RisuAI vs SillyTavern (2026): Which Roleplay Front End Should You Use?

RisuAI and SillyTavern are two free, open-source front ends for AI roleplay: each one holds your characters, lorebooks and chats, and sends them to an AI model that you connect with your own key. Neither includes a model. The writing quality comes from the model, so the choice between them is about everything around the writing.

The largest difference is simple. SillyTavern is a server that you install and run. RisuAI can also run as a page in your browser. Most of the other differences follow from that one.

We read RisuAI’s source code (commit of 10 October 2026, version 2026.8.250) on 12 October 2026. The SillyTavern facts come from our own SillyTavern guides, which were built from SillyTavern’s code and documentation (version 1.19.0) over the last few weeks. We did not score either program, and there is no “winner” on this page. We do not rate front ends the way we rate games.

New to both? Start with the RisuAI guide or the SillyTavern guide. For more options, see SillyTavern alternatives.

The Short Answer

Choose RisuAI if you want to start in two minutes, play on a phone or an iPhone, or avoid running a server.
Choose SillyTavern if you want the largest set of extensions, the most voice options, and a guide for every problem you will meet.
Choose either for a cloud model with your own key. Both connect to the same providers.
For a model on your own PC, both work, but RisuAI needs its desktop app or a self-hosted copy. Its web version cannot reach your PC.
Your characters move between them. Both read PNG and JSON character cards.

Side by Side

	RisuAI	SillyTavern
Price	Free	Free
Licence	GPL-3.0	AGPL-3.0
Runs in a browser with no install	Yes (`risuai.xyz`)	No
Desktop	Installer for Windows, macOS, Linux	A Node.js server you start, then open in a browser
Android	Web version in the browser	The full server inside Termux
iPhone / iPad	Web version in Safari	Cannot run; connect to a server elsewhere
Self-hosting	Docker or Node.js, port 6001	It is always self-hosted, port 8000
Where data is stored	Browser storage, your computer, or your server	A folder on the machine running the server
Optional cloud sync	Yes (Risu Account)	No
Lorebook scan depth at the start	5 messages	2 messages
Lorebook budget at the start	800 tokens	25% of the context size
Long-term memory	Built in: SupaMemory, HypaMemory V2 and V3, Hanurai	Extensions: Summarize, Vector Storage, Data Bank
Extensions	Plugins and modules	A large extension ecosystem
Character sharing site	RisuRealm, built in	None of its own; people use Chub and others
Documentation	Wiki marked as outdated	Extensive official docs

Installing: A Tab or a Server

SillyTavern needs Node.js on a computer. You download it, start it, and it serves a page at localhost:8000 that you open in your browser. That is not hard, but it is a step where people get stuck, and it is the reason SillyTavern not working is one of the most searched phrases about it. Our installation guide covers it.

RisuAI gives you three choices:

Open risuai.xyz. That is the whole installation.
Install the desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) from the project’s GitHub releases.
Run it as a server with Docker, then open http://localhost:6001.

The cost of the easy route is one limit. A public website is not allowed by the browser to call addresses on your own computer, so the web version cannot connect to Ollama or KoboldCpp on your PC. RisuAI’s code states that local addresses are “blocked for local/private direct calls by design” in public web mode. If a local model is your plan, RisuAI’s desktop app or a self-hosted copy behaves like SillyTavern does.

On a Phone

This is where the two are furthest apart.

SillyTavern on Android means installing the whole server on the phone inside Termux, a terminal app, and then opening it in the phone’s browser. On iPhone and iPad the project says it cannot be done, so the phone can only be a screen for a SillyTavern server running on another machine. Our SillyTavern mobile guide goes through both.

RisuAI on any phone is the web version in the browser. Nothing runs on the phone except the page.

One correction to what many posts say. RisuAI’s site lists Android as a platform, but the project’s current release has no APK file. The last release that included one is v1.105.1 from 24 May 2024, and the site’s download buttons are for Windows, macOS and Linux. Treat any “RisuAI APK” you find as old or unofficial. The details are in the RisuAI guide.

Where Your Data Lives

SillyTavern keeps everything in a folder on the machine that runs the server. On a default install your characters are in data/default-user/characters. You can copy that folder, back it up, and open the files. Nothing is in a browser.

RisuAI depends on the version:

The web version stores your characters and chats in the browser on that device. If you clear the browser’s site data, they are gone.
The desktop app stores them on your computer.
A self-hosted copy stores them in the server’s save folder.

RisuAI also has two things SillyTavern does not. One is an optional Risu Account that syncs your data through the project’s servers, so the same characters appear on your PC and your phone. The other is a backup to your own Google Drive. Both are off unless you turn them on.

