# NovelAI Alternatives 2027: 9 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/novelai/
Prices checked: 2026-11-11 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best NovelAI alternatives in 2027 are Sudowrite (best overall, $10/mo), Inkfluence AI (best free plan: 5 chapters a month) and KoboldCpp (best open source, AGPL-3.0). NovelAI itself starts at $10/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 11 Nov 2026; 6 more are compared below, including 3 with a free plan and 2 open source.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NovelAI (the tool being replaced) | — | $10/mo | No | — | — | 2026-11-11 | [pricing](https://docs.novelai.net/en/subscription/) |
| Sudowrite | Paid | $10/mo | No free plan | — | Fiction drafting with story-aware Write and Rewrite | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.sudowrite.com) [pricing](https://www.sudowrite.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/sudowrite/) |
| Novelcrafter | Paid | $8/mo | No free plan | — | Novels planned in a story codex | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.novelcrafter.com) [pricing](https://www.novelcrafter.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/novelcrafter/) |
| Inkfluence AI | Free plan + paid | $9.99/mo | 5 chapters, then 5 more each month | — | Whole books from one prompt | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.inkfluenceai.com) [pricing](https://www.inkfluenceai.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/inkfluence-ai/) |
| Type.ai | Free plan + paid | $8/mo billed yearly | Limited credits that do not reset | — | Editor for novelists and screenwriters | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://type.ai) [pricing](https://type.ai/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/type-ai/) |
| Claude | Free plan + paid | $20/mo | Limited usage per 5 hours, 5 projects | — | General chat for drafting and editing | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://claude.ai) [pricing](https://claude.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/claude/) |
| ChatGPT | Free | Free plan; paid price not published | Unlimited text chats, limited uploads and images | — | General chat for drafting and editing | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://chatgpt.com) [pricing](https://chatgpt.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/chatgpt/) |
| KoboldCpp | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | Local story writing on your own hardware |  | [code](https://github.com/LostRuins/koboldcpp) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/koboldcpp/) |
| StoryCraftr | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Command-line book drafting with your own model |  | [code](https://github.com/raestrada/storycraftr) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/storycraftr/) |
| AIStoryWriter | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | Full-length stories generated from one prompt |  | [code](https://github.com/datacrystals/AIStoryWriter) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/aistorywriter/) |

## How each alternative compares with NovelAI

- **Sudowrite** (Paid, $10/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Plans meter AI use in credits (225,000 on the $10 plan), include Muse and Ballad models plus 30+ others, and top plans add developmental edits and beta reads. Switch if you want a fiction editor with Story Bible, Rewrite and manuscript feedback rather than a story generator. Stay with NovelAI if you want unlimited text generation at a flat price and an anime-style image generator in the same subscription.
- **Novelcrafter** (Paid, $8/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Hobbyist adds scene summarisation and scene-beat generation with a bring-your-own API key; NovelAI includes its own GLM 4.6 text model and image models. Switch if you want a codex that tracks characters and places across a series, with your own API key for models. Stay with NovelAI if you want unlimited text generation at a flat price and image generation in one subscription.
- **Inkfluence AI** (Free plan + paid, $9.99/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Creator generates up to 35 chapters a month with audiobook chapters, picture-book images and translations; NovelAI has no ebook export or chapter pipeline. Switch if you want finished chapters, covers and audiobook output from one prompt. Stay with NovelAI if you want a free-form story editor with lorebook-style control and an image generator.
- **Type.ai** (Free plan + paid, $8/mo billed yearly, checked 2026-11-11): Basic has 500,000 credits that cover chat plus image, audio and video creation; NovelAI instead gives unlimited text and a separate Anlas balance for images. Switch if you want a manuscript editor for novels and screenplays, billed at $8/mo yearly. Stay with NovelAI if you want unlimited story text generation without a credit meter.
- **Claude** (Free plan + paid, $20/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Pro lifts usage limits on a general assistant; it has no image generator or story-specific memory features, so context lives in project files. Switch if you already pay for a general assistant and want it to draft and critique chapters. Stay with NovelAI if you want a dedicated story generator and an anime-style image model in one account.
- **ChatGPT** (Free, Free plan; paid price not published): Free plan allows unlimited text chats under abuse guardrails, with limited uploads, image creation and memory, and no story-specific lorebook tools. Switch if you want a free general assistant for brainstorming plots and drafting scenes. Stay with NovelAI if you want a persistent story editor with its own text and image models.
- **KoboldCpp** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Runs GGUF models locally through KoboldAI Lite with memory, world info and author's notes for stories, and bundles optional image and TTS generation. Switch if you want to run models on your own hardware with no subscription and no data leaving your machine. Stay with NovelAI if you do not want to choose models or manage hardware and prefer a hosted service.
- **StoryCraftr** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): A command-line tool that builds worldbuilding notes, outlines and chapter summaries, then drafts chapters via Ollama, OpenRouter or OpenAI. Switch if you prefer a terminal workflow and want to pay only for the API tokens you use. Stay with NovelAI if you want a hosted editor with an image generator and no model configuration.
- **AIStoryWriter** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Generates a medium-to-full-length novel from one prompt file, using separate models for outline, chapters and revisions, and can translate the output. Switch if you want an automated first draft from one prompt using models you pick. Stay with NovelAI if you want to steer a story interactively with the AI instead of receiving a full draft.

