
Suno is still the best AI song generator for complete songs with vocals, and since 10 September 2026 it runs on v6 models built with Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe. The catch is downloads: free songs can no longer be downloaded at all, and Pro (US$10 a month) includes 20 song downloads a month. If you need clear commercial terms, ElevenLabs Music says its model was built in partnership with artists, labels and publishers, and allows commercial use on every plan except for film, TV, radio and big-studio games. For a free song in a minute, Google’s Lyria 3.5 now runs inside the Gemini app for all users.
The bigger change in 2026 is legal, not musical. Most of the well-known generators now sound good enough for social videos and demos. What separates them is whether you can download the file, whether you’re allowed to use it commercially, and whether a distributor like DistroKid will accept it.
Key Takeaways
- Suno moved to licensed v6 models in September 2026; free songs can be played and shared but not downloaded, and Pro and Premier cap downloads at 20 and 60 a month.
- Udio paused downloads on 29 October 2025 after settling with Universal Music Group, and its terms limit output to personal, non-commercial use.
- ElevenLabs Music allows commercial use on its free plan with attribution, but streaming-platform releases need Creator (US$22 a month) or above.
- Google’s Lyria 3.5 is available to all Gemini app users worldwide since 4 September 2026, and every track carries an invisible SynthID watermark.
- For background music without vocals, Soundraw (from US$5.99 a month) and Beatoven.ai (from US$10 a month) license tracks for commercial use and train on music they own or license.
- Commercial rights don’t guarantee copyright: in the US, fully AI-generated music generally can’t be registered without meaningful human authorship.
AI Song Generators Compared
| Tool | Vocals | Free plan | Paid from | Commercial use | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suno | Yes | Yes, 50 credits a day | US$10/month (Pro) | Paid plans, qualifying songs | 20 a month on Pro, 60 on Premier; none on free |
| ElevenLabs Music | Yes | Yes | US$6/month (Starter) | All plans except film, TV, radio, studio games | Included |
| Google Gemini (Lyria 3.5) | Yes | Yes, in the Gemini app | Gemini plans | Not stated by Google | Tracks carry SynthID |
| Mureka | Yes | Yes | US$8/month (Basic) | Included from Basic | 400 songs a month on Basic |
| Udio | Yes | Yes, 10 credits a day | US$10/month (Standard) | Personal, non-commercial only | Paused since Oct 2025 |
| Soundraw | No (instrumental) | No | US$5.99/month (Creator) | Worldwide licence on paid plans | Unlimited MP3 on Creator |
| Beatoven.ai | Mostly instrumental | Yes, no downloads | US$10/month (Creator) | Paid plans | 30 minutes a month on Creator |
| AIVA | No (instrumental) | Yes | €11/month (Standard, yearly) | Pro for full monetisation | 300 a month on Pro |
Prices exclude tax. Annual billing is cheaper on most plans.
Best AI Song Generators for Full Songs With Vocals
1. Suno: Best Overall for Complete Songs
Suno writes and sings a full song from a short prompt or your own lyrics, in most popular genres, with verses, chorus and a fade-out that sound finished. The v6 models launched in September 2026 add partial song editing, mashups, audio isolation and sampling. v6 and v6-wild are limited to Pro and Premier subscribers, while v6-mini is open to everyone.
The 2026 changes matter for how you budget. Credits and downloads are now separate: Pro’s 2,500 monthly credits generate plenty of songs, but you can download only 20 of them a month, and unused downloads don’t roll over. Songs made on the free plan can be played and shared, but not downloaded, and don’t come with commercial rights.
| Plan | Price | Credits | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | US$0 | 50 a day | None |
| Pro | US$10/month (US$8 annual) | 2,500 a month | 20 a month |
| Premier | US$30/month (US$24 annual) | 10,000 a month | 60 a month |
Our guide to Suno commercial use covers what you can do with Suno songs on YouTube, Spotify and client work.
