AI character chat · on your own key
Your favourite characters,
stories that keep going
Pick an official story or a character made by the community and start talking. Use Claude, GPT, Gemini or DeepSeek with your own key — there is no site fee.
No key yet? Demo mode lets you look around, and Gemini's free tier lets you start at $0.
No site fee
Your key's provider bills model usage.
Keys and chats stay local
They never reach a KeyChat server.
Memory that lasts
Summaries and pins keep long stories going.
Official stories
Stories you can play right now
Story sets with several characters and a narrator. Steer the plot with choices and a live status panel.
The Sky That Was Not Fleeting
That summer ten years ago—the boy who dies in a month.
PlayNIGHT SHIFT — Seoul
After midnight in Seoul, legends and romance intersect.
PlayWHITE LOTUS — Academy
An adult academy on the sea—four very different springs.
PlayLAST PERIOD — Ridgemont High
A high school overrun by zombies. Survive with four difficult classmates.
PlayPopular in the user store
Free characters made and shared by users.
KeyChat
AI character chat on your own API key. No chat fee — funded by ads and optional purchases.
3 steps
Pick, add a key, play
The key takes a minute, once. After that you just pick a character.
- 01
Pick a character
Choose an official story set, a user store character or one you made. Existing character cards can be imported too.
Official stories · user store · create · import
- 02
Add your key
Paste a key from the provider console. New to this? Gemini's free tier lets you start at $0.
Google · Anthropic · OpenAI · DeepSeek · OpenRouter
- 03
Start the story
The opening scene is ready. Steer with choices and the status panel, with an estimated cost alongside.
Choices · status panel · memory · cost estimate
Features
What keeps you in the story
The features people love on character chat sites — with the model choice and the data in your hands.
Status panel and choices
Affinity, place and inventory sit in a live status card, and the next move is a button away.
Memory across model switches
Old turns are summarised and key facts pinned. Memory lives in the chat, so it stays when you change models.
Lorebooks keep the world straight
Setting notes are injected when their keywords come up, so a large world only appears when it matters.
Create or import characters
Build one with a form or bring Tavern/SillyTavern cards (JSON or PNG) as they are, and export them again.
Any model you like
Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter and local models. Gemini's free tier lets you start at $0.
Keys and chats on your device
Requests go from the browser straight to the provider. Chats stay on this device, with optional encryption and auto-lock.
Pricing
Chat is free. Buy only what you need.
Your key's provider bills model usage directly. KeyChat runs on ads and optional purchases.
Chat
₩0
No site fee on your own key. Unlimited chats and characters in your browser.
Characters & sets
from ₩2,900
Buy official characters and story sets once. No per-chat billing.
Server storage
2 MB free
Only for data kept on the server, like user store uploads; extend with plus.
KeyChat
AI character chat on your own API key. No chat fee — funded by ads and optional purchases.
Security
You never hand us your key
Chat requests go from your browser straight to the provider API. The optional account server only handles sign-in and the user store, and never receives API keys or chats.
Stored in your browser
- API key (per the mode you pick)
- Chats and settings
- Theme and language
Never stored on a server
- API keys
- Chat content
- Chat usage history
- Card details
The honest limits
- A key can be left behind on a shared device. Switch storage to 'Until this tab closes' or delete it afterwards.
- Browser extensions can read page storage.
- Some providers block direct browser calls with CORS.
This browser
- Key · chats · settings
- all stay here
Provider API
- Anthropic · OpenAI
- Google · OpenRouter
KeyChat server
keys and chats skip it
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
The answers about money, security and model choice come first. Anything else lives on the FAQ page.
Chatting on KeyChat has no site fee. No signup or subscription is required and there are no per-message credits. Official character licences and extra server storage are optional purchases.
The models themselves are not free. Requests go to the provider with your own API key, and the provider bills that usage to your account. KeyChat never touches that money.
In short: the site is free, the model runs on your key.
Your key is stored only in this browser. KeyChat has no server that accepts keys, and there is no path for a key to reach the site operator.
Requests go from your browser straight to the provider API. No KeyChat server sits in between.
The limits are real, though. A key can be left behind on a shared device, and browser extensions can read page storage. On a shared machine, switch the storage mode to 'Until this tab closes' or 'Forget on reload' and delete the saved key when you are done.
You do. Usage is billed by each provider to the payment method on your own account.
KeyChat never sees payment details and adds no markup. Whatever your provider invoice says is the whole cost.
The cost figure shown in a conversation is an estimate based on public list prices. Your actual bill depends on provider pricing, caching discounts and currency.
In IndexedDB, inside this browser. Even when signed in, chats are never uploaded or synced to the account.
That means chats do not appear on another device or in another browser, and clearing browser data deletes them.
Export important conversations as JSON from Settings. The file contains the conversation text, so keep it somewhere safe. API keys are never included.
To start on a free tier, Gemini 3.8 Flash is the easy choice — Google AI Studio gives you a free quota with no card required.
For value, Claude Haiku 5.5, GPT-6 Luna and DeepSeek Flash work well. For roleplay, long writing and code, Claude Sonnet 5.5 or Opus 5.5 are steady.
If you want to move between models, one OpenRouter key covers most of them. There is no single right answer — try the same question on two models.
Yes. Demo mode lets you explore the interface before committing. Real model answers require a key.
If you do not have one yet, the setup guide walks through issuing a key.
KeyChat
AI character chat on your own API key. No chat fee — funded by ads and optional purchases.
No site fee · your own API key
Pick tonight's story
Key setup takes a minute. No subscription, and your key and chats never leave this browser.
No key yet? Demo mode lets you look around first.
Model usage is billed by your provider directly.