NovelAI

What is NovelAI?

NovelAI is two products behind one subscription: an anime and illustration image generator, and a long-form AI writing tool that continues a story in your style rather than answering questions. It is run by Anlatan Inc., a Delaware company, and has operated since 2021, making it one of the older services here. Its distinguishing technical claim is that story data is encrypted in the browser before it reaches the servers, so the vendor states it cannot read what you write.

At a glance

Product identity

What NovelAI claims, and what we found

Each row is a claim the vendor makes on a public page, beside what the same vendor's other pages say. Where two of their documents disagree we record both rather than choosing one. All checked 9 Aug 2026.

Pricing

Tablet is 10 US dollars a month, Scroll is 15 and Opus is 25. The tiers mainly differ in the size of the text context window and in how image generation is billed. On Tablet and Scroll images are drawn from an Anlas credit balance that the subscription tops up by 1,000 a month. On Opus, image generation up to 1024x1024 and 28 steps is unlimited, and 10,000 Anlas refill whenever the balance falls below that figure.

No free tier. New accounts get 30 free image generations at up to 1024x1024 resolution, which is a trial rather than an allowance: it does not renew, and text generation is not included in it. Thirty generations is enough to judge whether the image models suit your prompting style and not much else.

Refunds: Subscription fees are described in the terms as non-refundable except where local consumer law requires otherwise. Anlas credit balances are not refunded on cancellation.

Platforms

Web browser only. There is no mobile app and no public API for image generation on consumer plans. The interface works on a phone browser but the image tools assume a pointer and a reasonable amount of screen.

• Web

Feature matrix

Absence of evidence is not recorded as absence of a feature. Anything that needs an account to confirm is marked not tested rather than "no".

Privacy and data

Anlatan states that no requests, uploads, edits or generations are logged or stored on its side, and that story data at rest is encrypted in the browser under a key the service does not hold. Input images may be cached briefly under a client-provided key it states it cannot decrypt. Whether user content trains models is not addressed, so ClickTug records it as not documented. Deletion is by request, and the terms state that data submitted for model training cannot be withdrawn once training has begun.

Privacy disclosure

What the vendor lets you know before paying

This measures disclosure, not quality. A good product can document nothing, and that is worth knowing separately from whether it is any good.

Content policy and safety

NovelAI documents its output filtering aslight filtering, and its age policy as self-declared at signup.

NovelAI does not offer clothing removal from photographs of real people. ClickTug does not list tools that do. Its stated position on the likeness of real people is that documented consent is required.

What the vendor prohibits

• Using the service as a substitute for a licensed profession
• Circumventing the rules of a regulated business such as gambling
• Reselling or redistributing generated output as an Anlatan product
• Interfering with the operation or security of the service

Anlatan's terms do not address minors, real people or content made without a subject's consent anywhere ClickTug could cite. That is unusual for a service of this size and it is the main reason to read the terms yourself rather than take a directory's word for the boundaries.

Vendor acceptable use policy · ClickTug content policy

ClickTug verdict

A specialist that has done the same narrow thing for five years and is good at it. NovelAI generates anime and illustration imagery with more prompt control than general tools manage, and writes long fiction without stopping to explain its reservations. The privacy engineering is real: stories are encrypted in the browser under a key the vendor states it does not hold. Two catches. The terms say nothing about minors or real people, a conspicuous gap for a service this established. And only the 25 dollar tier gives unmetered image generation.

Hands on

NovelAI: what has changed

Compiled from the vendor's own pages and dated announcements. Where a change is visible but undated, the period is given rather than a guessed date.

1. 2021Launched by Anlatan Inc. as a subscription AI writing tool with browser-side encryption of story data
2. 2022Anime and illustration image generation added to the same subscription
3. Aug 2026Three tiers at $10, $15 and $25, with image generation metered by credits except on the top tiersource

How NovelAI compares

Every figure on the right is computed across the 37 tools ClickTug currently tracks, at the moment this page was built. They are facts about this catalogue rather than about the market, and they move as it grows.

At $10 a month, NovelAI is cheaper than 11 of the 17 tools here that publish a starting price.

Quick answers about NovelAI

Generated from the same records as the tables above, so an answer here cannot contradict a figure there. Questions only appear when the answer says something specific to this product.

Is there a free trial of NovelAI?

There is no permanent free tier, but a trial is offered. No free tier. New accounts get 30 free image generations at up to 1024x1024, which do not renew.

How much does NovelAI cost?

Paid plans start at $10 a month. Every tier and what it includes is listed in the pricing section above, taken from the vendor's own page.

Does NovelAI require a credit card to start?

No card is required to reach the free layer. One is needed for any paid plan.

Does NovelAI offer refunds?

Subscription fees are described in the terms as non-refundable except where local consumer law requires otherwise. Anlas credit balances are not refunded on cancellation.

Does NovelAI accept PayPal?

Yes, PayPal is among the published payment methods.

Does NovelAI have an app?

No. It runs in a web browser only, which is common for adult products because both app stores restrict them.

Can NovelAI run locally?

No. It is a hosted service, so everything you write reaches the vendor's servers.

Can I delete my NovelAI account?

Deletion is by request to the vendor rather than a setting you can use yourself.

Is NovelAI actually uncensored?

Not entirely. ClickTug records it as light filtering, and the prohibited list above says what it refuses.

What company owns NovelAI, and where?

Anlatan Inc., Delaware, United States. Publishing an identifiable counterparty is worth noting: several tools in this directory name no company at all.