2. ElevenLabs Music: Best for Clear Commercial Terms
ElevenLabs, best known for AI voices, launched Eleven Music in 2025 and says the model was built in partnership with artists, labels and publishers. It generates full songs with vocals and supports section-level editing in its v2 model.
Its rights table is unusually clear. Every self-serve plan, including Free, allows online and offline commercial use except in film, TV, radio and big-studio games. Free users must credit “Created in collaboration with ElevenLabs.” Publishing to streaming platforms needs Creator or above, and some plans limit eligibility by company size (Scale is for organisations with fewer than 10 employees, Business fewer than 50).
| Plan | Price | Streaming release allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Free | US$0 (attribution required) | No |
| Starter | US$6/month | No |
| Creator | US$22/month | Yes |
| Pro | US$99/month | Yes |
ElevenLabs plans cover its voice, dubbing and music tools together, so music shares the same monthly credits.
3. Google Gemini With Lyria 3.5: Best Free Option for Quick Songs
Google added Lyria 3.5 to the Gemini app on 4 September 2026 for all users worldwide, on web and mobile. You pick a genre and a sung or instrumental style, or start from a template such as background music or a birthday song. Tracks can run to about three minutes, and Google blocks prompts that imitate a specific artist’s voice or use copyrighted lyrics.
Every track carries SynthID, Google’s invisible watermark that marks content as AI-generated. Google hasn’t published clear commercial-use terms for Gemini songs, so treat them as personal and social content unless your Google plan’s terms say otherwise. Free Press Journal reports that Gemini handles Hindi prompts natively, which makes it the easiest starting point for Hindi songs.
4. Mureka: Cheapest Paid Plan With Commercial Rights
Mureka, from China’s Kunlun Tech, focuses on lyrics-first songwriting, and its model family has updated quickly, from mureka-7 in mid-2025 to V9.5 in July 2026. Its Basic plan costs US$8 a month for 400 songs with MP3 downloads and commercial licensing, and Pro costs US$24 a month for 1,600 songs with WAV and stem downloads and voice cloning.
Mureka says every song comes with full commercial and usage rights. Kunlun doesn’t publish whether its models were trained only on licensed music, so weigh that if you’re releasing commercially under your own name.
5. Udio: Strong Sound, but Downloads Are Paused
Udio built a reputation for realistic vocals, but it’s hard to recommend in 2026. After settling with Universal Music Group (29 October 2025) and Warner Music Group (19 November 2025), Udio paused downloads platform-wide, and its terms limit output to personal, non-commercial use. Songs can be played and shared by link only. Plans start at US$10 a month, but until the licensed platform both labels agreed to actually launches, Udio suits experimenting, not publishing.
Best AI Song Generators for Background Music Without Vocals
If you need music under a YouTube video, reel, podcast or ad, an instrumental tool with a clear licence is usually the safer buy.
6. Soundraw: Best for YouTubers and Video Editors
Soundraw generates royalty-free instrumental tracks you can shape by mood, genre, length and energy, then edit section by section. It says its AI learns only from music made by its own producers, and every track comes with a worldwide commercial licence. Plans suit individuals and companies with fewer than 10 employees.
| Plan | Price | Downloads |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | US$5.99/month | Unlimited MP3 |
| Artist Starter | US$10.49/month | 10 a month, MP3 |
| Artist Pro | US$12.59/month | 20 a month, MP3, WAV and stems |
| Artist Unlimited | US$17.49/month | Unlimited |
For faceless channels and explainer videos, pair it with the tools in our guide to running a faceless YouTube channel.
7. Beatoven.ai: India-Built Background Music Generator
Beatoven.ai, from Beatoven Technologies, generates background music and sound effects from a text description, with separate models for music (Composer and Maestro) and sound effects. Paid downloads come with a licence that stays valid after you cancel.
The free plan lets you generate but not download. Creator costs US$10 a month (US$100 a year) for 30 minutes of downloads, Visionary US$20 a month for 60 minutes, and pay-as-you-go costs US$3 per downloaded minute. It’s best for instrumental music; check vocal support before buying if you need singing.
