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AIChatting 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. AIChatting starts at $3.99, Character.AI at $9.99. Both have a free tier.

AIChattingConsumer chatbot with 70+ preset characters and writing tools on web, iOS and AndroidCharacter.AIRoleplay chat with user-made characters, now adults only

Side by side

FactAIChattingCharacter.AI
CategoryGeneral-purpose AI ChatbotsAI Companions & Characters
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$3.99 week$9.99 month
Public APINoNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
CompanyWEGITAL HK LIMITEDCharacter Technologies, Inc.
Launched—2021
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

AIChatting

Cheap, usable without an account, and the character count and per-message word limits are spelled out on the pricing page rather than buried. What you are buying is a wrapper over third-party models renamed in-house, with no API and no way to confirm which model you are actually talking to.

Pros

  • The free tier runs without registration
  • Weekly and annual billing, with the annual plan under $40
  • Per-message word limits are published rather than left vague
  • One account spans web, iOS and Android

Cons

  • Models carry in-house names, so the real provider is opaque
  • Pro pricing is not visible next to Basic on the plans page
  • No API, no team features and no data-residency choices

Character.AI

Still the deepest character library anywhere and the reason the whole companion category exists, but it has been rebuilt around safety and identity checks, and the audience it was famous for is now locked out.

Pros

  • Character library is far larger than any competitor's, with voice calls and group scenes included
  • Free tier is genuinely usable, with the subscription mostly buying speed and memory
  • Safety changes are unusually explicit about what was removed and when

Cons

  • Age assurance defaults to face-based estimation, which is a hard stop for privacy-minded users
  • Charms are a second currency on top of c.ai+, so the $9.99 is a floor not a ceiling
  • No API, no export, and no self-hosting
  • The platform has been reshaped by wrongful-death litigation, and further restrictions are plausible

Which one fits

Choose AIChatting if you need

  • Casual chat and homework help shared between phone and browser
  • People who want persona-style assistants without writing prompts
  • Trying a chatbot before creating any account

Choose Character.AI if you need

  • Adults who want long-running roleplay with persistent personas
  • People building and sharing characters for an existing community
  • Casual conversational entertainment rather than task work

More comparisons

All AIChatting alternatives →Browse all General-purpose AI Chatbots →