ElevenLabs Music v2.5: How to Make Songs

ElevenLabs Music v2.5 is the default music model in ElevenMusic, inside ElevenLabs. It makes fuller songs with layered instruments and natural-sounding vocals than the earlier version, and every plan includes it, including Free ($0, 10,000 credits a month). Music costs 900 credits per minute, so Free covers about 11 minutes of music a month. Checked 5 Nov 2026.

What is ElevenLabs Music v2.5?

Music v2.5 is the model that powers song generation in ElevenMusic. You type a text prompt that describes the genre, mood, instruments and tempo, or you upload a reference track to steer the style, and the model writes an original song with vocals and instruments. It replaced the earlier music model as the default for both prompted and reference-based generation, so you do not pick a version in the tool. ElevenLabs calls v2.5 its best music model yet, and the announcement says songs sound more layered and complex, with better, more natural-sounding instruments.

The model is live in ElevenCreative and the ElevenLabs API, and you can also create music in Studio and Flows. That matters because a song is rarely the finished product: most creators drop the track into a Studio timeline next to a voiceover. The ElevenLabs Studio tutorial walks through that timeline workflow, including the 900 credits per minute that music costs inside a project. You own what you make in ElevenMusic on every plan, including Free, though the plan sets the usage rights: Free is personal use only.

What changed in Music v2.5?

ElevenLabs ran a blind test before launch: the same prompt, two takes, one from each model, and listeners picked the take they preferred. Across 47,885 pairs, v2.5 was the preferred take the majority of the time. The announcement does not give an exact percentage, so we will not invent one. Where the gap was widest: vocal-led and acoustic-heavy genres such as R and B, soul, hip hop and rock. The ElevenLabs Music guide covers the wider music tool, while this post focuses on what v2.5 does and what it costs.

How much does Music v2.5 cost?

Music costs 900 credits per minute on every plan, and that single rate drives all the plan maths. A one-minute jingle costs 900 credits. A three-minute song costs 2,700 credits. A five-minute track costs 4,500 credits. The rate is the same whether you prompt the model or use a reference track, and it is the same on Free and on Pro.

Free ($0, 10,000 credits a month) covers 11 music minutes a month, which ElevenLabs describes as about 3 to 5 tracks (checked 5 Nov 2026). Starter ($6 a month, 30,000 credits) covers 33 music minutes a month, about 8 to 16 tracks (checked 5 Nov 2026). The first month of Starter is $1, shown until Nov 8 when checked on 5 Nov 2026. Creator ($22 a month, 121,000 credits) covers 134 music minutes a month, about 34 to 67 tracks (checked 5 Nov 2026). Pro ($99 a month, 600,000 credits) covers 667 music minutes a month, about 167 to 333 tracks (checked 5 Nov 2026).

Two limits matter more than the minute count. First, downloads: Free gives 5 lossless downloads a day, and Pro gives 400 lossless downloads a month. Second, usage rights: Free is personal use only, Starter allows commercial use but no streaming, and Creator and above allow commercial use and release to Spotify and Apple Music. Extra minutes cost $0.33 on Free, $0.18 on Starter, $0.16 on Creator and $0.15 on Pro (checked 5 Nov 2026). Stems run from 2 on Starter and 4 on Creator to up to 6 on Pro, and inpainting and section editing are on all plans.

How to make a song with Music v2.5

Here is the full workflow, with the credit cost of each step. The worked example is a three-minute song, which costs 2,700 credits to generate.

Step 1 — Create a free ElevenLabs account — 0 credits

Sign up on the ElevenLabs site and open ElevenMusic. The Free plan gives you 10,000 credits a month with no payment details, which covers about 11 music minutes. There is nothing to install, and v2.5 is already the default, so there is no model picker to set.

Step 2 — Write the prompt — 0 credits

Describe the song in one or two sentences: genre, mood, instruments and tempo. A prompt such as “upbeat indie rock, driving drums, bright electric guitar, hopeful mood, 120 BPM, male vocals” gives the model more to work with than “a rock song”. Name the vocal style too, since the blind test showed the biggest v2.5 gains in vocal-led genres.

Step 3 — Add a reference track if you have one — 0 credits

If you have a track whose style you want to echo, upload it as a reference and let v2.5 use it for style guidance. Reference generation uses the same v2.5 model as prompted generation. Keep one limit in mind: downloads are blocked on tracks that reference other artists’ songs, so a reference-heavy song may not be downloadable. If you need a downloadable file, prompt from text instead.

