Head to head · Text adventures
AI Dungeon vs NovelAI: which fits how you tell stories?
AI Dungeon is a text adventure game: you act in turns, alone or with friends, and it’s free to play. NovelAI is a private writing tool where you and the AI extend one document, steered by a lorebook you tune by hand. We compared memory, play, lore, scripts, context, content rules, price, and apps, with LoreWeaver beside both.
We make LoreWeaver, so it appears beside both in the table. Every fact about AI Dungeon and NovelAI links to a source below.
The short answer
Is AI Dungeon or NovelAI better?
AI Dungeon is better for playing: it’s a free text adventure where you take turns with Do, Say, and Story actions, its Memory Bank saves and recalls moments for you, and friends can join the same adventure. NovelAI is better for writing: you and the AI extend one document, you tune every lorebook entry, and stories are encrypted so only you can read them, though it costs $10 to $25 a month after a 50-generation trial. For long adventures that need to remember, LoreWeaver plays in turns, writes memories every 4 replies, and imports AI Dungeon adventures and NovelAI lorebooks.
Updated
Side by side
AI Dungeon, NovelAI, and LoreWeaver.
| What matters | AI Dungeon | NovelAI | LoreWeaver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory | A Memory Bank that saves a memory every six actions and recalls the most relevant, plus a story summary updated every 15; 25 memories free, up to 800 on Ultimate. | A Memory box at the top of the context and an Author’s Note near the end, both yours to update as the story moves. | Memories written every 4 replies and recalled by meaning, wording, and who is in the scene, with a running recap you can edit. 30 memories per story on Free, 300 on Plus, 1,200 on Pro, and every one on Ultra and Legendary. |
| How you play | Turns: Do, Say, Story, and See actions, with Continue, Retry, Undo, and Redo. | One document you and the AI write together, plus a Text Adventure mode with Do, Say, and Story inputs. | Do, Say, and Custom turns answered by a storyteller, with swipes, rewinds, and branches you can browse as a tree. |
| Lore | Story cards that join the context when one of their triggers comes up. | A lorebook of keyed entries, with Always On entries, token budgets, and insertion order you set by hand. | Lore cards join a reply when their title or a tag appears in the last 12 messages, Lorekeeper suggests new ones from the story, and a LoreMap shows how they connect. |
| Story logic | Scenario scripts, written as code, that can change your input, the context, and the AI’s output. | Scripts written in TypeScript that add panels to the editor and hook into generation. | The Loom: story threads, planned events, and trackers for HP, mana, XP, gold, quests, and inventory, built without code, with 53 templates to start from. |
| Context | Up to 4K tokens free, 8K on Journey, 16K on Legend, and 32K on Mythic and Ultimate; Shadow tiers reach 128K on some models. | Grows with each tier, up to 28,672 tokens on Opus. | 6,400 tokens on Free, 16,000 on Plus, 32,000 on Pro, and 100,000 on Legendary. |
| Content rules | Ages 13 and up. Safe, Moderate, and Mature settings, with Mature for players who confirm they’re 18+; unpublished solo play is never moderated. | Adults 18 and over, by its terms. | Accounts are 18+. Mature fiction between adults, explicit scenes included, is allowed within published hard limits. |
| Price | Free to play; Journey $14.99, Legend $29.99, Mythic $49.99, and Ultimate $99.99 a month, plus Shadow tiers on the web. | A trial of 50 text generations, then Tablet $10, Scroll $15, or Opus $25 a month. | A free plan that doesn’t expire; Plus $7.99, Pro $14.99, Ultra $24.99, and Legendary $49.99 a month. |
| Apps | The website, plus iPhone and Android apps. | Runs in the browser and installs on a phone as a web app. | The website, plus a free Android app on Google Play, with an iPhone app coming soon. |
| Import and export | Story cards import and export as JSON in the web editor. | Stories export as .story files or plain text, or all at once in a .zip; lorebooks export from the editor or embed in a PNG to share. | Imports AI Dungeon adventures and story cards, NovelAI .story, .scenario, and .lorebook files, and Tavern cards. Any world exports as a file. |
Checked October 30, 2026 against each company’s own pages. US prices; they change often.
Where each one wins
Two good apps, for different evenings.
Where AI Dungeon wins
- Free to play on the web, iPhone, and Android.
- A Memory Bank and story summary that keep track of the adventure without your help.
- Multiplayer, where only the host needs a membership for everyone to share its benefits.
- Shadow tiers that reach 128K tokens of context on some models.
