AI companion app pricing, compared side by side
One table, two columns that matter: what each app advertises, and what it costs once metered images and voice are counted. The difference is often 3x.
Comparing AI companion apps on their advertised monthly price produces a table that is almost useless, because the apps are not selling the same thing. Some charge one fee for everything. Others charge a fee and then meter the features you actually use. This page compares both numbers.
Prices last checked September 2026. AI companion apps change pricing often, run regional pricing, and discount heavily on annual plans. Treat every figure here as a starting point and check the app's own billing page before you pay. We take no affiliate commission from any app named on this site, and nothing here is a paid placement.
The comparison
| App | Model | Sticker /mo | Annual equivalent | Realistic /mo, daily user | Metered? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomi | Flat rate | $14.99-$15.99 | discounted | $15-$16 | No |
| Kindroid | Flat rate | ~$13.99 | discounted | ~$14 | No |
| Replika | Flat rate | up to $19.99 | ~$240/yr | ~$20 | No |
| Character.AI | Flat rate | ~$10 | discounted | ~$10 | No (and non-adult) |
| GirlfriendGPT Premium | Sub + coins | $15 | ~$12 | $25-$50 | Yes |
| GirlfriendGPT Deluxe | Sub + coins | $35 | ~$24.50 | $35-$60 | Yes |
| Candy.ai | Sub + tokens | $12.99-$13.99 | as low as ~$4 | $25-$60 | Yes |
| Self-hosted open model | None | $0 | $0 | $0 + electricity | No |
How to read this
The "Metered?" column is the whole comparison. A "no" means the sticker price is the price. A "yes" means the sticker price is an entry fee and your real bill depends on how much you use the product — which, for a product designed to be engaging, tends to be "a lot".
The cheapest-looking row is often the most expensive. Candy.ai's annual pricing can work out near $4 a month, the lowest headline figure in the category, and the same platform lands metered users at $25-$60. Both numbers are true. Only one of them is a budget.
Flat-rate apps are the predictable choice. If you want to know what you'll spend, pick a flat-rate app. You give up some image quality and some novelty; you gain a bill that doesn't surprise you.
What you're actually paying for
Across all of these, the cost drivers are the same three things:
- Text generation is cheap. This is why every app can afford a free tier and why text-only plans cluster around $10-$15.
- Image generation is expensive per unit and is the reason metering exists. An app that lets you generate unlimited images at a flat rate is either limiting quality, limiting speed, or losing money on heavy users.
- Voice and video are more expensive still, which is why they sit behind the higher tiers almost everywhere.
That ordering is worth internalising because it predicts pricing you haven't seen yet. Any new app will give away text, meter images, and gate video.
The cheapest honest answer
If price is genuinely the deciding factor: use a free tier to decide whether you enjoy this at all, then pay monthly for a flat-rate app for two months, then switch to that app's annual plan if it stuck. That path costs about $30 to find out and roughly $10 a month thereafter, which is the floor for a commercial product. Below that, you're self-hosting — see the privacy guide, where self-hosting is also the strongest answer.