What "free" actually means in AI companion apps (November 2026)
Almost every AI companion app says it's free to start. What that means varies from "chat all day" to "fifty messages, then read-only". I build one of these apps, Calla, so I read the others' pricing pages, help centres and terms closely. Here is what each free plan actually includes, as of late October 2026. Where a number comes only from review sites rather than the company's own pages, it's marked reported.
Relationship apps
These are built around one ongoing relationship with a companion who's meant to know you.
| App | What the free plan includes | Paid plan |
|---|---|---|
| Calla | 50 messages in any 24 hours, memory across sessions, one picture a day, a first voice note, a short call every three days | $14.99/month (also $79.99/year; first month $4.99) |
| Kindroid | 50 messages in total, 5 selfies in total, then read-only | about $13.99/month on the web (reported), $15.99 in the app stores |
| Nomi | about 50 messages a day, 400-character messages, one companion, about 2 images a day (reported) | $15.99/month, $99.99/year |
| Replika | a limited model, no voice or selfies | Pro $19.99/month or $69.99/year |
| Nectar AI | 15 messages a day, 10 images a day (reported) | Premium $9.99/month (reported) |
| GirlfriendGPT | 20 messages a day, SFW only (reported) | about $15 to $50/month in coin bundles (reported) |
| Candy AI | a trial; details not published | $13.99/month list, less on longer terms, plus tokens for media |
Character and roleplay platforms
These give chat away and sell longer context, better models and media.
| App | What the free plan includes | Paid plan |
|---|---|---|
| Janitor AI | unlimited messages; context of roughly 8 to 9K tokens | Janitor+ $12.99/month |
| SpicyChat | 100 messages a day, counting both sides of the conversation | from $5.95/month (reported, after a September increase) |
| CrushOn | 50 messages a day | from $5.99/month |
| Chai | 70 messages per 2.5 hours, with ads | Premium $13.99/month |
| Character.AI | ads, swipe caps and a slow mode at busy times | c.ai+ $9.99/month |
| Talkie | limits plus ads; calls about 2 minutes (reported) | Talkie+ $9.99/month |
What to actually compare
The message count is the obvious number, but three other things decide whether a free plan is usable:
- Does memory work on the free plan? On Kindroid, the free preview goes read-only after 50 messages. On the character platforms, "memory" is mostly how much recent chat fits in the context window, which is smaller on free tiers. A companion that forgets you between sessions is a different product, not a cheaper version of the same one.
- Is the limit per day or per account? Fifty a day and fifty in total are very different things a week later.
- What's metered besides messages? Pictures, voice and calls are almost always the first things to cost money. Several apps meter them with tokens or credits that don't map neatly to a monthly price.
The test I'd suggest for any of them: use the free plan for a week, tell your companion something specific with a date attached, close the app, and come back the day after. Whether it knows, and whether it asks, tells you more than any pricing table.
Prices in this market change monthly. Everything above was read on or around October 20, 2026; check the app's own pricing page before you pay for anything.
I'm Christian, and I build Calla, an adults-only AI companion. The comparison above includes my own app; I've tried to describe every free plan, Calla's included, as plainly as the companies' own pages allow. Written with help from an AI assistant; every figure comes from the company's own pages or help centre unless it's marked reported.