Civitai.red is Civitai's second domain for mature content. Since April 2026, Civitai runs two front doors to the same platform: civitai.com shows only safe-for-work (SFW) content, while civitai.red shows the full catalogue, SFW and NSFW. It is not a separate company, a clone or a new app — it's the same Civitai account, models and LoRAs, opened through a different address.
If you landed here because a model link suddenly pointed to civitai.red, or your browser warned you about it, this guide explains what changed, how the two domains differ, what it costs, and what to use instead if you just want to generate images without managing models.
Checked on 17 October 2026 against Civitai's own posts and current third-party guides. Civitai changes its rules often — confirm anything account-related on civitai.com before you rely on it.
What is civitai.red, exactly?
Civitai is the largest community site for sharing AI image and video models: checkpoints, LoRAs, embeddings and the images people make with them. It was founded in 2022 by Justin Maier and is based in Boise, Idaho (Wikipedia).
In mid-April 2026 Civitai split how that catalogue is shown:
- civitai.com became the SFW front door. It applies a safe-for-work ceiling to everything it displays.
- civitai.red became the full front door. It shows SFW and mature/NSFW resources, depending on each user's browsing settings.
A community post on Civitai summed it up the day the change rolled out (15 April 2026): Civitai.com "will only show SFW content" while Civitai.red is where "both SFW and NSFW content will be visible" (Civitai article).
Why did Civitai create a separate red domain?
The short answer is payments. Through 2025 Civitai tightened its content rules several times — including removing real-person likeness content in May 2025 — as card networks and payment processors put pressure on platforms that host adult AI content. Splitting the site lets the SFW side (civitai.com) keep conventional card payments and memberships, while mature content lives on its own domain with its own payment setup (aiidelist guide).
For users, that's why the same model page can open on one domain and appear "missing" on the other: the resource didn't disappear, it's just above the SFW ceiling of civitai.com.
Civitai.red vs Civitai.com: what's the difference?
| civitai.com | civitai.red | |
|---|---|---|
| Content shown | SFW only (hard ceiling) | SFW + mature/NSFW, per your browsing level |
| Account | Your Civitai account | The same account — log in with the same details |
| Models, LoRAs, uploads, follows | Shared | Shared (nothing is copied into a separate database) |
| Memberships | Green membership with standard card payments | Yellow memberships ended on Red in September 2026; Buzz-based perks instead |
| Buzz (on-site currency) | Green Buzz, tied to SFW generation | Purchased Buzz works for all content ratings |
| Age requirement | 18+ (Civitai Terms of Service) | 18+ |
| Regional limits | Apply | Apply — some regions are forced to SFW even on Red |
Sources: Civitai, aiidelist, EarnGenix.
Do I need a new account for civitai.red?
No. One Civitai account works on both domains. Your uploads, galleries, follows, stats and the models and LoRAs you've saved are the same on both — civitai.red isn't a copy of the site with a separate login. If you can't see something you expect, check:
- Which domain you're on. A mature-rated model won't show on civitai.com at all.
- Your browsing level. On civitai.red, what you see still depends on the content levels you've enabled in your settings.
- Your region. Local law can force SFW filtering for your account even on civitai.red.
Is civitai.red free?
Browsing and downloading models is free on both domains, as it has always been on Civitai. What costs money is running things on Civitai's servers: hosted image generation, video generation and LoRA training all use Buzz, Civitai's on-site currency, which you buy or earn by taking part in the community.
If you have your own GPU and run models locally (ComfyUI, Forge, Automatic1111), you mostly use civitai.red the way people used Civitai before: to discover and download resources.
Is civitai.red uncensored?
Not in the "anything goes" sense. Civitai.red removes the SFW ceiling, but Civitai's content rules still apply on both domains: content that's banned on Civitai stays banned on Red. That includes the real-person likeness ban from May 2025 and anything involving minors. Calling Red "uncensored Civitai" is a common mistake — it is the full catalogue under the same rules, not a rule-free mirror.
Is civitai.red safe? Why does my browser block it?
Civitai.red is Civitai's official domain, linked from Civitai's own announcements. Some security tools flagged it soon after launch because it was a brand-new domain in an adult-content category — for example, users reported Malwarebytes Browser Guard blocking it as a false positive (Malwarebytes forum). The usual safety rules still apply:
- Type the address yourself (
civitai.red) instead of following links from unknown sites — look-alike domains exist. - Never enter your Civitai login on a page you reached from an ad or a DM.
- Model files from any community site can be unsafe: prefer
.safetensorsover pickle files, and scan downloads.
How to use civitai.red (step by step)
- Go to civitai.red and sign in with your existing Civitai account.
- Open your content settings and choose the browsing levels you want to see (you must be 18+).
- Search or browse models, LoRAs and images as usual — mature-rated resources now appear in results.
- To generate on Civitai, top up Buzz; to run locally, download the model (
.safetensors) and load it in your own tool. - Share links carefully: a civitai.red link opened on a work device or in a filtered region may show nothing or be blocked.
What's a good Civitai alternative if you just want to create?
Civitai is built for people who collect and run models — finding the right checkpoint, stacking LoRAs, tuning samplers. If what you actually want is to make images and video, a curated studio is often simpler. That's what Kenerate AI does:
- 80+ ready image models in one account — from Flux 2, Qwen Image and Seedream to open models like Chroma, Prefect Pony XL and Neta Lumina — with the price of each generation shown before you click.
- No Buzz, no subscription required: starter credits for new accounts, then one-time credit packs.
- Your own LoRAs: you can upload or train a LoRA for a face, product or style and use it in the AI image generator.
- Image to video in the same place: animate your results with models like Wan, Seedance and Kling in the AI video generator.
- 18+ content is opt-in for adults, with the same kinds of bans Civitai has on real people and minors.
You can browse every model and its price per image on our AI models page.
| You want to… | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Download checkpoints and LoRAs to run on your own GPU | Civitai / civitai.red |
| Share models and get feedback from a big community | Civitai / civitai.red |
| Generate images in a browser without picking files and samplers | Kenerate AI |
| Turn images into video in the same account | Kenerate AI |
| Pay once for credits instead of a membership | Kenerate AI |
Key points
- civitai.red is Civitai's official mature-content domain, launched in April 2026; civitai.com is now SFW-only.
- It's the same platform and the same account — not a new company or a separate login.
- The split exists mainly so the SFW side can keep normal payment processing.
- Browsing and downloads are free; hosted generation and training use Buzz.
- Red removes the SFW ceiling, not Civitai's rules — real-person and minor content stay banned.
