The Cartesia Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Cartesia in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Cartesia
The Insider’s Guide
Low-latency speech models and voice agents for developers
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI voice generators, read from Cartesia’s own pages.
Made by Cartesia · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Cartesia’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Cartesia’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 4 of the 9 other AI voice generators we grade
Cartesia is aimed at developers building real-time voice products rather than at people making voiceovers. It sells the Sonic text-to-speech and Ink speech-to-text models through an API, with voice cloning, and Managed Agents for voice agents that answer and place phone calls. Plans are a monthly pool of credits plus prepaid dollars for agent minutes.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Cartesia, taken from its own pages and our grades.
It's built for developers: you call it from code with the Python or JavaScript SDK, or try voices in a web playground.
- 1
Best for fast speech for developers' voice agents
But there's no voiceover editor and no app: you work through the API or a web playground.
- 2
Paid plans start at $5 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $5 per month for 100,000 credits, billed monthly.
- 3
There is a free plan
20,000 credits a month (about 27 minutes of text to speech or 1 hour 51 minutes of speech to text) and $1 of voice agent usage. No commercial use license.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Sonic text to speech
A streaming text-to-speech model built for live conversation, with dozens of languages and regional accents. One minute of audio uses about 750 to 800 credits.
- 6
Ink speech to text
A streaming transcription model with its own concurrency pool, so heavy transcription does not slow text to speech.
- 7
Voice cloning
Instant clones from 10 seconds of audio start on Pro; Professional clones start on Startup. Cartesia says to clone only your own voice or one you have explicit permission to use.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 4 of 9
That is against the other AI voice generators we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Cartesia you would be making a voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Cartesia at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $5 per month for 100,000 credits, billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Cartesia
- Category
- AI Voices & Text to Speech
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for fast speech for developers' voice agents
Cartesia is for developers building voice agents and phone bots, not for people making voiceovers by hand, so we graded it against its alternatives. Its speech models stream fast, cloning starts on the $5 plan, and that plan covers about 133 minutes of speech. But there's no voiceover editor and no app: you work through the API or a web playground.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | Pro is $5 a month for 100,000 credits, about 133 minutes of speech, with a commercial license, instant cloning and $5 of agent calls. An hour a month fits on the cheapest paid plan, which undercuts its alternatives for the same amount. |
| Free plan and trial | C | 20,000 credits a month, about 27 minutes of speech, plus $1 of agent usage. Plenty for testing, but there's no commercial use license, so nothing built on it can go live. |
| Features | C | Streaming text to speech in dozens of languages, streaming transcription, instant and professional cloning, and voice agents with phone numbers. It does the developer job fully, but that's a narrower job: there's no voiceover editor, as the listing says. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record. It's built for developers: you call it from code with the Python or JavaScript SDK, or try voices in a web playground. Fine if you code, slow going if you don't. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web and an API with regional endpoints, plus LiveKit, Pipecat, Rasa and Genesys for voice agents, and on-premise setups through sales. No phone or desktop app. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Cartesia is for
- Great if you're building a voice agent or phone bot and speed matters
- Handy when you want speech and transcription through one API
- Good for startups that can win the 12-month credit grant
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want an editor to make voiceovers by hand
- Not for you if you don't write code
- Tight if you leave overages off, since requests stop when credits run out
Good to know
Good for
- Developers building real-time voice agents and phone bots
- Apps that need fast streaming speech and transcription through one API
- Startups that can use the 12-month credit grant
Worth knowing
- Cartesia is a developer platform: you use it through the API or a web playground, and there is no voiceover editor or mobile app.
- The Free plan has no commercial use license; it starts on Pro, which also adds instant cloning. Professional cloning needs Startup or above.
- Paid plans can go past their credits at $65 per million on Pro, $45 on Startup and $38 on Scale; with overages off, requests are blocked.
- Voice agent calls cost $0.06 a minute from the plan's prepaid dollars, plus $0.014 a minute on a Cartesia phone number.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$5
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Cartesia has a free plan. Paid plans start at $5 per month for 100,000 credits, billed monthly.
An hour a month fits on the cheapest paid plan, which undercuts its alternatives for the same amount.
Free
$0
20,000 credits a month, about 27 minutes of text to speech, plus $1 of prepaid agent usage. Not licensed for commercial use.
Pro
$5
per month for 100,000 credits, billed monthly
About 133 minutes of text to speech a month, $5 of agent usage, a commercial use license and instant voice cloning.
Startup
$49
per month for 1.25M credits, billed monthly
About 1,667 minutes of text to speech a month, $49 of agent usage and 2 Professional Voice Clone slots.
Scale
$299
per month for 8M credits, billed monthly
About 10,667 minutes of text to speech a month, $299 of agent usage, 4 Professional Voice Clone slots, priority support and higher concurrency.
Enterprise
Custom
Volume pricing, custom concurrency, DPAs and BAAs, SSO, a shared Slack channel and on-premise or private cloud deployment.
