How to Use ElevenLabs: AI Voice Generation & Cloning Guide (2026)

ElevenLabs has redefined what’s possible with AI-generated speech. Their text-to-speech technology produces voices so natural that they’re virtually indistinguishable from real human recordings. Whether you need voiceovers for videos, audiobook narration, podcast production, or multilingual dubbing, ElevenLabs makes professional audio accessible to everyone.

This guide walks you through every ElevenLabs feature, from basic text-to-speech to advanced voice cloning and the API.

TL;DR — Quick Start

1. Sign up free at elevenlabs.io — 10,000 characters/month
2. Pick a voice from the Voice Library or clone your own
3. Paste your text and click Generate
4. Download the audio as MP3 or WAV

Pricing Plans

Plan	Price	Characters/Mo	Voice Clones	Best For
Free	$0	10,000	3 instant	Testing
Starter	$5/mo	30,000	10 instant	Hobbyists
Creator	$22/mo	100,000	30 instant	Content creators
Pro	$99/mo	500,000	160 instant	Professionals
Scale	$330/mo	2,000,000	660 instant	Enterprises

Character counts:

• 10,000 characters ≈ 10 minutes of audio
• 100,000 characters ≈ 1.5-2 hours of audio

Getting Started

Step 1: Create an Account

Go to elevenlabs.io and sign up. The free plan gives you 10,000 characters per month with access to all pre-built voices.

Step 2: Choose a Voice

ElevenLabs provides three voice sources:

Pre-made Voices: Professional studio-recorded voices in various accents and styles. Browse categories like narration, conversational, news, and characters.

Voice Library: Community-shared voices covering thousands of unique styles. Search by language, accent, gender, age, and use case.

Your Own Clone: Upload audio samples to create a custom voice (more on this below).

Step 3: Generate Speech

1. Navigate to Speech Synthesis
2. Select your voice from the dropdown
3. Paste or type your text
4. Adjust Voice Settings if needed
5. Click Generate
6. Preview the audio and download

Voice Settings Explained

Fine-tune voice output with these parameters:

Stability (0-100%)

• Low (0-30%): More expressive, varied delivery. Better for emotional content.
• Medium (40-60%): Balanced expressiveness. Good default.
• High (70-100%): Consistent, predictable delivery. Better for professional narration.

Clarity + Similarity Enhancement (0-100%)

• Low: Softer, more ambient sound
• Medium: Natural balance
• High: Clearer enunciation, closer to the original voice sample

Style Exaggeration (0-100%)

• Controls how dramatically the voice expresses emotion
• Higher values = more theatrical delivery
• Keep at 0-30% for most professional use cases

Speaker Boost

• Toggle on for improved clarity in noisy environments
• Adds slight post-processing for crispness
• Recommended for podcast and video voiceovers

Voice Cloning

ElevenLabs offers two types of voice cloning:

Instant Voice Cloning

Create a voice clone in seconds from a short audio sample.

How to create an instant clone:

1. Go to Voices → Add Voice → Instant Voice Cloning
2. Upload 1-5 minutes of clean audio
3. Name your voice and add a description
4. Click Create Voice

Audio requirements:

• Clear speech with minimal background noise
• Single speaker only
• WAV or MP3 format
• At least 30 seconds (1-5 minutes recommended)
• No music or sound effects

Professional Voice Cloning

A higher-fidelity option that requires more audio data.

Requirements:

• 30+ minutes of audio
• Professional recording quality
• Available on Creator plan and above
• Results in a more accurate voice reproduction

Best practices:

• Record in a quiet room with a quality microphone
• Include varied emotional tones and speaking speeds
• Read diverse content (narration, conversation, lists)
• Maintain consistent volume and distance from mic

Speech-to-Speech

Convert your own voice recordings into a different voice:

1. Go to Speech to Speech
2. Select the target voice
3. Record or upload your audio
4. ElevenLabs converts the speech while preserving your intonation, pacing, and emotion
5. Download the converted audio

Use cases:

• Acting with a different voice while keeping your performance
• Creating multilingual content with consistent emotional delivery
• Generating character voices from your own readings

Projects: Long-Form Audio

The Projects feature is designed for audiobooks, podcasts, and long-form content:

How to Use Projects

1. Go to Projects → Create New Project
2. Upload a document (TXT, EPUB, PDF) or paste text
3. The text is automatically split into paragraphs
4. Assign different voices to different speakers or sections
5. Adjust pacing and pronunciation per paragraph
6. Generate the full audio
7. Export as a single file or chapter-by-chapter

Projects Tips

• Use paragraph breaks to control pacing
• Assign character voices for dialogue sections
• Preview individual paragraphs before generating the full project
• Use SSML tags for precise pronunciation control

