Cartesia Sonic 3 is cheaper: $0.05 vs $0.083 per 1,000 characters on each model's cheapest path — 1.7× less. For 10,000 characters (~12 min of audio): $0.500 vs $0.833. Stamped 2026-08-28. ElevenLabs Flash v2.5's premium may buy quality — this index measures cost only.
Cartesia Sonic 3 vs ElevenLabs Flash v2.5: price
Cartesia Sonic 3
$0.05 per 1,000 characters
Cheapest: $0.05 via Cartesia (Pro tier (cheapest incl.)) (estimated)
ElevenLabs Flash v2.5
$0.083 per 1,000 characters
Cheapest: $0.083 via ElevenLabs (Starter tier (cheapest incl.)) (derived)
How much does Cartesia Sonic 3 cost?
| Provider | Price /1k chars | Provider's own unit | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartesia · Pro tier (cheapest incl.)cheapest | $0.05$0.043/min of audio | 1 credit per charactercredits | Estimated2026-08-28 | source |
How these numbers were computed
- Cartesia (Pro tier (cheapest incl.)): Entry-tier credit math from plans published at research time (Pro ≈ $5/mo · 100k credits). Pending live verification.
How much does ElevenLabs Flash v2.5 cost?
| Provider | Price /1k chars | Provider's own unit | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs · Starter tier (cheapest incl.)cheapest | $0.083$0.071/min of audio | 0.5 credits per charactercredits | Derived2026-08-28 | source |
How these numbers were computed
- ElevenLabs (Starter tier (cheapest incl.)): Starter $5/mo ÷ 30,000 credits × 0.5 credit/char × 1,000 = $0.083/1k chars.
Frequently asked
Is Cartesia Sonic 3 cheaper than ElevenLabs Flash v2.5?
Cartesia Sonic 3 is cheaper: $0.05 vs $0.083 per 1,000 characters on each model's cheapest path — 1.7× less. For 10,000 characters (~12 min of audio): $0.500 vs $0.833. Stamped 2026-08-28. ElevenLabs Flash v2.5's premium may buy quality — this index measures cost only.
What does 10,000 characters (~12 min of audio) cost on each?
Cartesia Sonic 3: $0.500 (cheapest path). ElevenLabs Flash v2.5: $0.833. Both computed from the normalized canonical rate; real invoices vary with resolution, minimum charges, and tiers.
Which is better quality?
This index measures cost, not quality. For quality benchmarks, see Artificial Analysis — a voice model that costs more is not automatically better, and vice versa.
Prices normalized to per 1,000 characters; per-clip, credit, and tier billing converted per themethodology. Quality comparison is out of scope — seeArtificial Analysis.