Reviewed by Eric Moore, Editor-in-Chief Chub AI isn’t an AI companion in the way most people use that term. It’s a character aggregator, a massive library of 200,000+ community-created AI characters that users can chat with through various language models. Think of it less like Replika and more like a marketplace where character creators publish bots and users bring their own API keys or subscribe for hosted model access. That distinction matters, because the experience you get depends entirely on which character you pick and which model runs behind it. Our 23-dimension safety analysis scored Chub AI D/25/Red, and our experience evaluation landed at 47/100 (Poor). The platform has real strengths in roleplay depth and character variety, but regulatory investigations, zero dedicated safety staff, and a steep learning curve make it a hard recommendation for anyone who isn’t already deep in the AI character chat ecosystem. Other unfiltered platforms like Dopple AI share similar stability and safety problems.
What Is Chub AI?
Chub AI (also known as CharHub or Character Hub) is a web-based platform where users interact with AI characters through large language models. It launched subscriptions in June 2023 and is operated by Chub AI Inc., a company whose ownership structure isn’t publicly documented. The founder goes by the handle “Lore.” Fortune reported in January 2024 that the site generated more than $1 million in annualized revenue. SEMrush estimates approximately 13.7 million monthly visits as of February 2026.
The platform works in one of two ways. You can subscribe to Chub’s hosted models (Mistral 7B finetune, MythoMax 13B, Soji 671B, Asha 70B, Mixtral 8x7B) through Mercury ($5/month) or Mars ($20/month) tiers. Or you can bring your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, KoboldAI, or other providers and use the platform as a front-end interface for free, paying only your own API costs.
The character library is the core product. Users create characters with deep customization: persona definitions, scenarios, example dialogues, alternate greetings, system prompts, and Lorebooks (keyword-triggered context injection that acts as long-term memory). Characters can be imported and exported using Tavern PNG and TavernAI JSON formats. The most popular characters on the platform have exceeded 500,000 interactions.
Chub AI’s official documentation describes the platform’s content philosophy directly: “We do not restrict in any meaningful capacity the variety of characters that are allowed to be posted on the platform nor the type of interactions you are allowed to have with said characters.” That’s the single most important sentence for understanding what Chub AI is and who it’s built for. The platform is uncensored by design.
What Is It Like to Use Chub AI?
The honest answer: it depends on how much time you’re willing to invest. Chub AI is not beginner-friendly. You can’t just sign up and start chatting the way you can with Replika or Character.AI. Getting started requires understanding API connections, model selection, and character customization. The documentation is extensive but complex.
Once you get past the setup, roleplay depth is where Chub AI genuinely delivers. AI Girlfriend Scout gave it a 3.2/5 overall but noted that “if you want long, immersive roleplay chats with a lot of freedom, that’s where Chub AI shines” (Feb 2026). Characters follow their backstories and stay true to personality definitions. The branching chat tree system lets you explore different conversation paths, which is a feature most companion apps don’t offer.
Conversation quality varies significantly depending on the backend model. Users running Soji 671B on the Mars tier get substantially different output quality than someone on the free Mistral 7B finetune. The BYOK model means that the same character can feel completely different depending on whether it’s running on Claude, GPT, or a local KoboldAI setup. That flexibility is a feature for power users but a source of confusion for everyone else.
Memory is a weak point. Chub AI’s Lorebook system is clever. Keywords in your conversation trigger pre-written context injections, solving the “goldfish memory” problem that plagues most AI chat platforms. But Lorebooks are user-created, not automatic. There’s no built-in persistent memory across sessions, and short-term memory is limited to the model’s context window (8K tokens on Mercury). If you don’t build a Lorebook yourself, your character won’t remember your name next week.
The AI has a habit of overstepping. AI Girlfriend Scout reported that the AI tends to “write both sides of the dialogue without waiting for your input” (Feb 2026). It sometimes misses jokes, gets confused about who is saying what, and can feel more like reading a co-authored novel than having a conversation. Their chat experience rating was 3.6/5: “emotionally deep but struggles with conversation flow and role clarity.”
The UI needs work. Users report a cluttered interface, confusing navigation for new users, and a broken search function. One Reddit user on r/Chub_AI wrote: “I can stare directly at a bot in my own creation list, type its name into the global search, and get zero results.” The iOS app (rated 4.4/5 with only 69 ratings) is described as a website wrapper with random chat memory corruption bugs. The last iOS update was November 2024, more than five months without an update despite 13.7 million monthly web visits.
