The time has finally come. Character AI has announced a paid subscription tier called Character AI Plus, also called character.ai+ or c.ai+.
Character AI Plus offers priority access (no more waiting room), faster character response times, early access to new features, and exclusive access to the Plus member community.
In this post, I will share all the details available for Character AI Plus and whether c.ai+ is worth paying $9.99 per month.
Let’s dive in!
What Is Character AI Plus?
Character AI Plus, also referred to as c.ai+, is the premium subscription tier for Character AI.
One of the main features of the Plus membership is priority access to Character AI’s server.
This means no more waiting rooms.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean you are immune to server outages, such as the 500 internal server error that sometimes occurs.
Additionally, the plus tier includes faster chat response times.
This means your AI characters will reply quicker, so you waste less time waiting for them to finish their messages.
Currently, we don’t know how much faster Character AI plus text generation will be compared to the free version.
So this will be a factor for many users in determining whether the paid options are worth it.
The Character AI Plus announcement also teased premium members will gain early access to new features on the platform.
C.AI+ Labs
In June 2023, Character AI announced a new section available in the mobile app called C.AI+ LABS.
The Labs section will provide plus members with early access to new features.
First up is chat color customization.
The chat color feature lets you select a specific color for the text of your messages and your AI character’s messages.
Later on, I imagine additional LABS features will include improved Character AI rooms, advanced character editors, and the highly-demanded longer character memory.
Lastly, members can access an exclusive community forum that provides quicker support response times and a shiny c.ai+ membership badge.
Related: Character AI Statistics: User Behavior & Growth
Character AI Plus Cost
Character AI Plus will cost $9.99 per month, or about $120 a year.
While many apps offer a reduced rate for annual subscriptions, Character AI Plus did not mention this payment option in their initial announcement.
Reaction From Character AI Community
Looking at Reddit, the community response to Character AI+ has been overwhelmingly negative.
Most users do not see the value at $9.99 per month, or $120 a year, for a product that is still in beta.
Considering that Character AI’s user base skews toward the younger side, it’s not surprising to see such a backlash to the price.
Reading through Reddit comments, it appears that the community’s willingness to pay is closer to $5 per month.
The good news is that the Character AI team has said a free option will still be available.
Conclusion
Overall, I feel like we were overdue for a paid membership tier for Character AI.
C.ai+ provides value in areas that have been a pain point for users, such as queue times and slow responses.
But the paid membership also seems to miss the mark when it comes to common feedback around character memory, personality drift, and content filters.
In the meantime, stay tuned as I update this post with additional information as it comes in.
