Does Character.ai or Jan have a free plan?

Character.ai is available for free. Jan is a paid tool. Always verify current pricing directly with the vendor.

Character.ai vs Jan

Q: Can I use Character.ai and Jan together?

Yes, many teams use both tools together for different purposes. Use the Stack Builder section above to combine Character.ai and Jan with other tools and save your AI toolkit.

Comprehensive side-by-side comparison — features, pricing, performance, and more.

Updated May 2026

Character.ai

Character Technologies, Inc.

Create and chat with AI characters for limitless interactive entertainment.

0.0(0)

FREEMIUM

87% data quality

Jan

Menlo Research

Personal Intelligence that answers only to you

0.0(0)

OPEN_SOURCE

88% data quality

Trust & Reliability

Character.ai

Users:1M-10M

Jan

Users:1M-10M

Overall Winner: Jan

7.8/10 vs Character.ai at 5.7/10

Leads in:

Integrations

Customizability

Support

AI Comparison Summary

Character.ai

5.7

avg score

Jan

7.8

avg score

Jan leads overall — particularly in Customizability and Integration Power.

Character.ai has an edge in Ease of Use.

Based on 6 dimensions

How scores are calculated

Overall Winner

Jan

7.8 / 10

Character.ai

Best For

Engaging in creative storytelling and role-playing

Exploring diverse personalities and fictional scenarios

Connecting with a community of AI character enthusiasts

Developing interactive entertainment experiences

Not Ideal For

Professional customer support automation requiring deep integration

Strictly business-focused data analysis or report generation

Users needing a public API to embed custom characters into their own products

Jan

Best For

Running large language models locally for privacy

Developing and testing AI agents on personal hardware

Conducting deep research with local AI models

Chatting with AI without cloud dependency

Not Ideal For

Users who prefer fully managed cloud AI services

Teams requiring centralized AI model deployment and management

Users with limited local computing resources

* Verdict is based on our algorithmic scoring of publicly available data. Learn about our methodology

Character.ai is best for

✍️Writing & Content7.0💬Chat & Conversation6.7🤖Automation & Agents5.0

Jan is best for

💬Chat & Conversation6.3✍️Writing & Content6.0🤖Automation & Agents5.0

Filter by your use case:

Pros & Cons

Character.ai

Pros

Offers a vast library of over 10 million user-created characters
Provides a platform for limitless creative expression and storytelling
Available on multiple platforms including web, iOS, and Android
Free to sign up and use, encouraging broad accessibility
Supports voice interaction for an enhanced conversational experience

Cons

No explicit team collaboration features for character creation
Limited information on advanced customization or fine-tuning options for characters
No clear public API for integrating characters into external applications
Content moderation may limit certain types of interactions
Reliance on user-generated content means quality can vary

Jan

Pros

Ensures 100% data privacy by running locally
Supports a wide array of open-source and proprietary LLMs
Offers a user-friendly interface for local LLM management
Provides real-time web search capabilities
Open-source with an active community and Apache 2.0 license
No API bills for local model usage

Cons

Performance depends on local hardware capabilities
Requires manual model downloads and management
Memory/context management is still under development
No cloud-hosted option for easy multi-device access
Limited out-of-the-box enterprise integrations

Weighted Score — Adjust What Matters to You

Pick a profile or drag sliders — scores and radar update instantly on the right.

Quick profiles:

Ease of Use5

Output Quality5

Value for Money5

Customizability5

Support & Ecosystem5

Integration Power5

Dimension Comparison

Character.ai

5.7

/ 10

Jan

7.8

/ 10

Clear winner

Dimension Breakdown

Ease of Use

How easy it is to get started and use daily

Character.ai

8.0▲ +2.0

Jan

6.0

Output Quality

Quality and accuracy of generated results

Character.ai

7.0

Jan

7.0

Value for Money

Cost vs. features and output quality

Character.ai

10.0▲ +1.0

Jan

9.0

Customizability

Calculated

Ability to tailor to specific needs

Character.ai

2.0

Jan

8.0▲ +6.0

Support & Ecosystem

Documentation, community, and support quality

Character.ai

6.0

Jan

7.0▲ +1.0

Integration Power

Calculated

Ability to connect with other tools and workflows

Character.ai

1.0

Jan

10.0▲ +9.0

Calculated = derived from verified integration count and API/open-source signals. AI = LLM-assessed from public website content. Methodology

Task Performance

Character.ai

Task

Jan

8.0

Conversation Quality

7.0

Context Retention

6.0

Knowledge Accuracy

7.0

5.0

Reasoning Ability

6.0

5.0

Multilingual Chat

5.0

9.0

Personality Customization

6.0

8.0

Response Speed

7.0

2.0

Citation Support

5.0

2.0

File Handling

7.0

Safety Controls

7.0

* Task scores (1–10) are algorithmically generated from publicly available data.

Data is sourced from public information and vendor websites. It may not always be up-to-date — verify pricing and features directly with the vendor before purchasing.Report inaccuracy

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Character.ai or Jan?

Both are strong options. Character.ai has a rating of 0.0/5 (0 reviews), while Jan has a rating of 0.0/5 (0 reviews). The best choice depends on your specific use case, budget, and workflow requirements.

Is Character.ai cheaper than Jan?

Character.ai starts at free (freemium model). Jan starts at free (open_source model). Use the Cost Calculator above for a detailed estimate.

What are the main differences between Character.ai and Jan?

Character.ai — "Create and chat with AI characters for limitless interactive entertainment.". Jan — "Personal Intelligence that answers only to you". Key differences include their pricing models, platform support, integrations, and technical capabilities. See the Feature Comparison table above for a complete side-by-side breakdown.

Can I use Character.ai and Jan together?

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