In short, SillyTavern gives you files in a folder, and RisuAI gives you convenience with a duty to back up. If you use RisuAI on the web, make a local backup after any session you care about.

Connecting a Model

Both connect to the providers roleplayers use. From RisuAI’s model list: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Mistral, Cohere, NovelAI, DeepInfra, OpenRouter, NanoGPT, Ollama, Ooba, Kobold, Mancer, AI Horde, and a Custom API entry for any OpenAI-compatible address. SillyTavern covers the same ground, with OpenRouter, NanoGPT and Chutes among its built-in sources.

Three differences are worth knowing.

RisuAI has a second model slot. The Auxiliary Model does side jobs: reading the emotion of a reply for emotion images, suggesting answers, and summarising for memory. You can put a cheap model there and keep an expensive one for the story.

SillyTavern’s presets are a larger world. Most shared prompt presets for Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek are written for SillyTavern, and our SillyTavern presets guide covers them. RisuAI has its own preset files (.risup), and they are not interchangeable with SillyTavern’s.

The starting values differ, and RisuAI’s are small. A new RisuAI install starts with a Max Context Size of 4,000 tokens and a Max Response Size of 500. Raise both before you judge it. A model that seems forgetful in RisuAI on the first day is often a model that was only shown 4,000 tokens.

For which model to pick in either one, see the best model for SillyTavern. The advice applies to RisuAI unchanged, because the model is the same.

Lorebooks

Both have lorebooks that add an entry to the prompt when a keyword appears in recent messages. The defaults and the matching rules are different enough to change how a lorebook behaves.

	RisuAI	SillyTavern
Messages scanned by default	5	2
Budget by default	800 tokens, a fixed number	25% of the context size
Where lorebooks attach	Character, single chat, modules	Global, character, chat, persona
Entry options	Written as `@@` decorators inside the entry text	Fields in the entry form

Scan depth. RisuAI looks at the last five messages for keywords; SillyTavern looks at the last two. A RisuAI entry stays active longer after its keyword was last mentioned.

Budget. SillyTavern’s budget grows with your context size. RisuAI’s is a fixed 800 tokens until you change it. With a large context, SillyTavern will include much more lore by default than RisuAI will.

Matching. By default RisuAI removes all spaces from the message and from the keyword before it compares them. So the keyword red dragon matches “red dragon” and also “reddragon”, and a short keyword can match inside or across other words. RisuAI has a full-word option for each character, and SillyTavern has its own whole-word setting.

Importing. RisuAI’s lorebook import accepts a SillyTavern world info file. It converts the fields RisuAI stores differently into decorators at the top of the entry: an entry’s probability becomes @@probability, and an “at depth” position becomes @@depth and @@role.

The full RisuAI rules are in RisuAI lorebooks and memory. SillyTavern’s are in SillyTavern lorebooks.

Long-Term Memory

SillyTavern handles long chats with extensions. Summarize writes a running summary, Vector Storage retrieves older messages by similarity, and the Data Bank holds documents. Summarize is installed but does nothing until you give it a summary source, and the other two start switched off. Our SillyTavern memory guide explains each one.

RisuAI has memory built into the app, in one setting with four options: SupaMemory, HypaMemory V2, HypaMemory V3 and Hanurai. All are off on a new install. HypaMemory V3, the newest, summarises old messages in groups and then fills a share of the context with a mix of recent summaries, summaries similar to the current scene, and a few chosen at random.

Neither one gives you memory without setup. In both, a new install remembers only what fits in the context window. The difference is where you go to switch memory on: an extensions panel in SillyTavern, a settings page in RisuAI.

Extensions and Extras

This is SillyTavern’s strongest ground.

Extensions. SillyTavern has a large catalogue of built-in and community extensions. See SillyTavern extensions.
Voice. SillyTavern’s TTS extension has 28 voice providers in its code. RisuAI has TTS with fewer choices. See SillyTavern TTS.
Images. Both generate images. RisuAI’s code has providers for a Stable Diffusion WebUI, NovelAI, DALL-E, Stability, ComfyUI, fal and Imagen. SillyTavern’s side is in SillyTavern image generation.
Group chats. Both have them. See SillyTavern group chat.

RisuAI’s strength is what a character’s author can build inside a card:

Emotion images that change the portrait to match the reply.
Trigger scripts, including Lua, that run when a condition is met.
Regex scripts with four modes: modify the input, the output, the request data, or only the display.
Modules (.risum), which bundle lorebooks, regex and triggers so one file can be shared and switched on for any character.
A built-in translator for typing in one language and playing in another.

