Guide · Updated September 29, 2026 · 3 models compared
Best AI Music Generators in 2026 (3 Compared, With Credit Prices)
Minimax Music 3 is the best AI music generator on Bolly for most people: paste your lyrics, describe the style and get a full song with vocals of up to five minutes, from 5 credits (about $0.25) for 60 seconds. ElevenLabs Music is the pick for instrumentals and for choosing the audio format, and Sonilo is the one that scores a video clip or returns up to three candidate tracks per run. The list has three entries because it covers only the music models Bolly hosts.
This list is short on purpose. It covers the music generators Bolly hosts: Minimax Music 3, ElevenLabs Music and Sonilo. Bolly also runs two sound-effect models, speech models and a vocal isolation tool, but sound effects are not music, so they are left out instead of padding the list. It gives no verdict on music apps Bolly does not run.
The three do different jobs. Minimax Music 3 sings lyrics you write. ElevenLabs Music turns a prompt into a track of up to ten minutes, with an instrumental switch and a wide choice of output formats. Sonilo composes from text or scores a video you give it. The order is an editorial call, not a benchmark: Minimax Music 3 comes first because it is the cheapest per minute of the three and the only one with a lyrics field. Every entry lists its weak points next to its strengths.
Prices are what one run costs at each model's default settings (1 credit is about $0.05). The Plan column shows the plan each model requires, which is Free for all three, but price is a separate limit: ElevenLabs Music costs at least 24 credits a run, more than the Free plan's 10 daily credits, so in practice it needs a paid plan. Its 72 in the table is the price with no length set; with a length it is 24 credits per started minute. Generations on the Free plan are always public.
Use music you generated or hold the rights to, do not ask for a real artist's voice or style presented as theirs, and label realistic AI content as AI-generated. Bolly's Terms cover who owns an output, and some models carry their developer's own terms, so read the model page before you release a track commercially.
Quick comparison
| # | Model | Best for | Max res | Credits / run | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minimax Music 3MiniMax | Songs with vocals from your own lyrics, including soundtracks for music videos | — | 5 | Free |
| 2 | ElevenLabs MusicElevenLabs | Instrumentals and background music, or anyone who needs a specific audio format | — | 72 | Free |
| 3 | SoniloSonilo | Scoring a finished clip, or hearing several short candidates before you pick one | — | 9 | Free |
Credits are Bolly prices at each model's default settings; 1 credit ≈ $0.05. Cheapest on this list: Minimax Music 3 at 5 credits per run.
How we ranked them
- Vocals and lyrics: whether you can supply your own words and get them sung.
- Length: the longest track a run can make, and whether the model may stop early.
- Instrumental control: a switch or option for tracks with no vocals.
- Video scoring: whether the model can compose to a clip you already have.
- Output controls Bolly exposes: audio format, seed, number of samples.
- Price per run at default settings, and how far the Free plan's 10 daily credits go.
The 3 best ai music generators, ranked
1.Minimax Music 3by MiniMax
5 credits / run · Free planWrite the lyrics, describe the style and get a complete song with vocals of up to five minutes, at 5 credits for 60 seconds.
Best for: Songs with vocals from your own lyrics, including soundtracks for music videos. Modes: Generate.
Try Minimax Music 3- Required Lyrics field with structure tags such as [intro], [verse], [chorus], [bridge], [instrumental] and [outro].
- Lengths up to 300 seconds: 5 credits at 60 seconds, 10 at 120, 15 at 180 and 24 at 300.
- The style prompt covers genre, mood, vocals, instrumentation and arrangement, and also accepts a structured caption with metadata such as genre, BPM and key.
- Advanced Steps, Seed and Guidance fields; a fixed seed makes a run reproducible.
- Lyrics are a required field, so it is built for songs with words. For a track with no vocals, ElevenLabs Music has a dedicated Force instrumental switch.
- The duration is an upper limit and the model may stop earlier than the length you set, so check the finished length before you build a video around it.
