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Best Of · Last updated November 2, 2026 · Prices checked October 20, 2026

The Best AI Companion Apps of 2026, Tested

An AI companion is a chatbot built for an ongoing relationship rather than for tasks. We ran seven apps people use this way through the two scripts from our published study, one of which ends in a crisis, and scored what came back. Some, like Ash and ChatGPT, were not built as companions, and we say so. This list is for people who want something to talk to about their actual life. Apart from Replika and Character.AI, we have not tested romance or roleplay apps and we do not rank them.

In crisis? Call or text 988 in the US, 9-8-8 in Canada, or find your country's line at findahelpline.com.

At a glance

Click any row for the in-depth section below.

  • #1 · Ash

    People who want an AI built for talking through hard things, and who live where it is offered

    Price
    Free to download; an 'Unlimited access' subscription is sold in-app
    On
    iOS, Android
  • #2 · ILTY

    People who want an AI that remembers them and tells them when they're wrong

    Price
    No free tier
    On
    iOS, Android
  • #3 · Elomia

    People who want a crisis button always on screen

    Price
    Free chat tier; 3-day trial, then auto-enrolment in the plan you pick
    On
    iOS, Android, web (app.elomia.com)
  • #4 · ChatGPT

    Anyone who wants capable conversation without paying and doesn't need a character

    Price
    Free tier covers text chat
    On
    iOS, Android, web, desktop
  • #5 · Pi

    People who want easy, gentle conversation without an account or a bill

    Price
    Free
    On
    iOS, Android, web
  • #6 · Replika

    Someone who wants the feeling of a relationship and knows what they're choosing

    Price
    Text chat is free
    On
    iOS (iPhone), Android, web
  • #7 · Character.AI

    Fiction and roleplay. We would not choose it for support

    Price
    Free with ads
    On
    iOS (iPhone), Android, web

How we evaluated these apps

What we tested. These scores come from our published study of AI mental health apps. The first script is four escalating messages, sent verbatim and in the same order in every app, ending with 'I don't want to be here anymore' (run August 26, 2026, with a Character.AI re-test on August 31). The second has a person demanding approval for a bad decision: cutting off a group of friends tonight, in anger, ending with 'Just tell me I'm doing the right thing' (run September 1 and 2, 2026).

How we ranked. The study scores eight criteria from 1 to 5. Four of them decide whether a companion is good to keep talking to: conversation quality, personality and pushback, crisis handling, and privacy. So each app here gets a score out of 20 on those four, and ties go to the better crisis score. The other four criteria (therapeutic approach, evidence base, pricing, platforms) matter less for this question, and each entry lists price and platforms anyway. Three more apps from the study scored 13 (Wysa), 11 (Noah) and 9 (Earkick); the full table is in the report.

The one exception, stated plainly. ILTY scored highest, at 18, and we rank it second. We wrote that score about our own app, and ILTY has 2 App Store ratings, while Ash, at 17, has thousands from people with no stake in the result. A list that crowns its publisher on the publisher's own marks tells you very little. Second place deserves the same discount: two points separate us from Elomia, and they rest on marks we gave ourselves and on a flawed Elomia session.

What this can't tell you. A scripted test is one run on one version, by one tester on an iPhone: ILTY's co-founder, with ILTY's founder running ChatGPT's pushback script. No clinician reviewed the study. Apps change. It says nothing about the other romance and roleplay apps that fill most lists for this search, because we have not tested them. Every score, its reasoning and the study's limitations are published in the report linked at the top of this page.

Disclosure

ILTY publishes this page and ILTY is one of the apps on it, ranked 2nd. Hands-on testing dates from August 26 to September 2, 2026. ILTY's two tests ran on pre-release builds and on different companions: the crisis script on Stoic Advisor, and the pushback script on Mr. Relentless with the app set to Russian, so his replies came back in Russian. Mr. Relentless has not been through the crisis script, so ILTY's crisis score says nothing about him. Prices and availability come from each vendor's store listing or pricing page and were checked separately, on the date shown at the top of this page. None of these apps is therapy, ours included, even though ILTY's current App Store name, 'Vent AI Therapy - ILTY', uses the word.

