# ElevenLabs Voice Design

> Run ElevenLabs Voice Design by elevenlabs online or via API. Pay per run, no setup.

**URL:** https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs/voice-design
**Last updated:** 2026-08-04

---

ElevenLabs Voice Design - Create custom AI voices from text descriptions

- app: `elevenlabs/voice-design`
- maker: [elevenlabs](https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs.md)
- category: [audio](https://inference.sh/apps/category/audio.md)
- tasks: [voice design](https://inference.sh/apps/tag/voice-design.md)
- price: $0.10/design
- runs via: api, javascript and python sdk, belt cli, mcp

## voice-design API Guide

### About
elevenlabs voice design - create custom ai voices from text descriptions

### 1. Calling the API

#### Install the Client

```bash
pip install inferencesh
```

#### Setup Your API Key
Set `INFERENCE_API_KEY` as an environment variable. Get your key from settings → api keys.

```bash
export INFERENCE_API_KEY="inf_your_key"
```

#### Run and Get Result

```python
import os
from inferencesh import inference

client = inference(api_key=os.environ["INFERENCE_API_KEY"])


result = client.run({
        "app": "elevenlabs/voice-design@72pdv88t",
        "input": {
            "description": "description"
        }
    })

print(result["output"])
```

#### Stream Live Updates

```python
import os
from inferencesh import inference

client = inference(api_key=os.environ["INFERENCE_API_KEY"])


## stream=True yields updates as they arrive
for update in client.run({
        "app": "elevenlabs/voice-design@72pdv88t",
        "input": {
            "description": "description"
        }
    }, stream=True):
    if update.get("progress"):
        print(f"progress: {update['progress']}%")
    if update.get("output"):
        print(f"output: {update['output']}")
```

### 2. Authentication
The API uses API keys for authentication. See the authentication docs for detailed setup instructions.

### 3. Files

#### Automatic Upload

```python
## local file paths are automatically uploaded
result = client.run({
    "app": "elevenlabs/voice-design@72pdv88t",
    "input": {
        "image": "/path/to/local/image.png",  # detected & uploaded
        "audio": "https://example.com/audio.mp3",  # url passed through
    }
})
```

#### Manual Upload

```python
## upload and get a hosted URL
file = client.files.upload("/path/to/file.png")
print(file.uri)  # https://cloud.inference.sh/...
```

### 4. Schema

#### Input
- **description** (string) *required*: Describe the voice you want to create (e.g. 'A warm, mature British female voice with a storytelling quality and slight rasp').
- **preview_text** (string): Text to speak in the previews (min 100 characters). If not provided, text is auto-generated.
- **seed** (integer): Random seed for reproducible results.

#### Output
- **previews** (array): Generated voice previews — pick a voice_id to use with TTS, voice changer, or dialogue apps

## other audio apps

- [Fish Audio Drama 3](https://inference.sh/apps/fish-audio/drama-3.md): $50.00/1M UTF-8 bytes
- [Eleven Flash v2.5](https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs/eleven-flash-v2-5.md): $0.04/1K characters
- [Eleven Multilingual v2](https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs/eleven-multilingual-v2.md): $0.08/1K characters
- [Eleven v3](https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs/eleven-v3.md): $0.08/1K characters
- [Eleven v4 Turbo](https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs/eleven-v4-turbo.md): $0.04/1K characters

## faq

### how much does ElevenLabs Voice Design cost?

$0.10/design. you pay per run from your inference shell credits. no subscription is required.

### how do I run ElevenLabs Voice Design via api?

call elevenlabs/voice-design with the javascript or python sdk, the rest api, or `belt app run elevenlabs/voice-design` from a terminal. the api reference on this page lists every input.

### who makes ElevenLabs Voice Design?

ElevenLabs Voice Design is made by elevenlabs and runs on inference shell. every elevenlabs app is listed at https://inference.sh/apps/elevenlabs.

### can my agent use ElevenLabs Voice Design?

yes. agents call it as a tool through the inference shell mcp server (https://api.inference.sh/mcp), the belt cli or the sdk, and pay per run like you do.

### what are the alternatives to ElevenLabs Voice Design?

other audio apps on inference shell include Fish Audio Drama 3, Eleven Flash v2.5, Eleven Multilingual v2, Eleven v3. they run through the same api, so switching is a one-line change.