How many characters do you get per ElevenLabs plan?
For text-to-speech generated on the ElevenLabs website, each input character uses 1 credit before any shared-voice multiplier. If the entire monthly allowance is spent there, the current theoretical maxima are Free 10,000, Starter 30,000, Creator 121,000, Pro 600,000, Scale 1.8 million and Business 6 million characters as of 2026-08-09. API rates differ by model, and other products share the balance.
Why — the first-principles explanation
ElevenLabs renamed its general usage unit from 'characters' to credits because one balance now covers products with text and non-text inputs. For text-to-speech on the website, the rule is still simple: each input character consumes one credit before any custom rate on a shared Voice Library voice. That lets you read a plan's credit allowance as a theoretical website-TTS character ceiling only if you spend the whole balance on that product.
As of 2026-08-09, those ceilings are 10,000 Free, 30,000 Starter, 121,000 Creator, 600,000 Pro, 1.8 million Scale, and 6 million Business characters. Actual text capacity is lower if you also spend credits on transcription, music, dubbing or other products, or if a voice applies a multiplier.
Do not extend the website rule to the API. The current API rate card prices Flash/Turbo and Multilingual v2/v3 differently and publishes its own included-character estimates. Duration also depends on language, punctuation and speaking speed. ElevenLabs' official support material estimates 10,000 Multilingual v2 characters at roughly 10 minutes, but that is a model- and pacing-specific approximation, not a universal conversion.
An example that makes it click
Treat the plan allowance as a shared token wallet. On website text-to-speech, one ordinary input character costs one token, so Starter's 30,000-credit wallet can cover up to 30,000 characters if nothing else uses the wallet and no voice multiplier applies. Spend part of it on dubbing or music and fewer tokens remain for text. Use the separate API rate card when generating through code.
How to do it
- For website text-to-speech, start with 1 input character per credit before any shared-voice multiplier.
- Subtract credits you expect to spend on other products before treating the balance as text capacity.
- Count your monthly script length to pick the right tier.
- For API generation, use the API pricing table's model-specific character rate instead of the website conversion.
- Upgrade a tier if your scripts consistently exceed your plan's character pool.
Key facts
- Website text-to-speech consumes 1 credit per input character before any shared-voice multiplier.
- Website-TTS theoretical maxima as of 2026-08-09: Free 10,000, Starter 30,000, Creator 121,000 characters.
- Website-TTS theoretical maxima as of 2026-08-09: Pro 600,000, Scale 1.8 million, Business 6 million characters.
- ElevenLabs estimates 10,000 Multilingual v2 characters at roughly 10 minutes, but language and speaking speed change duration.
- API text-to-speech has model-specific pricing, so its character allowance must be read from the API rate card.
Open the current plans, credits, usage limits and cancellation terms before you subscribe.
▶ The 60-second explainer (script)
How many characters do you get per ElevenLabs plan? For text-to-speech on the website, one input character uses one credit before any shared-voice multiplier. If you spend the entire allowance there, the August 9, 2026 ceilings are ten thousand characters on Free, thirty thousand on Starter, one hundred twenty-one thousand on Creator, six hundred thousand on Pro, one point eight million on Scale and six million on Business. Those are ceilings, not guarantees: other products share the balance, and some voices apply multipliers. API rates also differ by model, so use the separate API table for code. Duration varies with language and speaking pace rather than following one universal credits-to-minutes formula.
What authoritative sources say
People also ask
Is a credit the same as a character?
For text-to-speech on the website, each input character consumes one credit before any shared-voice multiplier. API pricing is model-specific and should be checked separately.
How many characters is the free plan?
Up to 10,000 website text-to-speech characters if you spend all Free credits there and no voice multiplier applies. The duration varies by script and speaking speed.
How do characters convert to minutes?
ElevenLabs estimates 10,000 Multilingual v2 characters at roughly 10 minutes, but language, punctuation and speaking speed change the result. Treat it as an estimate, not a billing rule.
How can I get more characters without upgrading?
Use fewer website characters, avoid unnecessary shared-voice multipliers, or compare API models on the live API rate card. Do not assume a fixed doubling across every plan and surface.