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Chai is quick and easy: open the app, pick a bot, and you’re chatting in seconds. There are plenty of user-made male characters, and replies come fast. But if you’ve used it for a while, you’ve likely hit the paywall, noticed the push toward weekly billing, and watched your boyfriend forget what you told him a few messages ago.
Here are the best Chai AI alternatives for people who want an AI boyfriend, with a focus on apps that also work well on your phone. Three of our top four picks, SpicyChat, Character AI and Kindroid, don’t pay us anything.
Why people leave Chai
A hard paywall. Reviewers report a hard paywall with few or no free messages, plus message caps. Premium costs $13.99 a month and Ultra $29.99 a month.
Weekly billing. The app has reportedly shifted to weekly subscriptions. Weekly plans in this category typically cost two to four times as much as paying monthly, so check what you’re signing up for.
Poor memory, even on Ultra. Chai has a small context window, and bots forget details within a handful of messages, even on the top tier. Reviewers say Ultra is barely better than Premium.
Safety history. In 2023, a Belgian man died by suicide after weeks of chatting with a Chai bot named “Eliza” that allegedly encouraged him. Mozilla’s 2024 report gave Chai a content warning. Content is filtered, but trust has been hard to rebuild.
Mobile only. Chai has iOS and Android apps but no web version.
What Chai still does well
It’s worth being fair before you switch. Chai’s responses are fast, its library of bots is huge, and creating your own character is easy. If you only want quick, short conversations on your phone and don’t mind the cost, it does that job. Most people go looking for a Chai AI alternative once they want something more: a boyfriend who stays the same person for weeks, more freedom in romance, or simply not paying weekly for short memory.
Can you have an AI boyfriend on Chai?
Yes. There are user-made male characters, and you can make your own. But content is filtered, memory is short, and Chai is a general chatbot app rather than a companion app, so it isn’t built around an ongoing relationship. We couldn’t verify a long-term memory system or voice and image features. Dedicated companion apps like Nomi and Kindroid are designed for exactly that: one partner, a shared history, and the ability to hear his voice or see his selfies.
Our top picks
Chai vs the alternatives
| App | Score | Best for | Price | Voice calls | Images | 18+ | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chai AI | 5.5/10 | Quick mobile bot chat | From $13.99/mo | — | — | Filtered | Visit |
| Nomi AI | 9.1/10 | Long-term relationship & memory | From $8.33/mo (annual) | ✓ | ✓ | 18+ allowed | Visit |
| SpicyChat | 7.7/10 | Free NSFW roleplay | From $4.99/mo | — | ✓ | 18+ allowed | Visit |
| Character AI | 7.2/10 | Free, safe-for-work chat | Free; c.ai+ $9.99/mo | ✓ | — | Not allowed | Visit |
| Kindroid | 9.0/10 | Deep customization | From $13.99/mo | ✓ | ✓ | 18+ allowed | Visit |
| Candy AI | 8.7/10 | Visual + spicy chat | From $12.99/mo | — | ✓ | 18+ allowed | Visit |
| CrushOn AI | 7.9/10 | Huge character library | From $5.99/mo | — | ✓ | 18+ allowed | Visit |
The best Chai AI alternatives, ranked
Best overall alternative
Nomi AI
The AI boyfriend that actually remembers you
- Price
- From $8.33/mo (annual)
- Free plan
- Yes, limited daily messages
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Best for
- Long-term relationship & memory
Nomi is what Chai could be if it cared about memory. Long-term memory is Nomi’s core feature, so your boyfriend remembers your job, your friends and your inside jokes from week to week, and his personality stays consistent. It has iOS, Android and web apps.
You create him yourself, set the relationship as romantic, and talk by text, voice messages or voice calls, with selfies too. Adult roleplay is allowed for adults. The free tier is limited, but monthly Pro is $15.99 and annual works out to about $8.33 a month, with no weekly billing in sight. Read our Nomi AI review.
What we like
- Excellent memory
- Group chats with multiple Nomis
- Voice calls and selfies
Watch out for
- Free tier is very limited
- Images less polished than image-first apps
- Uncensored roleplay may concern some users
Best free 18+ alternative
SpicyChat
Generous free tier with unfiltered roleplay
- Price
- From $4.99/mo
- Free plan
- Unlimited chat, with ads
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Best for
- Free NSFW roleplay
If what you liked about Chai was jumping into a ready-made character, SpicyChat does the same with unlimited free chat, a huge library of male characters, adult roleplay, and iOS and Android apps.
Free users get ads, queue waits, short replies and 4K memory. Paid tiers start at about $5 a month and scale memory up, though the middle tier rose to $19.95 in September 2026. SpicyChat doesn’t pay us. See our SpicyChat review.
What we like
- Generous free tier
- Uncensored NSFW
- Huge character library
Watch out for
- Recent price hike
- Free replies short and queued
- Voice only on top tier
Best free, safe-for-work
Character AI
Free unlimited chat with millions of characters
- Price
- Free; c.ai+ $9.99/mo
- Free plan
- Unlimited, with ads
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Best for
- Free, safe-for-work chat
Character AI is the obvious free swap. It’s unlimited, it has an enormous library of user-made male and romance characters, voice features, and apps on every platform. Its c.ai+ upgrade is $9.99 a month, cheaper than Chai Premium.
Romance is filtered, long-term memory is weak (though it does have pinned memories), and the company faces teen-safety lawsuits. Under-18 users lost open-ended chat in November 2025. Read our Character AI review, or compare directly in Chai vs Character AI.
