Optional mature mode

The self-hosted frontend the power users all run

If you want total control and zero subscription, this is where the advanced users live.

Memory that survives months, across up to ten companions

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

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.

Deep character builders with phone-grade voice calls

The best pick for people who will actually fill in the backstory — lazy setup buys you a chatbot.

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.

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.

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.

The veteran local-model front end, now a no-install desktop app

Formerly text-generation-webui: not a companion app, but the plumbing most local companion setups are built on.

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.

A pay-as-you-go isekai roleplay game with image, music and video generation

A story-driven isekai RPG where you spend credits on chat, image, music and video generation — no flat subscription, free Mana refreshes daily.

AI companions and girlfriends with an NSFW toggle

A companion platform with custom characters, image generation and voice, offering both SFW and NSFW modes.

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.

Browser-based character chat with card importing

A lighter alternative to SillyTavern that runs in a browser tab with no install.

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.

Casual mobile character chat with a big bot library

Low-friction and cheap to try, but the free message cap makes Premium near-essential.

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.

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.

One subscription for many models and community bots

The flexible pick: switch models per conversation, including companion-style bots.

Local characters with personality settings built in

Free, offline and surprisingly good at persona consistency for a local app.

Anime companions alongside a strong art generator

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

Subscription story writing with a serious image model

For long-form narrative and illustration, not for daily companionship.

Open-source multi-bot chat with persistent memory

Free and genuinely capable, with chat memory and multi-bot scenes.

Text adventures where the AI is your game master

Not a companion app, but the best pure narrative engine if you want a story rather than a partner.

Local story generation with no cloud dependency

The classic offline story engine: clunky, but it never phones home.

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.

A blunt-tongued assistant with companion features

A general assistant first. Fine company for casual banter, but companionship is a sideline here.

No account, no message cap, no paid tier

Rough around the edges, but nothing else on this list asks for so little.

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.