Now for the best part: you pick the voice your Companion will speak with. In the end you only need one small identifier – the Voice-ID. This page takes you there in 3 steps.
A finished ElevenLabs account (part 1)About 5–10 minutesBest with headphones
Before you start: two terms, nothing more
Voice Library
The voice library at ElevenLabs. This is where you listen to sample voices and pick your favorite.
Voice-ID
The “technical name” of a voice – a character string like 21m00Tcm4TlvDq8… Your Companion needs exactly this identifier, not the friendly name.
This is part 3 of 3. It assumes the account from part 1. The API key from part 2 is only needed when you set up the Companion – for choosing a voice, the account is enough.
1
Open the Voice Library and listen to samples
In the left menu: Voices → Voice Library
On the left, click “Voices” and then “Voice Library”.
At the top, filter by language “English” so the voices speak English naturally.
Click ▶ on a voice to hear it. Feel free to listen to several.
Take your time – this voice will accompany you every day.
Tip for choosing:Pay attention not just to the sound, but to the pace and the warmth. A voice you still like after the third sentence is the right one.
2
Add your favorite voice
In the window of the chosen voice
Click the voice you like best – a window with details opens.
Listen again via “Preview” if you like.
Click “+ Add to My Voices”.
Add it first – only then can your Companion use the voice.
Why add it?Only voices in “My Voices” are available to your Companion. You can collect several and switch later.
3
Copy the Voice-ID
Under Voices → “My Voices”
Open “My Voices” – your added voice is listed there.
Next to the voice you’ll find the Voice-ID (a character string). Take it via the copy icon or the ⋯ menu → “Copy Voice ID”.
Note down or copy the ID – it goes into the setup together with the API key.
The Voice-ID is the technical name of the voice.
Where exactly is the ID?Depending on the view, right under the name or in the voice’s ⋯ menu as “Copy Voice ID”. It is the cryptic character string, not the friendly name.
Done – all three parts complete!
You now have the account, the API key, and the Voice-ID. Hand the API key and the Voice-ID to the program that sets up the Companion – and your Companion gets its voice.
And what does all this cost?
ElevenLabs account and voices: free on the Free plan.The account, the API key, and choosing voices cost nothing on the free plan – around 10,000 characters of speech output per month are included, no credit card needed.
Speech output uses characters.Every message read aloud counts characters against the monthly quota. For heavy users there are affordable paid plans – to start with, Free is plenty.
Don’t mix up two separate cost pots.ElevenLabs only bills the speech output. Your Companion’s “thinking” runs through OpenRouter (separate page on this) – DeepSeek V4 Pro is preset there and inexpensive. Premium models like Claude Opus 4.8 can cost €20 there in half an hour.
Common stumbling blocks
I can’t find English voices
Check the language filter at the top. Many voices are multilingual – choose “English” or “Multilingual” in the filter and they will sound natural in English too.
The Voice-ID – is that the name?
No. The friendly name (e.g. “Marie”) is for people. The Voice-ID is the cryptic character string behind it – that is exactly what your Companion needs.
Can I change the voice later?
Yes, anytime. Add another voice to “My Voices”, copy its Voice-ID, and swap it in during setup.
Does listening cost anything?
Sampling voices in the library uses ready-made examples and does not count against your quota. Characters are only used later, when your Companion reads out its own texts.