We earn a commission if you buy through our links — it never changes our scores or rankings.How we test →
ElevenLabs credits calculator
Convert any ElevenLabs credit amount — or a whole plan — into minutes of finished narration, characters of text-to-speech, full scripts and dubbing time. ElevenLabs meters in credits; this turns them back into work.
Quick answer: one minute of finished narration costs about 835 credits (our measured bench figure), so Starter’s 30,000 credits buy ≈ 36 minutes a month and Creator’s 121,000 buy ≈ 2.4 hours. Standard TTS burns roughly 1 credit per character; dubbing burns ~2,000 per minute.
Start from a plan
Finished narration
145min
measured ~835 cr / finished minute
Standard TTS
121,000chars
≈1 credit / character
1,000-word scripts
20scripts
~6,000 cr / script
Dubbing
61min
≈2,000 cr / dubbed minute
Plan quotas and prices verified on elevenlabs.io/pricing, Jul 19, 2026. The finished-narration rate is ToolProven's measured bench average (default narration pacing, first takes); ElevenLabs' own rule is ≈1 credit per character on standard TTS. Retakes bill the full text again — treat results as planning figures.
Where these rates come from
The character rule is ElevenLabs’ own metering: on standard text-to-speech models, one credit corresponds to roughly one character. The finished-minute figure is ours — we ran a 991-character brief through the official API and got 72 seconds of audio, which works out to ~835 credits per finished minute at default narration pacing. The raw MP3 and timings are published in the ElevenLabs review, and the full plan-by-plan conversion lives in the credits explainer.
Two rules change the math in practice. Paid-plan credits roll over — up to two months’ worth, capping your balance at three times the monthly quota — but downgrading or cancelling forfeits them. And the Free plan’s 10,000 credits are evaluation budget, not production budget: no rollover, attribution required, and no commercial license until the first paid tier.
ElevenLabs credits FAQ
About 835 credits per finished minute of narration — a figure we measured from our own published bench runs (991 characters ≈ 72 seconds of audio at default narration pacing), not an estimate. Expressive reads with retakes cost more, because every regeneration bills the full text again.
At our measured rate: Free's 10,000 credits ≈ 12 minutes (attribution required, non-commercial only), Starter's 30,000 ≈ 36 minutes, Creator's 121,000 ≈ 2.4 hours, and Pro's 600,000 ≈ 12 hours of finished narration per month — first takes only.
Yes, on paid plans: unused credits carry over up to two months' worth, so your balance can reach at most three times your monthly quota. Rollover does not apply to the Free plan, and downgrading or cancelling forfeits unused credits at the end of the cycle — per ElevenLabs' pricing FAQ and help center, verified Jul 19, 2026.
Different meters: standard text-to-speech burns roughly 1 credit per character, while Eleven Music runs about 900 credits per minute of audio and Dubbing about 2,000 credits per minute. A small plan that lasts a month of narration can disappear in an afternoon of dubbing.
It's a planning tool. The characters figure is ElevenLabs' own metering rule; the finished-minute figure is our measured bench average at default narration pacing — your voice, pacing and retake rate will move it. Budget 2–3 takes for anything expressive, then confirm against your account's usage page.