Complete guide to ElevenLabs

Getting started

Sign up at elevenlabs.io with your email or Google. In the main dashboard you'll see several tools in the side menu: Text to Speech, Voice Cloning, Dubbing and Sound Effects. For your first test, go to Text to Speech, paste some text, choose a voice from the library and click generate: within seconds you'll have the audio ready to listen to and download. The free plan includes 10,000 credits per month (approx. 10,000 characters of text to speech), enough to try all the basic features before deciding whether you need a paid plan.

Use cases

Advanced setup

1. Instant vs. professional voice cloning
   Instant cloning needs only 1-2 minutes of audio and is available on most plans. Professional cloning (from the Creator plan) requires 30+ minutes of recordings but produces a much more realistic clone.
2. Video dubbing
   Upload your video or import it directly from YouTube, choose the target languages, edit the translation in each speaker's card if needed, adjust the timing and export the result.
3. Sound effects generator
   From the "Sound Effects" icon in the side menu, type a description of the effect you need in the top text field and generate several variations to choose from.
4. Commercial license
   The free plan does not include a commercial license or voice cloning; if you will use the audio in a commercial project, you need a paid plan (from $6/month).

Tips

• For long narrations, adjust the voice's "stability": higher values give a more even tone, lower values sound more expressive but less predictable.
• If you're going to clone your voice, record in a quiet environment with a good-quality microphone: the quality of the source audio directly determines the quality of the clone.
• When dubbing, always review the generated translation before exporting: small text tweaks greatly improve how natural the final result sounds.
• Combine Sound Effects with your narrations or videos to add atmosphere without having to search external sound libraries.
• Save your favorite voices to a personal library so you don't have to search for them among all the available ones every time.

FAQ