Chub AI’s user experience profile shows a platform built by and for power users. AI Girlfriend Scout rated the overall experience 3.2/5 after a detailed multi-day evaluation, with chat experience at 3.6/5 and customization at 3.5/5 (Feb 2026). CompanionGeek scored it 3.4/5. The platform’s strongest feature is roleplay depth, driven by its massive community character library across genres and the branching chat tree system. Its weakest areas are onboarding (significant learning curve), UI/UX (cluttered interface, broken search), and memory (no persistent cross-session recall without user-created Lorebooks). Voice is available on the Mars tier ($20/month) and was rated 3.7/5 by AI Girlfriend Scout, described as “more like a polished audiobook narrator than an actual girlfriend.” Image generation is available but rated 3.5/5 for “decent quality but limited customization and character consistency.” Group chats are supported.
How Much Does Chub AI Cost?
The free tier gives you approximately 59 trial messages using Chub’s hosted models, access to the character library, and the ability to create and export characters. That’s enough to evaluate whether the platform is worth paying for, but not enough to do anything sustained.
After the trial credits run out, you have two paths. Subscribe, or bring your own API key.
- Mercury ($5/month, $6.99 on iOS): Unlimited access to Mistral 7B finetune and MythoMax 13B, 8K memory tokens, multimedia generation, and all future models at 13B parameters or below.
- Mars ($20/month, $24.99 on iOS): Everything in Mercury plus Soji 671B, Asha 70B, Mixtral 8x7B, unlimited voice, unlimited multimedia, and early access to new models.
- BYOK (Bring Your Own Key): Free platform access. You connect your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, KoboldAI, or other providers and pay API costs directly to those providers.
Mercury at $5/month is the most competitive entry-level price in the AI companion space. For context, Character.AI charges $9.99/month, Replika starts at $7.99/month, and Kindroid begins at $9.99/month. The BYOK model can be cheaper or far more expensive depending on which provider you use and how much you chat. An active user running conversations through the Anthropic API could easily exceed $50/month in API costs alone.
Crypto payments are available in four-month increments for Mercury. iOS prices are higher than web prices (Apple’s 30% cut). No refunds are offered “unless explicitly granted by the Company.” Charges appear as “Postcron.com” on bank statements for discretion.
Chub AI uses a two-track pricing model: subscription tiers ($5 or $20 per month on web) for hosted model access, and a free BYOK option where users supply their own API keys and pay providers directly (chub.ai/subscription). Mercury ($5/month) covers unlimited access to smaller models (Mistral 7B, MythoMax 13B) with 8K memory tokens. Mars ($20/month) adds larger models (Soji 671B, Asha 70B, Mixtral 8x7B) plus voice and multimedia. iOS pricing is higher ($6.99 and $24.99 respectively). Crypto payments are available for Mercury in four-month blocks. The platform’s no-refund policy states refunds are only granted at the company’s explicit discretion (chub.ai/tos, rev. June 16, 2025). Bank statement charges appear under “Postcron.com” for billing discretion.
Is Chub AI Safe to Use?
Chub AI earned a D/25/Red safety rating from our 23-dimension analysis (CompanionWise safety rating, scored April 2026). The full dimension breakdown is in the Safety Score widget above this article. Here’s what drives the D grade.
Two sub-dimensions scored the minimum possible: crisis response and sexual content guardrails. The platform has no crisis detection, no suicide prevention resources, no hotline referrals, and no human handoff protocols. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner confirmed this gap in October 2025 after issuing a formal transparency notice. On sexual content, the platform is uncensored by design with access gated only by an 18+ self-declaration and an NSFW toggle.
The eSafety Commissioner’s investigation is the most important piece of evidence in this review. In October 2025, Chub AI was one of four AI companion services that received mandatory transparency notices under Australia’s Basic Online Safety Expectations. The findings were severe:
- Zero dedicated trust and safety staff
- 89% of hosted models had no tools to prevent harmful outputs (child sexual exploitation, self-harm, or pornographic content)
- Only 56% of models had prompt detection tools for child sexual exploitation material
- No red-teaming changes implemented during the reporting period
- Terms of service did not prohibit self-harm or mention pornography
- 47 CSEA reports received during Q3 2025 (all from trusted flaggers, all for drawn content)
Chub AI’s response was to geo-block Australia entirely rather than improve safety practices. Before the block, Australian users saw a message: “By law, some content is restricted in your country. Please use a VPN.” The platform also blocks certain content in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand based on IP geofencing.
Then there’s the Krebs on Security investigation. In October 2024, Permiso Security researchers found that stolen AWS cloud credentials were being used to power sexualized AI chat services suspected to be tied to Chub AI. The investigation documented 75,000+ model invocations in two days, with “almost all of a sexual nature” and “some content straying into darker topics such as child sexual abuse.” Character names from the abused prompts matched characters on Chub’s platform. Chub responded that their LLMs run on their own infrastructure and they do not participate in or enable illegal activity.
The privacy situation has its own problems. The privacy policy claims to collect only usernames and states “we do not disclose any user data to third parties.” But Apple’s App Store privacy labels tell a different story: location, contact info, user content, identifiers, and usage data are all listed as collected. The platform also carries a JuicyAds verification tag, which is an adult advertising network. Data retention periods aren’t specified. Deletion rights aren’t documented beyond a “Permanently Delete Account” button in profile settings.