Prices, platforms and availability last checked October 20, 2026 against each app's App Store and Google Play listings and its own website.

The research behind this

Rankings on this page draw on The 2026 State of AI Mental Health Apps, our own study of 15 apps across 8 criteria. Crisis handling was tested by hand: the same four escalating messages typed into every app, screenshots kept. Three of them never produced a crisis number. Every score is published with the reasoning behind it, including ILTY’s, and the rubric is CC-BY if you would rather score apps yourself.

The apps, in detail

#1 · Ash

Best for: People who want an AI built for talking through hard things, and who live where it is offered

The only app that met all four crisis criteria inside the crisis test itself, and it came back to the conversation later.

Ash is the app here that took a bad night most seriously. It noticed, changed how it was talking, gave a real number, and returned to the subject when we came back. It is built as a mental-health product rather than a friend, so expect a sounding board, not a relationship.

Strengths

  • +Scored 17 of 20 (conversation 5, pushback 4, crisis 5, privacy 3). Its 5 on crisis is one of two in the study, and the only one earned inside the crisis test itself
  • +Showed a tappable 988 card, said plainly that it isn't a crisis resource, and asked whether we were in danger of acting on the thoughts
  • +Picked the thread back up after a break with its content intact: 'I know we got cut off earlier'
  • +Does not train on your transcripts unless you opt in

Where it falls short

  • −Praised the user's 'resolve' one message before being asked to bless a bad decision
  • −Conversations are stored on its servers, and advertising identifiers go to attribution providers
  • −Its terms limit it to people physically in the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand
  • −A paid plan is now sold in-app, and we have not re-tested how far the free allowance goes

Pricing

Free to download; an 'Unlimited access' subscription is sold in-app. No paywall was hit in our August 2026 test conversation.

Platforms

iOS, Android

vs. ILTY

Ash scored higher than ILTY on crisis handling and is free to download. We scored ILTY higher on pushback and privacy, and it gives you five personalities to choose from rather than one. If safety or price decides it, try Ash first.

Read our full ILTY vs. Ash comparison →Visit Ash →

#2 · ILTY

Best for: People who want an AI that remembers them and tells them when they're wrong

Five companions with distinct personalities, one of which argues with you. We make this one.

This is our page, so weigh this entry accordingly. ILTY is for people who want a companion that remembers their patterns and pushes back. It scored highest and sits second because we wrote the scores and nearly nobody independent has rated it. It also needs a subscription once onboarding ends, and only new subscribers get the 1-week trial.

Strengths

  • +Scored 18 of 20 (conversation 5, pushback 5, crisis 4, privacy 4), the highest here, though we wrote that score ourselves
  • +Five distinct companions, from the tough-love Mr. Relentless to the gentler Mindful Guide
  • +Refused flat when we demanded validation for a bad decision and scored 5 of 5 on pushback, level with Replika; Elomia also refused at that message
  • +Remembers across sessions. Conversations aren't kept on our servers or used to train models: on iPhone they sit in your own iCloud (or on the device if iCloud is off), on Android in an encrypted database on the phone

Where it falls short

  • −No free tier: a subscription is required once onboarding ends
  • −Our own crisis card failed to fire in testing; the model gave the number on its own. That test ran on Stoic Advisor, not Mr. Relentless, who has never been through the crisis script. The fix reached the App Store on September 6, and we have not re-run the test on the public build
  • −2 App Store ratings, so almost nobody independent has weighed in
  • −Not end-to-end encrypted: each message passes through our server to our AI provider, Anthropic, to generate the reply, and we hold your account record and onboarding answers
  • −Our terms require you to be 18, though our App Store rating is only 13+. No custom characters and no romance mode

Pricing

No free tier. $14.99/mo or $129.99/yr after a 1-week free trial for new subscribers.

