Character AI Plus: Paid Membership Tier [Aug 2023]

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 Official Announcement
Source: Character AI

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.

Character AI Plus Updated Waiting Room Screen
New Character AI Waiting Room Screen

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.

Character AI Labs, Chat Color Customization
Character AI 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 Payment Screen
Source: Character AI Payment Screen

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

Character AI Plus Reddit Reaction
Source: r/CharacterAI

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.

Character AI Plus Reddit Paid Reaction
Source: r/CharacterAI

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.

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About the Author

Andrew has over 10 years of experience in advising businesses on growth marketing and strategy. He earned his MBA from NYU Stern with a concentration in data analytics and marketing. Andrew is based out of New York and currently consults Fortune 500 clients and startups on data science projects, digital marketing, and finance.

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