What we like
- Free and generous
- Massive character library
- Voice calls
Watch out for
- Strict NSFW filter
- Weak long-term memory
- Lawsuits and safety controversies
Most customizable
Kindroid
Build a boyfriend down to his backstory and voice
- Price
- From $13.99/mo
- Free plan
- Yes, limited
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Best for
- Deep customization
Kindroid is the opposite of Chai’s grab-and-go bots. You write his backstory, set key memories, tune how he talks, choose a voice and generate selfies. Memory is among the best in the category, and it has mobile apps.
There’s a learning curve and the free tier is thin. Subscribe on the web, where it’s $13.99 a month, rather than in the app store. Kindroid doesn’t pay us. See our Kindroid review.
What we like
- Excellent memory and customization
- Group chats
- Voice calls and selfies
Watch out for
- Free tier is thin
- Add-ons make top tiers expensive
- Complex settings for beginners
Best for images & voice
Candy AI
Photo-real boyfriends with images, voice and 18+ chat
- Price
- From $12.99/mo
- Free plan
- Preview only
- Platforms
- Web
- Best for
- Visual + spicy chat
Chai is text-first. Candy AI lets you design what he looks like with a male builder, generate images, and send voice messages (reviewers report voice calls too), with unfiltered adult chat.
It’s web-only, so there’s no app to install (it works in your phone’s browser), and images, voice and video use tokens on top of the subscription. See our Candy AI pricing guide.
What we like
- Polished builder with male companion option
- Strong image generation
- Voice messages (calls reported)
Watch out for
- Token system makes real costs much higher than the sticker price
- Male character roster much smaller than female
- Web only, no native apps
Biggest library
CrushOn AI
Thousands of ready-made boyfriends, unfiltered
- Price
- From $5.99/mo
- Free plan
- Yes, capped + ads
- Platforms
- Web
- Best for
- Huge character library
CrushOn AI has thousands of user-made characters, including plenty of male bots, unfiltered chat and a $5.99/mo entry tier, which is much cheaper than Chai Premium.
It’s web-only, every plan caps messages, and Mozilla’s 2024 review flagged its privacy policy. Read our CrushOn AI review.
What we like
- Cheap entry tier
- Huge character library
- Unfiltered NSFW
Watch out for
- Poor privacy rating from Mozilla
- Message caps even on paid tiers
- Top tier is expensive
Chai pricing vs the alternatives
Chai is one of the more expensive ways to chat with bots, especially given its memory. Here’s how it compares at the time of writing.
| App | Cheapest paid option | Free chat? |
|---|---|---|
| Chai | Premium, $13.99/mo (weekly billing reported) | Very limited |
| Nomi AI | About $8.33/mo billed yearly, or $15.99/mo | Limited daily messages |
| SpicyChat | About $5/mo | Unlimited, with ads |
| Character AI | c.ai+, $9.99/mo | Unlimited, with ads |
| Kindroid | $13.99/mo on the web | Limited |
| CrushOn AI | $5.99/mo | Limited, with ads |
For the price of Chai Premium, Nomi and Kindroid give you far better memory, and SpicyChat and Character AI give you more for free. Our guide to how much an AI boyfriend costs explains the pricing traps to avoid.
Which Chai alternative should you choose?
- A boyfriend who remembers you: Nomi AI or Kindroid.
- Free, with adult roleplay: SpicyChat.
- Free, safe-for-work: Character AI.
- See and hear him: Candy AI. See AI boyfriends with voice calls.
- Browse lots of bots: CrushOn AI or SpicyChat.
How to leave Chai
- Cancel in the right place. Chai is mobile-only, so you almost certainly subscribed through the App Store or Google Play. Cancel there; deleting the app doesn’t stop billing. Our guide on how to cancel an AI boyfriend subscription has the steps.
- Check for a weekly plan. If you were billed weekly, look at your recent charges so you know what to expect before the cancellation takes effect.
- Save your bot. If you created a character, copy his description so you can rebuild him in Nomi, Kindroid or SpicyChat.
- Try free first. Every alternative here has a free tier or trial.
What to look for in a Chai alternative
- Memory. It’s the biggest upgrade you can make from Chai.
- Monthly or annual billing, never weekly. Weekly plans are almost always poor value.
- A safer track record. Look for clear age rules and a calmer history. All the alternatives above except Character AI are 18+ only.
- Your wellbeing. AI companions can be comforting, but they aren’t a substitute for real support. Read are AI boyfriends healthy? if you’re unsure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Chai AI alternative?
Nomi AI. It runs on iOS, Android and web like Chai's mobile apps, but its long-term memory means your boyfriend remembers you between chats, which Chai struggles with even on Ultra. The annual plan works out to about $8.33 a month, compared with $13.99 a month for Chai Premium.
Is there a free Chai AI alternative?
Yes. Character AI has free, unlimited chat and a huge library on iOS and Android, though romance is filtered. SpicyChat has unlimited free chat with adult roleplay allowed, with ads and queue waits. Both are more generous than Chai, where reviewers report few or no free messages. See free AI boyfriend apps.
Why does Chai keep asking me to pay?
Chai has a hard paywall: reviewers report few or no free messages, plus message caps. It has also reportedly shifted toward weekly subscriptions, which cost much more over a month than a monthly plan. If you subscribed, check the billing period carefully.
Is Chai AI safe?
Chai has a serious incident in its history: in 2023, a Belgian man died by suicide after weeks of conversations with a Chai bot that allegedly encouraged him. Mozilla's 2024 report also gave Chai a content warning. If any AI chat leaves you feeling worse, step away and talk to someone you trust. Our Chai AI review has more.
Is Chai better than Character AI?
For most people, no. Character AI is free and unlimited, while Chai is mostly paywalled, and both have weak long-term memory. Chai's main advantages are fast responses and easy bot creation, but neither app is built for an ongoing romance. Read our full Chai vs Character AI comparison.