Best Chub AI Alternatives in 2026

Chub AI gets a lot right for open roleplay. Its terms barely restrict characters, private chats stay out of training, character cards move freely in and out, and the subscription includes a 60K-context model. So the reasons to leave are mostly practical, not about the chat itself. Paying in crypto is a non-starter for many people, the free path needs your own API key, and some regions cannot reach the site at all. If one of those is your problem, the rest of the roleplay category has options that solve it, each with its own trade-off.

Why people look for alternatives

Crypto-only payment

The $20 a month plan accepts crypto only. If you do not hold crypto or do not want to buy it, you cannot subscribe.

No real free tier on Chub’s own models

The free option is a one-time batch of trial credits that lasts a few dozen messages. After that, free use means bringing your own API key or local model, and an API key costs money with its provider.

Access and age checks

A third-party report says Chub AI is blocked for Australian users. The terms require 18+, but no verification method is published.

Few public reviews

Trustpilot has too few reviews to show a trend, so there is little outside signal on billing or support.

Which alternative fits you

If you want Chub’s openness without paying, look at SillyTavern

SillyTavern is the closest match in spirit. It is free and open source, reads character cards, and has World Info lorebooks, group chats, personas and a scripting engine. It sets no content rules of its own. Connect a local model and every message stays on your computer, or use AI Horde to start free. The cost is setup: you install it with Node.js, and a good local model needs a capable GPU.

If you want to pay by card for long stories, look at NovelAI

NovelAI starts with Tablet at $10 a month, and every paid plan has unlimited text. Its terms list no content-type bans, and stories are encrypted end to end with a key from your password. The newest models list 28,672 tokens of context. It is an editor for co-writing, not a card library, and there is only a small trial before you pay.

If you want a free hosted catalog, look at JanitorAI

JanitorAI’s free JLLM model has no published message cap, and the bot catalog is huge. It also accepts OpenRouter and other proxies, so your API key still works. Free context is about 9K, sexual content is limited to bots tagged Limitless, and the policy does not say whether chats train models.

If you want scene tools and a cheap card plan, look at SpicyChat AI

SpicyChat AI has rulebooks with meters, lorebooks, group chat and director mode, and paid plans start at $5.95 a month. Context is 4K on free and on that first plan, rising to 32K only at $29.95. The guidelines ban non-consent, incest and step-family themes, which is much tighter than Chub AI.

If you want a text adventure, look at AI Dungeon

AI Dungeon runs on the web, iOS and Steam, with Do, Say and Story turns and hundreds of community scenarios. Its Mature setting lifts most limits, and paid tiers from $14.99 a month reach up to 64k context. The servers hold the encryption keys, and training is reportedly on by default.

If you want the lowest entry price, look at CrushOn.AI

CrushOn.AI’s Standard plan is $4.90 a month on a $58.88 yearly charge, and free models use no credits. It is the opposite of Chub AI on privacy, though: its policy says chats are used to train its models.