Chub AI vs Janitor AI (2026)

Chub AI and Janitor AI are two of the most popular destinations for unfiltered AI roleplay in 2026, and they attract a lot of the same people. Both are character-card platforms where the community builds the characters and you bring your own conversations to life. They overlap so much that plenty of users keep accounts on both, and many Janitor AI characters end up mirrored inside the Chub ecosystem. If you are choosing between them, the real question is how you want to run your roleplay: through a massive prebuilt library with deep memory tools, or through a free platform that leans on whatever model you connect to it.

Chub AI vs Janitor AI at a Glance

Read our full Chub AI review | Read our full Janitor AI review

How We Compared These Apps

We evaluated Chub AI and Janitor AI across the same dimensions we use for every platform on CompanionWise: character variety, conversation and roleplay quality, memory, features, safety, pricing, and user experience. Our scores come from analyzing privacy policies, terms of service, app store reviews, Reddit and Discord discussions, third-party reviews, and regulatory findings. Each app goes through a 23-dimension safety review and a 14-dimension experience analysis. For these two platforms, regulatory evidence from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and investigative reporting carried significant weight, because both companies publish far less about their own safety practices than mainstream companion apps do.

Neither of us works for Chub AI or Janitor AI, and neither company sponsors this page. You can read our editorial policy for more on how we stay independent.

Character Variety and Content: Chub AI Wins on Scale

This is the clearest practical difference between the two. Chub AI operates as the largest character aggregator in the AI companion space, hosting more than 200,000 community-created characters. Janitor AI hosts a still-substantial 32,000-plus characters built by its community. Both libraries cover an enormous range of personas, scenarios, and roleplay genres, and both let creators publish their own cards.

Chub AI’s advantage is not just raw count. It layers in Lorebook memory systems, branching chat trees, and granular character editing that give power users far more creative control over how a scene unfolds. That depth is why roleplay scored 4/5 in our experience analysis for Chub, with users praising the platform’s flexibility. Janitor AI takes a different path and earns an even higher 5/5 for roleplay depth, driven by strong creative tools and a community that produces consistently inventive characters. The catch is that Janitor AI has no cross-session memory, so your companion forgets everything between visits. Chub AI’s Lorebook is the better fit if continuity matters to you.

The API and Proxy Model: How You Actually Run These

Neither platform is a simple download-and-chat app like Replika or Nomi. Both are built around a bring-your-own-model architecture, and understanding that is the single most important thing before you pick one.

Chub AI gives you two routes. You can chat through its own hosted models on a subscription, or you can connect your own API key from an outside provider for more control over quality and cost. This dual setup is part of why Chub appeals to experienced users who already know the ecosystem. Janitor AI leans even harder on the bring-your-own-model approach. The platform itself is free, but the best responses come from connecting a paid model through a proxy or API, which means your real cost depends entirely on which model you route to and how much you use it. New users frequently get stuck on this step, and it is a recurring complaint in app store and Reddit feedback for both platforms. If you want something that works out of the box without configuring a model, neither app is the easy choice.

Content Moderation and Account Requirements

Both platforms are uncensored by design, and both put the burden of moderation on the community rather than on staff. Janitor AI relies on community reporting with limited proactive enforcement, and Chub AI operates with no dedicated trust and safety team at all. That is a deliberate product decision on both sides, aimed at users who specifically want freedom from content filters.

Account requirements are light. Both state an 18+ policy in their terms, but neither enforces it with anything beyond a self-reported checkbox, so any teenager can bypass it. Janitor AI’s situation is more contradictory: its Google Play listing carries a 12+ age rating that directly conflicts with its own adults-only policy. Chub AI distributes through both web and an iOS app, while Janitor AI is primarily web-based, which affects how each platform interacts with app store content rules.

Safety and Privacy: Both Have Serious Problems

Neither app earns a passing safety grade. Janitor AI scores D/33 (Red tier) in our 23-dimension safety review, and Chub AI scores D/25 (Red tier) in its safety review. The 8-point gap is real but small, and it comes down to how much safety infrastructure each platform built as it scaled.

Chub AI’s score is dragged down by a near-total absence of safety structure. It has zero dedicated trust and safety staff, no crisis response protocols, and the eSafety Commissioner found that 89% of the models hosted on the platform lacked output filtering for harmful content. There is no documented system to detect or respond to a user in distress. Janitor AI’s central problem is different and arguably more troubling for privacy: its official safety page claims “we never read your chats,” yet the platform’s founder acknowledged using millions of conversations to train models, and multiple sources contradict the no-monitoring claim. Conversations being used for training without clear disclosure is a meaningful consent issue.

