ElevenLabs vs Voice Forge (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 2.2.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
ElevenLabs grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and 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
Voice Forge
Web text-to-speech app from Cepstral with licensed audio downloads
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 Voice Forge if
- Fits if you want a funny or odd character voice for a game, video or song
- Works for hobby projects that stay non-monetised
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: ads, no downloads and a home-use-only licence
- Not for you if you make money from the audio, because that needs the Publisher plan
- Watch out: no plan prices are shown on the plans page, so you can't tell the cost before signing up
- Watch out: Fan Voice and Premium downloads cover non-monetised content only, capped at 150 and 1,000 a month
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAElevenLabsVery good | 2.2GPAVoice ForgeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CThe plans page names four tiers and shows no prices, so there is nothing to grade against. It sits in the middle by default. |
| 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. | CA free version plays audio in the browser with ads, no downloads and a home-use-only licence. That lets you try a voice, but not take anything away. |
| 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. | COver 40 voices, browser playback and WAV downloads, 150 a month on Fan Voice and 1,000 on Premium. Special effects are Premium and commercial use is Publisher. It is a narrower job than a full voiceover tool. |
| 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. | BNo store rating on record. Type a script, pick a voice and press play. |
| 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. No API, app or integrations are listed. |
| Best for | AI voiceovers, dubbing and voice cloning | character-style voices for games and videos |
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 Voice Forge. How we grade
Where they differ
- ElevenLabs also covers transcription, video generation and voice cloning.
At a glance
| ElevenLabs | Voice Forge | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) | Not published |
| 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. | Limited free version with ads, no downloads, and a license for home use only. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Eleven Labs Inc. | Cepstral |
| Price read from | elevenlabs.io | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
Voice Forge
- The plans page names four tiers (free, Fan Voice, Premium, Publisher) but shows no prices, so none are listed here.
- Fan Voice and Premium downloads cover non-monetized content only; commercial use needs the Publisher plan.
- The free version has ads, offers no downloads and is licensed for home use only.
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.
Voice Forge
- Distinctive voices
- The homepage says the app has over 40 custom voices for characters in games, videos and music.
- Simple text-to-speech interface
- Type a script, pick a voice and play it back in the browser to test ideas quickly.
- High-quality WAV downloads
- Subscribers download WAV files. The plans page lists 150 downloads a month on Fan Voice and 1,000 on Premium.
- Special effects
- The Premium plan is described as adding special effects to enhance the audio.
- Commercial license
- The Publisher plan is described as the license for monetized or commercial content, with unlimited downloads and no ads.
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.
Voice Forge
Pricing could not be confirmed. See voiceforge.com.
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.
Voice Forge
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ElevenLabs or Voice Forge?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ElevenLabs starts at $5 per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly), and Voice Forge has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, ElevenLabs or Voice Forge?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both ElevenLabs and Voice Forge have a free plan.
Which platforms do ElevenLabs and Voice Forge run on?
As of Nov 13, 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.