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Apps like Character.AI for long stories

Updated

For long stories, the apps like Character.AI worth trying are the ones with real memory tools. AI Dungeon and NovelAI are built for text adventures and co-writing, DreamGen handles stories with a large cast, and SillyTavern is for people who want to run their own setup. Lunelle AI is built for long, character-driven stories on a phone. Nomi and Kindroid have strong memory too, but they are built as AI companions rather than story apps.

We make Lunelle AI, one of the apps on this list. Every other app is described from its own website, help center, or app store listing, and the sources are listed at the end. Prices are in US dollars. Prices and features change often, so the details here are as of October 24, 2026.

Why people are looking for alternatives now

Character.AI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 12, 2026, to sell the company through a court-supervised process. The company says the app is still running and subscriptions remain active, and it expects the sale to finish by the end of November or in early December 2026. If no buyer offers to keep the platform running, it will be wound down. According to NPR, the company had about 12 million monthly active users when it filed, and Disney has offered $20 million for some of its assets.

The filing followed a year of changes that many regular users disliked. In 2026, free users saw more ads and new usage limits, and several chat models were replaced by one default model, PipSqueak 2, as 404 Media reported in May.

Character.AI’s memory has improved over the same period. Since May 2026, every user gets Story Memory, where you can save backstory and key events and pin important messages. A c.ai+ subscription ($9.99 a month) adds Facts, which records details about characters automatically, and twice as many pins. Whether that is enough depends on how long your stories run, which is why this list is built around memory.

What a long story needs from an app

An app for long stories has to keep track of what happened. It can do that with a large context window, the amount of recent text the AI reads before each reply, or with tools that save the important facts: summaries, pinned memories, or lorebook entries that return when a name or place comes up. Characters also need to keep their personality and facts over hundreds of messages. If your story has a cast, the app should handle several characters in one scene. Our guide to why AI characters forget explains how these pieces fit together.

The apps at a glance

AppGood forMemory toolsSeveral characters in a scenePlatformsPrice per month
Lunelle AILong, character-driven stories on a phoneLong-term memory across sessionsYesiOS, AndroidFree; Unlimited Messages from $14.99
AI DungeonText adventures and RPG campaignsAutomatic summaries in a Memory Bank, Plot Essentials, Story CardsThe AI plays the other charactersWeb, iOS, AndroidFree; $14.99 to $99.99
NovelAICo-writing long fiction with close controlMemory, Author’s Note, LorebookNo dedicated featureWebFree trial; $10 to $25
DreamGenStories with a large castScenario CodexYes, the AI plays the castWebFree plan; from $7.83
SillyTavernRunning your own setupLorebooks, summaries, vector recallGroup chatsWindows, Mac, Linux, Android (self-installed)Free software; you pay for the AI model
NomiCompanion chat with layered memoryShort-, medium-, and long-term memory, Mind MapGroup chatsWeb, iOS, AndroidFree; Standard $15.99
KindroidCompanion chat with layered memoryPersistent, cascaded, and retrievable memory, journalsGroup chatsWeb, iOS, AndroidFree tier; Standard $13.99 on the web
Character.AIFor comparisonStory Memory and pins; Facts with c.ai+Group chats in the mobile appWeb, iOS, AndroidFree; c.ai+ $9.99

Lunelle AI

Lunelle AI is our app: interactive fiction for iOS and Android, built for long stories. Characters remember events, choices, and how relationships in the story have changed, across sessions, and they keep the same personality and facts over long plays. Several characters can share a scene and react to you and to each other.

You can play the curated cast or adventures that other players shared, or create your own characters and whole adventures by describing them to the creator in a chat. AI image generation is built in. Lunelle AI is text only, with no voice calls, no multiplayer, and no web version. It is free to download, with an optional Unlimited Messages subscription from $14.99 a month.

Pick it if you want long, character-driven stories on your phone, with several characters in the same scene.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

AI Dungeon

AI Dungeon, made by Latitude, is a text adventure in which the AI acts as game master. You type what your character does or says, and the AI narrates what happens next. Its memory system summarizes earlier events automatically and stores them in a Memory Bank, which holds 25 memories on the free plan and up to 800 on the top plan. You can keep key facts in Plot Essentials and add Story Cards for characters, places, and items.

Context is 4,000 tokens on the free plan, 8,000 on Journey ($14.99 a month), 16,000 on Legend ($29.99), and 32,000 on Mythic ($49.99). AI Dungeon runs on the web, iOS, and Android, and it supports multiplayer.

Pick it if you want a classic text adventure or RPG campaign, or want to play with friends.

NovelAI

NovelAI, made by Anlatan, is a web app for writing fiction together with an AI, and it has a text adventure mode. It gives you manual control over what the AI keeps in mind. Memory holds an always-present summary, the Author’s Note steers style and direction, and the Lorebook stores characters, places, and facts that are added to the context when they come up.

