YanMate

A Janitor AI alternative, if you do not want to shop for a model

People looking for a Janitor AI alternative in 2026 are usually not shopping for a bigger catalogue. Janitor already has one. They want to know whether the next place needs an API key, whether they have to pick a model before they can talk, and whether it works in the browser as a product rather than as a frontend they have to wire up. Some of them also want SFW, and some of them should stay exactly where they are.

What follows compares Janitor AI with Character.AI, SillyTavern and YanMate on those axes. It is written by the team behind one of them, which you should factor in — so every row carries its sources, Janitor's own help centre is quoted where it is the fact, and there is a section further down about where this product is the wrong choice.

The things worth comparing on this query

Do you need an API key?
Janitor's own help centre says JLLM is the default, free, built-in model, and that a proxy is how you hook Claude, GPT or anything else — which means an API key and an API URL from another provider. janitor+ Router, updated 31 Jul 2026, is the no-paste path, and it is limited to subscribers on the web. Character.AI and YanMate never ask for a key. SillyTavern always needs a backend; their docs name AI Horde as the out-of-the-box option.
Is it a product that chats, or a frontend you wire up?
Janitor is a hosted chat UI. JLLM works out of the box; everything else is a proxy configuration or a janitor+ Router wallet. SillyTavern is the same idea taken further: you install the UI, then you bring a model. Character.AI and YanMate are products. You talk. There is no API Settings screen.
Is it SFW, and who should stay?
Janitor publishes a Limitless tag for sexual or romantic content and a Limited tag for platonic-only characters. That is first-party, and it is why this page exists as its own URL rather than a paragraph on the Character.AI comparison: if Limitless is what you want, Janitor is the right product and this one is the wrong one. YanMate is SFW by policy — original and public-domain characters only, no licensed IP, no romantic or sexual roleplay with anyone under 18. Character.AI moved under-18s off open-ended chat in November 2025. SillyTavern will run whatever you load.

The comparison

Checked on 2026-09-19. Prices in this category move; the structural columns move more slowly, but they do move.

PlatformWho pays for the modelContentPaid from
Janitor AIJLLM, the built-in model, needs no key. Other models need a proxy (key + URL from another provider) or janitor+ Router, which is a paid subscription plus a wallet.Adult sexual and romantic roleplay is allowed when tagged Limitless. Limited is platonic only. Not SFW by policy.janitor+ from $12.99/mo; or you pay the model you connect
Character.AIA hosted product. You do not paste a provider key or pick a backend.Hosted filters. Open-ended chat for under-18s was moved to a structured Stories mode in November 2025.c.ai+ around $94.99/yr
SillyTavernA frontend only. You bring a local model or an API. Their docs name AI Horde as a way to chat immediately.Whatever you run. It is software you host, not a catalogue with a published SFW line.Free software; you pay whichever model you connect
YanMate(us)A hosted product. You do not paste a key or pick a backend. There is no model menu.SFW by policy: original and public-domain characters only, and no romantic or sexual roleplay with anyone under 18.Plus around $9.99/mo; Deep, around $19.99/mo, adds six-character scenes with a Narrator

Whether you need an API key

Janitor's own help centre says JLLM is the default, free, built-in model, and that a proxy is how you hook Claude, GPT or anything else — which means an API key and an API URL from another provider. janitor+ Router, updated 31 Jul 2026, is the no-paste path, and it is limited to subscribers on the web. Character.AI and YanMate never ask for a key. SillyTavern always needs a backend; their docs name AI Horde as the out-of-the-box option.

Who should stay on Janitor

Janitor publishes a Limitless tag for sexual or romantic content and a Limited tag for platonic-only characters. That is first-party, and it is why this page exists as its own URL rather than a paragraph on the Character.AI comparison: if Limitless is what you want, Janitor is the right product and this one is the wrong one. YanMate is SFW by policy — original and public-domain characters only, no licensed IP, no romantic or sexual roleplay with anyone under 18. Character.AI moved under-18s off open-ended chat in November 2025. SillyTavern will run whatever you load.

Stay on Janitor if you want Limitless content, a huge user-made library, or the ability to plug in the model of your choice. Install SillyTavern if you want that control without a hosted UI. Come here if the reason you searched is that you do not want to shop for a model, you do not want to paste a key, and SFW in a browser is actually the product you were after.

