> This is a page from the ElevenLabs documentation. For a complete page index, fetch https://elevenlabs.io/docs/llms.txt. For the full documentation in a single file, fetch https://elevenlabs.io/docs/llms-full.txt.

# Have characters changed?

Credits were previously referred to as "characters." We updated this terminology to streamline pricing and make it easier to understand, though the value remains unchanged.

Previously, this terminology was confusing, as “characters” were also used for tools that had non-text inputs like Voice Changer and Dubbing. We think "credits" is a more appropriate name as they can be used across all of the tools in our product.

For Text to Speech, you will still see the terminology "characters" as this refers to written text characters. When you generate using the website, each text "character" you generate into speech will consume 1 credit. Generations made via API are discounted - see [API Pricing](https://elevenlabs.io/pricing/api) for details.

Note that some shared voices in our Voice Library have a custom rate that applies a multiplier to your credit consumption.

> ElevenLabs provides APIs and SDKs for text to speech, voice cloning, speech to text, sound effects, voice isolator, voice changer, and conversational AI agents. Build voice-enabled applications with lifelike audio generation.