← Text-to-speech
ElevenLabs vs Deepgram for Text-to-speech (Oct 2026)
Depot Pick for this job: ElevenLabs. Deepgram is the provider with the cheapest sourced SKU in this job's unit. Both have a sourced price in usd_per_1k_characters, so this comparison is like for like on price. Prices are each provider's lowest sourced SKU in that unit only (no blending across units, input/output or context tiers), not quality-adjusted.
Scores as of 2026-09-14 / 2026-10-19 (43 / 8 days; stale after 30). Prices carry their own dates.
| ElevenLabs (Depot Pick) | Deepgram | |
|---|---|---|
| Job-weighted overall | 8.27 | 8.50 |
| Capability fit | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| Price / performance | 7.5 | 8.8 |
| Latency / reliability | 8.8 | 8.6 |
| Developer & agent DX | 9 | 8.6 |
| Privacy / data retention | 7 | 8.2 |
| Lock-in risk (higher = worse) | 5.5 | 4 |
| Maturity / track record | 8.8 | 9 |
| Lowest sourced SKU (usd_per_1k_characters) | $0.04 (Flash / Turbo Text to Speech) source · as of 2026-10-03 · re-checked 2026-10-27 | $0.03 (Aura-2) source · as of 2026-10-03 · re-checked 2026-10-27 |
| Free option for this job | none listed | none listed |
| Score kind / confidence | curated_estimate / high | curated_estimate / high |
When not to use ElevenLabs
Already all-in on OpenAI and quality sufficient.
Lock-in
Stored lock-in risk (0–10, higher = more lock-in): ElevenLabs 5.5, Deepgram 4. Self-host fallback for this job: Kokoro-82M, Piper, eSpeak NG.
Agents: GET /api/compare?providers=elevenlabs,deepgram&jtbd=speech-synthesis · full job page · methodology