ElevenLabs vs PlayHT (shut down) in 2026

PlayHT has shut down following Meta's July 2025 purchase of its parent company, and ElevenLabs launched Eleven v4 and v4 Turbo on September 28, 2026 and now lists Starter at $6/mo.

Updated Oct 26, 2026 · 5 sources checked

The short answer

This is no longer a real choice.

Pick ElevenLabs for voiceovers, audiobooks, YouTube narration, dubbing, voice agents, and anyone who used PlayHT and needs a replacement
Pick PlayHT (shut down) for nobody today. Former PlayHT users should move to an active text-to-speech service such as ElevenLabs.

At a glance

ElevenLabsPlayHT (shut down)
Made byElevenLabs Inc.PlayAI (acquired by Meta, July 2025)
Starts at$6/moFree plan—
All plansFree (10k credits/mo); Starter $6/mo, or $5/mo billed yearly (30k credits); Creator $22/mo, or $18.33/mo billed yearly (121k credits); Pro $99/mo, or $82.50/mo billed yearly (600k credits); Scale $299/mo, or $249.17/mo billed yearly (1.8M credits); Business $990/mo, or $825/mo billed yearly (6M credits); Enterprise custom. Text-to-speech uses about 1 credit per character.No longer available. PlayHT no longer sells plans or accepts new users.
Best forVoiceovers, audiobooks, YouTube narration, dubbing, voice agents, and anyone who used PlayHT and needs a replacementNobody today. Former PlayHT users should move to an active text-to-speech service such as ElevenLabs.

How they score

ElevenLabsPlayHT (shut down)
Speed
9
–
Privacy
6
–

Scores out of 10: our judgment from hands-on use and each vendor's published limits.

ElevenLabs

by ElevenLabs Inc.

AI voice platform for text-to-speech, voice cloning, dubbing, speech-to-text, sound effects and music. Its newest speech models are Eleven v4 (expressive) and Eleven v4 Turbo (low latency), launched September 28, 2026 with 90+ languages; Eleven v3 and the v2/v2.5 Flash, Turbo and Multilingual models are still offered.

Good

  • Eleven v4 adds more control over emotion, pacing and delivery than earlier models
  • Eleven v4 Turbo is built for live calls and voice agents
  • Covers 90+ languages with the v4 models
  • Instant Voice Cloning from the $6 Starter plan; Professional Voice Cloning from Creator
  • One credit pool covers speech, dubbing, sound effects, speech-to-text and music
  • Still operating and actively updated, unlike PlayHT

Watch out

  • Free plan has no commercial license
  • Credits run out fast on long audiobooks unless you pay for Pro or above
  • Dubbing, music and voice changer use credits much faster than plain text-to-speech
  • Voice cloning needs care around consent and misuse
Visit ElevenLabs ↗

PlayHT (shut down)

by PlayAI (acquired by Meta, July 2025)

PlayHT was an AI voice generator known for long-form audio, a large voice library and a blog-to-audio widget. Meta acquired its parent company PlayAI in July 2025 and moved the team into Meta. The PlayHT service has since closed: the play.ht domain no longer resolves (checked October 26, 2026).

Good

  • Had a large library of stock voices
  • Had a blog-to-audio widget for websites
  • Was popular for long-form podcast and article narration
  • Audio you downloaded before the shutdown is still yours to keep

Watch out

  • Service is shut down; you cannot sign up, log in or call the API
  • No new models or support since the Meta acquisition
  • Any app still calling the PlayHT API needs a new provider
Visit PlayHT (shut down) ↗
Our verdict

This is no longer a real choice. PlayHT shut down after Meta acquired its parent company PlayAI in July 2025, so ElevenLabs wins by default. ElevenLabs is also the stronger product on its own: Eleven v4 (September 2026) is its most expressive model, Eleven v4 Turbo covers live voice agents, and plans start at $6/mo ($5/mo billed yearly) with a commercial license and instant voice cloning. If you used PlayHT, re-create your voices in ElevenLabs from your original recordings.

Questions people ask

Is PlayHT shut down?

Yes. Meta acquired PlayHT's parent company, PlayAI, in July 2025, and the team joined Meta. The PlayHT service has since closed, and the play.ht domain no longer loads (checked October 26, 2026).

What should I use instead of PlayHT?

ElevenLabs is the closest replacement for both the web app and the API. It covers long-form narration, voice cloning, dubbing and real-time voices for agents, and its Starter plan costs $6/mo ($5/mo billed yearly).

Can I get my PlayHT voice clones or files back?

The play.ht site no longer loads, so there is no way to sign in and download anything now. Audio you downloaded earlier is still on your own devices. To rebuild a cloned voice, upload your original voice recordings to a new service such as ElevenLabs.

How much does ElevenLabs cost?

The Free plan gives 10k credits a month without a commercial license. Paid plans are Starter $6/mo, Creator $22/mo, Pro $99/mo, Scale $299/mo and Business $990/mo. Annual billing charges 10 months for a year, so Starter works out to $5/mo and Creator to $18.33/mo.

Can I use ElevenLabs voices commercially?

Yes, on paid plans. The Starter plan and above include a commercial license. The Free plan does not.

Sources (5), checked Oct 26, 2026

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