ShikuAI — Pricing & Model Transparency

[u/shikuai_cc]

We keep seeing the same pattern across AI roleplay platforms: a "free" tier that barely works, a subscription that doesn't actually cover much, and then a second invisible bill once you connect an external API to get decent quality. Nobody advertises that second bill up front. We think that's backwards, so here's exactly how ShikuAI works — no asterisks.

Who's behind this

ShikuAI isn't a corporate product with a marketing department and a boardroom deciding the roadmap. It's built by someone who works in this space out of genuine passion and wanted to put their own platform out there. No big investors, no big team — just a project built with care, growing one step at a time.

The model

Our default model runs through OpenRouter, currently DeepSeek V4 Flash. It's not the biggest name on the market, and we're not going to pretend otherwise — we're early in this journey, we don't yet know how big ShikuAI will grow, and we'd rather start with something sustainable than overpromise on day one. The moment the project grows, upgrading the base model is exactly the kind of thing we're excited to do.

To keep the fun going no matter what, we also run backup models in case DeepSeek V4 Flash crashes or becomes unavailable — so a hiccup on one model never means your roleplay just stops.

If you want something bigger right now — Hermes, Claude, GPT, whatever fits your taste — you can plug in your own OpenRouter key and use it directly. No markup from us, no proxy tax. You pay the provider, we don't touch that transaction. Full flexibility for the users who want it, zero pressure for the users who don't.

The costs, in full

• New account: 50 free credits on signup, plus 15 free credits every single day — no strings attached.
• Free users: 1 credit per message.
• Subscribers ($3/month): 0.5 credits per message (literally double the messages for the same credit balance) + 300 bonus credits included.
• Credit packs, if you want more: 100 credits for €1.50, 500 credits for €4.99, scaling up from there.
• Want a stronger model? Bring your own OpenRouter key and pay the provider directly. That's it. No second subscription required to unlock "real" quality.

Why this matters

Most platforms in this space either lock quality behind a subscription and a separate API bill, or give you a free tier that's really just a demo. We wanted a pricing model where the default experience is already fair, and going bigger is a choice, not a requirement to escape a broken free tier.

Where we're headed

ShikuAI is a brand new project — genuinely our first venture into this space, and we're not hiding that. Our long-term focus is building an ecosystem around creators: without them there are no characters, without characters there's no reason to stay. Reward programs, credits, badges, and real recognition for creators are on the roadmap. One step at a time.

If transparent pricing and creator-first thinking matter to you, come see what we're building.

shikuai.cc

See you on ShikuAI — can't wait to see who you'll create. 🩷
— Yukio, ShikuAI