Introducing ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing on WaveSpeedAI

Introducing ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing on WaveSpeedAI: Precision Text-to-Speech with Word-Level Timestamps

The landscape of AI-powered audio generation just took a significant leap forward. WaveSpeedAI is excited to announce the availability of ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing—a cutting-edge text-to-speech model that doesn’t just create natural, lifelike speech, but also delivers precise alignment metadata for every character and word. For developers building subtitle systems, video editors creating karaoke effects, and creators designing talking avatars, this changes everything.

What is ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing?

ElevenLabs has established itself as the industry leader in voice synthesis quality. According to the HuggingFace TTS Arena Leaderboards, ElevenLabs achieved a listener preference of 75.3% across nearly 20,000 blind test votes, significantly outperforming competitors like Google TTS and Amazon Polly.

The Eleven V3 Timing model builds on this foundation with a critical addition: alignment metadata. While standard TTS models output audio only, this version returns detailed timing data that maps every character and word to its exact position in the audio timeline. You get both a high-quality MP3 file and a JSON object containing start and end timestamps in seconds—creating a tight lock between text and speech.

This isn’t just incremental improvement. It’s the difference between having audio and having audio that your application can truly understand and synchronize with.

Key Features

Natural, Expressive Speech Generation

• Produces lifelike voices with natural pronunciation, pacing, and intonation
• Supports contextual awareness for accurate emotional range and tone
• Delivers authentic accents across multiple languages
• Industry-leading voice quality verified by independent benchmarks

Precise Alignment Metadata

• Per-character and per-word timestamps (start and end times in seconds)
• JSON-formatted metadata alongside audio output
• Sub-second precision for accurate synchronization
• Single source of truth for timeline-based applications

Flexible Voice Customization

• voice_id: Choose from ElevenLabs’ extensive voice library
• similarity (0-1): Control how closely output matches the base voice’s timbre
• stability (0-1): Balance between consistent delivery and expressive variation
• use_speaker_boost: Enhanced text normalization for numbers, dates, and measurements

Developer-Ready Output

• High-quality MP3 audio files
• Structured alignment JSON for immediate integration
• Supports scripts up to 5,000 characters per call
• REST API with straightforward request/response format

Real-World Use Cases

Automatic Subtitle Generation

Generate SRT or VTT subtitle files with precise timecodes. The alignment metadata provides exact in/out times for every word, eliminating the manual process of syncing subtitles to audio. Content creators can produce accessible videos faster, and localization teams can streamline their multilingual workflows.

Karaoke and Word Highlighting

Build applications that highlight words in real-time as they’re spoken. Language learning apps, reading trainers, and interactive media all benefit from word-level synchronization. Users can follow along with the audio, improving comprehension and engagement.

Lip-Sync for Digital Humans and Avatars

Power 2D and 3D character animations with precise word and phoneme timing. The alignment data drives mouth movements that match the audio naturally—essential for virtual assistants, gaming characters, video production, and interactive experiences that feel genuinely responsive.

Video Dubbing and Voiceover Editing

Identify precise edit points within existing videos for voiceover replacement. The timestamps enable frame-accurate audio insertion, making professional dubbing and localization work more efficient. Productions can swap dialogue while maintaining perfect sync with the visual content.

Educational and Accessibility Applications

Create follow-along reading experiences, shadowing exercises, and pronunciation practice tools. The timing metadata enables applications to provide real-time feedback, track user progress, and adapt to individual learning needs.

Getting Started on WaveSpeedAI

Using ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing through WaveSpeedAI is straightforward:

1. Prepare your text: Write your script (up to 5,000 characters per request). Clear punctuation improves rhythm and alignment accuracy.

2. Select a voice: Choose from ElevenLabs’ extensive voice library using the voice_id parameter.

3. Configure settings: Optionally adjust similarity, stability, and enable use_speaker_boost for content with numbers or measurements.

4. Make your API call: Send the request through WaveSpeedAI’s REST API.

5. Receive your output: Download the audio file and parse the alignment JSON to build your synchronized experience.

For longer scripts requiring section-level control, split content into multiple calls and stitch the results together on your timeline.

Ready to try it? Access the model directly at https://wavespeed.ai/models/elevenlabs/eleven-v3/timing.

Why WaveSpeedAI?

Running AI models efficiently matters. WaveSpeedAI provides:

• No cold starts: Your requests execute immediately without waiting for infrastructure to spin up
• Fast inference: Optimized infrastructure delivers results quickly
• Transparent pricing: $0.10 per 1,000 characters, billed in 1,000-character blocks
• Ready-to-use REST API: Start integrating within minutes, not days

You get ElevenLabs’ industry-leading voice quality combined with WaveSpeedAI’s reliable, performant infrastructure.

Conclusion

ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing represents a meaningful advancement in text-to-speech technology. By combining natural, expressive voice synthesis with precise alignment metadata, it enables applications that were previously complex to build—or simply not possible.

Whether you’re creating accessible video content, building interactive learning tools, animating digital characters, or developing the next generation of audio-visual experiences, the timing data unlocks new possibilities.

The model is available now on WaveSpeedAI. Try ElevenLabs Eleven V3 Timing today and experience what precision text-to-speech can do for your projects.