ElevenLabs Music vs Stable Audio
ElevenLabs Music generates full songs with vocals (up to 10 minutes), trained on licensed data, on separate monthly generation and download minute limits (not shared credits). On Free commercial use, vendor materials conflict: the Music Terms (2026-10-09) media-rights column lists broad commercial use except film, TV, radio, and Studio Games, while its eligibility column limits Free-Pro to individual use and general pricing/help materials describe Free as personal use; 'individual use' is not the same as 'non-commercial', so Free should not be treated as commercially cleared without vendor confirmation. Free downloads are not permitted and attribution is required on Free; high-quality downloads start at Pro, and streaming distribution is permitted from Creator upward. Stable Audio is instrumental-only: tracks and sound effects up to about 6 minutes, no vocals, paid plans from about $12/mo (Solo) with a commercial license, a DAW plugin, and openly published model weights for self-hosting. If the track needs a singing voice, ElevenLabs Music is the practical pick; if you need instrumental beds, SFX, or self-hosted generation, Stable Audio fits. There is no measured quality winner in this review.
| Decision point | ElevenLabs Music | Stable Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Best suited to | Individual creators (Free-Pro) and small organizations within the Music Terms eligibility limits (Scale: fewer than 10 employees; Business: fewer than 50 employees) that need original background music generated from text prompts, subject to the Music Terms media limits; Enterprise tiers list no eligibility limit. | Producers, sound designers and developers who need instrumental beds, loops or SFX |
| Plans and cost | Free $0 (11 minutes generation per month; downloads not permitted; attribution required when distributing). Starter $6/month (17 minutes generation, 30 minutes download per month; excluding film, TV, radio, and studio games). Creator $22/month (62 minutes generation, 250 minutes download; streaming distribution permitted). Pro $99/month (304 minutes generation, 500 minutes download). Scale $299/month (1,100 minutes generation, 1,500 minutes download). Business $990/month (4,800 minutes generation, 4,000 minutes download). Enterprise Music Lite custom (custom generation and download; media restrictions still exclude film, TV, radio, and studio games). Enterprise Music custom (custom generation and download; no listed media exception). Generation and download minutes are separate limits under the Music Terms; do not convert credits to minutes. Eligibility under the Music Terms (2026-10-09): Free-Pro for individual use only; Scale for individuals or organizations with fewer than 10 employees; Business for individuals or organizations with fewer than 50 employees; Enterprise Music Lite and Enterprise Music list no such limit. Free commercial use is unresolved across vendor materials: the Music Terms media-rights column lists broad commercial use except film, TV, radio, and Studio Games, while its eligibility column limits Free-Pro to individual use and general pricing/help materials describe Free as personal use; 'individual use' is not the same as 'non-commercial'. Do not treat Free as commercially cleared without vendor confirmation. Attribution required on Free only; high-quality downloads from Pro upward; API access on paid tiers; concurrency 0/2/2/2/5/5/5/10+. Annual billing prepays 10 months' price for 12 months. This page does not provide a legal licensing guarantee. | Free plan with limited monthly credits (non-commercial); paid plans from about $12/mo Solo to $199/mo Studio with commercial license. Prices as of Oct 2026. |
| Limitations | Music rights differ by tier, and vendor materials conflict on Free commercial use: the Music Terms (2026-10-09) media-rights column lists broad commercial use except film, TV, radio, and Studio Games, while its eligibility column limits Free-Pro to individual use and general pricing/help materials describe Free as personal use; 'individual use' is not the same as 'non-commercial', so Free must not be treated as commercially cleared without vendor confirmation. The free tier does not permit downloads and requires attribution when distributing. Self-serve paid plans and Enterprise Music Lite exclude film, TV, radio, and studio games, and only Enterprise Music lists unrestricted media rights. Eligibility: Free-Pro individual use only; Scale fewer than 10 employees; Business fewer than 50 employees; Enterprise tiers no listed limit. High-quality downloads start at Pro, not Creator. Generation and download minutes are separate limits under the Music Terms; confirm the current terms before relying on an allowance. This page does not provide a legal licensing guarantee. | Free plan is non-commercial and credit-limited; multi-track generations burn credits faster than full-mix ones. No vocal generation. Streaming/distribution terms are not spelled out on the pricing pag |
Use the same input
Create a 60-second theme track for a YouTube channel intro. Generate it on both services, then try to download the result and confirm the plan's commercial terms cover a monetized video.
What a successful result must preserve
The track must be downloadable and covered by the plan's commercial terms for monetized video use.
Evidence and test status
Official specification comparison. Plan prices, allowances, download rules and license terms below come from the vendors' official pricing and documentation pages plus independent reviews, re-checked October 2026. ElevenLabs Music rights follow the Music Terms (2026-10-09) plus general pricing materials; where they conflict on Free commercial use, this page reports the conflict rather than resolving it. We did not run a scored quality comparison; no quality ranking is claimed.
- ElevenLabs Music — ElevenLabs official pricing page ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-31), ElevenLabs Music product page ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-31), ElevenLabs Music Terms ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-31)
- Stable Audio — Official website ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-24)