Updated February 19, 2025

Comparing ElevenLabs and Deepgram Voice AI Models

Explore the differences between ElevenLabs and Deepgram. Learn more about pricing, model performances and product features.

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Comparing ElevenLabs and Deepgram Voice AI Models

Both platforms offer advanced voice AI capabilities, but ElevenLabs excels with fast voice generation and Deepgram can create more natrual voices.

Latency
ElevenLabs75 ms for the lower quality Flash Model, and 300ms+ for the full model
DeepgramLess than 250 ms
Voice Quality
ElevenLabsNatural and realistic, widely used by all types of content creators
DeepgramHuman-like tone, rhythm, and emotion
Character Limits
ElevenLabsLimited to 40k characters per request
DeepgramLimited to 2k characters per request
Instant Cloning
ElevenLabsRequires 10 seconds of audio
DeepgramNo voice cloning support
Professional Voice Cloning
ElevenLabsRequires 60 minutes of audio
DeepgramNo voice cloning feature
Pronunciation Accuracy
ElevenLabsIPA support but isolated pronunciation
DeepgramNo IPA support
Voice Customizations
ElevenLabsStability, similarity, and style exaggeration controls
DeepgramCustomization options may be limited
Telephony Optimization
ElevenLabs8kHz audio, telephony optimized voices
DeepgramAudio quality may not meet all telephony needs
Flexible deployments
ElevenLabsNo on-device or on-prem support
DeepgramSupports on-premise and limited on-device capabilities
Languages Supported
ElevenLabs32
DeepgramEnglish only
Concurrency
ElevenLabsUp to 15 on highest self serve tier, custom for enterprise
DeepgramUp to 2 concurrent requests

Look for a ElevenLabs and Deepgram Alternatives?

Voice Clone with 3s of Audio

Cartesia's voice cloning captures emotional depth with just 3s audio, with professional-grade cloning available for 60-min samples.

Ultra-Realistic Voices

Experience lifelike voices that sound almost identical to human speech—perfect for creating engaging content and interactive voice agents.

No Hallucinations Text to Speech

Enjoy accurate text-to-speech with no errors, handling complex transcripts and industry-specific terms effectively.

Enterprise Ready

Enterprise-grade reliability with 99.9% uptime, SOC2 compliance, and full on-premises support.

How they stack up

Voice Quality Comparison

In terms of speech naturalness, ElevenLabs scored Medium in 44.98% of cases, while Deepgram achieved a High in 57.78% of cases, making Deepgram's voices more natural than ElevenLabs.

ElevenLabs also demonstrated excellent pronunciation accuracy at 81.97%, whereas Deepgram's pronunciation accuracy was slightly lower at 64.43%.

Overall, ElevenLabs excels in accuracy, while Deepgram shows promise in producing more natural-sounding speech.

Latency Evaluation Insights

In our latency evaluation, we measured the Time to First Audio (TTFA) for both ElevenLabs and Deepgram.

By calculating the 90th percentile score from 100 TTFA measurements for each provider, we found that ElevenLabs had a TTFA of 135ms, indicating a quick response time. Deepgram, while slightly slower, still performed well with a TTFA of 150ms.

This evaluation highlights ElevenLabs' advantage in low-latency performance, making it a strong choice for applications requiring immediate audio feedback.

Hallucination Rate Analysis

The hallucination rate was assessed for both ElevenLabs and Deepgram to determine how often the models generated inaccurate or nonsensical outputs.

ElevenLabs demonstrated a lower hallucination rate, with a WER of 2.83%, indicating a strong performance in generating coherent speech. Deepgram, however, had a higher WER of 5.67%, suggesting a greater tendency for inaccuracies.

This evaluation underscores ElevenLabs' strength in producing reliable outputs, while Deepgram may need further refinement to reduce hallucination occurrences.

Voice Design Control Test

In evaluating voice design controllability, ElevenLabs and Deepgram were assessed based on their ability to adapt voice characteristics.

ElevenLabs scored high in context awareness, with 63.37% of cases showing excellent adaptation to tone and emphasis. Deepgram, while performing adequately, had a lower context awareness score of 53.18%.

Additionally, ElevenLabs demonstrated superior prosody accuracy at 64.57%, compared to Deepgram's 55.52%. This evaluation highlights ElevenLabs' advantage in providing users with more control over voice design.

Explore Pricing Comparisons for ElevenLabs and Deepgram

Free - $0 per month with 10k characters
Free - $200 of credit
Starter - $5 per month with 30k characters
Growth - $4k+/year with discounted credits
Creator - $11 per month with 100k characters
Enterprise - $15k+ / year
Pro - $99 per month with 500k characters
Custom solutions for large-scale needs
Scale - $330 per month with 2M characters

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