CompanionHunt
Replika, from its App Store listing

The best AI companion apps of 2026, ranked from sourced facts.

What each one costs, what it remembers, and every time it changed.

See the leaderboard

34 companions tracked · updated September 24, 2026 · links may earn us a commission

Top rated right nowAll apps

  1. Kindroid
    Kindroid★★★★★
  2. Nomi.ai
    Nomi.ai★★★★½
  3. Anima
    Anima★★★★
  4. Replika
    Replika★★★★½
  5. Character AI
    Character AI★★★★½
  6. Chai AI
    Chai AI★★½

The leaderboardHow we rate

Positions come from named public rating sources (App Store aggregates), clearly attributed. Nothing on this list can be bought.

We earn a commission if you sign up through some links on this page. It never changes our rankings. Disclosure

  1. Kindroid
    1

    Kindroid 18+

    ★★★★★ 4.8 App Store · Free preview / $13.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android

    A build-your-own companion. You write the backstory, choose and customise a voice, and Kindroid's documented memory, split across five systems including an editable journal, carries details between conversations. Free access is now a short preview on the flagship model followed by a three-day trial, and paid add-ons (Ultra, MAX) stack on the Standard plan. Kindroid's own guidelines allow adult roleplay.

    Read the Kindroid review · Visit Kindroid
  2. Nomi.ai
    2

    Nomi.ai 18+

    ★★★★½ 4.6 App Store · Free / $15.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android

    A memory-first companion from Glimpse.ai. Nomi documents short, medium and long-term memory as its core feature, and paid accounts can run up to ten Nomis and ten group chats at once. Its guidelines allow unfiltered text roleplay for adults, while nude or explicit images are banned across the platform. Available on the web, iOS and Android; the Android app is back on Google Play after two removals in autumn 2026.

    Read the Nomi.ai review · Visit Nomi.ai
  3. Anima
    3

    Anima 18+

    ★★★★ 3.99 App Store · Free / $9.99/mo · Web, Android

    An AI friend app from LABANE Corp, a Cyprus company, on Android and in the browser at myanima.ai. Its iPhone app is no longer on the US App Store. Chat is free to start, with Premium sold inside the app. The myanima.ai site now opens with a prompt pointing visitors to GetHoney, a different adult app.

    Read the Anima review · Visit Anima
  4. Replika
    4

    Replika

    ★★★★½ 4.4 App Store · Free / $79.99/yr · Web, iOS, Android, Meta Quest VR

    The companion app that started the category: Luka, Inc. says it built the first AI companion ten years ago. Replika remembers your people, plans and goals, offers text, voice calls and video chat, and frames itself around wellbeing and daily check-ins. Its terms prohibit pornographic content. Available on the web, iOS, Android and Meta Quest.

    Read the Replika review · Visit Replika
  5. Character AI
    5

    Character AI

    ★★★★½ 4.3 App Store · Free / $4.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android

    The largest character-chat platform, home to millions of user-made characters, with voice calls, group chats and in-chat images. Its Community Guidelines prohibit pornographic content for everyone, and since late 2025 users under 18 can no longer have open-ended chats. The free tier allows unlimited chats with ads and slow mode; c.ai lite and c.ai+ cut the ads and add memory.

    Read the Character AI review · Visit Character AI
  6. Chai AI
    6

    Chai AI 18+

    ★★½ 2.4 App Store · Pay per message / app Ruby $9.99/wk or $134.99/yr · Web (app.chai-ai.com and chai-ai.com), Android

    Chai Research's character-chat platform, with more than 25 million user-created characters by its own count. Chai's terms restrict it to adults and allow adult-oriented text, while explicit images and video are not allowed. It runs on Android and, since October 30, 2026, in a web browser at app.chai-ai.com; its iPhone app left the App Store on October 22, 2026, though installed copies keep working. A separate Chai Web Pro service at chai-ai.com has its own subscription.