The Opus plan ($25 a month) has the largest context, 28,672 tokens. Tablet ($10) and Scroll ($15) have smaller ones. A free trial includes 50 text generations.

Pick it if you like keeping notes on your world and want close control over the writing.

DreamGen

DreamGen is a web app for roleplay and story writing, with a story mode that works like a text editor. Each scenario has a Scenario Codex, a story bible for the plot, setting, characters, and locations. The AI plays every character in the cast while you play your own. Context is 5,000 tokens on Starter, 15,000 on Advanced, and 30,000 on Pro.

There is a free plan with monthly credits, and paid plans start at $7.83 a month. DreamGen has no iOS or Android app, but the site works in a phone browser.

Pick it if your story has a large cast or a detailed world you want to keep consistent.

SillyTavern

SillyTavern is a free, open-source interface that you install on Windows, Mac, Linux, or an Android phone. It does not include an AI model. You connect it to one: a paid API such as OpenAI, Claude, or OpenRouter, or a model you run on your own computer. You pay the model provider, and setup takes some technical work.

It has a wide set of memory tools: World Info entries (lorebooks) triggered by keywords, a summarize extension, and vector storage that brings relevant older messages back into the context. Group chats let several characters share one conversation.

Pick it if you want full control over the model and the memory setup, and don’t mind configuring it.

Companion apps with detailed memory: Nomi and Kindroid

Nomi and Kindroid are AI companion apps, built for an ongoing relationship with an AI character more than for stories. They are on this list because both describe their memory systems in detail.

Nomi

Nomi describes itself as “an AI companion with memory and a soul.” It has short-, medium-, and long-term memory, and a Mind Map that shows the people, places, and topics a character remembers. In group chats several Nomis talk together, and each one remembers both your private chats and the group. Nomi runs on the web, iOS, and Android, and the Standard plan costs $15.99 a month.

Kindroid

Kindroid calls itself a personal AI companion. Its memory has three layers: persistent memory (the backstory and key memories you write), cascaded memory for the medium term, and retrievable long-term memory, including journals you can add entries to. It supports group chats, and voice and video calls. Kindroid runs on the web, iOS, and Android. Standard costs $13.99 a month on the web or $15.99 in the app, and the Ultra and MAX add-ons raise the memory limits.

Closest to Character.AI’s format: PolyBuzz, Talkie, and Chai

If you want Character.AI’s format, a large library of community characters to chat with, PolyBuzz, Talkie, and Chai are the closest. All three let you create and share characters, and all three have voice features. They mention memory but publish few details about how much a character keeps over a long story. Our Lunelle AI vs PolyBuzz comparison covers one of them in detail.

If you stay on Character.AI

Character.AI’s memory tools help most when you use them on purpose. Put the backstory and the current situation in Story Memory, pin the messages that change the plot, and when a story gets very long, start a new chat with its Facts copied over (Facts needs c.ai+). While the sale is pending, it is also worth exporting your data, which Character.AI lets you do from the app or the website. Our guide on backing up your Character.AI chats and characters covers the steps.

The same habits work in any app. See how to keep AI characters consistent and how to pace a long AI story, or compare Lunelle AI and Character.AI side by side. If you prefer text adventures, see our list of AI Dungeon alternatives.

Common questions

What is the best Character.AI alternative for long stories?

It depends on how you play. AI Dungeon fits text adventures with the AI as game master, and NovelAI fits co-writing with detailed notes on your world. DreamGen and SillyTavern handle a large cast, and Lunelle AI is built for character-driven stories on your phone.

Which apps like Character.AI have the best memory?

The apps here with the most detailed memory tools are AI Dungeon (automatic summaries and a Memory Bank), NovelAI (Memory and Lorebook), and SillyTavern (lorebooks, summaries, and vector recall). Nomi and Kindroid also document layered memory systems, and Lunelle AI is built around long-term memory for stories. A bigger context window helps too, but it costs more and still runs out in a long enough story. Our comparison of AI roleplay apps with long-term memory goes into each app’s memory in more detail.

Is there a Character.AI alternative with group chats?

Yes. DreamGen, SillyTavern, Nomi, and Kindroid support several characters in one chat, and Lunelle AI supports scenes with several characters. Character.AI itself has group chats in its mobile app.

Is Character.AI shutting down?

Not as of October 24, 2026. The company filed for Chapter 11 on October 12, says the app keeps running and subscriptions stay active, and expects the sale to finish by the end of November or in early December. If no buyer offers to keep the platform running, it will be wound down.

Sources

Character.AI, AI Dungeon, NovelAI, DreamGen, SillyTavern, Nomi, Kindroid, PolyBuzz, Talkie, and Chai are trademarks of their owners. Lunelle AI is not affiliated with any of them.