenLabs or MiniMax Audio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both ElevenLabs and MiniMax Audio have a free plan.
Which platforms do ElevenLabs and MiniMax Audio run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only ElevenLabs lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.