Under $10/mo

Millions of community characters with unlimited free text chat

The default starting point: unmatched variety and the most generous free tier in the category.

Memory that survives months, across up to ten companions

The memory benchmark. If continuity is your main requirement, this is the one to beat.

The original AI friend, built around emotional connection

Still the strongest product for people who want one companion and a real feeling of continuity.

A clinically grounded wellbeing companion

A companion that is honest about being a tool rather than a relationship.

Six hand-written companions with long-term memory, free to try without an account

A deliberately hand-authored cast of six rather than a community character library — you trade variety for characters that keep one consistent voice.

ByteDance’s no-code bot builder

Build and ship custom AI chatbots to 8+ channels with plugins and workflows — a create-your-own toolkit, not a fixed companion.

An open-weight model with a surprisingly strong free chat

Not a companion, but its free, capable chat and long memory make it a credible daily AI friend.

Google assistant with image, video and live voice

A general assistant that doubles as a companion: strong memory, Imagen image generation, Veo video and a Live voice mode.

Open-ended roleplay and story writing with strong models

A roleplay and creative-writing tool built on capable open models, with a scenario builder and image generation for the worlds you create.

A screen-aware gaming companion that plays along with you

A gaming-focused companion that reads your screen and roleplays along, with voice, Live2D-style visuals and a Romantic mode on higher tiers.

Anime companion and character chat with built-in image generation

A community-driven anime companion hub: build your own character or talk to thousands of user-made ones, with image generation baked into the chat.

An AI dating assistant that drafts the perfect reply

A dating coach, not a companion: screenshot a conversation and get context-aware replies for Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and more.

Romance-first companion with an optional mature mode and a 40+ character roster

A romance-first companion with image generation and an optional mature mode — SFW by default.

Character depth built around an AI boyfriend

One of very few sites that treats male companions as the main product rather than an afterthought.

Chat with community-made AI characters, free to start

A lightweight character-chat app focused on a big community library and quick conversations, with image generation as a paid add-on.

Unlimited free text chat across 20M+ characters

The closest thing to Character.AI with a looser filter — as long as you accept an older model on free.

Voice-forward character roleplay with collectible cards

A mobile-first roleplay app that leans on voice and a playful card-collecting loop.

A polished desktop app for local companions

The easiest way to run a local companion without touching a terminal.

An AI dating simulator to practise romance safely

From the Replika makers: a judgement-free space to practise flirting and relationships with AI crushes — not a sexbot.

Talk to fictional, historical and celebrity-style characters

A character-chat site built around recognizable names — fictional, historical and celebrity-style personas you can message for free with caps.

Customisable companions with voice cloning and screen awareness

A flexible companion builder: 2D/3D avatars, voice cloning, long memory and screen sharing, with an optional NSFW toggle.

Unlimited chat with a structured memory system

Cheap, memory-first, and one of the few sites that lets the free tier actually test memory.

Text-only character chat with separate SFW and NSFW modes

A straightforward text character-chat app with a 6,000+ character library and separate SFW/NSFW modes — no voice or image generation.

A voiced alien companion that is refreshingly un-creepy

The most interesting voice-first companion to appear recently: friendship without romantic framing.

Mobile companion for friendship, flirting or roleplay

Cheap on the annual plan and flexible in tone, with a browser app alongside the mobile ones.

Build and train your own AI companion from scratch

A build-your-own companion toolkit: train custom AI pets with your own datasets, custom voices and image generation.

Anime companions alongside a strong art generator

The best pick if you want anime-style characters and image generation in one place.

Mobile character chat with a mature-mode toggle

Busy and ad-heavy on free, but the character roster is broad and it is one of few with a clear 17+ rating trail.

Anime chat with voice and a fast-growing roster

A newer anime-first entrant with solid voice work; worth watching rather than committing to.

Story-driven social roleplay with author-built worlds

A thoughtful, moderation-friendly take on AI roleplay that stays firmly in narrative territory.

Face-to-face video calls with a friendly AI

A neat demonstration of realtime video conversation; useful, if shallow.

Daily free messages with a broad character library

A fine free-tier stopgap; the paid tiers do not clearly beat the leaders.

Hand-written AI companions who remember you and never judge — free to try, no sign-up needed

A small cast of voiced, photogenic companions with persistent memory and up to 20 custom characters of your own, behind a single $9.99/mo Premium tier.