Suno vs Udio vs Eleven Music in 2026: rights, stems, downloads and pricing, from their own terms

This is a desk review, not a test. On 29 Oct 2026 we read the terms of service and pricing pages that Suno, Udio and ElevenLabs publish, quoted them, and gave no scores. Nobody paid to be included and there are no affiliate links. This is not legal advice. For the free-plan view across more tools, see our commercial-use tracker.

How do they compare on paper?

Udio downloads: settled from Udio's own page

Comparison pages around the web disagree on whether Udio lets you download. Some still list downloads as a paid feature; others say they were switched off after the Universal settlement in late 2025. Udio's own terms of service, "Last Revised on November 12, 2025" and read by us on 29 Oct 2026, are blunt. Clause 1.2: "You may not download copies of any Output or any other output generated by the Services." A later clause repeats it: you "may use Output solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes, provided that you may not download any copies of your Output from the App for any purpose." The terms also bar using output "for any commercial purpose" and say the company and its licensors own it. Whatever a third-party table says, the contract you agree to today forbids downloads. Udio's pricing page rendered no plan text for us, so we have not listed its prices. Background on how Udio got here is in our Starstruck report.

What does each one say?

Suno "assigns to you all of its right, title and interest in and to any Output owned by Suno" on Pro and Premier, and adds that it "makes no representation or warranty to you that any copyright will vest in any Output". You "may not commercially exploit Output that has not been downloaded by you through an approved channel"; once downloaded, the right is perpetual even if you cancel. The pricing page lists Pro at $8 a month with 2,500 credits, 20 song downloads and 2 stem separation types (Auto; Split from mix), and Premier at $24 with 10,000 credits, 60 downloads and a third type, Advanced split. For how this changed with the licensed models, see our Suno v6 report.

Eleven Music says that "as between you and ElevenLabs, you retain any and all rights in and to your Input and Output". The rights table does the real work: free users can't download and must credit Eleven Music; Starter can download 30 minutes a month but can't distribute to streaming services; Creator can; WAV or high-bitrate downloads start at Pro. On pricing, Starter and Creator showed promotional prices when we looked. Our UMG and ElevenLabs report covers the licensing deal behind the model.

How we'll rank them

We follow our methodology. Desk reviews carry no scores. If we test these, rights and exportability will weigh heaviest.

What we think

Udio is no longer in the same category. With downloads banned and ownership claimed by the company, Udio is a place to make and listen to music, not a tool to make music you release. Comparisons that still score it against Suno on export features are out of date, and the cheapest way to check is the one we used: read the clause, not the table.

For releasing, the real contest is Suno Pro against Eleven Music Creator. Suno gives you downloads, stems and commercial rights for $8, but caps you at 20 songs and won't promise there's a copyright to own. Eleven Music gives you clearer ownership words, but you need Creator for streaming and Pro at $99 for a lossless file. On our reading, Suno is the better deal for a producer who wants stems to rework; Eleven Music is the cleaner contract for someone who needs a broadcast-quality file and can pay for it.

Stems are a pricing feature, not a right. Only Suno's pricing page lists stem separation, and none of the three contracts promises stems. Plan on splitting tracks yourself; our stem splitter desk review covers the options.

If a maker thinks we've misread its terms, tell us and we'll correct it here.