Free guide · AI voice
The Complete Guide to ElevenLabs: make a pro voiceover in minutes
This complete guide to ElevenLabs shows how to make a pro voiceover in minutes: a five-step quick start, six copy-paste script cards with why each one works, one master tip and four answers on free use and downloads. Every step comes from the official ElevenLabs docs, checked October 19, 2026.
Last checked:
Quick answer
Sign up free, open Text to Speech, paste your script, pick a voice, choose Eleven v4 and click Generate, then download MP3 or WAV. For ads or client work, use a paid plan: the free plan has no commercial license.
How do you make a voiceover with ElevenLabs?
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Paste a script into Text to Speech, pick a voice and a model, generate, and download. The five steps follow the official quickstart.
- Create a free account. Sign up on the free plan: it includes 10,000 credits a month, the Voice Library and the Text to Speech playground.
- Paste your script. Open Text to Speech and paste your script: up to 2,500 characters per generation on free plans and 5,000 on paid plans.
- Pick the voice first. Browse the Voice Library by language, accent and use case, and preview voices before you choose. The docs call the voice the choice with the biggest effect on the result.
- Choose the model. Pick Eleven v4, the latest model, or Multilingual v2, which the docs call the most stable for long-form audio.
- Generate and download. Click Generate, then download the file. From your history you can save MP3 or WAV, and Advanced adds more MP3 bitrates, M4A and FLAC.
Free or paid? The free plan is for personal, non-commercial use. For ads, product videos or client work, you need a paid plan, and every paid plan includes a commercial license (Help Center, pricing page).
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6 copy-paste cards for a pro-sounding read
Replace the [brackets] with your details. Each card follows the text-to-speech best practices in the ElevenLabs docs.
1 Clean up your script first Any AI chat
Copy this
Rewrite this voiceover script so a text-to-speech voice reads it correctly. Write every number, price, date, symbol and abbreviation out in words, the way a speaker would say them (for example "$45" becomes "forty-five dollars", "Dr." becomes "Doctor", "100%" becomes "one hundred percent"). Do not change any other words. Script: [paste]
Why it works: The docs recommend writing numbers and symbols as words, because “1” or “$100” can be read more than one way. Spelled-out words remove the guess.
2 Product video script with delivery tags Eleven v4
Copy this
[warm, confident] Meet [product]... the easy way to [main benefit]. [curious] Tired of [problem]? [upbeat] With [product], you [benefit one], [benefit two] and [benefit three]. [reassuring] [One true proof point, such as your return policy]. [excited] Get yours today at [your store, written as words: "my store dot com"].
Why it works: Audio tags in square brackets direct the delivery on Eleven v4 and v3. The docs say tags that describe the voice clearly, like [warm, confident], are read as delivery, not as a sound effect.
3 Add a natural pause Pauses
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Eleven v4 or v3: Most carts are lost at checkout... [short pause] Here is the fix. Multilingual v2 or Flash v2.5: Give me one second. <break time="1.5s" /> Yes, that works.
Why it works: Eleven v4 and v3 do not support break tags, so the docs point to ellipses, audio tags and text structure. On v2 and Flash models, a break tag adds a natural pause of up to 3 seconds; too many in one script can cause glitches.
4 Stress the word that sells Emphasis
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This is the ONLY setting you need to change. It ships "free" on every order over [amount].
Why it works: The docs say capital letters increase emphasis on Eleven v4, and quotation marks around a word add emphasis too.
5 Say your brand name right Pronunciation
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Eleven v4: Welcome to "/[your brand name in IPA]/". [Rest of the script.] Other models: spell it the way it sounds, for example "Shi-vawn" for "Siobhan".
Why it works: Eleven v4 reads IPA symbols wrapped in forward slashes. For other models the docs suggest a phonetic spelling, with capitals or dashes to move the stress.
6 Start with these settings Voice settings
Copy this
Stability 50 · Similarity 75 · Style 0 Speed 1.0 (range 0.7 to 1.2, on models that have it)
Why it works: The docs call this the most common setup. Lower stability gives a more expressive read; higher gives a steadier one. Eleven v4 has only Stability and Similarity.
What is the one tip that matters most?
+ Master tip: Voice first, then model, then settings
Spend your time on the voice: the docs rank voice choice first, model second and settings third. Then use the free regenerations: Text to Speech on the website gives two free regenerations if the text, voice and model stay the same, the first take is under two hours old and you have not refreshed the page. You can still move the sliders.
From the Text to Speech guide.
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FAQ
Is ElevenLabs free?
Yes. The free plan includes 10,000 credits a month and 3 Studio projects. It does not include a commercial license, and content you publish from a free plan must say “elevenlabs.io” or “11.ai” in its title, according to the official Help Center checked October 19, 2026.
Can I use the voiceover in ads or client videos?
Yes, on a paid plan. Every paid plan includes a commercial license (not for Beta Services), and the pricing page lists the commercial license from the Starter plan up. Free-plan audio cannot be used commercially.
How do I add a pause?
On Eleven v4 and v3, use ellipses, an audio tag such as [short pause] or a line break. On Multilingual v2 and Flash models, use a break tag such as <break time="1.5s" />, up to 3 seconds.
Which file formats can I download?
MP3 (128 kbps) or WAV from your Text to Speech history, and Advanced adds MP3 at 192 or 256 kbps, M4A and FLAC.
Next steps
- See the facts and score on the ElevenLabs library page.
- Compare voice tools in the best AI voice generators for business and ElevenLabs vs Speechify.
- Browse every tool and guide in the Mishal Brands Library.
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Sources, checked October 19, 2026: ElevenCreative quickstart (ElevenLabs docs); Text to Speech guide (ElevenLabs docs); Text to Speech best practices (ElevenLabs docs); Voice Library (ElevenLabs docs); Can I publish the content I generate on the platform? (ElevenLabs Help Center); ElevenLabs pricing. Plans and features can change; if this page disagrees with elevenlabs.io, elevenlabs.io is right.
ElevenLabs and the ElevenLabs logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of ElevenLabs, Inc. Used with permission. Mishal Brands is not sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with ElevenLabs except as an independent participant in the ElevenLabs Creator Affiliate Program.