NovelAI review

What is NovelAI?

NovelAI is a paid story-writing tool from Anlatan. Instead of chatting with a character, you write a story together with the model in an editor, with an optional text adventure mode for game-style play. It also makes images and has text-to-speech. Its terms list no banned content types and say what you write belongs to you. Stories are encrypted in your browser before they are saved. Plans start with Tablet at $10 a month, then Scroll at $15 and Opus at $25. The only free option is the Paper trial: 50 text, 30 image and 100 TTS generations.

Key features

Unlimited text on paid tiers

Every paid plan includes unlimited text generation. You do not have to ration replies or buy top-ups for writing.

Encrypted storage

Your password generates the key that encrypts stories, lorebooks and scripts end to end, and the privacy policy says prompts are not kept. For private adult fiction, this is the strongest setup among hosted tools here.

Story tools

Lorebooks hold facts about your world and pull them in when needed. Modules shape style, and scripts add custom behaviour. Together they suit long projects that span many sessions.

Current models

On the site, GLM-4.6 and Xialong get 28,672 tokens of context; Erato and Kayra are also listed, at 8,192 tokens.

The catch

There is no ongoing free tier, only the trial, so you pay before you can use it for real. The largest context for some models needs the $25 Opus tier. Encryption cuts both ways: if you forget your password, your stories cannot be recovered. NovelAI is built for writing, so if you want a catalog of ready-made characters to chat with, it has none. The terms require 18+, with no verification method published, and there are very few public reviews.

Final verdict

NovelAI suits you if you write long adult fiction and care where it is stored. Unlimited text and true end-to-end encryption make it an easy monthly choice for serious writers. Use the trial to check the editor fits how you work. If you want quick chats with community characters, a chat site will suit you better.