If safety is your deciding factor, neither platform belongs on your shortlist. Janitor AI’s slightly higher grade reflects marginally better disclosure in places, not a genuinely safe product. Both allow explicit content, both lack crisis support, and both depend on age checks that do not work. See our guide to choosing a safe AI companion for what stronger safety actually looks like.

Pricing and the Free Experience: Different Philosophies

Chub AI and Janitor AI price themselves in opposite ways.

Chub AI charges $5 per month for its Mercury plan, which is the cheapest subscription in the entire companion app category. That single low price unlocks hosted model access and the platform’s premium creative tools, and it undercuts nearly every mainstream competitor. There is also a limited free tier, though serious use points you toward Mercury or toward connecting your own API key. For budget-conscious power users, that $5 entry point is genuinely hard to beat.

Janitor AI flips the model. The platform itself costs nothing, and the free core is the main reason it grew so fast. But “free” comes with an asterisk: the built-in free experience is limited, and getting good responses generally means connecting a paid external model through a proxy. So while you never pay Janitor AI directly, you may end up paying a model provider, and your total cost becomes unpredictable. The trade-off is freedom and zero platform fees in exchange for setup friction and variable quality. Our free AI companion apps roundup covers options that are easier to use without paying.

Which App Is Right for You?

Choose Chub AI if you want:

• The largest character library available, with 200,000-plus community-created options.
• Persistent memory through Lorebook and branching chat trees for continuity across sessions.
• The cheapest premium subscription in the category at $5/mo, plus the option to use your own API key.
• Deep creative control and you already understand how character-card platforms work.

Choose Janitor AI if you want:

• A genuinely free core platform with no required subscription to get started.
• Category-leading roleplay depth with a community known for inventive characters.
• Maximum flexibility to connect whichever external model you prefer through a proxy or API.
• Short, self-contained roleplay sessions where the lack of long-term memory matters less.

Consider something else entirely if:

• Safety is your top priority. Both apps sit in the Red tier and neither is suitable for anyone under 18. See our Character.AI alternatives for safer roleplay options.
• You want a polished, beginner-friendly app. Both require model setup and have rough edges. Our best AI companion apps list highlights smoother experiences.

Not sure which fits your needs? Our Companion Matchmaker Quiz takes 2 minutes and recommends apps based on what actually matters to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chub AI or Janitor AI better for roleplay?

Janitor AI scores slightly higher on pure roleplay depth, earning 5/5 in our experience analysis versus Chub AI’s 4/5. Janitor AI’s strength is creative community characters, while Chub AI counters with a far larger 200,000-plus library and persistent Lorebook memory that Janitor AI lacks entirely.

Are Chub AI and Janitor AI the same thing?

No, but they overlap heavily. According to platform documentation, both are character-card sites built for unfiltered roleplay, and many Janitor AI characters are mirrored inside the larger Chub ecosystem. They are separate companies with different libraries, pricing, and ownership, though users frequently move between the two.

Which app is safer, Chub AI or Janitor AI?

Janitor AI has a slight edge with a D/33 safety grade versus Chub AI’s D/25, both in the Red tier of our 23-dimension safety review. Neither is genuinely safe. Chub AI lacks trust and safety staff, while Janitor AI’s privacy claims were contradicted by its own founder’s training-data admission.

Is Janitor AI really free?

The Janitor AI platform itself is free to use. According to its own documentation, you pay nothing for access, but the best responses generally require connecting a paid external model through a proxy or API. Your real cost depends on which model you route to and how heavily you use it.

Are Chub AI and Janitor AI safe for teenagers?

Neither app is safe for minors. Both state an 18+ policy but rely only on self-reported age verification that any teenager can bypass. According to Google Play data, Janitor AI carries a 12+ rating that conflicts with its adults-only policy. Both allow explicit content and lack crisis support.

Do I need an API key for Chub AI or Janitor AI?

Not always for Chub AI, which offers hosted models on its $5/mo Mercury plan, though you can connect an API key for more control. According to user reports, Janitor AI’s best experience typically requires connecting an external model through a proxy or API, which is a common sticking point for new users.