Best AI Role-Play Chatbots in 2025

Looking for epic adventures with dozens of characters? Or perhaps an AI companion - whether a trusted friend, romantic partner, or your favorite character from books and TV? The world of AI role-play is evolving rapidly, with advanced chatbots creating increasingly immersive experiences.

And with so many options available, finding the right platform can be daunting. In this guide, we've researched and tested numerous solutions to bring you our top picks for 2025.

Top Picks

Before we go into the details, here are the best AI role-play platforms from the list, each unique in its own way with different strengths and weaknesses.

We've evaluated these based on features, ease of use, community, overall experience, and uniqueness, using a 5-star rating system.

Our ratings are based on extensive testing and aggregated user feedback. A 5-star rating indicates an exceptional platform with only the smallest drawbacks — so far no app has reached this level.

Note: While we are the creators of DreamGen, we try to provide an unbiased review to help you make an informed decision.

Reviewed AI Role-Play Platforms

• DreamGen
• Janitor AI
• Character AI
• SillyTavern
• Fables.gg
• Backyard AI
• Venus Chub AI
• Moescape (formerly Yodayo)
• SpicyChat

Why Listen To Us?

At DreamGen, we're not just observers of the AI role-play ecosystem—we are active participants and innovators in the space. Our team has:

• Developed our own AI models specifically tailored for AI role-play and story writing.
• Extensively tested dozens of different AI role-play platforms.
• Conducted interviews with numerous users.

While we're proud of our own platform, we recognize the value in diverse options. Our goal is to provide an honest, comprehensive overview of the field. We'll be upfront about both the strengths and limitations of each platform, including our own, so you can make an informed decision based on your specific needs.

What Is AI Role-play?

AI role-play represents a fascinating intersection of artificial intelligence and interactive storytelling. At its core, it involves conversing with AI-powered characters that can understand context, remember details, and respond in ways that feel natural and engaging.

These chatbots are powered by large language models — advanced AI systems trained on vast amounts of text data. This training allows them to generate human-like responses, adapt to different scenarios, and even exhibit distinct personalities.

Here’s an example from DreamGen.

In this scene, the AI assumes the role of Zoro (from the One Piece anime) and engages in a role-play with the user (playing as a character of their choosing). The chatbot stays in character while adapting to the user's responses to create a unique, immersive experience.

As we explore the top platforms of 2025, you'll see just how far this technology has come — and where it might be heading next.

What Are AI Role-Play Chatbots Used For?

• Entertainment: As a casual user, you can use these platforms to immerse yourself in your favorite movies or TV shows, have conversations with your favorite characters, design choose-your-own-adventure stories, set the rules for your own role-playing adventures, or dive into rule-based D&D style experiences.
• Companionship & Social Exploration: They also allow you to safely explore different social situations, whether it's just casual conversations and friendships or romantic connections.
• Language Learning: Chatting with an AI in your target language is a low-pressure way to practice your conversation skills. You can role-play real-life scenarios like ordering food or asking for directions, all without the fear of making mistakes in front of a real person.
• Boost Your Creativity: These chatbots can be a fantastic muse! Bounce ideas off them, brainstorm storylines, flesh out characters for your own stories, or even get help with world-building for that fantasy novel you've been dreaming about. They're like your own personal brainstorming buddy, always ready with a fresh perspective.
• Therapeutic Support & Personal Growth: Sometimes, you just need a safe space to explore your feelings and work through things. AI chatbots can offer a listening ear, let you practice difficult conversations, or even help you explore different perspectives on personal challenges. A judgment-free zone where you can be yourself and gain new insights.

1. DreamGen

DreamGen offers a complete role-playing experience — from simple AI characters & companionship to worlds with dozens of characters and rich lore.

DreamGen is unfiltered; users can craft and engage in scenarios across all genres: romance, adventure, horror, and anything else.

Pros

• Free Tier: You can use DreamGen for free, but there are extras you can get with a paid subscription.
• Unfiltered: We don't judge or filter your role-plays, allowing you to explore any theme responsibly.
• Multi-Character Scenarios: DreamGen supports complex worlds with multiple characters and rich lore.
• Image Generation: Generate images to accompany your role-plays for a more immersive experience.
• Scenario Codex: Manage the plot, setting, characters and other aspects of your role-play scenario in one place.
• Steerability: Direct how the role-play unfolds or what the characters should do next.
• Scenario Generator: Create scenarios from a simple prompt, such as “A love story between a warlock and a succubus.”

Cons

• Small Scenario Library: The built-in scenario library is small, but users can import scenarios from many other platforms or use Scenario Generator to easily generate any scenario.
• Hard to Master: While it's easy to get started with DreamGen, it takes some time to master all of its features and get the most out of it.

