NovelAI, from Anlatan, is a subscription service for AI anime-style images and AI-assisted storytelling. Its image model, NovelAI Diffusion V5, is 2.5 times the size of V4.5, and its story generator is powered by GLM 4.6. Tablet costs $10 a month with unlimited text generation and 1,000 Anlas for images, Scroll $15 adds more story memory, and Opus $25 adds the largest memory, 10,000 Anlas and free normal-size image generations. Since August 2026, Opus has a recharging usage limit on V5 only, and unused subscription Anlas now reset when a subscription ends.
Reviewed by EdGrows·Updated Sep 30, 2026This analysis is based on documentation, public user reports, and vendor materials — not yet on our own hands-on testing. How we rate
NovelAI, run by Anlatan, combines two tools that usually come from different companies. Its image generator produces anime-style art from tags or natural-language prompts, with strong control over characters, poses and composition, and its story generator co-writes fiction, from novels to interactive text adventures. The homepage sums up the two sides: "Create stunning Anime Art with AI" and "Write worlds that remember everything".
The service has a devoted community of anime artists, fan-fiction writers and interactive-fiction players, drawn by its specialization and by its approach to content. NovelAI markets itself with the line "No restrictions. No compromises.", though its terms of service still apply, and it emphasizes privacy: prompts are encrypted and generated images are not stored on its servers unless you save them.
Everything runs in the browser, on desktop or phone, with nothing to install. In July 2026 NovelAI opened Explore, a community hub for sharing work and prompts inside the service.
The biggest change of 2026 is NovelAI Diffusion V5, its newest image model. It is 2.5 times the size of V4.5, and NovelAI promises sharper details, more characters in a single image and full comic pages. Editing tools carry over: inpainting to change a selected area, Director Tools to adjust details, clothing, lighting or pose while keeping the style, and a built-in canvas for guiding the model.
The larger model needs more computing power, and on August 20, 2026 NovelAI announced two changes to keep it affordable. For Opus subscribers, V5 now has a usage limit that works like a rechargeable battery: each normal-resolution generation of up to 28 steps draws from it, it recharges continuously, and a full recharge from empty takes about a week. NovelAI says most Opus users will never run out, and when someone does, they can keep generating with Anlas. Older image models and all text models stay unlimited on Opus at default settings.
The second change affects all subscribers: starting 31 days after V5's release, unused subscription Anlas reset to zero the moment a subscription ends, instead of lingering for a later return. NovelAI framed both measures as targeting heavy abuse of its systems rather than raising prices for everyone.
NovelAI's subscription comparison in its documentation as of September 30, 2026. Checkout happens inside the NovelAI app after sign-up.
| Tablet | Scroll | Opus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $10 a month | $15 a month | $25 a month |
| Text generation and text-to-speech | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Story memory | About 8,192 tokens | About 12,288 tokens | About 28,672 tokens |
| Monthly Anlas for images | 1,000 | 1,000 | 10,000 |
| Image generation | Pay with Anlas | Pay with Anlas | Free at normal size on V4.5 and older; V5 within a recharging limit |
| Extra Anlas | 20% discount | 20% discount | 20% discount |
| Extra text models | None | None | Xialong plus experimental Krake and Llama 3 Erato |
Tablet suits writers, since text generation is unlimited on every tier and the image allowance is a bonus. Scroll's larger memory matters for long stories, where the AI needs to keep track of more characters and plot. Opus is the tier for image makers: 10,000 Anlas a month plus free normal-size generations on older models, the largest story memory and access to extra text models. Subscriptions renew 30 days after payment, and your tier's benefits last until the end of the paid period if you cancel.
Image generation outside Opus's free allowance is paid for in Anlas. Each subscription refills a pool every month, topping it up to your tier's amount rather than adding to it, so leftover Anlas never stack from one month to the next. Subscribers get 20% off Anlas bought on top, and people without a subscription can buy Anlas on demand.
