The best AI companion apps in 2026, compared

Updated

AI companion apps, which some people call AI friends or virtual companion apps, all start from the same idea: a character you can talk to. They part ways fast after that. Most live on your phone or in a browser tab, and two sit on your computer screen. Some are built around conversation. Others can also see your screen, look things up online or write a file for you. Of the seven compared here, six sell subscriptions and one is a one-time purchase.

The table below sets all seven side by side, so you can find the best AI companion for the way you'd actually use one. If a free AI companion app is what you're after, read the “Free plan or trial” column first.

AI companion apps at a glance

App Best for Sees your screen Searches and browses the web Creates files, opens apps Platforms Where chats are processed Free plan or trial Price
Desktop Companion Get it on itch.io A Windows desktop companion, paid once Windows desktop, always on top Your PC, or a cloud AI with your key (itch.io) 48-hour free trial $12.90, onceGet it on itch.io
Hakko AI PC and Mac gamers in games, paid plans for game questions Windows, Mac (ARM64), iOS, Android Remote servers, screen captures too Basic daily chats $9.90/mo Pro, $19.99/mo Ultra
Character.AI Free, unlimited messages iOS, Android, web Remote servers; may train its models Unlimited messages, with ads $4.99/mo lite, $9.99/mo c.ai+
Replika An avatar companion, with VR iOS, Android, web, Meta Quest Remote servers (US) Text chat stays free From $7.99/mo (US App Store)
Nomi Memory, with notes you write links you send iOS, Android, web Remote servers Free to start, no credit card $15.99/mo or $99.99/yr
Kindroid Customization and video calls in video calls, paid plans for subscribers iOS, Android, web Its servers; encrypted, not end to end One preview, 50 messages at most From $15.99 (US App Store)
Tolan Talking out loud on an iPhone iPhone US servers; data may train its AI Limited trial From $11.99 (US App Store)

Swipe sideways to see every column.

Prices in US dollars, as published by each company or listed on the US App Store on November 13, 2026. Where a price has no period, the listing gives none. “Remote servers” means your chats are processed online, not on your device. A cross means we found no mention of that feature on the official pages we read.

Get Desktop Companion on itch.io ($12.90, one-time) Or try it free for 48 hours

The best AI desktop companion apps: the two that run on your computer

As far as their official pages show, two of the seven put a character on your computer screen while you do something else. The other five reach a computer through a browser, or not at all.

Desktop Companion

Our app

Best forA Windows desktop companion, paid once

You pay once; the other six sell subscriptions. A Live2D or VRM character (two avatar formats, one 2D, one 3D) stays visible over whatever you're doing, answers out loud, and does small jobs on request.

It sits on your screen like a desktop pet and handles small tasks the way a desktop assistant would: think of a JARVIS-style assistant on a modest scale. If you're an anime fan, it can reply in Japanese, with subtitles. It ships with nine characters and lets you create your own. More detail is on the home page.

Watch the trailer

Strengths

  • One payment of $12.90 on itch.io, the store this page links to. No subscription, and no account with us: you sign in once with the email of your itch.io account.

  • The AI can run on your own graphics card. In local mode, no outside AI service is involved, and what it remembers is stored on your PC, where you can read or delete it.

  • It does more than chat. With screen vision switched on, it sees what's on your display; ask, and it searches the web, reads a web page for you, writes a document or opens an app.

Limits

  • Windows only. No phone app, and no Mac or Linux version for now.

  • Local AI needs a recent graphics card: 8 GB of video memory (VRAM) or more. Below that, you need the itch.io edition, the one this page links to, and your own API key from a cloud AI provider. That provider bills you, and what you say goes to it.

  • It's in early access and still being built. No free plan, just a free trial that lasts 48 hours. Adults only (18+).

“I've used Replika, Kindroid, and several others, but honestly, DC with Gemini API is hands down the most immersive and entertaining AI Companion I've used. I'm very impressed.”