Reviews

Here's what people say about DreamGen online:

• Users appreciate the platform's flexibility and the ability to create complex, multi-character scenarios.
• Some mention the limited built-in scenario library and the complexity of the platform.

About DreamGen

DreamGen aims to provide complete freedom of expression within a private setting, AI characters that feel truly authentic and full narrative control: from crafting the initial scenario to actively directing the plot, you're in the driver's seat.

To achieve this, it utilizes custom AI models trained on a unique dataset. This results in a natural writing style, richly detailed characters, and enhanced steerability. DreamGen features a "Scenario Codex," a powerful tool for managing all aspects of your narrative, including plot, setting, characters, locations, and items. Furthermore, our in-line instruction feature allows for real-time adjustments, giving you even finer control over the unfolding story.

While the scenario library is currently not very large, it is offset by a robust "Scenario Generator". This tool allows you to generate complex scenarios from a simple prompt. Additionally, DreamGen supports importing characters from a wide variety of external sources, significantly expanding your creative options.

2. Janitor AI

Janitor AI is a platform for (mostly) NSFW 1:1 chats with AI characters. What sets JanitorAI apart is its large community and collection of AI characters.

Pros

• Free Tier: JanitorAI is completely free to use. You can connect it to paid APIs for better AI quality
• Unfiltered: NSFW is a strong focus of JanitorAI. This is great if that's what you are looking for, but may be off-putting to some.
• Large Character Library: JanitorAI has perhaps the largest library of AI characters and an active community of character creators. Most characters are NSFW, which may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Cons

• No Multi-Character Chats: JanitorAI supports only simple 1:1 chats with AI characters. It's possible to work around the limitations, but it's going to be painful.
• No Image Generation: JanitorAI does not have built in image generation feature.
• Lack of SFW Characters: It's really hard to find characters that don't lean heavily towards NSFW.

Reviews

Here's what people say about JanitorAI online:

• People like that JanitorAI is unfiltered and free.
• People complain about AI quality.

3. Character AI

Character AI (or C.AI) is a platform for safe (meaning also censored and filtered) 1:1 chats with AI characters. It is the most well known entity in the space.

Unlike most other platforms, Character AI is fully SFW—the AI will refuse to partake in romantic, violent or otherwise “unsafe” conversations.

Pros

• Free Tier: Character AI is free to use, though they offer a premium subscription for priority access.
• Image Generation: Character AI can generate images.
• Large Character Library: Character AI has a very large library of AI characters, covering most popular franchises from Harry Potter to Genshin Impact.
• Character Voices: You can assign pre-made or custom voices to characters for immersive conversations.

Cons

• Filtered: Character AI will refuse to partake in “unsafe” conversations (e.g. most romance).
• No Multi-Character Scenarios: Character AI no longer supports chat with multiple characters at once.

Reviews

Here's what people say about CharacterAI online:

• People seem to like the platform overall.
• People dislike recent changes, such as the AI getting worse and less natural, the filter becoming stricter, popular characters being removed, etc.

4. SillyTavern

SillyTavern is an application that you can run on your computer or phone that offers a highly customizable role-playing and chatbot experience. It does not come with its own AI, but lets you connect to a variety of AI models (including DreamGen), allowing users to engage in 1:1 and multi-character role-play scenarios.

SillyTavern is ideal for users who don't mind spending time to set things up, somewhat steep learning curve and who enjoy tinkering with the app for the best experience. It's also a great choice for those who want the ultimate freedom and control over their AI role-plays.

Pros

• Free Tier: SillyTavern is completely free to use—you run it on your own device.
• Unfiltered: SillyTavern has no built in filters—you are responsible for your own content.
• Customizable: SillyTavern is highly customizable, allowing you to change most aspects of the experince—the AI models used, the interface and more with community plugins.
• Multi-Character Chats: SillyTavern supports multi-character chats.

Cons

• Hard to Set Up: Most users will find SillyTavern hard to setup. This includes finding an API or local model you will have to connect it to. But you will find help on their Discord server.
• Steep Learning Curve: Mastering SillyTavern and using it to its full potential requires a lot of time and effort.

Reviews

Here's what people say about SillyTavern online:

• People enjoy the freedom and flexibility that SillyTavern offers.
• People find it a bit hard to use.

5. Fables.gg

Fables.gg is an AI-powered Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) platform that allows you to engage in dynamic, narrative-driven adventures guided by "Franz," the AI Dungeon Master (DM). The platform implements Dungeons & Dragons 5e rule set, offering an immersive experience that includes combat, character progression, and world-building.

Whether you play solo or with a group, Fables.gg provides a customizable, collaborative experience where the AI adapts the story in real-time based on your decisions.

