Comparing ElevenLabs and Smallest AI Voice Models

Compare ElevenLabs and Smallest AI Waves for speech models, custom voices, streaming, and text-to-speech costs.

Try CartesiaTalk to Sales

ElevenLabs vs Smallest AI at a glance

ElevenLabs offers several speech models and voice creation tools. Smallest AI Waves provides Lightning TTS; its Atoms platform handles complete voice agents. Compare equivalent speech workflows before evaluating quality or cost.

ElevenLabsSmallest AI

  1. Speech models

    ElevenLabs
    Eleven v3, Multilingual v2, and Flash v2.5 for different speech workflows
    Smallest AI
    Lightning v3.1 and Lightning v3.1 Pro

  2. Custom voices

    ElevenLabs
    Instant and professional cloning on eligible plans
    Smallest AI
    Voice cloning API; confirm model compatibility and account access

  3. Language selection

    ElevenLabs
    Supported languages depend on the speech model
    Smallest AI
    Supported languages and voice catalogs differ between Lightning pools

  4. Speech delivery

    ElevenLabs
    Choose model-specific voice settings and expressive controls
    Smallest AI
    Speed controls, selectable sample rates, and multiple audio formats

  5. Generation workflow

    ElevenLabs
    Speech API plus tools for creating and editing voice content
    Smallest AI
    HTTP generation, SSE, and WebSocket streaming

  6. Billing units

    ElevenLabs
    API character rates depend on the model and offer
    Smallest AI
    TTS rates per 10,000 characters, separate from agent call charges

  7. Full voice agents

    ElevenLabs
    Agents Platform is separate from speech generation
    Smallest AI
    Atoms manages phone and web conversations; Waves supplies speech models

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

Separate speech generation from a complete agent

Start by comparing an ElevenLabs speech model with Lightning. A complete voice agent also needs to listen, manage turns, and connect to your application. Smallest calls its agent platform Atoms.

  • Use Waves model pricing when you only need generated speech.
  • Use Atoms agent pricing when you need a managed calling workflow.
  • Keep telephony and other agent costs separate from the speech-model comparison.

Test the voice and language combination you will ship

Flash v2.5, Multilingual v2, and Eleven v3 target different latency and delivery needs. Lightning also has separate standard and Pro voice pools. A provider-wide score does not tell you how a particular voice will handle your script.

  • Include names, amounts, and language changes from real conversations.
  • Check that a cloned voice works with the selected model.
  • Measure the first playable audio in your application, including buffering and playback.

Smallest's voice catalog guide explains how to check language support for a voice. If you are also testing Sonic, use the Cartesia vs Smallest AI comparison to compare the speech APIs separately from agent platforms.

Estimate speech costs without mixing units

ElevenAPI publishes character-based TTS rates. Smallest's model pricing uses character-based TTS rates. Neither an estimated audio duration nor an agent's call-minute price is a direct replacement for those billing units.

  • Estimate the number of characters you will synthesize each month.
  • Check the chosen model's rate or credit consumption.
  • Include repeat generations and required custom voice access.

Use the current ElevenLabs pricing and Smallest model pricing for your 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

When should I choose ElevenLabs instead of Smallest AI?

Evaluate ElevenLabs when its voice creation tools or a particular speech model fit your workflow. Evaluate Smallest when Lightning voices and Waves API integration fit your application. Test the exact voices and settings rather than choosing from a provider-wide quality claim.

What is the difference between Waves and Atoms?

Waves is the Smallest AI speech-model API used for Lightning TTS. Atoms is the voice-agent platform for phone calls and web conversations. A TTS API produces speech; an agent platform also manages the conversation and its integrations.

Which Smallest AI Lightning model should I compare with ElevenLabs?

The current Lightning documentation distinguishes v3.1 and v3.1 Pro. They have different voice pools and pricing. Choose the voice and language you need, then confirm which pool provides it before comparing audio or estimating usage.

Does Smallest AI support voice cloning?

Yes. Smallest documents a cloning API that accepts a clean 5–15-second sample under 5 MB. Its model pricing table lists cloning as unavailable on pay-as-you-go and custom on Enterprise. Check the returned clone's compatible models before synthesis; legacy Lightning Large clones do not work with the current Lightning v3.1 pool.

Does Smallest AI support streaming speech?

Yes. Waves documents streaming through SSE and WebSockets alongside HTTP generation. Select the API mode that fits how text arrives in your application. Streaming support alone does not establish which provider produces the first playable audio faster.

How do ElevenLabs and Smallest AI charge for text to speech?

ElevenAPI lists Flash/Turbo and v3 Conversational at $0.04 per 1,000 characters, and Multilingual v2 and Eleven v3 at $0.08 per 1,000 characters, excluding taxes. Smallest lists pay-as-you-go rates of approximately $0.175 per 10,000 characters for Lightning v3.1 and $0.195 per 10,000 for v3.1 Pro. Atoms call-minute charges cover a separate agent product.

How do ElevenLabs and Smallest AI language options differ?

ElevenLabs language support varies by speech model; Smallest separates language support and voice catalogs by Lightning pool. Check the exact model, voice, and language combination. A language accepted by an API does not necessarily mean every voice was trained for it. Listen to representative scripts in each required language.

Is Smallest AI limited to basic speech controls?

No. The Lightning API documents speed, sample-rate, and output-format controls, as well as streaming and voice cloning. Test whether the selected model provides the delivery you need instead of assuming the platform has only basic controls.

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