Castmanor vs Character.AI: what each one says, with sources
Written by Castmanor, a competitor of Character.AI. Every row shows our side with its proof and their side with the date we read it. Where we ran a test ourselves, the row says what the test was.
| Castmanor | Character.AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up age | 18 or older (19 in South Korea); month and year asked first; an under-18 statement closes the account. | Sign-up age 13 (16 in the EEA and UK), per its terms. It says every user completes an age assurance check: a selfie and, only if that is not enough, an ID, through Persona. People verified as under 18 cannot chat with characters. Read October 22.Sources: its terms, What is Age Assurance, Age Assurance FAQ |
| Price | Chatting, memory and voice are free; there is no paid plan today. | Free: unlimited messaging for all users, with a waiting queue only under high load; voice calls are free for all users. c.ai lite $4.99 a month. c.ai+ $9.99 a month or $94.99 a year (the standard rates in its offer terms), with the full memory suite and no ads. US prices, read October 22.Sources: c.ai FAQ, Calls and Voice FAQ, c.ai lite FAQ, About c.ai lite, offer terms |
| Export of your chats | Settings, "Export my data": ready in seconds on a small account (our test took 1.8 s), longer for a big history. | It says "Your export may take 3-4 weeks to complete"; the link is valid 7 days. Read October 22.Sources: How do I download my data |
| Company status | Operating. | Chapter 11 (filed October 12, 2026), with a court-supervised sale of all or substantially all of its assets. Its blog says the platform "remains up and running" and that it will be wound down if no bid keeps it running. Read October 22.Sources: An update on Character.ai |
We checked every row on October 22. If something is out of date, write to hello@castmanor.com and we fix it.
Castmanor AI is operated by Qualiaverse LLC, 30 N Gould St Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801. We compete with Character.AI and are not affiliated with Character Technologies, Inc. General information, not legal advice.