AI Dungeon vs Character.AI

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Cheaper paid plan: Character.AI — $4.99/mo vs $14.99/mo for AI Dungeon
Free plan: Both have one
Best fit: AI Dungeon: Long-running solo roleplay campaigns where world state has to survive dozens of sessions · Character.AI: Adults who want long-running roleplay with persistent personas
Trust score: About even — AI Dungeon 91, Character.AI 92
Status: We could not check Character.AI — its site turns automated checks away; AI Dungeon was up on Oct 15, 2026

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

AI DungeonText adventure engine where the AI improvises every scene

Character.AIRoleplay chat with user-made characters, now adults only

Side by side

Fact	AI Dungeon	Character.AI
Category	Storytelling & Fiction	AI Companions & Characters
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starts at	$14.99/mo	$4.99/mo
Trust score	91 / 100	92 / 100
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Company	Latitude Inc.	Character Technologies, Inc.
Launched	2019	2021
Last verified	Oct 15, 2026	Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

AI Dungeon

Still the deepest AI text-adventure product there is, with seven years of scenario library behind it, and the only one where memory and world-state tooling is the actual product. It is entertainment, not a writing assistant — do not buy it expecting to finish a manuscript.

Pros

Memory, world info and scenario tooling are far more developed than in general chatbots used for roleplay
Multiple model choices per tier, including newer models added through 2026
Native iOS and Android apps, not just a mobile web wrapper
Large public scenario library gives an immediate starting point

Cons

Five-tier ladder from $14.99 to $99.99 is steep, and context length is the thing being sold at every rung
Credits do double duty for images and for extra context, so heavy sessions drain them quickly
No API, so scenarios cannot be driven from outside the platform
The service has changed content and moderation policy sharply in the past, which still colours community trust

Character.AI

Still the deepest character library and the most complete roleplay feature set in the category, but since 12 October 2026 the company is in Chapter 11 with a court-supervised sale due around late November, and it says the platform will be wound down if no bid arrives. Fine for adults who chat casually on the free or monthly plans; think twice before prepaying a year or building a community around characters that live only here.

Pros

Character library far larger than any competitor's, with voice calls, group chats and Lorebook world notes
Free tier keeps unlimited messaging and gained the PipSqueak 3 and ShortSqueak chat styles in late September 2026
A $4.99 lite plan now sits under c.ai+, cutting ads and slow mode without the full subscription
Account data can be exported from the app or the website

Cons

The Chapter 11 sale puts the service's future in a buyer's hands, with a wind-down if nobody bids
The CEO left for Disney in September 2026, with members of the technical team expected to follow
Adults pass a third-party age check and under-18 accounts lost open-ended chat
No public API found, and Charms are a second currency on top of the subscriptions

Which one fits

Choose AI Dungeon if you need

Long-running solo roleplay campaigns where world state has to survive dozens of sessions
Players who want to author and share scenarios rather than only consume them
Anyone curious how far a story engine can go without authored branches

Choose Character.AI if you need

Adults who want long-running roleplay with persistent personas
Casual conversational entertainment rather than task work
Users happy to stay on the free or month-to-month plans while the sale plays out