AI tools clearly explained
ElevenLabs: AI voices that truly sound real.
ElevenLabs turns written text into spoken language that is barely distinguishable from a human recording – in German too. Here you will learn what the tool can do, what it is suited for, what the free plan delivers and when a paid plan is worth it.
* Transparency: this article contains affiliate links. If you take out a subscription through them, we receive a commission – the price stays the same for you. This does not influence our assessment.
- Explained for beginners
- The free plan in detail
- Honest assessment
- As of September 2026
The basics
What is ElevenLabs?
ElevenLabs is the best-known provider of AI speech generation: you enter a text – the tool speaks it in a natural-sounding voice, with emphasis and intonation that are barely distinguishable from a real recording.
The basic principle is called text-to-speech: text in, audio out – in many languages, with very good German. On top of that come a library of ready-made voices, cloning your own voice (your voice is digitized and can then speak any text), speech-to-speech conversion and further audio tools. Everything is operated in the browser at elevenlabs.io (affiliate link*). Billing is done in monthly credits – as a rule of thumb: credits correspond to the amount of text in characters.
Important from the start: ElevenLabs does not replace a recording studio with a director, but delivers fast, professional-sounding voice recordings without a microphone or booking a speaker. Whether the result fits the purpose is still your call – listen, check, then publish.
Typical use cases
What is ElevenLabs best suited for?
Voicing videos
Explainer videos and social media clips get a professional narrator voice – without a microphone, without slips, without a recording session.
Phone announcements
Greeting, hold loop, voicemail: announcements that sound like a professional speaker – and can be updated in minutes when opening hours change.
Podcast & audiobook
Written content becomes listenable formats – from a narrated blog article to a complete audiobook production.
Multilingual versions
One text, many languages: the same content can be spoken in several languages – ideal for international customers.
Accessibility
Have website texts, instructions or documents read aloud – making content accessible to people who read poorly or not at all.
Voice-over for presentations
Training sessions, product demos and pitch decks get a consistently good narration track – changeable at any time, without re-recording.
ElevenLabs is less suitable for anything beyond audio: the tool does not create videos or images. For moving images, it is worth a look at our guide on Higgsfield, for images at Midjourney. And with very long productions, you should keep an eye on the credits.
The most important question
What can you do for free – and what does paying get you?
Meant for trying it out
The free plan is enough to test sound and handling at your leisure – it is expressly not meant for business use:
- Around 10,000 credits per month (≈ roughly 10 minutes of audio)
- Access to the library of ready-made voices
- Text-to-speech in many languages, including German
- Important: no commercial use permitted
- Important: no voice cloning included
License, cloning, quality
As soon as an audio file is to be published or used for business, there is no way around a paid plan:
- Starter (around 5 US dollars/month): commercial license, more credits, simple instant voice cloning
- Creator (around 22 US dollars/month): considerably more credits, professional voice cloning, higher audio quality
- Pro and Scale tiers for large volumes
- Unused credits roll over into the following month within limits
- Commercial use permitted from the Starter plan
Our recommendation for beginners: test sound and handling with your own texts on the free plan. As soon as the first audio is to be published, Starter is the logical next step – for cloning your own voice in good quality, rather Creator. Prices and credits change continuously – the current details at ElevenLabs are what counts (this page: as of September 2026).
Getting started
Four steps to your first AI voice.
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Create an account
Register for free at elevenlabs.io. The free plan with around 10,000 credits per month is perfectly sufficient for your first steps.
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Choose a voice
Listen your way through the voice library and choose a voice that fits your project – serious for the phone announcement, lively for the social media video.
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Enter your text
Paste the text, generate, listen. Short sentences and written-out numbers help the pronunciation – and because credits depend on the amount of text, it pays to finish editing the text beforehand.
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Review & deploy
Listen to the result in full – especially names and technical terms. If everything fits, download the audio file and use it in your video, phone system or podcast.
A note on the law: never clone other people's voices without express consent – that violates personality rights. Commercial use is only permitted from a paid plan, and depending on the use case, you should be transparent that an AI voice is speaking.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about ElevenLabs.
Is ElevenLabs free?
For trying it out, yes: the free plan includes around 10,000 credits per month – which corresponds to roughly 10 minutes of audio. Two important restrictions: the free plan does not permit commercial use, and voice cloning is not included. For anything that is published or used for business, you need a paid plan.
Does ElevenLabs speak German?
Yes, very well. ElevenLabs produces natural-sounding speech in many languages, and German is one of its strengths: pronunciation and intonation come across as remarkably natural. You can also have the same text spoken in several languages – for example for international versions of a video.
How much does ElevenLabs cost?
The Starter plan costs around 5 US dollars per month and includes the commercial license, more credits and simple instant voice cloning. The Creator plan costs around 22 US dollars per month and offers considerably more credits, professional voice cloning and higher audio quality. Above that, there are Pro and Scale tiers for large volumes. On paid plans, unused credits can roll over into the following month within limits. The current prices at ElevenLabs are what counts.
May I use the voices commercially?
Only from a paid plan upwards: the commercial license is included from the Starter plan. You may not use audio from the free plan for business – not in client videos, phone announcements or any other productions you earn money with. Depending on the use case, you should also be transparent that an AI voice is speaking.
Can I clone my own voice?
Yes, on the paid plans: the Starter plan includes simple instant voice cloning based on a short recording, the Creator plan professional voice cloning with higher quality. Important: clone only your own voice or voices for which you have express consent – cloning other people's voices without permission violates personality rights.
Further reading
These guides go well with this one.
Voicemail greetings with AI
Ready-made templates – and the greeting recorded in studio quality.
Higgsfield
Creating AI videos – the perfect complement to your AI voice for moving images.
All articles at a glance: AI Tools Guides
From trying out to putting to work
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