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Deepgram vs ElevenLabs for voice AI

Short answer. Deepgram wins on speech to text price for live calls. Its Nova-3 streaming rate is $0.0048 a minute on a limited-time promo, with a regular price of $0.0077. ElevenLabs Scribe v2 Realtime costs $0.39 an hour, which is $0.0065 a minute by our math. For voices, Deepgram Aura-2 costs $0.030 per 1,000 characters and ElevenLabs Flash costs $0.04. On platforms that let you mix providers, you can use Deepgram to listen and ElevenLabs to talk. We read both pricing pages on October 27, 2026.

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Speech to text

Model	Deepgram	ElevenLabs
Live calls (streaming)	Nova-3 $0.0048 a minute promo, $0.0077 regular	Scribe v2 Realtime $0.39 an hour
Voice agent model	Flux English $0.0065 a minute promo, $0.0077 regular	Not listed apart
Recorded audio	Nova-3 $0.0043 a minute	Scribe v2 $0.22 an hour
1,000 live minutes, our math	$4.80 promo, $7.70 regular	$6.50

Voices (text to speech)

Model	Deepgram	ElevenLabs
Low-latency voice	Aura-2 $0.030 per 1,000 characters	Flash / Turbo $0.04 per 1,000 characters
Budget voice	Aura-1 $0.0150 per 1,000 characters	Not listed
Top voice	Flux TTS $0.0450 per 1,000 characters	v4 $0.08 per 1,000 characters
1 million characters, our math	$30 on Aura-2	$40 on Flash

Voice agents

Item	Deepgram	ElevenLabs
Per minute	Voice Agent API Standard $0.075, Advanced $0.163	Extra minutes $0.08, LLM billed on top
Bring your own parts	$0.065 with your own voice, $0.050 with your own model and voice	Not listed
Plans	Pay as you go, Growth from $4K a year	Free 15 minutes, Starter $6, Creator $22, Pro $99, Scale $299, Business $990 a month
1,000 minutes, our math	$75	$80 plus LLM, or the Pro plan with 1,238 minutes for $99 plus LLM

Sources: Deepgram pricing, ElevenLabs API pricing, and ElevenLabs Agents pricing, checked October 27, 2026.

Source conflicts and promos

Deepgram labels its streaming prices as limited-time promotional rates. The page gives no end date for them. We show the regular price next to each promo price.
ElevenLabs shows a $1 first month offer on its pricing pages. One banner reads "Ends September 30" with no year, and another shows a countdown at zero. We do not count the offer in our math.
Deepgram lists a "Custom - BYO LLM" voice agent rate in one plan column with no match in the other. We left it out.

Which to pick

Pick Deepgram for the ears of a phone agent. Its live speech to text costs less per minute, and its free start is a $200 credit with no card. Pick ElevenLabs when the voice matters most, or when you want a voice agent plan with set minutes each month. Pick both if you build on Vapi, Retell, or Pipecat, where you can mix providers.

Compare more: Vapi vs ElevenLabs, Retell AI vs ElevenLabs, Bland AI vs ElevenLabs, Pipecat pricing.

FAQ

Is Deepgram cheaper than ElevenLabs for speech to text? For live calls, yes. Deepgram Nova-3 streaming is $0.0048 a minute on promo and $0.0077 regular. ElevenLabs Scribe v2 Realtime works out to $0.0065 a minute. For recorded audio, ElevenLabs Scribe v2 comes to $0.0037 a minute by our math, below Deepgram's $0.0043.

Is Deepgram cheaper than ElevenLabs for voices? Yes, on list price. Deepgram Aura-2 is $0.030 per 1,000 characters. ElevenLabs Flash is $0.04.

Does Deepgram have a voice agent API? Yes. The Voice Agent API costs $0.075 a minute on Standard and $0.068 on Growth.

Does ElevenLabs charge for phone calls? ElevenLabs says it adds no telephony fee. Your phone carrier bills you for call minutes.

Do Deepgram and ElevenLabs have free plans? Deepgram gives a $200 credit with no card. ElevenLabs Agents has a free plan with 15 minutes a month.

Checked 2026-10-27. Prices and policies change. Confirm on the source before you buy.