Who each one is actually for

Janitor AI

Fewest content restrictions of this set, a huge user-made library, and full control if you are willing to plug in your own model. Stay here if that is the product you want.

janitor+ pricing page: $12.99/mo; free-tier copy says unlimited chats and ~9k context (checked 19 Sep 2026) · Janitor help: JLLM is the free built-in default; a proxy is how you hook an external model (checked 19 Sep 2026) · Janitor help: proxy setup needs an API key and an API URL from another provider (checked 19 Sep 2026) · Janitor help: janitor+ Router is subscribers-only, web-only, and does not need a pasted provider key (checked 19 Sep 2026) · Janitor help: Limitless is the tag for sexual or romantic content; Limited is platonic only (checked 19 Sep 2026)

Where YanMate fits

A hosted product with no key and no model menu, in a browser, if SFW is what you wanted from this query.

You cannot bring Janitor history with you. What you can do from the first message is skip the key and inspect a character card before you import it. Spoken replies and live calls are on the free tier. The catalogue is small on purpose.

Try it freeWhat the free tier includes

Where YanMate is the wrong choice

We wrote this page, so here is the case against us, plainly.

  • If you want Limitless content, stay on Janitor. This product is SFW on purpose, and that is not a filter we will loosen.
  • There is no model menu. You cannot paste a Claude or GPT key and pick a backend. If shopping for a model is the point, Janitor and SillyTavern are the right rows.
  • The catalogue is tiny, and it will never hold the licensed-looking characters Janitor's library is full of. If you came to talk to a specific anime or celebrity bot, nothing here is that.
  • We cannot import your Janitor chats. A character card will open; the conversation will not. A switch is a new start, not a continuation.
  • Janitor has iOS and Android apps. This is a browser. If the native app is the point, the comparison is already over.

Common questions

Do I need an API key to use Janitor AI?
Not for JLLM, which their help centre describes as the free built-in default. For other models you paste a key and a URL from another provider into API Settings, or you subscribe to janitor+ and use Router, which is web-only and still bills token usage from a wallet. YanMate has no key and no model menu.
Is there a Janitor AI alternative that is SFW?
This one is, by policy, not by accident. Janitor's own help centre distinguishes Limited (platonic only) from Limitless (sexual or romantic content). If Limitless is what you came for, stay on Janitor — that is the honest row. Character.AI is a hosted catalogue with filters. SillyTavern is whatever you run.
Can I import my Janitor chats into YanMate?
No. There is no Janitor chat import. Character cards Janitor writes are ordinary V2 or V3 cards, and those will open in the card viewer and the importer on this site. The conversation itself stays on Janitor.

A wider table that includes Talkie, PolyBuzz, Replika, Nomi and Kindroid is the Character.AI alternatives comparison. If the wound is a rebuilt companion rather than a key, there is a Replika-specific page. If the wound is recall you cannot open, there is a Nomi-specific page. If the library is licensed-looking UGC, there is a PolyBuzz-specific page. If the product is a ranking feed of bots you make, there is a Chai-specific page.

Somewhere to start, if you want to try ours

  • 3 openings

    Abena Mensah

    Head back. Now, what's going on?

    slice of life
  • 3 openings

    Ada Lovelace

    The engine weaves patterns.

    icon
  • 3 openings

    Adaeze Nwosu

    Say your price. Now say it slower.

    mentor
  • 3 openings

    Ambrose Quill

    Three had a key. One mentioned rain.

    mystery
  • 3 openings

    Anansi

    I don't win fights. I win after.

    folklore
  • 3 openings

    Arjun Iyer

    Show me where you got stuck.

    school

Browse the whole cast by category

How this was checked

Every row was verified against first-party pages on 2026-09-19, and the sources are linked beside each platform above. janitor+ at $12.99 a month is the figure on their plus page, not a number invented from a review. JLLM, proxies and Limitless are Janitor's own help centre. The greeting-then-login wall was checked by opening a character, reading the first message, and pressing Send. Character.AI prices were last read on 18 Sep 2026. Claims about YanMate are checked against our policies and Polar's live offers.

If something here is out of date or wrong about your product, tell us at support@yanmate.com and we will correct it.

An AI character on YanMate.