Pronunciation and SSML

Pronunciation Dictionary

Create custom pronunciation rules:

1. Go to Pronunciation Dictionary
2. Add words with their phonetic pronunciations
3. Use IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) for precise control
4. Apply the dictionary to your voice for consistent results

SSML Tags

For fine-grained control, use SSML markup:

<break time="1s"/> <!-- 1 second pause -->
<phoneme alphabet="ipa" ph="təˈmeɪtoʊ">tomato</phoneme>

Dubbing

ElevenLabs can automatically dub video content into 29+ languages:

How Dubbing Works

1. Upload a video file or provide a URL
2. Select the source and target languages
3. ElevenLabs:

• Transcribes the original audio
• Translates the content
• Generates new speech matching the original speaker’s voice
• Syncs the audio to lip movements

1. Download the dubbed video

Supported Languages

English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and 17 more languages.

Sound Effects

Generate custom sound effects from text descriptions:

1. Go to Sound Effects
2. Describe the sound: “thunderstorm with heavy rain on a tin roof”
3. Set duration (0.5-22 seconds)
4. Generate and download

Use cases:

• Video production backgrounds
• Game development audio assets
• Podcast intro/outro sounds
• Presentation ambiance

API Integration

ElevenLabs offers a comprehensive API for developers:

Quick Start

from elevenlabs import ElevenLabs

client = ElevenLabs(api_key="your-api-key")

audio = client.text_to_speech.convert(
    text="Hello world, this is a test of the ElevenLabs API.",
    voice_id="JBFqnCBsd6RMkjVDRZzb",
    model_id="eleven_multilingual_v2"
)

with open("output.mp3", "wb") as f:
    for chunk in audio:
        f.write(chunk)

Available Models

• eleven_multilingual_v2: Best quality, 29 languages
• eleven_turbo_v2_5: Fastest, lowest latency
• eleven_english_v1: English-optimized

Streaming

For real-time applications, use the streaming endpoint:

audio_stream = client.text_to_speech.convert_as_stream(
    text="Streaming text to speech in real time.",
    voice_id="JBFqnCBsd6RMkjVDRZzb",
)

Practical Workflows

YouTube Voiceover

1. Write your script
2. Choose a voice matching your channel’s tone
3. Generate in Projects for long scripts
4. Adjust pacing for sync with visuals
5. Export and import into your video editor

Podcast Production

1. Record your voice or use speech-to-speech
2. Use Projects to assemble episodes
3. Add different voices for guest quotes or characters
4. Generate sound effects for intros and transitions
5. Export as WAV for post-production

E-Learning Content

1. Write course scripts
2. Use a consistent, clear voice across modules
3. Leverage Projects for chapter organization
4. Generate in multiple languages for international courses
5. Use pronunciation dictionary for technical terms

Tips for Best Results

1. Use punctuation strategically: Commas add pauses, periods add longer breaks
2. Write for speech, not reading: Short sentences, active voice, conversational tone
3. Test multiple voices: Different voices handle different content types better
4. Use Stability wisely: Lower for emotional content, higher for factual narration
5. Preview before full generation: Test a paragraph before committing your character budget
6. Clean up your text: Remove URLs, special characters, and formatting that won’t translate to speech

FAQ

How realistic are ElevenLabs voices?

ElevenLabs produces some of the most natural AI voices available. In blind tests, listeners often cannot distinguish ElevenLabs output from human recordings, especially with the multilingual v2 model and well-tuned voice settings.

Can I clone any voice?

You can clone voices you have legal permission to use. ElevenLabs requires you to confirm that you have consent from the voice owner. Using someone’s voice without permission may violate their rights and ElevenLabs’ terms of service.

What languages are supported?

ElevenLabs supports 29 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and more. The multilingual v2 model handles all supported languages.

Can I use generated audio commercially?

Yes, all paid plans include commercial usage rights. The free plan is limited to personal, non-commercial use. Enterprise customers get additional licensing options.

How do I improve voice clone quality?

Use longer, higher-quality audio samples (3-5 minutes minimum for instant clones). Record in a quiet environment with a good microphone. Include varied speaking styles in your sample. Professional Voice Cloning with 30+ minutes of audio produces the best results. For more insights, check out our guide on How to Use Midjourney.

Conclusion

ElevenLabs makes professional voice generation accessible to anyone. The combination of lifelike pre-made voices, accurate voice cloning, multilingual dubbing, and a powerful API covers virtually every audio production need.

Start with the free tier to test voices and generation quality. For regular use, the Creator plan at $22/month provides 100,000 characters — enough for several hours of audio per month. As you grow, the API opens up automation possibilities for scaling your audio production.