If you mostly play characters other people made, SillyTavern’s breadth matters more. If you build characters with screens, stats and buttons, RisuAI gives the card itself more power.

Moving Between Them

SillyTavern to RisuAI. Export the character from SillyTavern as PNG or JSON and import it in RisuAI. A lorebook embedded in the card comes with it. A separate world info file can be imported as a RisuAI lorebook. We did not find a SillyTavern chat import in the parts of RisuAI’s code we read, so plan to carry characters and lorebooks, and start chats fresh.

RisuAI to SillyTavern. Export from RisuAI as PNG or JSON. SillyTavern reads both, and our character cards guide lists the file types it accepts. RisuAI stores its own features in a RisuAI-only section of the card. SillyTavern ignores that section, so triggers, modules and decorators will not work there.

Presets do not move. A SillyTavern preset and a RisuAI preset are different files. Copy the prompt text by hand.

Running both is fine. They do not conflict, and they can use the same model key.

Which One Should You Use?

Use RisuAI if:

you want to try AI roleplay with your own key today, without installing anything;
you play mostly on a phone, or on an iPhone or iPad;
you want the same characters on several devices through an account;
you build complex characters and want scripts and modules inside the card.

Use SillyTavern if:

you want the widest choice of extensions, voices and presets;
you want your data as plain files in a folder on your own machine;
you rely on guides and community answers when something breaks;
you already run local models and a server is no trouble.

Use both if you want SillyTavern at your desk and a browser tab on your phone. The characters move in both directions.

The honest caveat is documentation. SillyTavern’s is detailed and current. RisuAI’s wiki opens with “The wiki is outdated, currently working on new docs”, and much of what we wrote about it came from reading its code. If you prefer to look things up and not experiment, that difference will matter to you more than any feature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RisuAI better than SillyTavern?

Neither is better for everyone. RisuAI is easier to start with, because it runs in a browser with nothing to install and works on a phone. SillyTavern has the larger set of extensions, more text-to-speech choices and far more guides written for it. Both are free, both use your own model key, and the model you connect decides the quality of the writing in either one.

Can I move my characters from SillyTavern to RisuAI?

Yes. RisuAI imports character cards as PNG and JSON files, which are the formats SillyTavern exports. A lorebook embedded in the card comes with it, and RisuAI also imports a SillyTavern world info file as a lorebook. Chat history is a different matter: we did not find a SillyTavern chat import in the part of RisuAI’s code that we read, so plan to move characters and lorebooks, not old chats.

Can I move from RisuAI back to SillyTavern?

Mostly. RisuAI exports a character as a PNG or JSON card, and SillyTavern imports both. Features that only RisuAI has, such as trigger scripts, modules and lorebook decorators, are stored in a RisuAI section of the card that SillyTavern does not use, so a complex RisuAI character will behave more simply in SillyTavern.

Which one is better on a phone?

RisuAI. Its web version runs in the phone’s browser on Android and iPhone with nothing else needed. SillyTavern on Android means installing the server inside Termux, and on iPhone it cannot run at all, so the phone can only connect to a SillyTavern server running on another machine.

Do RisuAI and SillyTavern cost money?

No. Both are free and open source. In both, the cost is the AI model you connect, which you pay to the model provider unless you use a free model or run one on your own computer.

Can RisuAI use a local model like SillyTavern can?

Yes, but not from the public web version. RisuAI has Ollama, Kobold and Ooba connections, and they work in the desktop app or in a copy you host yourself. The web version at risuai.xyz cannot reach a model on your own computer, because browsers block a public website from calling local addresses.

Can I use RisuAI and SillyTavern at the same time?

Yes. They do not conflict, and they can share the same model key and the same character card files. Each keeps its own chats, so a conversation started in one does not appear in the other.

RisuAI’s defaults, model list, lorebook matching and import code, memory options, image providers, storage code and help texts are from its source code in the kwaroran/Risuai repository on GitHub (commit of 10 October 2026, version 2026.8.250), and its release files from the repository’s release list, read on 12 October 2026. The SillyTavern facts are from SillyTavern’s code and documentation (version 1.19.0) as reported in our SillyTavern guides, which are linked in each section. We did not run a side-by-side test, and we did not test moving a chat or a complex character between the two. We have no commercial relationship with either project.

RisuAI, RisuRealm, SillyTavern, Chub, Termux, Ollama, KoboldCpp, OpenRouter, NanoGPT and Chutes are the property of their respective owners. Arcanum is not affiliated with any of them.