The free plan
20,000 credits a month (about 27 minutes of text to speech or 1 hour 51 minutes of speech to text) and $1 of voice agent usage. No commercial use license.
Read from cartesia.ai on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Startups
Startups Grant: 12 months of credits
Startups at any stage can apply for 12 months of Scale-level usage: 8 million credits a month plus $299 a month for Managed Agents. Students are considered case by case.
Stated on cartesia.ai
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Low-latency speech models and voice agents for developers. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, transcription, text to speech, voice cloning.
It does the developer job fully, but that's a narrower job: there's no voiceover editor, as the listing says.
- Sonic text to speech
- A streaming text-to-speech model built for live conversation, with dozens of languages and regional accents. One minute of audio uses about 750 to 800 credits.
- Ink speech to text
- A streaming transcription model with its own concurrency pool, so heavy transcription does not slow text to speech.
- Voice cloning
- Instant clones from 10 seconds of audio start on Pro; Professional clones start on Startup. Cartesia says to clone only your own voice or one you have explicit permission to use.
- Managed Agents
- Build voice agents that answer and make phone calls, with Cartesia-provided phone numbers, from 1 on Free to 10 on Scale.
- Deployment options
- Call the models through regional API endpoints with Python and JavaScript SDKs, or arrange on-premise, private cloud or on-device deployment with sales.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- LiveKit
- Pipecat
- Rasa
- Genesys
Cartesia is made by Cartesia.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
4/9
Other AI voice generators it is graded above
Cartesia's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 4 of the 9 other AI voice generators we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 9 of 9) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $14 for the category: 0 of the 9 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 10 AI voice generators we grade, cut by the letter each got. Cartesia’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 9 of 9
- CFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 9
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 9
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 9
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 9
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 10 AI voice generators. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Cartesia is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Cartesia you would be making a voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $60 a year.
What you could not
- A voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make.
- A voice model trained on your recordings.
- Speech turned into text you can trust.
- It plugs into other products, LiveKit, Pipecat and Rasa among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Cartesia’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
ElevenLabs, Murf, Typecast and Respeecher
The 4 tools Cartesia is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
ElevenLabs
Free plan · from $5/mo
AI voice platform for speech, voice cloning, dubbing and voice agents.
- Only ElevenLabs lists iOS and Android apps.
- ElevenLabs also covers video generation.
- 2.2GPA
Murf
Free trial · from $19/mo
AI voiceover studio with dubbing, translation and a speech API.
- Cartesia has a free plan. Murf does not, though it has a free trial.
- 2.4GPA
Typecast
Free trial · from $5/mo
AI voice generator with emotion controls, voice cloning and video.
- Cartesia has a free plan. Typecast does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Typecast lists iOS and Android apps.
- Cartesia also covers transcription.
- 2.0GPA
Respeecher
Free trial · from $18/mo
Voice cloning and speech-to-speech for film, TV, games and developers.
- Cartesia has a free plan. Respeecher does not, though it has a free trial.
- Cartesia also covers transcription.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Cartesia free?
Cartesia has a free plan. 20,000 credits a month (about 27 minutes of text to speech or 1 hour 51 minutes of speech to text) and $1 of voice agent usage.
How much does Cartesia cost?
Cartesia lists 5 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Cartesia work on?
Cartesia is available on Web.
Does Cartesia offer any discounts?
Cartesia publicly lists the following: Startups Grant: 12 months of credits.
Does Cartesia have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Cartesia is listed for Web.
Does Cartesia have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Cartesia is listed for Web.
Is Cartesia open source?
Cartesia is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Cartesia have an API?
Yes. Cartesia offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Cartesia integrate with?
Cartesia's listing names LiveKit, Pipecat, Rasa and Genesys. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Cartesia?
Cartesia is made by Cartesia.
What are the alternatives to Cartesia?
The closest alternatives to Cartesia in our directory are ElevenLabs, Murf, Typecast and Respeecher.
How does Cartesia compare with other AI voice generators?
Cartesia's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 4 of the 9 other AI voice generators we grade, and level with 2.
Is Cartesia good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Cartesia B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $14 for the category: 0 of the 9 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Cartesia?
To replace Cartesia you would be making a voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Cartesia’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Cartesia's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Cartesia. Prices change, so check cartesia.ai before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,281
Tools graded, in 73 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,281
tools graded
73
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Cartesia, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/cartesia
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Cartesia: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/cartesia
Know someone choosing between AI voice generators?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/cartesia/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI voice generators after Cartesia, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Voices & Text to Speech Insider's GuideEvery one of the 10 AI voice generators we grade, compared
- ElevenLabs Insider's GuideAI voice platform for speech, voice cloning, dubbing and voice agents3.0 GPA
- NaturalReader Insider's GuideText-to-speech reader for listening to documents, with a voiceover app2.8 GPA
- Speechify Insider's GuideText-to-speech reader for listening to documents and web pages2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Cartesia’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Cartesia is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Cartesia. Prices and plans change: check cartesia.ai before you buy.