## Open-source options in detail

- **KoboldCpp** (https://github.com/LostRuins/koboldcpp): Licence: AGPL-3.0
- **StoryCraftr** (https://github.com/raestrada/storycraftr): Licence: MIT
- **AIStoryWriter** (https://github.com/datacrystals/AIStoryWriter): Licence: AGPL-3.0

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to NovelAI in 2027?
Sudowrite is the best overall NovelAI alternative on this page ($10/mo). For no cost, Inkfluence AI has a free plan (5 chapters, then 5 more each month). To self-host, KoboldCpp is open source (AGPL-3.0).

### Is there a free version of NovelAI?
No. NovelAI has no free plan; paid plans start at $10/mo, checked on 11 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to NovelAI?
Yes. KoboldCpp, StoryCraftr, AIStoryWriter are open source and free to self-host. Inkfluence AI, Type.ai, Claude, ChatGPT have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### What is cheaper than NovelAI?
Type.ai starts at $8/mo billed yearly, against $10/mo for NovelAI, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 11 Nov 2026.

### How much do NovelAI alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 11 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Novelcrafter $40/mo, Type.ai $40/mo, Inkfluence AI $49.95/mo, against NovelAI $50/mo for NovelAI. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, Sudowrite or NovelAI?
Plans meter AI use in credits (225,000 on the $10 plan), include Muse and Ballad models plus 30+ others, and top plans add developmental edits and beta reads. Choose Sudowrite if you want a fiction editor with Story Bible, Rewrite and manuscript feedback rather than a story generator. Stay with NovelAI if you want unlimited text generation at a flat price and an anime-style image generator in the same subscription.

### Why are people leaving NovelAI?
The documented reasons are: NovelAI converted all existing Subscription Anlas to non-expiring paid Anlas, and Subscription Anlas are no longer usable after a subscription expires (22 Sep 2026); Unused Subscription Anlas reset to zero when the subscription ends, and usage limits apply to image models above V4.5 (11 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### What is better than NovelAI?
For manuscript-style fiction editing, Sudowrite and Novelcrafter are the usual picks. For free whole-book drafting, Inkfluence AI has a free plan.

## Related on Zekai

- [Sudowrite alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/sudowrite/)
- [Claude alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/claude/)
- [ChatGPT alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/chatgpt/)
- [AI for Gaming & Metaverse Development](https://zekaiwork.com/professions/ai-gaming-metaverse-development-tools/)

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Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/novelai/