Janitor AI ships an enormous user-submitted catalog and lets you plug your own model proxy. SupaFriends runs a first-party model with curated characters. Here is what that difference actually means.
Janitor AI took a very different route from most chat platforms. It is essentially a frontend with an enormous open catalog of user-submitted characters, and many users bring their own model proxy — an OpenAI key, an OpenRouter account, or a self-hosted backend. That model means an almost unlimited library, very loose curation, and effectively free usage if you already pay an API provider directly. For tinkerers and people who already have keys lying around, that is a legitimate strength.
SupaFriends runs its own first-party model and curates its catalog. You do not need an API key, you do not configure a proxy, and the model behaviour, safety rules and memory layer are consistent for every character on the site. The trade is fewer raw entries in the catalog and a paid plan above the free tier — but a smoother experience, persistent server-side memory, a real character studio, and one set of content rules that does not depend on which third-party model you pointed at us.
| SupaFriends | Janitor AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Model architecture | First-party model, no proxy or API key needed | Frontend that routes to your chosen proxy or external model |
| Catalog size from user submissions | Smaller, curated catalog plus your own creations | Wins — very large open submission catalog |
| Cost if you already pay an API provider | Free tier plus paid plans for bigger context | Wins — can be effectively free if you bring your own key |
| Moderation consistency | One documented policy applies everywhere | Depends on which proxy or model you route through |
| Memory and persistence | Server-side persistent memory, cross-device sync, exportable history | Varies by proxy; many users manage history manually |
| Character creation tooling | Studio with lore book, sample dialogue, scenario hooks | Submission form geared to volume |
| Onboarding friction | Sign in and chat | Pick a character, then configure proxy, key, model and parameters |
If you already have an OpenRouter or OpenAI key, enjoy fiddling with model parameters, and want the biggest possible pile of user-made characters, Janitor AI is genuinely a good fit and we will not pretend otherwise. If you want to sign in once, get persistent memory, a curated catalog, and one stable set of content rules without configuring a proxy, SupaFriends is the calmer option.
No. The free tier runs on our model with a smaller context window. Paid plans extend the context and daily message budget. There is no proxy to configure and no third-party key involved.
Because we run the model ourselves, our content rules apply uniformly across every character. On Janitor AI the experience depends on the proxy you chose, so two users on the same character can get very different behaviour. We publish our off-limits categories openly; mature romance is allowed within them.
A Janitor AI alternative with a first-party hosted model, a stable content policy and a real character studio — no third-party proxies, no key juggling, no daily breakage.
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An honest, point-by-point comparison of SupaFriends and Character.AI: memory window, content policy stability, and what each platform does best for writers and roleplayers.
How SupaFriends and CrushOn AI actually differ: stable documented policy and a real character studio versus permissive defaults with a lighter toolset.
SupaFriends and DreamGen compared honestly: an accessible chat platform with a story mode and library versus a purpose-built IDE for long interactive fiction.