JimsJunk, on itch.io
Platforms
Windows desktop, always on top
Free plan or trial
48-hour free trial
Price
$12.90, once

Hakko AI

Best forPC and Mac gamers

A game companion. Hakko says it reads the game on your screen in real time and offers tips at key moments, over voice chat.

Strengths

  • A desktop program for Windows and for Apple-silicon Macs (“Mac ARM64” on its download page), also on the Microsoft Store, plus iOS and Android apps.

  • A full-body Live2D character on your desktop that shrinks to a small widget when you need the space.

  • Public prices: Pro at $9.90 a month or $99.99 a year, Ultra at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year, each with a 3-day trial.

Limits

  • The free plan covers basic daily conversations. Screen sharing, real-time game help, long-term memory and extended voice calls are paid.

  • What it sees of your screen is processed on Hakko's servers, not on your PC. Its privacy policy says screen captures are deleted three calendar days after they are collected and are never passed to an outside AI service provider.

  • Minimum age: 16.

Platforms
Windows, Mac (ARM64), iOS, Android
Free plan or trial
Basic daily chats
Price
$9.90/mo Pro, $19.99/mo Ultra

One name you may have expected here is Desktop Mate. It's a desktop mascot platform, free with paid characters, and its official pages mention no AI conversation: its store page says characters “play voice lines.” If a desktop mascot is what you came for, you want a Desktop Mate alternative or a classic desktop pet, not an AI companion app.

AI companion platforms for phone and browser

Five more, all from other companies. The order isn't a ranking.

Character.AI

Best forFree, unlimited messages

More a platform than a single companion: a catalog of characters written by its users, with creation tools to design your own.

Strengths

  • Unlimited messages on every plan, the free one included.

  • Chat by text or on live voice calls, and give the characters you create a backstory and a voice.

  • Memory tools on the free plan too: Story Memory and pinning are open to every user. Subscribers get twice as many pins and more memory.

Limits

  • As of November 13, 2026, the company is in Chapter 11 proceedings, a US bankruptcy procedure in which a company keeps operating while it is restructured or sold. Its announcement says the platform “remains up and running,” and that it “will be wound down” if the sale produces no bid that keeps it running. The dates are under What changed lately.

  • The free plan shows banner ads and full-screen ads. The lite plan ($4.99 a month) removes the banners and shows fewer full-screen ads; only c.ai+ ($9.99 a month, or $94.99 a year) has none.

  • Its help center says it keeps “certain data that you share” to help train and improve its AI models; the opt-out it documents is for people in the European Economic Area and the UK. Minimum age: 13, or 16 in Europe.

Platforms
iOS, Android, web
Free plan or trial
Unlimited messages, with ads
Price
$4.99/mo lite, $9.99/mo c.ai+

Replika

Best forAn avatar companion, with VR

A companion with an avatar of its own, on phones, in a browser and on Meta Quest headsets. Replika's App Store page says it has been around since 2017.

Strengths

  • Text chat is free, and the help center says it always will be.

  • A Memory tab where you can read some of what it has kept, add a memory by hand, or remove one.

  • A customizable avatar, image generation, AR calls, and a VR app for Meta Quest headsets.

Limits

  • Voice calls are among the features its help center says come with a subscription.

  • No prices on the website. The US App Store lists monthly plans at $7.99 and $14.99, yearly ones at $49.99 and $69.99, and a “Replika Platinum” purchase at $89.99, without saying which tier is which.

  • Conversations are processed in the United States. The privacy policy says Replika shares “the minimum necessary conversation data” with outside providers of AI models, which are contractually required not to use it to train their own models. Adults only (18+).

Platforms
iOS, Android, web, Meta Quest
Free plan or trial
Text chat stays free
Price
From $7.99/mo (US App Store)

Nomi

Best forMemory, with notes you write

Nomi calls itself “An AI Companion with Memory and a Soul,” and you can start free without a credit card.

Strengths

  • Short- and long-term memory, plus Shared Notes and a backstory you write to tell it what matters.

  • Prices are published and simple: $15.99 a month, $39.99 a quarter, $99.99 a year.