Pros

• Rule-based role-play Fables.gg is unique in implementing a the rule-set of Dungeons & Dragons 5e in an AI-powered platform.
• Multi-player Support You can role-play not just with AI, but also with your friends at the same time.

Cons

• Limited Free Tier: The free tier is very limited—offering only 50 turns per month.
• Not Suitable For Chat: This is not necessarily a "con" given the focus of the platform, but it's worth mentioning that if you are looking for a free-form AI role-play, then you will not find it here.

Reviews

Here's what people say about Fables.gg online:

• AI powered D&D dungeon master is unique concept and people like it.
• Some users are disappointed in the quality of the product, like the inability of the AI to remember and follow what happened before.

6. Backyard AI

Backyard AI is a relatively "cookie-cutter" platform that's focused on 1:1 chat with AI characters. It comes with its own "Character Hub" with user submitted characters.

The one thing that makes it stand out is its desktop app, which you can connect to a locally running LLM (large language model) and where all the data is stored 100% locally.

Pros

• Free Tier: Backyard AI has a free tier with a basic AI, but you can upgrade to a paid tier for access to better models.
• Desktop App: Backyard AI has a desktop app that you can run on your computer and that can connect to locally running LLMs. The chat data is also stored 100% locally, on your computer.

Cons

• No Multi-Character Chats: Backyard AI does not support multi-character chats.

Reviews

Here's what people say about Backyard AI online:

• People seem to like the Backyard AI mobile app.
• Some people struggle with finding a good model / model settings.

7. Venus Chub AI

Venus Chub AI is a platform very similar to Janitor AI. It's intended for adults and supports 1:1 chats with AI characters. Its character library boasts over 60,000 (mostly NSFW) characters spanning various genres, including pure romance, sci-fi, and fantasy. Venus Chub allows users to explore any kind of scenario and dive into more provocative conversations.

Pros

• Affordable Subscription: While Venus Chub does not offer free tier (with access to AI), it does have a relatively cheap subscription starting at $5/month.
• Unfiltered: Venus Chub has no built in filters, but you are responsible for your own content.
• Large Character Library: Venus Chub has a very large library of more than 60,000 characters.
• Lorebooks: Venus Chub offers a "Lorebook" feature to manage extra information about the world or the character.
• API Integration: Venus Chub lets you connect to other model APIs.

Cons

• No Free Tier: Venus Chub does not have a free tier.
• No Multi-Character Chats: Venus Chub does not support multi-character chats.

8. Moescape (formerly Yodayo)

Moescape (rebrand of Yodayo) is an AI platform for anime fans, offering a dynamic and fun role-playing experience and image generation functionality.

It features a broad selection of pre-built anime characters with unique personalities and backstories, allowing users to engage in all sorts of conversations. You can, of course, also create your own characters and customize them to your liking.

Pros

• Image Generation: Moescape has a built in image generation feature.
• Customizable Interface: Moescape has a clean and modern interface that can be customized, such as changing the background image or font size.
• Lorebooks: Moescape has a Lorebook (they call it Knowledge Base) feature that allows you to manage extra information about the world or the character.

Cons

• Limited Free Access: Moescape has a very limited free access, forcing you to complete "quests" to get credits ("mochi").
• Evolving Content Policy: Moescape's (Yodayo's) content policy has been evolving a lot and a lot of existing characters were deleted. This caused an uproar in the community and a constant source of uncertainty.

Reviews

Here's what people say about Moescape online:

• People complain about the content policy changes that eliminated most NSFW characters.

9. SpicyChat

SpicyChat AI offers a engaging platform blending entertainment, role-play, and virtual companionship. It allows users to create and interact with a wide variety of (mostly NSFW) AI characters, making it a good choice for users looking for unrestricted chat.

Pros

• Free Tier: SpicyChat has a free tier, but you have to wait in a queue and watch ads in order to chat. The waiting times can be very long at peak times. The memory is also limited in this case.
• Image Generation: Paid plans offer in-chat image generation.

Cons

• No Multi-Character Chats: SpicyChat does not support multi-character chats.
• Very Limited Free Access: SpicyChat has a very limited free access (see above).

Choosing the Right Roleplay AI for You

And that’s the end of our review of the best roleplay AI chatbots on the market in 2025.

We covered a lot of ground in this guide, so hopefully we were able to introduce you to a few new platforms that that fit your roleplay needs. There are tons more out there, but these are the ones that we feel are the most unique or that offer the best experience, value, and variety.

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Looking for an option that combines AI role-play with AI story-writing? DreamGen is designed to do just that—making it a great choice for anyone interested in creating engaging, dynamic roleplay scenarios.

Try DreamGen now for free and see for yourself!