# Civitai review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Community hub for AI image models, with an on-site generator Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Civitai is a community site where creators share AI image models and LoRAs, and members generate images and train models on its servers. Generation is paid for in an on-site currency called Buzz, which free accounts can earn and memberships top up each month. - **Category:** AI Image & Video Generators - **Made by:** Civitai - **Website:** https://civitai.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want to pay by card for extra Buzz, as that is no longer offered on civitai.com. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Civitai has a free plan, and paid plans start at $10 per month (Bronze membership). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free accounts can upload, download, generate and earn Buzz; new accounts get 100 Blue Buzz. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Upload, download, generate and earn Buzz by taking part; 100 Blue Buzz on sign-up, claimable daily from the generator. | | Bronze | $10 per month | 10,000 Green Buzz a month, 5% bonus on Buzz purchases, 3 private models, 8 images per job, priority support. | | Silver | $25 per month | 25,000 Green Buzz a month, 10% purchase bonus, 10 private models, 10 images per job, premium support. | | Gold | $50 per month | 50,000 Green Buzz a month, 20% purchase bonus, 100 private models, 12 images per job, VIP support. | Read from https://education.civitai.com/civitais-guide-to-membership-tiers/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Civitai before buying. ## Key features - **Model and LoRA library:** Creators upload checkpoints and LoRAs, and others download them or run them in the on-site generator. - **On-site image generator:** Images are priced in Buzz on a sliding scale based on step count and model architecture. - **LoRA training:** The on-site LoRA trainer lets members train their own models on Civitai's servers, paid for with Buzz. - **Buzz currency:** Buzz comes in Blue, Yellow and Green colors with different rules for earning and spending, and reactions and daily rewards earn free Blue Buzz. - **Creator earnings:** Creators can price model versions or earn a cut when their resources are used in the generator; the Creator Program needs an active membership. - **Video and audio generation:** Civitai's education pages describe video and audio engines in the generator, each priced in Buzz. ## Good for - Finding community-made image models and LoRAs - Generating images without owning a GPU, paid with earned Buzz - Creators who want to publish and monetize their own models ## Worth knowing - Per the education guide, buying Buzz by card is no longer available on civitai.com; Yellow Buzz is bought with cryptocurrency. - Unrestricted content creation now lives on civitai.red, which uses Yellow Buzz, according to the membership guide. - The monthly grant from Bronze to Gold is Green Buzz, which is for PG and PG-13 content. - Prices come from Civitai's own education guide; the guide says the membership page is the source of truth and tiers change over time. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Civitai is a community hub where people share image models and LoRAs, with an on-site generator paid for in Buzz. Free accounts can generate and earn Buzz, but buying Buzz by card is no longer offered on civitai.com, and the content rules differ between sites. - **Value for money: C.** Bronze is $10 a month, the middle of image-tool prices. Each paid tier gives Green Buzz, which covers only PG and PG-13 content. - **Free plan and trial: C.** Free accounts upload, download, generate and earn Buzz, with 100 Blue Buzz on sign-up and daily claims. Buzz limits how much you can generate. - **Features: C.** A model and LoRA library, an on-site generator, LoRA training, video and audio engines and creator earnings. Card payments for Buzz are gone, and content rules split across two sites. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. Three colours of Buzz, each with its own earning and spending rules, take time to understand. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with Civitai Link as the one integration. No desktop or phone app is listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Civitai's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among AI image and video generators - Civitai's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 16 of the 89 other AI image and video generators we grade, and level with 13. - Its paid plans start at $10 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 30 of the 65 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 26 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/ai-images ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Civitai you would be making an image model, which you can rent by the picture but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 60 of the 89 other AI image and video generators grade higher. It costs $120 a year. - You could not: An image model, which you can rent by the picture but not make. - You could not: A members' space with posts, chat and events that people keep coming back to. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Civitai Link **Tags:** Image generation, Community, AI features ## Alternatives - [OpenArt](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openart): AI image and video studio with characters and multi-scene stories. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/civitai-vs-openart) - [Leonardo.Ai](https://toolgpa.com/tools/leonardo-ai): Image, video and 3D generator with its own and partner models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/civitai-vs-leonardo-ai) - [NightCafe](https://toolgpa.com/tools/nightcafe): Community AI art generator with many models and daily free credits. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/civitai-vs-nightcafe) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://education.civitai.com/civitais-guide-to-membership-tiers/ - https://education.civitai.com/civitais-guide-to-on-site-currency-buzz-%E2%9A%A1/ - https://education.civitai.com Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/civitai Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).