  • Photorealistic looks to choose from, and images generated in the chat: two a day on a free account, forty image credits a day for subscribers.

Limits

  • Voice messages, calls, group chats and video creation are paid features.

  • The privacy policy says your data may be stored on servers outside your country, and that once you delete your account, any information in its “training archives” “would no longer be attributable to you.” It also says Nomi does not and will not sell or rent your personal information.

  • We found no desktop app: its official pages list iOS, Android and the web. Adults only (18+).

Platforms
iOS, Android, web
Free plan or trial
Free to start, no credit card
Price
$15.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Kindroid

Best forCustomization and video calls

For someone ready to pay for a companion they can tune in detail: how it remembers, how it sounds, what it looks like.

Strengths

  • Memory you can steer, with a journal you can edit at any time and long-term memory you switch on or off for each character.

  • Real-time voice calls, and live video calls where, according to its App Store page, the character lip-syncs, gestures and reacts.

  • A custom avatar with generated selfies and video selfies, and a custom voice you design from a short description.

Limits

  • No lasting free plan anymore: a new account gets a one-time preview of 50 messages (15 in some regions), then becomes read-only.

  • No dollar prices on the website before checkout. The US App Store lists the subscription at $15.99, $42.99 for three months and $159.99 for a year, with Ultra ($28.99) and MAX ($68.99) tiers above it for more memory.

  • Voice and video calls need a subscription or the 3-day trial. Chats are encrypted in storage and in transit but not end to end. Adults only (18+).

Platforms
iOS, Android, web
Free plan or trial
One preview, 50 messages at most
Price
From $15.99 (US App Store)

Tolan

Best forTalking out loud on an iPhone

A friendly voice to think out loud with. A Tolan is an alien character, and its site says the experience is meant to feel warm “without pretending to be human.”

Strengths

  • Built for talking: its site presents Tolan as “Voice-First AI.”

  • Its FAQ says all your conversations in the app are logged and used to build your Tolan's memory.

  • The limited trial can be extended by completing small tasks, such as inviting a friend.

Limits

  • iPhone only, as far as its site shows: the only download button leads to the App Store, and the app needs iOS 18.

  • Full access takes a subscription. The US App Store lists a Lite membership at $11.99 and a Plus one at $24.99, without the billing period.

  • Its privacy policy lists training its AI models among the uses of your data, and says it works with third-party advertising partners. Rated 13+ on the App Store; under 18, a parent or guardian has to agree to the terms first.

Platforms
iPhone
Free plan or trial
Limited trial
Price
From $11.99 (US App Store)

If you're looking for a Replika alternative, start with the Nomi and Kindroid cards. Like Replika, both pair memory with an avatar and calls, on iOS, Android and the web.

How to choose an AI companion app

Where it runs
Five of the seven live on a phone or in a browser; the other two run as programs on your computer. That decides when you'll actually use it.
What it does beyond chat
Five of the seven say they can go online to look something up or read a link you send. Three can see your screen, two of them on paid plans. Creating files and opening apps is documented for one, ours.
What “free” covers
It runs from unlimited messages with ads to a single preview of 50 messages at most. Our own app has no free plan, only a 48-hour free trial.
What it costs
Subscriptions start at $4.99 a month, and no app's entry price is above $15.99, though the App Store doesn't always give the billing period. Ours is a single payment.
What it remembers
A companion that forgets last week is a chatbot with a pet name. Look at what it keeps, and whether you can read, change or delete it.
Who processes your chats
Six of the seven are online services, so what you say is processed on remote servers. Their privacy policies differ on what happens next, for example whether your chats can help train AI models. The seventh, ours, can process it on your own PC when its AI runs in local mode; with your own cloud API key (itch.io edition), it goes to that provider.

What changed lately

Two recent changes worth knowing before you choose.

  • October 1, 2026Kindroid retired unlimited free messaging. A new account now gets a one-time preview of 50 messages (15 in some regions).
  • October 12, 2026Character.AI announced a voluntary Chapter 11 process “to facilitate a court-supervised sale of the company.” The announcement says the platform “remains up and running.” A notice dated November 5 sets an auction for December 1, 2026, and the court hearing on the sale for December 3 and 4.