- There is no tempo field. A BPM can be requested in the prompt, but treat it as a request and time the result.
2.ElevenLabs Musicby ElevenLabs
72 credits / run · Free planA text-prompt music model with a Force instrumental switch, lengths from 3 seconds to 10 minutes and 19 output formats.
Best for: Instrumentals and background music, or anyone who needs a specific audio format. Modes: Generate.
Try ElevenLabs Music- Force instrumental switch for tracks that should have no vocals.
- Lengths from 3 seconds up to 10 minutes, the longest range of the three.
- The only one of the three with a format setting: MP3 at 22.05 or 44.1 kHz up to 192 kbps, PCM from 8 to 48 kHz, u-law, A-law and Opus.
- The most expensive here: 24 credits per started minute when you set a length, or 72 credits (about $3.60) when you don't.
- A run costs at least 24 credits, more than the Free plan's 10 daily credits, so it needs a paid plan.
- There is no lyrics field, so it is the wrong tool when you need your exact words sung. Use Minimax Music 3 for that.
3.Soniloby Sonilo
9 credits / run · Free planTwo modes: Text to music from a prompt, and Video to music, which composes a soundtrack for a video you provide. Either mode can return up to three candidate tracks per run.
Best for: Scoring a finished clip, or hearing several short candidates before you pick one. Modes: Text to music, Video to music.
Try Sonilo- Video to music scores a clip directly. The style prompt is optional and is written from the video when you leave it out.
- Start offset and Duration fields score just a segment of the video, and Prompt influence (0 to 1) sets how closely the score follows your text.
- Text to music is priced per second: 3 credits at 30 seconds, 6 at 60 and 9 at the 90-second default, times the number of samples.
- Up to three samples per run, so one run gives you options to compare.
- There is no lyrics field, so it does not sing words you supply.
- Scoring a video costs more than composing from text: 22 credits for 60 seconds against 6 for the same length of Text to music.
- Each sample under 10 seconds is billed as 10 seconds, and samples multiply the price, so three 60-second samples cost 18 credits.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a song with my own lyrics?
Yes, with Minimax Music 3. Its Lyrics field is required and understands section tags such as [verse], [chorus] and [bridge]. Add a style prompt, set a duration up to 300 seconds and run it from Make a Song. ElevenLabs Music and Sonilo have no lyrics field.
How much does an AI song cost on Bolly?
One credit is about $0.05. Minimax Music 3 costs 5 credits for 60 seconds, 10 for two minutes, 15 for three and 24 for five. Sonilo's Text to music costs 6 credits for 60 seconds per sample, and its Video to music costs 22 for 60 seconds. ElevenLabs Music costs 24 credits per started minute when you set a length and 72 when you don't.
Can I make AI music for free?
In part. The Free plan gives 10 credits a day, reset at midnight UTC, and it includes audio models. That covers two 60-second Minimax Music 3 songs or one 90-second Sonilo track a day. ElevenLabs Music needs at least 24 credits, so it needs a paid plan. Generations on the Free plan are always public.
Can I use AI-generated music commercially?
Bolly's Terms say you own your outputs to the extent the law allows, but some countries give AI output no copyright protection, an output may not be unique, and some models carry their developer's own terms, such as limits on commercial use. Check the Terms and the model page before you release a track, and do not upload music you don't have rights to.
Can I choose the audio format?
Only with ElevenLabs Music, which offers 19 formats: MP3 at 22.05 or 44.1 kHz up to 192 kbps (44.1 kHz at 128 kbps is the default), PCM from 8 to 48 kHz, u-law, A-law and Opus at 48 kHz. Minimax Music 3 and Sonilo have no format setting.
Which model should I use for a music video soundtrack?
Use Minimax Music 3 when the video needs a sung track, ElevenLabs Music with Force instrumental for a wordless bed, and Sonilo's Video to music when the clip already exists and you want a score for it. Bolly can't join video clips, so the final cut happens in a video editor.