    Read the Chai AI review · Visit Chai AI
  7. Animates
    7

    Animates 18+

    ★★★★½ 4.3 App Store · Free / $7.99/mo · iOS, Android, Windows, macOS

    The new home of Ani. Animation Inc, the studio that built Grok's 3D companions, launched Animates on August 28, 2026, days before xAI pulled Companions from Grok. It offers real-time voice, animated characters including Ani, Mika and Yuki, conversations that pick up where they left off, and the option to keep chatting over Telegram. It runs on iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. Nothing carries over from a Grok account.

    Read the Animates review · Visit Animates
  8. Janitor AI
    8

    Janitor AI 18+

    ★★★★½ 4.5 App Store · Free / $12.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android

    A community character platform where the chat itself is unlimited on the free tier, running a standard model with a shorter context. Its content policy permits adult content between consenting adult characters, and you can connect your own model provider through a proxy. The janitor+ subscription is its only paid plan.

    Read the Janitor AI review · Visit Janitor AI
  9. Intimate
    9

    Intimate 18+

    ★★★★½ 4.4 App Store · Free / $19.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android

    A mobile-first companion app from Growing Pains LLC with voice calling, an NSFW 18+ mode you switch on in settings, and a coin system for chats, calls and the photo gallery. New accounts get a free coin allowance; paid subscriptions sit on top. Available on iOS, Android and the web.

    Read the Intimate review · Visit Intimate
  10. CrushOn AI
    10

    CrushOn AI 18+

    ★★★½ 3.5 App Store · Free / $5.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android

    A character-chat platform run by Techiepie Ltd in Cyprus, with a large community library and a No Filter NSFW pitch for adults. The free tier gives 100 message credits a month plus unlimited use of the free models; paid tiers add credits, longer memory and custom voices. Its mobile apps carry other names: Crushmash on iOS and JollyChatter on Android.

    Read the CrushOn AI review · Visit CrushOn AI

See all 34 tracked companions

Latest news and dataNewsGuidesData

  1. News Apple's new age rating makes romantic AI companion apps 18+ Apps whose virtual companion engages users in sexual or romantic content must be rated 18+. Questions open November 16; the deadline is January 12, 2027.
  2. NewsUpdated SpicyChat updates: every change since July 2026, newest first SpicyChat's latest update (November 5) brought back the old way to delete messages, after favorite and sorting fixes on November 4. Every change, dated.
  3. NewsUpdated Apple's new rule for AI apps: Kindroid now blocks nude uploads on iPhone Kindroid says Apple now makes every AI app block nude image uploads. Its iPhone app does so from October 27, 2026; the web and Android apps are unaffected.
  4. NewsUpdated Character AI files for Chapter 11: is it shutting down? Not yet. Character AI is being sold in Chapter 11: bids are due November 24, the auction is December 1 and the court hears the sale December 3-4.
  5. News Chai personas and memory gone: the founder says they'll be back within 48 hours Yes, since November 3. Chai's founder called it a technical problem and said personas and memory would be restored within 24 to 48 hours.
  6. NewsUpdated Kindroid's free tier is gone: Lite retired on October 1, 2026 Kindroid ended Lite, its unlimited free tier, on October 1, 2026. What free accounts get now, what Lite users got, current prices and the free options left.
  7. GuideUpdated AI chatbot age verification: which apps check, how, and where AI chatbot age verification explained: which companion apps use face scans, selfies or ID, where the law forces checks, and what each method costs in privacy.
  8. NewsUpdated Chai is off the App Store: what its founder says and what still works Yes, since October 22, 2026. Chai now runs in Safari at app.chai-ai.com, and Chai says your characters, chats and plan carry over. Android still works.
  9. DataUpdated AI companion app shutdowns and feature withdrawals Every AI companion app shutdown, store removal and withdrawn feature since 2023, dated and sourced, with what users lost and whether refunds were offered.