AI Music Generators in 2026: Plans, Licences and Limits

An AI music generator turns a text prompt into finished audio, such as a song with vocals or background music. In 2026 the main options include Suno, Udio, ElevenLabs Music, Google Lyria 3.5 and Stable Audio 3. Plans and commercial-use terms differ widely, so check them before you pick one.

This guide groups the tools by job and lists what each one publishes as of October 2026. Prices and terms change often, so confirm them on the vendor page before you pay.

What an AI music generator does

You describe a genre, mood, instruments or lyrics, and the model returns a clip. The differences show up after that. Some tools make full songs with sung vocals. Others make instrumental loops for video. Some keep the music inside their app, while others give you a file you can download and edit.

Three questions decide most choices:

• Can you download the file, and how many downloads does your plan allow?
• Does your plan cover commercial use, including monetised videos and client work?
• How long can a single track be?

AI music generators at a glance

| Tool | Good fit for | Commercial use (as of October 2026) | Listed price (monthly, as of October 2026) | |---|---|---|---| | Suno | Songs with vocals and lyrics | Pro and Premier only; free outputs are non-commercial | Pro $10, Premier $30 | | Udio | Making and extending songs in its app | Not confirmed; we could not read its commercial terms | Standard $10, Pro $30 (App Store listing) | | ElevenLabs Music | Music inside the ElevenLabs app and API | Starts at the Starter plan; Free has no commercial licence | Not quoted here; music costs about 900 credits per minute | | Google Lyria 3.5 | Short tracks in Gemini and the API | Not stated in the sources we read; check Google's terms | About $0.08 per song on the API | | Stable Audio 3 | Open weights for local use | Community License lets you own and commercialise outputs | Open weights on Hugging Face | | AIVA | Composed background music | Depends on plan, from no monetisation to full | Standard EUR 11, Pro EUR 33 (billed annually) | | Mubert | Background loops for creators | Creator is non-commercial; Pro covers monetised channels | Creator $14, Pro $39 |

Suno: full songs with vocals

Suno announced v6, v6-wild and v6-mini on 2026-09-09. v6 and v6-wild are for Pro and Premier subscribers, and v6-mini is open to everyone. Suno says it will retire its previous models and move entirely onto v6. Its editing tools let you change part of a song with plain-language instructions, update a single lyric or build a mashup.

Suno's pricing page lists three tiers:

• Free: 50 credits a day, free models only, no downloads and no commercial use.
• Pro: 2,500 credits and 20 downloads a month, with commercial use included.
• Premier: 10,000 credits, 60 downloads a month and Suno Studio.

Pro shows as $8 a month if you pay yearly and $10 if you pay monthly. Premier shows as $24 yearly or $30 monthly.

The download rule matters for commercial use. Suno's terms assign Pro and Premier users its rights in outputs, but commercial use requires a download through an approved channel within the monthly allowance. Suno also says it makes no promise that copyright will vest in any output. Sony Music and UMG filed a new complaint in September 2026 alleging v6 still infringes, and Suno calls those claims fundamentally flawed.

Udio: closed platform, no downloads

Udio has switched off downloads of audio, video and stems. Its help centre links the change to its partnership with Universal Music Group, in an article dated 2026-02-17. The current product continues during a transition, with creations kept in what Udio calls a walled garden.

Udio has said a licensed platform will launch in 2026, but we found no source confirming a launch as of 2026-10-17. Until then, treat Udio as a place to make and share songs in its app, not a source of files for your projects.

Credits are charged per action. Each Create, Extend, Remix, Inpaint or Edit action produces two songs. Two 32-second songs cost 2 credits, and two 130-second songs cost 4. The free tier gives 10 daily credits plus a 100-credit monthly pool. The $10 and $30 plan prices come from an App Store listing that may be out of date.

ElevenLabs Music and Google Lyria 3.5

ElevenLabs Music generates tracks from 3 seconds up to 5 minutes. Its docs name Music v2.5 as the most advanced model and say the output is "cleared for nearly all commercial uses," with coverage varying by plan. The API is for paid subscribers. The pricing page says music costs about 900 credits per minute.

Google's Lyria 3.5 reached the Gemini app and Gemini API on 2026-09-04. You can pick a genre, choose vocal or instrumental, start from a template and ask for a short or longer track. The API pricing page lists lyria-3.5 at $0.08 per song. The older clip model, lyria-3-clip-preview, costs $0.04 per 30-second clip. The free tier is not available for these models. Output is MP3 by default, and Lyria 3.5 can return WAV. Google says all generated audio carries a SynthID watermark. Google's docs say "a couple of minutes" for Lyria 3.5, while DeepMind says "up to 3 minutes," so we write "a few minutes."

