TL;DR:
Civitai Green just got a massive upgrade! It's now a fully standalone platform with its own Buzz economy, creator program, and credit card payments.
Blue Buzz on both Civitai.com and Civitai Green is now SFW-only. NSFW generations on Civitai.com will require Yellow Buzz.
Civitai.com stays freedom-first. Civitai Green offers many of the same features, SFW-focused, with traditional payment options. Both platforms will grow side-by-side, and this is the first step toward our bigger vision of deCivitai, where anyone can run their own Civitai community.
We're excited to announce major upgrades to Civitai Green, and some important changes to how Blue Buzz works on Civitai.com.
What's New with Civitai Green
Back in August, we launched Civitai Green as a safe-for-work filtered view of Civitai. Today, we're taking it much further. Civitai Green is now a complete, standalone experience with its own economy, creator program, and feature set.
Here's what's new:
Green Buzz: A separate Buzz economy you can purchase with credit cards (via Stripe).
Full Creators Program: Earn, bank, and cash out just like on Civitai.com.
Complete Feature Parity: We're working towards launching everything you love about Civitai, focused on SFW content.
Civitai Green isn't just a filter anymore — it's the whole Civitai experience, built for creators and users who want or need credit card payment options.
Why We're Doing This
Many of you have asked for credit card payment options. We heard you. The challenge is that even high-risk payment processors have strict requirements — not because our safety measures aren't strong (they are), but because the very nature of open AI model sharing makes them nervous.
Let me share what really happened. In January, we got an ultimatum from payment processors: Remove NSFW entirely or lose the ability to process payments. Not "moderate better." Not "reduce." Remove.
For nine months, we've fought this. We've knocked on every door, talked to every high-risk processor who would listen. Since May, we've been in survival mode without traditional payment processing. Gift cards. Crypto experiments. ZKP2P. We saw our Buzz purchases drop from 29.5K users in April to 13.8K last month, less than half of what we had before.
But here's what I learned: The system is working exactly as designed. So instead of begging for permission, we're building around it.
Rather than compromise what makes Civitai.com special, we chose a different path: upgrade Civitai Green into a full platform experience for those who prefer or need it. Civitai.com remains our freedom-first platform. Green offers the choice of sacrificing that to instead be able to pay with traditional credit card and other payment methods.
Important Change: Blue Buzz Now SFW-Only
As part of integrating credit card payments, we're making a significant change to Blue Buzz (the free Buzz you earn through engagement and rewards).
Starting now, Blue Buzz can only be used to generate SFW content. NSFW generation will require Yellow Buzz.
We know this will frustrate some of you, especially free users who primarily create NSFW content. We get it! We're frustrated by these constraints too. But here's why we're doing it:
Enhanced safety: This creates a natural barrier against bad actors who rely on free resources to test harmful content against our safety systems.
Processor requirements: This change is essential for safely integrating credit card payments.
Healthier ecosystem: Creating clearer boundaries helps us build sustainably while protecting Civitai.com's openness.
Additionally, Creators will now be compensated in the Buzz type used to generate content. If your model was used to make images, paid for in Blue and Green Buzz, you'll receive Blue and Green Buzz compensation.
This isn't about limiting creativity, it's about creating the right structure so both platforms can thrive.
The Bigger Vision: Decentralized Communities
This isn't just about having two platforms. It's about ensuring that creative AI can never be shut down by a payment processor, a government, or any other gatekeeper. We're building toward a world where thousands of communities can run their own Civitai instances, with their own rules, connected through open protocols. Where creativity isn't held hostage by risk assessment departments.
Green is our first proof that this can work. More details on the full deCivitai vision coming very soon.
Our vision is to build technology that allows anyone to run their own Civitai community, with their own rules, their own focus, their own vision. All connected through a unified, open-source client. Green doesn't use all the new tech yet, but it's showing the way forward: a world where the platform exists beyond our company, where communities can thrive on their own terms.
Interested in running your own community? We'd love to hear from you. Complete this survey.
Moving Forward
Civitai.com remains our freedom-first platform, that hasn't changed and won't change. Civitai Green offers choice for those who want or need it. Both platforms serve our community, just in different ways.
You can access Civitai Green at civitai.green. Same models, same community, same creativity, just SFW-focused with credit card and other traditional payment options.
We're committed to building in the open, listening to feedback, and finding ways to serve creators while navigating the constraints we face. This is just the next step.
Thanks for being part of this journey.
P.S. This Green upgrade is just the beginning. We've spent nine months learning that asking permission to enable human creativity is a losing game. So we've decided to stop asking. Stay tuned for what comes next. It's going to be bigger than just Civitai.
FAQ
Q: Can I have both memberships? Will I go broke?
A: You absolutely can have both if you want to support both platforms! Your wallet might judge you, but we won't.
Q: I need the Creator Program. Do I need to buy Green membership too?
A: Nope! One membership (either platform) unlocks both Creator Programs. We're not that evil.
Q: I have both memberships. How do perks work?
A: You get the best of both worlds — literally. Whatever your highest tier is, those perks work everywhere. We're not doing math to figure out some weird hybrid; you just get the good stuff.
Q: You said "complete feature parity" but where's my [favorite feature]?
A: Okay, you got us. "Working towards" is doing heavy lifting there. Some features like Vault and Auctions are still shared between platforms while we figure out how to properly split them. We're engineers, not magicians (yet).
Q: This Buzz color system is confusing. Help?
A: Think of it like this:
Blue Buzz = Universal SFW currency (works both places, wholesome only)
Green Buzz = Civitai Green exclusive (their economy, their rules)
Yellow Buzz = Civitai.com exclusive (the wild west currency)
Q: So creators get paid in rainbow Buzz now?
A: Pretty much! You get paid in whatever Buzz was used. Someone uses Yellow to generate with your model? You get Yellow. Blue? You get Blue. It's like a direct profit-sharing system, except more colorful.
Q: Wait, I have tons of Blue Buzz and only make NSFW content. Am I screwed?
A: Honestly? Yeah, this change impacts you the most. You'll need Yellow Buzz going forward — either by purchasing it, earning tips from other users, or creating resources that others pay Yellow Buzz to use. We know this sucks for some creators. But the alternative was no Civitai at all.
Q: Can I at least still train LoRAs with Blue Buzz?
A: Yes! Training is still considered SFW infrastructure work. Your Blue Buzz is still good for making the tools, just not certain types of images.