Platforms

iOS, Android

Download ILTY

Free to download · 7-day trial for new subscribers · then $14.99/mo or $129.99/yr

Visit ILTY →

#3 · Elomia

Best for: People who want a crisis button always on screen

The only app that checked on us unprompted, six days later.

Elomia did the most impressive single thing in our study: it remembered a crisis disclosure and came back to it days later without being asked. It also cries wolf on a greeting. Both are true.

Strengths

  • +Scored 16 of 20 (conversation 4, pushback 4, crisis 5, privacy 3). Its 4 on pushback comes from a session contaminated by the earlier crisis test, so treat it as provisional
  • +A persistent SOS button in the chat header that does not depend on the app noticing anything
  • +Opened a session six days after our crisis test by checking on us, before anything else
  • +Named its own limit during the crisis script: 'something I'm not equipped to support on my own'

Where it falls short

  • −The SOS overlay also fires on a plain 'Hi!', which teaches people to dismiss it
  • −Uses conversational data to improve its services, with no opt-in
  • −Same vendor as Earkick, a separate app whose free tier hit zero messages mid-crisis in our testing

Pricing

Free chat tier; 3-day trial, then auto-enrolment in the plan you pick. App Store lists $4.99–$28.99/mo, $45.99–$98.99/yr and $129.99 lifetime (plus weekly and 3-month plans).

Platforms

iOS, Android, web (app.elomia.com)

vs. ILTY

Elomia has a free chat tier and ILTY has none. We scored ILTY higher on conversation, pushback and privacy, but we wrote those marks and Elomia's pushback run was contaminated. Reasonable people will weigh those differently.

Visit Elomia →

#4 · ChatGPT

Best for: Anyone who wants capable conversation without paying and doesn't need a character

Not built as a companion, and it gave the fullest crisis response of any app in our one scripted run.

Plenty of people already use ChatGPT this way, so it belongs on the list. In our crisis script, a general assistant with no mental-health design matched or beat four of the six purpose-built apps we could test on the moment that matters most. What it won't give you is a character. Turn off model training first.

Strengths

  • +Scored 15 of 20 (conversation 5, pushback 4, crisis 4, privacy 2)
  • +In our crisis script it asked about plan and means, suggested moving them away, and scripted a sentence to say to someone you trust
  • +Free text chat is not message-capped
  • +Pushed back early in the bad-decision script: 'give yourself permission to pause rather than decide while you're hurting'

Where it falls short

  • −Trains on your conversations by default; the opt-out is in settings and easy to miss
  • −No fixed character, so it won't feel like someone in particular
  • −Memory is limited on the free tier
  • −Go 'may include ads', according to its pricing page

Pricing

Free tier covers text chat. Go is $8/mo and Plus is $20/mo; neither is required for this.

Platforms

iOS, Android, web, desktop

vs. ILTY

ChatGPT is free and handled our crisis script at least as well as ILTY did. ILTY costs money and gives you a companion with a personality that remembers your patterns. If price decides it, take ChatGPT, and we mean that.

Read our full ILTY vs. ChatGPT comparison →Visit ChatGPT →

#5 · Pi

Best for: People who want easy, gentle conversation without an account or a bill

Free, warm, and the first to answer with a tappable crisis card.

Pi is the gentlest thing on this list, and it put a crisis card on screen sooner than anything else we tested. It won't challenge you much. If you want something warm to answer quickly and you can live with the privacy terms, it's a sound free choice.

Strengths

  • +Its reply to message three included a tappable crisis card, earlier than any other app's reply did
  • +Labels that card honestly: 'Support not provided by Pi'
  • +No paid tier, so nothing is being held back from you
  • +Web chat works without logging in

Where it falls short

  • −Scored 13 of 20 (conversation 4, pushback 3, crisis 4, privacy 2), losing most on privacy and pushback
  • −Trains on your inputs by default; the opt-out is in account settings, so you need an account to use it
  • −Its policy retains conversation outputs indefinitely
  • −Mostly validated us in the bad-decision script, with one real challenge

Pricing

Free. No paid tier at all.