Costs depend on the job: larger images, more steps and features that use a source image cost more, while Opus's free generations cover single normal-size images without a source image on older models. On V5, NovelAI notes that lowering resolution saves more of your Opus limit than lowering step count, since cost scales with pixel count. Anlas generations are processed at the highest priority, making them the fastest route when the service is busy.
NovelAI's story generator is built for co-writing rather than one-shot text. Its current model is powered by GLM 4.6, and the editor gives writers the tools long fiction needs: a lorebook for characters, places and rules that the AI consults, memory and author's-note fields, text-adventure mode for interactive fiction and text-to-speech for listening back. NovelAI describes it as an AI "that writes with you, not for you".
Memory is the main difference between tiers for writers, measured in tokens of story the AI can keep in view: about 8,192 on Tablet, 12,288 on Scroll and 28,672 on Opus. For comparison, general assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT handle far longer contexts, but NovelAI's tools and content approach are built specifically for fiction.
NovelAI's FAQ makes two promises that set it apart. Prompts are encrypted, generated images exist only in your session unless you save them, and NovelAI says it does not track or monitor your creative process. And there are no limitations on commercial use of generated images, with no extra tier required.
Both come with the usual caveats. Commercial freedom from NovelAI does not cover rights it cannot grant, such as copyrighted characters or real people's likenesses, and its terms of service still govern what you may generate.
For images, Midjourney is stronger on photorealism and general art styles and offers its own anime model, niji, while Stable Diffusion running locally gives complete control at the cost of setup. For fiction, Sudowrite is the specialist for novelists, with story-planning tools and prose features. For AI characters and chat, Character.AI is the larger platform, especially after Anlatan stopped developing its own chat app, AetherRoom, in May 2026.
NovelAI's niche is people who want anime-style images and interactive fiction in one private, lightly restricted service. For them, Tablet at $10 is an easy start and Opus at $25 the natural home, even with the new limit on V5.
Tablet costs $10 a month, Scroll $15 and Opus $25, according to NovelAI's documentation. All three include unlimited text generation and text-to-speech. Tablet and Scroll each include 1,000 Anlas a month for images, while Opus includes 10,000 Anlas and free generation of normal-size images. Subscriptions renew 30 days after payment, and a free Paper trial lets new users try both text and images.
V5 is NovelAI's newest image model, 2.5 times the size of V4.5, promising sharper details, more characters in a scene and full comic pages. Because it needs far more computing power, NovelAI added a usage limit for Opus subscribers on V5 and changed how unused subscription Anlas are handled, announcing both on August 20, 2026.
Mostly. Opus keeps unlimited normal-size generations on V4.5 and older models and unlimited text generation. On Diffusion V5, each generation draws on a usage limit that works like a recharging battery: a full recharge from empty takes about a week, and NovelAI says most Opus users will never run out. When it does run out, you can keep generating with Anlas.
Yes. NovelAI's FAQ says there are no limitations on commercial use of generated images and that no additional subscription tier is required. Its terms of service still apply, and images of real people, trademarks and copyrighted characters raise their own legal questions regardless of the tool.
NovelAI says prompts are encrypted, generated images are not stored on its servers unless you choose to save them, and it does not track or monitor your creative process. You can use the service without linking personal information beyond an email address for your account.
Only a trial. The Paper tier is a free trial for experimenting with text and image generation before subscribing, and NovelAI's FAQ is clear that it is not a free AI image generator. Without a subscription, you can also buy Anlas on demand to fuel image generation.
AetherRoom was Anlatan's planned AI character and chat app, long promised to NovelAI's community. The company announced in May 2026 that development had been cancelled. NovelAI's image and story services carried on, with Diffusion V5 released later in the year.
The AI voice platform to beat: Eleven v4 voices, cloning and dubbing, with plans from $6 and Creator at $22 for 121,000 credits a month.
The design app for everyone, now with tiered AI allowances, Business in place of Teams and Affinity included.
The design tool most product teams use, priced per seat type: $3 to $16 a month on Professional, with AI credits for Figma Make and the agent attached to each seat.