Where NovelAI wins
- Stories saved on its servers are encrypted, and your login is the key.
- Fine lorebook control, with Always On entries, token budgets, and insertion order.
- A document editor built for long prose, with a Text Adventure mode beside it.
- Anime image generation, with normal-size images on Opus that cost no Anlas, within limits.
The pick for stories that last
Turn-based adventures that remember
LoreWeaver plays in Do, Say, and Custom turns like AI Dungeon and keeps lore on cards like a NovelAI lorebook, but each card joins the reply on its own when its name comes up. Memories are written every 4 replies beside a running recap, and your AI Dungeon adventures and NovelAI lorebooks import with their keys.
- Memory
- Every 4 replies, beside a recap you can edit
- Context
- 6,400 tokens free, 32,000 on Pro for $14.99
- Story logic
- The Loom, with 53 templates for quests, HP, XP, mana, and inventory
- Imports
- AI Dungeon adventures and story cards; NovelAI .story, .scenario, and .lorebook files
- Free
- 20 replies as a guest, then a free plan that doesn’t expire
- Content
- Mature fiction between adults within published hard limits; accounts are 18+
Questions
AI Dungeon or NovelAI, answered.
01Which remembers more, AI Dungeon or NovelAI?
AI Dungeon does more of it for you: it saves a memory every six actions, updates a story summary every 15, and keeps 25 memories free and up to 800 on Ultimate. NovelAI’s Opus keeps up to 28,672 tokens in view, and anything older depends on the Memory box and lorebook entries you maintain. LoreWeaver writes memories every 4 replies, and its Pro plan ($14.99) keeps 32,000 tokens in view, against 8K on AI Dungeon’s Journey ($14.99).
02Is AI Dungeon free?
Yes. AI Dungeon is free to play on every device, with up to 4K tokens of context and 25 saved memories. Memberships run from $14.99 a month (Journey, 8K) to $99.99 (Ultimate, 32K and more with credits), and each Shadow tier on the web doubles the context of the one before on models that allow it.
03Is NovelAI free?
Only as a trial. An email-verified account gets 50 free text generations, then Tablet costs $10 a month, Scroll $15, and Opus $25. Opus keeps up to 28,672 tokens in view and is the only tier with its newest model, Xialong. LoreWeaver has a free plan that doesn’t expire, and its Ultra plan keeps 64,000 tokens for $24.99.
04Which is better for text adventures?
AI Dungeon, since every turn is an action: Do, Say, Story, or See, with Continue, Retry, and Undo, and multiplayer if you want company. NovelAI has a Text Adventure mode with Do, Say, and Story inputs, but it is built around a document you write together. LoreWeaver also plays in turns and adds memories, lore cards, and planned events from the Loom.
05Can I export my stories from AI Dungeon or NovelAI?
AI Dungeon’s Guidebook covers story cards, which import and export as JSON in the web editor. NovelAI exports a story as a .story file, plain text, or an image, can save every story at once in a .zip, and lets you export a lorebook or embed it in a PNG image to share. LoreWeaver imports AI Dungeon adventures and story cards, NovelAI .story and .scenario files with their Memory, Author’s Note, and lorebook, and .lorebook files on their own.
06Do AI Dungeon and NovelAI allow mature content?
AI Dungeon’s Mature setting, for players who confirm they’re 18 or older, stops limiting mature, violent, or triggering content, and unpublished solo stories are never moderated; the service itself is open from age 13. NovelAI is for adults 18 and over, and the stories it stores are encrypted. LoreWeaver accounts are 18+, with mature fiction between adults allowed within published hard limits.
Sources
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Memberships and Benefits
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: AI model differences
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: About Shadow tiers
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: What is the Memory System?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: How do I play AI Dungeon?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Scripting
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Story Cards Import and Export
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: What are the AI Safety Settings?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: How does content moderation work?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Can I play AI Dungeon for free?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Can I play AI Dungeon on my phone?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Do you support multiplayer?
- AI Dungeon Guidebook: Terms of Service
- AI Dungeon on the App Store: AI Dungeon, RPG and Story Maker
- NovelAI Docs: Subscription
- NovelAI Docs: FAQ
- NovelAI Docs: Text models
- NovelAI Docs: Story Settings (Memory and Author’s Note)
- NovelAI Docs: Lorebook
- NovelAI Docs: Text Adventure
- NovelAI Docs: Scripting introduction
- NovelAI: Terms of Service
- NovelAI: Home page
Checked . Prices and limits change; each site’s own pages are the final word.
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