Music API cost: ElevenLabs $0.15/min vs Lyria $0.08/song

ElevenLabs lists its Music API at $0.15 per minute, and Google lists Lyria 3.5 at $0.08 per song. For a two-minute track that is $0.30 against $0.08. The catch is the different unit: one bills by length, the other by song, so the gap grows with every extra minute you ask ElevenLabs for and stays flat on Lyria.

Listed prices

Both prices are as listed on the vendors' pricing pages on 2026-10-05. The ElevenLabs page text was summarized by the fetch tool, so confirm the figure on the page before you budget.

Cost by track length

Lyria 3.5 produces songs of 'a couple of minutes' per Google's guide, so the song rows assume 2 minutes. ElevenLabs bills the length you request, multiplied here at $0.15 a minute. These are arithmetic on listed prices, not measured bills.

What the changelog adds

ElevenLabs' changelog lists Music v2.5 API support on 2026-09-14, with composition chunks up to 6,132 characters. It is an input limit, not a price change. The pricing page lists music at $0.15 a minute alongside Sound Effects at $0.12 a minute, so music sits above sound effects in the same rate card.

How to choose

Short stings under 30 seconds: Google's clip model at $0.04 is cheaper than ElevenLabs at $0.075. Full songs: per-song pricing wins on the listed prices. Sume's fixed $0.125 sits between: it is higher than Google's $0.08 list but below ElevenLabs' price for any track over about 50 seconds ($0.125 / $0.15 per minute is 0.83 minutes).

Price is not the only difference. Sume's Music 1.0 runs on Lyria 3.5, rejects duration, and gets length from the prompt; ElevenLabs and Google have their own controls and licensing terms. Sume does not ship ElevenLabs Music. Compare the output on your own brief, because the cheapest track that does not fit the spot costs the most.