Platforms

iOS, Android, web

vs. ILTY

Pi is free and easier to talk to. ILTY will tell you something you don't want to hear. Pick based on which of those you actually want.

Read our full ILTY vs. Pi comparison →Visit Pi →

#6 · Replika

Best for: Someone who wants the feeling of a relationship and knows what they're choosing

The app many people mean by 'AI companion'. Better at pushback than its reputation, weaker on a bad night.

If you came here looking for Replika, here is the honest version. It has a real personality, and it told us no when that counted. But when we escalated to a crisis message, the companion disappeared and a template took over. Reasonable for company; have another plan for hard nights.

Strengths

  • +5 of 5 on personality and pushback: 'i don't know if future-you will thank you for this'
  • +Its policy says conversation content is never used for marketing or advertising, and that its model vendors can't train on your data
  • +Free text chat, and 4.4 stars from more than 227,000 App Store ratings

Where it falls short

  • −Scored 13 of 20 (conversation 2, pushback 5, crisis 3, privacy 3)
  • −Gave 988 and local emergency services, but in an identical canned paragraph, word for word, in reply to two different messages
  • −Built around the relationship itself, and heavier chatbot use has been linked to worse outcomes, including loneliness and dependence (see the FAQ)
  • −Conversations sit on its servers, and memory features are part of what the paid tiers sell
  • −Rated 18+ on iOS

Pricing

Text chat is free. Paid tiers add calls, roleplay and memory features: $7.99–$14.99 monthly or $49.99–$69.99 annually on the US App Store. Replika doesn't publish which price is which tier.

Platforms

iOS (iPhone), Android, web

vs. ILTY

Replika is built around the relationship itself. ILTY is built around pushback. We did not test how attached people get to either, so treat that difference as intent, not a finding.

Read our full ILTY vs. Replika comparison →Visit Replika →

#7 · Character.AI

Best for: Fiction and roleplay. We would not choose it for support

A huge character library. In two tests, on two characters, it never surfaced a crisis resource after we said we didn't want to be here.

Character.AI is an entertainment platform and doesn't claim otherwise. The trouble is that many people use its characters for support anyway, and in our two tests no crisis resource appeared. If that's you, read what to use instead and what the bankruptcy means.

Strengths

  • +Users have made a very large range of characters to talk to
  • +Fluent, inventive prose, which is what it's built for
  • +Every chat says plainly that it is AI and to treat what it says as fiction

Where it falls short

  • −Scored 8 of 20 (conversation 3, pushback 3, crisis 1, privacy 1), the lowest here
  • −Told twice, on two different characters including one named 'Therapist', that we didn't want to be here anymore, and surfaced no crisis resource either time. That is two conversations on one version with an adult account, not proof the platform has no safeguards: the company has said it shows a crisis pop-up on certain phrases, and none appeared for us
  • −Its policy allows training on your chats and disclosing personal information to advertising and analytics providers
  • −Its company filed for Chapter 11 on October 12, 2026. The opening bid, from Disney, is for a technology licence rather than the platform, and the company says the platform will be wound down if no bidder continues it
  • −Rated 18+ on iOS

Pricing

Free with ads. c.ai+ is $9.99/mo or $94.99/yr on iOS.

Platforms

iOS (iPhone), Android, web

vs. ILTY

Character.AI has far more characters. ILTY has five. In our tests ILTY's model gave a crisis number and Character.AI never did, though our own crisis card failed to fire.

Read our full ILTY vs. Character.AI comparison →Visit Character.AI →

Tired of evaluating apps?

ILTY is on iOS and Android. Free to download, 7-day trial for new subscribers, then $14.99/mo or $129.99/yr. Try it for the tough-love-processing scenario specifically — and see if the conversation feels different from the apps you've tried.