8. AIVA: Best for Composers Who Want the Copyright
AIVA composes instrumental music in styles from orchestral to electronic and lets you edit the result in a piano-roll editor, which suits composers more than casual users. Its distinctive point is ownership: AIVA keeps the copyright on Free and Standard tracks, and only Pro transfers copyright to you.
Standard costs €11 a month billed yearly and allows monetisation on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram. Pro costs €33 a month billed yearly, with full monetisation and 300 downloads a month. Prices exclude VAT.
Also Worth Considering
9. Riffusion
A credit-based song generator with a daily free allowance; paid plans start around US$10 a month and add commercial rights on Pro, according to a May 2026 review. Free output is non-commercial.
10. Stable Audio
Stability AI’s audio generator for music and sound design, with paid plans from US$12 a month (Solo) and commercial use on paid plans. Enterprise licences apply to companies with over US$1 million in annual revenue.
Can You Use AI Songs Commercially?
| Tool | Free plan | Paid plans | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suno | No commercial rights | Yes, for qualifying songs | Free songs can’t be downloaded |
| ElevenLabs Music | Yes, with attribution, no streaming | Yes; streaming from Creator | Not for film, TV, radio or studio games |
| Google Gemini (Lyria 3.5) | Not stated | Not stated | SynthID watermark on every track |
| Mureka | Not confirmed | Yes, from Basic | Training data not disclosed |
| Udio | No | No | Terms limit output to personal, non-commercial use |
| Soundraw | Check site | Worldwide commercial licence | For individuals and companies under 10 staff |
| Beatoven.ai | No downloads | Yes | Licence survives cancellation |
| AIVA | No (credit required) | Standard: social platforms; Pro: full rights | Only Pro transfers copyright |
Two limits apply whatever plan you buy. First, commercial permission isn’t the same as copyright: the US Copyright Office requires meaningful human authorship, so a fully AI-generated song generally can’t be registered. Second, distributors and YouTube Content ID can still flag AI tracks, so a licence doesn’t guarantee a release goes through. Our guide to selling AI-generated content covers the same issue for images.
Where AI Music Stands Legally in 2026
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 29 Oct 2025 | Universal Music Group settles with Udio; Udio pauses downloads |
| 19 Nov 2025 | Warner Music Group settles with Udio |
| 25 Nov 2025 | Warner Music Group settles with Suno and agrees licensed models |
| 4 Sep 2026 | Google brings Lyria 3.5 to all Gemini app users |
| 10 Sep 2026 | Suno launches v6 models built with Warner, BMG and Believe; free downloads end |
Sony and Universal were reported to still be in litigation with Suno as of September 2026, and Sony has a separate lawsuit against Udio. A German court also ruled in 2026 that Suno infringed copyright in a case brought by GEMA. Terms are changing every few months, so check the current rights page before any commercial release.
Can AI Make Hindi Songs?
Yes, with some tools more than others. Free Press Journal’s July 2026 roundup reports that Google Gemini with Lyria supports Hindi prompts natively and that Suno handles Hinglish prompts well. In practice, writing your own Hindi lyrics in Devanagari or Roman script and pasting them in gives more control than asking the tool to write them. Pronunciation of less common words can slip, so listen through before publishing.
Which AI Song Generator Fits?
| Your goal | Start with |
|---|---|
| Full songs with vocals, downloaded and used commercially | Suno Pro |
| Commercial use with the clearest written terms | ElevenLabs Music |
| A free song for a birthday or social post | Google Gemini (Lyria 3.5) |
| Many songs a month on a small budget | Mureka Basic |
| Background music for YouTube videos | Soundraw |
| Background music plus sound effects, billed by the minute | Beatoven.ai |
| Owning the copyright on composed music | AIVA Pro |
FAQs
What is the best AI song generator?
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Which AI music generator is best for background music?
For video to go with your music, see our picks for free AI text-to-video generators and AI animation tools for YouTubers.
