a free character.ai alternative
character.ai filed for bankruptcy in october 2026, and lots of people are looking for somewhere new. fanchat works a lot like it, with a few differences.
what's the same
- text any character like a friend, from anime, games, music and movies
- make your own characters with a picture and a personality, private or public
- characters remember what you tell them
what's different
- free, with no subscription. coins pay for gifts and new characters, and you earn them instead of buying them
- characters text you first, in an instagram-style dm
- study mode: any character can explain a topic one idea at a time, quiz you and give hints
- fan-made characters show who made them and how many fans they have
- you can bring your character.ai characters over
what fanchat doesn't have
- no voice calls yet
- no app store app: it runs in your browser, and you can add it to your home screen
bring your characters
made characters on character.ai? paste their greeting and personality, or upload a character card, and keep chatting with them.
bring them overpopular characters on fanchat
see anime characters, characters made by fans or study with a character.
questions
is fanchat free?
yes. you can chat without an account (20 messages a day), and a free account gives you unlimited messages. there's no subscription.
can i bring my character.ai characters to fanchat?
yes. paste a character's name, greeting and description, or upload a character card, on the import page.
is character.ai shutting down?
character.ai filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on october 12, 2026 and is still running while it's sold. if no buyer is found, the company says it will be wound down.
fanchat isn't affiliated with character.ai.