Stable Audio 3: open weights for local use

Stability AI released Stable Audio 3.0 on 2026-05-20 in four models. Small SFX, Small and Medium have open weights on Hugging Face. Large is available through the Stability API and enterprise self-hosting. Small generates up to 2 minutes and Medium up to 6 minutes 20 seconds. Stability says all models are trained on fully licensed data. That is the company's statement, not an independent audit.

Under the Community License you can own and commercialise your outputs. Organisations with more than $1 million in annual revenue need the Enterprise License, which includes legal indemnification.

Background music tools: AIVA and Mubert

Background-music services sell tracks for videos, podcasts and streams. Their rules depend on the plan.

| Service and plan | Price as listed | Limits | Commercial position | |---|---|---|---| | AIVA Free | EUR 0 | 3 downloads a month, up to 3 minutes | AIVA owns the copyright; no monetisation; credit required | | AIVA Standard | EUR 11 a month, billed annually | 15 downloads a month, up to 5 minutes | AIVA owns the copyright; monetisation on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram | | AIVA Pro | EUR 33 a month, billed annually | 300 downloads a month, up to 5:30, WAV | You own the copyright; full monetisation | | Mubert Creator | $14 monthly or $11.69 billed annually | No streaming-platform publishing | Non-commercial | | Mubert Pro | $39 monthly or $32.49 billed annually | No streaming-platform publishing | Covers monetised channels, digital ads and client work |

Mubert's pricing page says tracks cannot be published on streaming platforms or registered in Content ID systems, and that this applies on every plan. Soundraw lists its paid plans as commercial, including distribution to streaming services. It advertises up to 67% off on annual billing, with its Creator plan at about $11 a month on annual billing. Check the price at checkout, because the page does not label which figure is monthly.

Adobe Firefly audio tools

Adobe made Generate Music, Generate Speech and Generate Sound Effects broadly available on 2026-08-20. Adobe calls the audio "commercially safe" and describes music as "universally licensed original tracks." These are Adobe's own claims. The announcement gives no pricing, clip length or indemnification details.

Open models you can run yourself

Meta's AudioCraft repository includes MusicGen for text-to-music. The code is MIT-licensed, but the model weights are CC-BY-NC 4.0, which is non-commercial. Many research models split their licences this way, so check both the code and the weights before a paid project.

How to choose

• Commercial use: match the plan to your use, and read the terms before you publish.
• Files: if you need a file for a video, Udio's downloads are off. Suno requires downloads within your monthly allowance.
• Length: ElevenLabs goes up to 5 minutes, Stable Audio Medium up to 6 minutes 20 seconds, and Lyria about a few minutes.
• Control: Suno's v6 can edit one part of a song in plain language.
• Ownership: AI output may not be protected by copyright. See the AI music copyright guide.

Music generation in OndaLabs

OndaLabs includes music generation alongside text to speech, dialogue, speech to text, custom voices and image generation. Music is on the Creator plan ($22 a month, 400,000 credits) and above. A clip costs 2,500 credits and a song costs 5,000. On Creator, 400,000 credits covers up to 80 songs a month if every credit goes to music. Credits are shared with voice work, so a creator who records voiceovers uses one pool.

Commercial use is included on Starter and above. Music generation starts at Creator, so a Starter plan does not include it. You can make music in the music studio, compare plans on the pricing page or create an account. If you need narration as well, text to speech is in the same account.

For the rules on using music in videos, read our royalty-free music guide. For a head-to-head on the two best-known song generators, see Suno vs Udio.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free AI music generator?

Yes, with limits. Suno's free tier gives 50 credits a day, but no downloads and no commercial use. Udio's free tier gives 10 daily credits and a 100-credit monthly pool, with downloads switched off. ElevenLabs has a free plan without a commercial licence. If you plan to publish, check the free tier's terms first.

Can I use AI-generated music commercially?

Often, but only on the right plan and under the tool's terms. Suno allows commercial use on Pro and Premier, subject to its download rule. Stable Audio's Community License allows commercial use, with an Enterprise License for organisations above $1 million in annual revenue. This is general information, not legal advice.

Which AI music generator is trained on licensed music?

Several companies say their models use licensed music, but we cannot verify training data independently. Stability says all Stable Audio 3 models are trained on fully licensed data. Suno says v6 was developed with partners including Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe, and Sony Music and UMG dispute it. Adobe calls its audio "universally licensed," which is its own claim.

Can I download songs from Suno and Udio?

Paid Suno subscribers can download, within a monthly allowance of 20 on Pro and 60 on Premier. Free Suno users cannot download. Udio has disabled downloads of audio, video and stems.

Are there open-weights AI music models I can run myself?

Yes. Stable Audio 3 Small and Medium have open weights on Hugging Face under the Community License. Meta's MusicGen has MIT code, but its weights are CC-BY-NC 4.0, which is non-commercial. Read the licence before you use any model in a paid project.