ElevenLabs alternative · Text to speech
The free ElevenLabs alternative.
Kelados vs ElevenLabs
| Kelados | ElevenLabs | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, forever | Free plan, then Starter at $6/month |
| Character limit | None | 10,000 credits a month on the free plan (about 10 minutes of audio) |
| Commercial use | Yes (Apache-2.0 voices) | Paid plans |
| Sign-up | Not needed | Required |
| Voices | 28 American and British English | Large multilingual library |
| Voice cloning | No | Yes |
| Where speech is generated | In your browser | ElevenLabs' servers |
| Developer API | Free Node SDK, CLI and self-hosted server | Paid hosted API |
ElevenLabs details from its pricing page, checked October 2026. Plans change; check there for current terms.
Why people switch
Unlimited length
Paste a chapter or a whole book. Playback starts while the rest is still generating.
Free for commercial use
The Kokoro-82M voices are Apache-2.0, so you can use the audio in videos, apps and audiobooks.
Private
Your script is never sent to a server: generation happens on your device.
A free API
npm install kelados gives you an SDK, a CLI and a self-hosted TTS server, with no per-character bill.
When ElevenLabs is the better pick
- ElevenLabs clones voices; Kelados doesn't.
- ElevenLabs speaks many languages; Kelados voices are English only.
- ElevenLabs offers dubbing, sound effects and emotional voice control.
Switch from ElevenLabs in two minutes
Open Speech Studio
No account. Paste your text and pick one of 28 voices.
Listen and export
Playback starts in seconds; download a WAV.
Long-form
Use Projects for multi-voice audiobooks and podcasts, or the SDK for apps.
Questions
Is ElevenLabs free?
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ElevenLabs has a free plan with 10,000 credits a month, roughly 10,000 characters or about 10 minutes of speech, and commercial use needs a paid plan, starting with Starter at $6 a month (elevenlabs.io/pricing, October 2026). Kelados text to speech is free with no character limit.
What is the best free alternative to ElevenLabs?
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For English narration, Kelados is free with no character limits, 28 natural voices, commercial use and no sign-up, because speech is generated in your browser by the open Kokoro-82M model. If you need voice cloning or other languages, ElevenLabs remains the stronger choice.
Is there a free ElevenLabs alternative with no character limit?
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Yes. Kelados Speech Studio has no character, minute or credit limits. It runs the model on your device, so long texts and whole books cost nothing.
Can I use Kelados voices commercially?
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Yes. The Kokoro-82M model and voices are released under Apache-2.0, which allows commercial use. Kelados itself is MIT licensed.
Is there a free ElevenLabs API alternative?
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Yes. npm install kelados gives a Node SDK, a CLI and a self-hosted HTTP server compatible with common TTS request formats, plus an MCP server for AI agents. There is no per-character billing.
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