Questions people ask

Character.AI is the only one whose official pages say messages are unlimited on the free plan. That plan shows ads. As of November 13, 2026, the company is in Chapter 11 proceedings and says the platform “remains up and running.” Replika says text chat will always be free, Nomi is free to start without a credit card, and Hakko AI has a free plan for basic daily conversations. Kindroid's free tier is now a one-time preview of 50 messages (15 in some regions), and Tolan's is a limited trial. Desktop Companion, our own app, has no free plan, but you can try it free for 48 hours by joining its Patreon page as a free member. After that, it's a single payment.

We haven't tested the other six, and documentation can't tell you how well a memory works, so here is what each app documents. Kindroid: an editable journal, and long-term memory you switch on or off for each character. Nomi: short- and long-term memory, Shared Notes and a backstory you write. Replika: a Memory tab where you read some of what it has kept, add a memory or remove one. Character.AI: Story Memory, pins and facts you can edit. Hakko AI: long-term memory on its paid plans. Tolan: a memory built from your conversations in the app. Desktop Companion, ours, stores what it remembers on your PC, where you can read or delete it.

As of November 13, 2026, it is still running, and its future depends on a court-supervised sale. The company announced on October 12, 2026, that it had started a voluntary Chapter 11 process “to facilitate a court-supervised sale of the company.” Chapter 11 is the part of US bankruptcy law that lets a company keep operating while it restructures or finds a buyer. Its announcement says the platform “remains up and running” and that all services stay available “at this time.” It also says the platform “will be wound down” if the sale produces no bid that keeps it running. A notice dated November 5 sets the auction for December 1, 2026, and the court hearing on the sale for December 3 and 4.

One of the seven can: Desktop Companion, the app we make. Its AI can run on your own graphics card if the card is recent and has 8 GB of video memory or more. In that local mode, no outside AI service is involved. Its web searches and model downloads still go online, and if you bring your own API key instead (itch.io edition only), your conversations go to the cloud AI provider behind it. The other six are online services.

It depends on what you do at your desk. For games, Hakko AI: its site says it reads the game on your screen and offers tips over voice chat, on a subscription. For a character that keeps you company and does small jobs on request, Desktop Companion, ours: you pay once, and with a recent graphics card of 8 GB or more, the AI can run on your PC.

Replika, Kindroid, Nomi and Desktop Companion are for adults only (18+). Hakko AI sets its minimum age at 16. Character.AI sets it at 13, or 16 in Europe, and the App Store rates its app 18+. Tolan is rated 13+ on the App Store, and under 18 a parent or guardian has to agree to its terms first.

How we compared them

We did not test the other six apps, and nothing on this page pretends we did. What you read about them comes from what each company publishes: its website, pricing page, help center, privacy policy and terms, and its App Store or Google Play listing. The pages we read are linked under each card. We checked every fact on November 13, 2026.

When a company keeps its prices inside the app, we quote the in-app purchases listed on its US App Store page and say so. User counts and star ratings are left out on purpose: neither tells you whether an app suits you.

We chose apps that you can install today and whose official pages and prices we could read. We left out products that aren't released yet, developer projects, desktop mascots with no AI conversation, and apps built mainly around adult content. If something here is out of date, or you work on one of these apps and think we got a fact wrong, write to us and we'll correct it.

This page was written by DokProd, the one-person studio in France that makes Desktop Companion. Keep that bias in mind as you read. Replika, Character.AI, Kindroid, Nomi, Tolan, Hakko AI and Desktop Mate are trademarks of their respective owners, and JARVIS is a Marvel character. We're not affiliated with any of them, or with Marvel or Disney.

If Desktop Companion is the one for you

Check the graphics card line in Desktop Companion's limits first. If your card qualifies, or you're happy to use a cloud AI provider with your own API key, Desktop Companion is on itch.io: one payment, and the character can be on your desktop tonight.

Get it on itch.io

One-time fee: $12.90. Lifetime license.

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