NovelAI Alternatives (2026): Free and Paid Options Compared
Looking for a NovelAI alternative? Compare AI Dungeon, SillyTavern, KoboldCpp and Mythora by what you want next — free play, full control, or a game world — and see where NovelAI still wins.
Maybe your trial ran out and $10 a month feels like a lot for a hobby you are still testing. Maybe you noticed you spend more time playing a character than polishing prose. Or you want something that runs on your own computer.
We make Mythora, one of the options below. This guide is organised around what you want instead of NovelAI, and it says plainly where NovelAI is still the better choice.
The short version
| You want… | Explore… |
|---|---|
| Fine control over prose, plus image generation, in one subscription | Stay with NovelAI |
| A free way to play many community-made adventures | AI Dungeon |
| Full control over characters, setup and which AI you use | SillyTavern |
| To run the AI on your own computer, offline | KoboldCpp |
| To play one character in a world that keeps going, with stats and consequences | Mythora |
What NovelAI does well
NovelAI is a writing partner first. You write, the AI continues, and you decide what to keep. Its Lorebook lets you store notes about people and places so they come back into the story when they are mentioned. The same subscription also covers its image generator, which many people use for character art.
On cost, the official site says subscriptions start at $10 a month, and its FAQ lists three tiers (Tablet $10, Scroll $15, Opus $25). New accounts get a one-time free trial, and the FAQ says there are no plans for a free version.
If you love editing a scene line by line, think twice before leaving. Few tools give you that much control over the words themselves.
AI Dungeon: free, open-ended adventures
If what you enjoyed was the "anything can happen" feeling rather than the editing, AI Dungeon is the closest step sideways. It has a large catalogue of community scenarios, a memory system for long adventures, and both free and paid options.
Choose it when you want variety and a free starting point.
SillyTavern: build everything yourself
SillyTavern is free software that lets you choose every character card, every setting note and which AI service powers the story. You may still pay that AI service, and setup takes time; the official documentation explains what you need.
It suits tinkerers who already know what they want the AI to do.
KoboldCpp: run it on your own machine
If privacy or cost is the main reason you are leaving, KoboldCpp is free, open-source software that runs a story AI on your own computer. How good the writing is depends on the model you download and how strong your hardware is. Many people pair it with SillyTavern as the front end.
Choose it if you are comfortable downloading models and adjusting settings.
Mythora: a world to play in, not a page to write
Some NovelAI players realise the part they enjoy most is the adventure, not the prose. Mythora is built for that side.
You pick an existing world, create a character and play by typing what you do or tapping a suggested action. The game keeps track of things you can see on screen, such as health, inventory, skills and quests. Your progress is saved, so the next visit picks up the same character in the same place. The setting is shared with other players, although you follow your own character's path rather than joining a live party.
Picture a disciple with a weak spirit root at the gate of a cultivation sect. You do not write the sect or the rival who already outranks you. You arrive and decide what to try, and a bold move can fail, with the next scene carrying the consequences.
Start with cultivation, romance or fantasy. Mythora is free to start with action energy that refills, plus optional purchases. It runs in the browser and also has apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.
Where NovelAI is the better fit: if you want to write and edit your own prose, keep a private manuscript, or generate images in the same place, NovelAI is built for that and Mythora is not. In Mythora you mostly play in worlds that already exist.
How to test an alternative in one evening
- Bring one character you already care about from a NovelAI story.
- Play or write ten turns in the new product without restarting.
- Close it, come back the next day, and check whether the story still knows who your character is and what they were doing.
- Look at the price only after you know whether you wanted to come back.
Our checklist for long-running stories goes into more detail.
FAQ
Is there a free NovelAI alternative?
Yes. AI Dungeon has a free tier, SillyTavern and KoboldCpp are free software (SillyTavern may still need a paid AI service unless you run a model yourself), and Mythora is free to start with refilling action energy. Check each official site for current terms.
Which alternative is closest to NovelAI?
For writing, SillyTavern or KoboldCpp, because you control the text and the setup. For playing a story rather than writing one, AI Dungeon or Mythora.
Can I move my NovelAI story or Lorebook?
Not directly. Each product stores stories its own way. The easiest move is to copy your key character and setting notes, then start a fresh story with them.
Do any of these remember everything?
No AI story is perfect over a long campaign. Try a short run first, and see our guide on what to do when an AI story forgets.
For a wider comparison, see the best AI text adventure games in 2026, or the Questner and AI Dungeon alternatives guides.
Official product pages linked here were checked October 20, 2026.