ElevenLabs vs Hume AI

Hume's Octave TTS and EVI APIs end November 13, 2026, and account data is deleted. Compare ElevenLabs and other replacements, and what to save first.

Try CartesiaTalk to Sales

ElevenLabs vs Hume AI at a glance

On October 2, 2026, Hume announced that its text-to-speech (Octave) and EVI APIs end on November 13, 2026, and that account data is permanently deleted after that. Hume the company continues with voice AI evaluation and expression measurement. If you use Octave or EVI today, compare ElevenLabs with the other replacements now, and save your audio and source recordings before the cutoff.

ElevenLabsHume AI

  1. Availability

    ElevenLabs
    ElevenLabs' current speech models are not affected by Hume's shutdown.
    Hume AI
    Octave TTS and EVI APIs end November 13, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. EST. Both stay fully supported until then.

  2. Model selection

    ElevenLabs
    v4 and v4 Turbo, Flash v2.5 for low latency, Multilingual v2 for narration, and Eleven v3 or v3 Conversational for expressive speech.
    Hume AI
    Octave 1 and Octave 2 (preview) until November 13, 2026. No successor model is announced.

  3. Language coverage

    ElevenLabs
    Flash v2.5 lists 32 languages; Multilingual v2 lists 29. Coverage varies by model.
    Hume AI
    Octave 1 supports English and Spanish; Octave 2 preview lists 11 languages.

  4. Delivery controls

    ElevenLabs
    Tune the controls supported by your chosen model; expressive and low-latency models behave differently.
    Hume AI
    Acting descriptions currently work with Octave 1. Speed and trailing silence are supported across Octave models.

  5. Voice cloning

    ElevenLabs
    Instant and Professional cloning have different recording and plan requirements.
    Hume AI
    Octave clones do not transfer. Keep the original recordings; you need them to recreate a voice elsewhere.

  6. Streaming

    ElevenLabs
    Measure first playable audio with the chosen model and your own player.
    Hume AI
    HTTP output streaming and bidirectional WebSocket streaming support different integration needs.

  7. Product scope

    ElevenLabs
    A TTS model generates speech from text. Evaluate an agent platform separately when replacing conversation handling.
    Hume AI
    Octave is TTS. EVI is a speech-to-speech interface with conversation and interruption handling.

  8. Usage and pricing

    ElevenLabs
    ElevenAPI lists v4 Turbo and Flash/Turbo at $0.04 and v4, v3 and Multilingual v2 at $0.08 per 1,000 characters.
    Hume AI
    Hume's pricing page now redirects to its homepage. Budget for the replacement, not for Octave.

Why teams choose Cartesia

Rated first by listeners

Sonic 3.6 ranks first on the Artificial Analysis Provider Voice Arena, a blind listening test.

First audio in under 90ms

Sonic streams speech fast enough for a live phone call, on the public API.

44 languages, one model

Native accents in every language, with no model to switch when a caller does.

Enterprise ready

SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA-eligible, on-prem and air-gapped deployment, and a 99.9% uptime SLA.

How they stack up

Test expression without losing clarity

  • If you use Octave today, save generated audio and the recordings behind any cloned voice before November 13, 2026.
  • Write the intended tone before anyone listens. Score delivery and pronunciation separately on the same passages.
  • Use a neutral reading as well as an expressive one, especially for names and numbers.
  • Octave's acting descriptions don't carry over to another API. Rewrite them as text the new model can read, or as that model's own controls.

Choose speech output or a complete interface

  • For a TTS comparison, keep response text and playback settings fixed while changing the speech model.
  • To replace Hume EVI, you need speech recognition, turn detection, an LLM and TTS. Test interruptions and tool behavior in the replacement.
  • Measure when your listener hears the first audio. Model latency and generation throughput do not measure the whole conversation.
  • Test your selected language and voice together rather than relying on a provider-wide language count.

Check the plan against your workflow

  • Price the replacement on your Octave character volume, not on Octave's plans, which end with the API.
  • Confirm whether the new plan permits a cloned voice to be used through the API, not only in a playground.
  • Review the ElevenLabs cloning guide before preparing recordings for an Instant or Professional clone.
  • Include expected request volume and commercial usage requirements in the estimate.

Trusted by leading enterprises. Speaking from experience.