Step 4 — Generate the song — 2,700 credits for three minutes

Set the length and generate. A three-minute song costs 2,700 credits at 900 per minute, so check the length before you click: a five-minute version of the same idea costs 4,500 credits. Generate two takes of the same prompt when you can afford it, because takes vary and the better take is the one that fits your project. On Free, two three-minute takes cost 5,400 credits, just over half the monthly allowance.

Step 5 — Fix the weak section with inpainting — 900 credits per minute of audio replaced

Listen to the whole take before you regenerate anything. If one section is weak, use inpainting or section editing to replace just that part instead of regenerating the full song. Inpainting and section editing are on all plans. The cost follows the same per-minute rate, so replacing a 30-second section costs about 450 credits, while regenerating the full three-minute song would cost 2,700.

Step 6 — Download or place the song — 0 extra credits

Download the finished track as a lossless file. Free gives 5 lossless downloads a day, and Pro gives 400 lossless downloads a month, so downloads are rarely the limit. If the song will sit under a video or a podcast, send it to Studio instead: Studio places music on the timeline next to voiceover and sound effects, and the ElevenLabs for YouTube guide shows how music and narration fit together in a video workflow. Release to Spotify or Apple Music needs Creator or above.

Total for the worked example: 0 (account) + 0 (prompt) + 0 (reference) + 2,700 (generation) + 0 to 450 (a section fix) + 0 (download) = about 2,700 to 3,150 credits for one finished three-minute song. On Free, that is roughly a quarter of the monthly allowance for one song. On Starter, it is about a tenth.

Music v2.5 vs the earlier version

There is no version picker in ElevenMusic, so this is not a choice you make at generation time. The comparison still matters, because it tells you what the model is now good at. The blind test is the evidence: across 47,885 pairs of takes, listeners preferred v2.5 the majority of the time, with the widest gap in vocal-led and acoustic-heavy genres such as R and B, soul, hip hop and rock. If your last ElevenLabs song sounded thin in the vocals, regenerate the same prompt now before you blame the prompt.

What did not change: the price, the per-minute rate, the plan limits and the tools around the model. A three-minute song costs the same 2,700 credits it cost before, and the Free plan still covers about 11 music minutes a month. The upgrade was quality, not cost.

Tips for better Music v2.5 songs

• Name the instruments and the tempo in the prompt. A prompt that lists “driving drums, bright electric guitar, 120 BPM” gives the model a clear target.

• Fix a weak section with inpainting instead of regenerating the whole song. Replacing 30 seconds costs about 450 credits against 2,700 for a full three-minute regeneration.

• Pair the song with a voiceover that carries feeling. The emotion tags guide shows how tags such as [angry] and [excited] change a voiceover, so the narration matches the song’s mood.

Who should NOT use Music v2.5

Skip Music v2.5 if you need a specific existing song, a licensed track, or a recording that sounds like a live band in a room. Generated music is original by design, and a reference track steers style without copying the track. If your project needs a known song, license it.

Frequently asked questions

Is ElevenLabs Music v2.5 free?

Yes, v2.5 is included on the Free plan ($0, 10,000 credits a month), which covers about 11 music minutes a month. You own what you make on Free, but the plan is personal use only, so monetized work needs a paid plan.

How much does a song cost in credits?

Music costs 900 credits per minute on every plan, so a three-minute song costs 2,700 credits and a five-minute track costs 4,500 credits. The rate is the same for prompted and reference generation.

How is v2.5 different from the earlier music model?

Songs sound more layered and complex, with better, more natural-sounding instruments and vocals. In a blind test of 47,885 pairs, listeners preferred v2.5 the majority of the time, with the widest gap in vocal-led and acoustic-heavy genres.

Can I use Music v2.5 songs on YouTube or Spotify?

Yes on YouTube from any plan, within the plan’s usage rights: Free is personal use only, while Starter allows commercial use but no streaming. Release to Spotify and Apple Music needs Creator ($22 a month) or above.

Can I fix one part of a song without regenerating it?

Yes. Inpainting and section editing are on all plans, so you can replace a weak section instead of regenerating the full song. Replacing 30 seconds costs about 450 credits, against 2,700 for a full three-minute regeneration.

Sources checked

• The v2.5 announcement, blind test of 47,885 pairs, ownership rule and download limits are from the official ElevenLabs blog post on Music v2.5; plan prices, credits, music minutes, rates, stems and usage rights are from the official ElevenLabs pricing page. Both checked 5 Nov 2026. The 900 credits per minute rate follows from the pricing page’s credit and minute figures.