On the positive side, Chub AI does well on a few dimensions. AI nature transparency scored highest (5/5) because the platform’s technical design as an API interface makes it inherently clear you’re talking to an AI. Users configure LLMs, supply API keys, and define system prompts. Nobody is confused about what they’re interacting with. The platform also has a strong explicit promise not to use private content for AI training, verified by the eSafety report, and it was one of the few platforms NOT using interaction histories for model fine-tuning.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner issued a formal transparency notice to Chub AI in October 2025, finding zero dedicated trust and safety staff, output filtering absent on 89% of hosted models, child sexual exploitation prompt detection on only 56% of models, and no implementation of red-teaming improvements during the reporting period (eSafety Commissioner, October 2025). Chub AI geo-blocked Australian users rather than implementing safety changes. Separately, a Krebs on Security investigation (October 2024) found stolen cloud credentials powering sexualized AI chat services with character names matching Chub AI’s platform, documenting 75,000+ model invocations over two days including child sexual abuse content. The eSafety Commissioner also located Class 1 (illegal) material on the platform, which was removed after notification. The privacy policy claims minimal data collection and no third-party sharing, but Apple App Store privacy labels list location, contact info, identifiers, and usage data as collected (Apple App Store listing).
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Use Chub AI?
Chub AI occupies a specific niche. It’s not trying to be your AI companion, therapist, or best friend. It’s a character chat infrastructure platform built for people who want maximum creative control and are willing to do the technical work to get it.
If you’re already familiar with character card formats (Tavern PNG, TavernAI JSON), comfortable managing API keys, and want access to a library of 200,000+ community characters across every genre, Chub AI offers something no other platform does at this scale. The $5/month Mercury tier is genuinely good value for casual roleplay users, and the BYOK model gives power users full control over their AI backend.
If you’re looking for a polished companion experience with good onboarding, persistent memory, and safety guardrails, look elsewhere. Replika (C/43 safety rating, 60/100 experience) offers a far more approachable experience with actual crisis response protocols. Kindroid (C/40 safety, 60/100 experience) has a stronger UI and better privacy practices. Even Janitor AI (D/33 safety, 40/100 experience), which serves a similar audience, has a slightly higher safety score.
The D/25/Red safety rating isn’t a green light; a “D” means severe safety gaps that put this among the worst-scoring apps we’ve reviewed. The eSafety Commissioner findings, the Krebs investigation, the absence of any dedicated safety staff, and the platform’s stated preference for minimal moderation all point in the same direction: Chub AI is built for users who want to be left alone, and that philosophy extends to leaving them unprotected.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chub AI
Is Chub AI free?
The free tier provides approximately 59 trial messages on hosted models, plus full access to the character library for browsing and creation. After the trial credits run out, you need Mercury ($5/month) or Mars ($20/month) for hosted models. According to Chub AI’s subscription page, BYOK users can chat for free by connecting their own API keys.
Is Chub AI safe?
Chub AI earned a D/25/Red safety rating in our 23-dimension analysis (CompanionWise, April 2026). Key concerns include zero dedicated safety staff, no crisis response, and the eSafety Commissioner’s finding that 89% of models lacked output filtering. According to the eSafety Commissioner, the platform geo-blocked Australia rather than improving safety.
What’s the difference between Chub AI and Venus AI?
Venus AI runs on Chub AI infrastructure and shares the same backend. According to Chub AI’s documentation, Venus (venus.chub.ai) is the chat interface while Chub (chub.ai) is the character library and account management portal. They’re the same ecosystem with different entry points, not competing products. We cover them as separate reviews because users search for them separately.
Is Chub AI better than Character.AI?
They serve different audiences. Character.AI (F/22 safety, 35/100 experience) is a mainstream platform with polished onboarding but strict content filters. Chub AI (D/25 safety, 47/100 experience) is uncensored by design, offers BYOK model flexibility, and has deeper roleplay customization. Character.AI is easier to start with; Chub AI gives more control to users willing to learn the system.
Does Chub AI have a mobile app?
An iOS app exists (rated 17+ on the App Store, 4.4/5 with 69 ratings) but was last updated November 2024 and is described as a website wrapper. There’s no Google Play listing. According to multiple user reports, Android users must download an APK directly from chub.ai, bypassing Google Play’s safety review process entirely.
What models does Chub AI use?
- Mercury tier: Mistral 7B finetune, MythoMax 13B, and future models at 13B or below
- Mars tier: All Mercury models plus Soji 671B, Asha 70B, and Mixtral 8x7B
- BYOK: Any model accessible via API, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and KoboldAI
According to the eSafety Commissioner’s report, 100% of Chub’s hosted models are community fine-tuned, with 56% also receiving internal fine-tuning by Chub.