Discover success stories
2X Solutions logo
arini logo
toby logo
“Cartesia’s state-space models bring enterprise-grade speed and quality to our AI Voice Agents… making it possible for businesses to deploy secure, scalable voice agents that can understand, act, and adapt in real time.”

Ravi Krishnamurthy

VP Product

“With Cartesia's Sonic model, users can interact with a wide range of high-quality, human-like voices in multiple languages, enhancing their experience on our platform.”

Spencer Chan

Head of Poe Product

“Cartesia is leading the charge of building efficient, multimodal models from first principles, starting with their Sonic TTS model.”

Vipul Ved Prakash

CEO

“We didn’t switch to Sonic because it was incrementally better, we switched because nothing else came close… we’ve seen a 2.9% lift in our conversion and a 12.2% increase in customer engagement.”

Akshay Ramaswamy

Staff Product Manager

“Sonic represents a significant evolution over previous TTS models, delivering refined prosodic rhythm, natural intonation, superior pacing and wider emotional range for more “human” sounding voices.”

Tyler Brown

Voice Expert

“Cartesia Sonic is the best voice model today for real-time multimodal use cases.”

Kwindla Hultman

CEO

Frequently asked questions

Is Hume shutting down Octave and EVI?

Yes. On October 2, 2026, Hume announced that access to its TTS (Octave) and EVI APIs ends on November 13, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. EST, and that both stay fully supported until then. Any data in a Hume account is permanently deleted after that date. Hume the company continues and now sells voice AI evaluation (VoiceEQ) and expression measurement APIs. The notice is on Hume's developer docs.

What should I use instead of Hume Octave?

Pick by job. For an app or voice agent that streams speech, test a real-time TTS API such as ElevenLabs v4 Turbo or Flash v2.5, or Cartesia Sonic, on your own scripts. For expressive narration, test ElevenLabs v4 or Eleven v3. To replace EVI, you need listening, turn-taking, an LLM and TTS together; see the Hume alternatives guide for the options and what to save before November 13.

Should I compare ElevenLabs with Octave or EVI?

Compare Octave with an ElevenLabs TTS model when the job is generating speech from text. EVI handles a spoken conversation, including user audio and interruptions. A full interface comparison needs tests for conversation behavior as well as speech quality.

Which ElevenLabs model should I test against Octave?

Use Flash v2.5 for a latency-sensitive application, Multilingual v2 for long-form narration, or Eleven v3 for expressive delivery. Eleven v3 Conversational is another option for expressive realtime speech. Select the Octave version that supports your required language and controls. Save model and voice names with each result.

Does Hume support languages beyond English?

Until November 13, 2026, yes. Octave 1 supports English and Spanish. Octave 2 preview lists English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, Hindi and Arabic. Test the actual voice in your target language before selecting a model.

Can I give Octave instructions about emotional delivery?

Until November 13, 2026, Octave 1 accepts natural-language acting instructions through its description field. Those instructions don't transfer to another API. ElevenLabs v4 and v3 take bracketed audio tags such as [sad] or [whispers] instead. Rewrite the direction for the new model and test it on the same lines.

Can I move a Hume voice clone to ElevenLabs?

Not directly. A Hume voice ID doesn't work in another provider's API, and Hume deletes account data after November 13, 2026. Keep the original recordings you used to create the clone, and make sure you still have permission to use them. Then create a new clone through ElevenLabs' Instant or Professional workflow and test it on your scripts before switching traffic.

How should I measure latency for a voice agent?

Measure the delay from sending text to hearing playable audio in the actual application. Include network travel, buffering and playback. For a conversational interface, also measure turn detection and response generation. A vendor's model-latency figure is not an end-to-end call measurement. Measure the replacement the same way before November 13, 2026.

How do I compare Hume and ElevenLabs prices?

Hume's plans end with its API on November 13, 2026, and its pricing page now redirects to the homepage, so price the replacement instead. ElevenAPI lists v4 Turbo, Flash/Turbo and v3 Conversational at $0.04 per 1,000 characters, and v4, Multilingual v2 and Eleven v3 at $0.08, excluding taxes. Use your monthly Octave character volume as the estimate, and price EVI minutes against the agent platform you move to.

Still comparing voice providers?

Explore all comparisons

Get started today

Talk to an expert.

Connect with a member of our team and learn how Cartesia can help you build world-class voice experiences.

Contact Sales

Start building.

Access our models via API and bring a voice agent into production in minutes.

Try Cartesia