The State of AI Companions
A data-driven snapshot of the AI companion market — built from real attributes of 242 tracked products. Free to read, free to cite.
↓ Vollständigen PDF-Bericht (2026) herunterladenWhat companions can do
Share of tracked products offering each capability (real attributes, not modeled).
How they price
93% offer a free tier. Among paid plans, average effective monthly price is $10.38 (annual pricing amortised).
| Price band | Products | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Free / freemium | 124 | 51% |
| $1–5 / mo | 21 | 9% |
| $5–10 / mo | 53 | 22% |
| $10–20 / mo | 33 | 14% |
| $20+ / mo | 11 | 5% |
Where they live
Top categories
- roleplay — 120
- free-budget — 104
- create-your-own — 90
- image-gen — 84
- memory — 54
- video — 52
- voice-calls — 38
- top-picks — 9
Tags mit dem höchsten Volumen
Editor’s picks 2026
Standout products our editors chose this year.
Methodology
Source: the isoulchat directory catalog, a curated index of AI companion and character-AI products (snapshot 2026-11-05). Every figure is computed directly from each product’s declared attributes — nothing is estimated or fabricated. Where historical data is unavailable we describe the current structure rather than invent a trend. The full report is available as a free PDF for journalists, researchers and builders; attribution back to isoulchat.com is appreciated but not required.