VYYNU ← What you prepare
Step by step

Your Companion gets a voice.

ElevenLabs is the service that gives your AI Companion a real, natural-sounding voice. The first step is an account of your own. This page walks you through it in 5 steps – no prior knowledge needed.

An email address (or a Google account)About 5 minutesStarter plan, $6 a month

Before you start: one term, nothing more

ElevenLabs
A provider of artificial voices. Your Companion sends text over and gets spoken language back – surprisingly natural.
Starter plan
ElevenLabs' smallest paid plan: $6 a month, or $5 a month billed yearly. Only a paid plan lets you use the voice for work; the free plan is for personal use.
This is part 1 of 3.Next come the API key (part 2) and choosing the voice (part 3). After these three short parts, your Companion can speak.
1

Go to the sign-up page and create an account

In your browser: elevenlabs.io/app/sign-up

  1. Type elevenlabs.io/app/sign-up into the address bar and press Enter.
  2. Easiest way: choose “Continue with Google” and click your Google account – no new password needed.
  3. Alternatively: enter your email address and click “Sign up”.
🔒 elevenlabs.io/app/sign-up ElevenLabs Create your account 🔵 Continue with Google 🐙 Continue with GitHub or Email address Sign up 1 · EASIEST OPTION
“Continue with …” means exactly what it says.
Why an account of your own?Your Companion will later use your ElevenLabs account to generate speech. The account belongs to you – you stay in control of usage and voices.
2

Choose ElevenCreative

Right after signing up, on the “Choose a platform” screen

  1. ElevenLabs asks what you want to work with. Choose the left card, “ElevenCreative”. It contains “Text to Speech”, which is exactly what your Companion uses.
  2. Click “Continue”.
🔒 elevenlabs.io/app Choose a platform Switch between platforms at any time ElevenCreative Create content with AI Text to Speech Sound Effects Studio Voice Changer Dubbing Music ElevenAgents Conversational agents Agents Tools Integrations Knowledge Base Conversations Phone Numbers Continue 1 · YOUR COMPANION USES THIS
Left, “ElevenCreative”: it contains “Text to Speech”, your Companion's voice.
And ElevenAgents?That is for phone and conversation agents run by ElevenLabs itself. Your Companion runs on your own server and uses only the voice from ElevenLabs. Account and API key are the same for both; you can switch at any time.
3

Choose the Starter plan

On the plan page right after signing up

  1. If a plan overview appears: choose the “Starter” card ($6 a month, $5 billed yearly).
  2. Enter your payment details and confirm.
🔒 elevenlabs.io/app/subscription Choose your plan Free $0 per month 10,000 credits/month Personal use only Starter $6 per month ✓ 30,000 credits/month ✓ Commercial use allowed ✓ Yearly: $5 a month Choose Starter 1 · FOR WORK: STARTER
For work, “Starter”. The free plan is for personal use only.
No plan window appeared?Then you are still on the free plan. Open elevenlabs.io/app/subscription and choose “Starter” there, ideally right away, before your Companion speaks for the first time.
4

Confirm your email address

In your email inbox

  1. ElevenLabs sends you a confirmation email.
  2. Open the email and click the confirmation link inside.
  3. No email in your inbox? Take a quick look in the spam folder.
🔒 elevenlabs.io/app/verify 📧 Verify your email We have sent you a message. Open it and click the link. Open inbox 1 · CHECK YOUR INBOX
One click on the link in the email – done.
5

You have arrived: your ElevenLabs account

On the home page elevenlabs.io/app

  1. After confirming, you land on your personal home page.
  2. This is where the next parts continue: Developers for the key, Voices for the voice.
🔒 elevenlabs.io/app/home ElevenLabsHomeVoicesStudioDevelopersSettings Welcome 👋 Your account is ready. Everything continues from here. 🎙 Voices Discover and choose voices ⚙ Developers Create an API key Balance: 30,000 credits · Starter plan 1 · YOUR ACCOUNT IS READY
The account is up – all that is left is two short parts.

Done – part 1 of 3!

Your ElevenLabs account is up. Next comes part 2: the API key, so your Companion is allowed to use the account. Then part 3: choosing the voice.

Continue to part 2: the API key

And what does all this cost?

ElevenLabs: $6 a month on the Starter plan.Or $5 a month billed yearly. It includes 30,000 credits for speech output, and you may use the voice for work. The free plan does not allow that. The API key and choosing voices cost nothing extra.
Speech output uses up credits.Every message read aloud counts against the monthly quota. How far Starter goes depends on how much your Companion reads out; your account always shows what is left. If you have a lot read out, move up to the next plan.
Do not mix up two separate cost pots.ElevenLabs bills only the speech output. Your Companion's “thinking” runs through OpenRouter (its own page here) – there, DeepSeek V4 Pro is preset and inexpensive. Premium models such as Claude Opus 4.8 can cost 20 € there in half an hour.

Common stumbling blocks

I did not get a confirmation email

Wait a minute or two and check the spam folder. The confirmation page usually has a “resend” button. Typos in the email address are the most common cause.

Do I really have to pay?

For use at work, yes. Under ElevenLabs' terms the free plan is for personal use only. Starter costs $6 a month, or $5 a month billed yearly.

What the buttons mean

The buttons are short: “Sign up” creates the account, “Continue with Google” signs you in with your Google account, “Free” is the plan at no cost, “Starter” is the smallest paid plan, “Get started” means just that.