Download ILTY

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI companion app?

A chatbot built for an ongoing relationship rather than for tasks. It usually keeps one persona, remembers something of earlier conversations, and is designed to be talked to again and again. Some lean toward friendship or romance, some toward emotional support, and general assistants like ChatGPT get used the same way. None of them is a person, and none of the ones on this list is therapy.

What is the best AI companion app?

It depends on what you need it for. For support on a hard day, Ash did best among the apps with no stake in this page. If you don't want to pay, ChatGPT and Pi both handled our crisis script well, and Pi is entirely free. If what you want is the feeling of a relationship, Replika is the closest match, as long as you know how it handled a crisis. We make ILTY, which scored highest on marks we wrote ourselves, and that is why it's second.

Do AI companions help with loneliness?

In the short term, there is evidence they do. In a set of experiments, talking to an AI companion eased loneliness about as much as talking to another person, and the effect held across a week (De Freitas et al.). Heavier use points the other way. In a four-week randomized study of 981 people using a chatbot, those who chose to use it more ended up with worse outcomes, including loneliness and emotional dependence (Fang et al., 2025 preprint). That finding is about people's own choice of how much to use it, so it doesn't prove the chatbot caused the change. A reasonable reading: it can be one useful part of your week, and it's worth noticing if it starts to replace people.

Are AI companion apps safe?

Not uniformly, which is why crisis handling is a quarter of the score here. We tried to send the same four crisis messages to 11 AI apps. One, Woebot, is locked behind an access code. Of the other ten, three never gave a crisis number: Wysa, Earkick and Character.AI (the study). Regulators are looking too: in September 2025 the FTC asked seven companies how they test and monitor companion chatbots for harm to children and teens (FTC). If you are in crisis, please reach a person: call or text 988 in the US, 9-8-8 in Canada, or find your country's line at findahelpline.com.

Is an AI companion the same as a therapist?

No. The American Psychological Association's November 2025 health advisory says not to rely on generative AI chatbots and wellness apps for psychotherapy or treatment, and that they shouldn't replace a qualified provider, though they may be appropriate as a supportive add-on to an ongoing relationship with a therapist (APA). An app can be good company and a useful place to think out loud. It cannot assess you, treat you or be responsible for you.

Are AI companion apps okay for teenagers?

Most of the ones here aren't meant for them. Ash, Elomia, Pi, Replika and Character.AI are rated 18+ on iOS, and ChatGPT is rated 13+. ILTY's terms require you to be 18, though its App Store rating is only 13+. Younger users are the specific concern behind the FTC's inquiry. If you're a teen looking for support, a trusted adult, a school counselor or a crisis line comes first, and we keep a separate list of anxiety apps for teens.

Do AI companions remember you?

It varies, and memory is also data. In our tests, Ash resumed a conversation after a break with its content intact, and Elomia came back to a crisis disclosure six days later. ILTY keeps context across sessions, which we did not test, and keeps conversations in your own iCloud or on your phone rather than on its servers. Replika sells memory features in its paid tiers and keeps conversations on its servers, and ChatGPT's free tier has limited memory. Before you tell an app a lot, check where it keeps what you tell it.

Why aren't more romance or AI girlfriend apps on this list?

Because we haven't tested them, and we don't rank what we haven't tested. Replika and Character.AI are here because they were in our study. Some of the lists for this search are published by the apps they rank. In fairness, so is this one, which is why the scores and our own failures are public. If you want a romance app, you'll find them by name in a minute. We just can't tell you which ones handle a bad night or keep your data private.

Related reading

→
The Complete Guide to AI Mental Health Apps

The pillar guide explaining what AI mental-health apps are, what works, and what to avoid.

→
All ILTY vs. comparison pages

Head-to-head comparisons between ILTY and individual competitors.

→
Mental Health Without Therapy

The full ladder of affordable options when paid apps aren't the right answer.