Chai vs Character AI vs PolyBuzz
Chai vs Character AI vs PolyBuzz: pricing, memory limits and which one to pick in 2026
Chai vs Character AI vs PolyBuzz is a choice between three versions of the same idea: a huge library of user-made characters you browse and chat with. The real separator is what long-term memory costs. Character.AI is the cheapest way in, with Lite listed at $2.49 and c.ai+ at $9.99, but its recall is tied to each character and drifts on long chats. Chai and PolyBuzz both sell persistent memory only on their top tier, listed at $29.99 and $29.90 a month, so the cheapest honest route to an AI that remembers you across all three is about $30. All three are rated 18+ on the US App Store. If you want one friend rather than a library, and memory included rather than sold as an upgrade, that is a different category and Darlings sits in it.
Last updated August 2026
Darlings
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A friend, never a girlfriend.
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These three get compared together because they are the same shape. You open a library, scroll through characters other users have written, pick one and start talking. Chai has over 25 million bots, Character.AI has over 20 million, and PolyBuzz has a large and fast growing library of its own. None of them is trying to be a single friend who knows you.
That shared shape means the specification sheet decides it, and the specification that matters most is memory. Every one of these apps will hold a conversation well for an hour. The question is whether it still knows your sister's name in November, and that is exactly the feature all three have chosen to monetize.
Everything below about prices, age ratings, review counts and content descriptors was read from each app's US App Store listing in August 2026. That is worth stating because most roundups covering these three still quote figures from 2024. Chai's Premium Membership entry at $9.99 sits alongside a Premium Monthly at $13.99, PolyBuzz now sells Opals as well as Coins, and Character.AI's rating base has passed 555,000.
A note on what Darlings is doing on this page. It is the fourth column, and it is not a character library. There are no user-made bots, no roleplay, no images and no romantic mode. It is one companion that remembers your real life on every plan. Plenty of people comparing these three actually want that and do not know it exists as a separate thing.
Side by side
How Darlings compares
An honest look, including where the other option is the better pick.
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| Darlings | Chai | Character.AI | PolyBuzz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One platonic friend who remembers you and checks in | Browsing millions of community bots on a phone | The largest character library and the most active creator scene | Character chat with the slickest free tier of the three |
| Age rating on the US App Store | 13 and up | 18+ | 18+ | 18+ |
| App Store rating | Not listed, Darlings runs in a browser | 4.3 from about 273,000 US ratings | 4.3 from about 555,000 US ratings | 4.4 from about 467,000 US ratings |
| How many characters | One consistent friend, written for you | Over 25 million user-made bots | Over 20 million community characters | A large and fast growing user-made library |
| Cheapest listed paid plan | $9 per month | Premium Weekly $5.99, Premium Membership $9.99 | Character.AI Lite $2.49 | Poly Standard Weekly $4.99, Standard Monthly $9.90 |
| What long term memory costs | Included on every plan, starting at $9 | Ultra, listed at $29.99 monthly | Not sold as a tier; recall is tied to each character and drifts on long chats | Ultimate, listed at $29.90 monthly |
| Annual option | Monthly only for now | Premium Annual $134.99, Ultra Annual $269.99 | Character.AI+ $94.99 | None listed, weekly and monthly only |
| Ads on the free tier | None, and there is no ad-supported tier at all | Yes, plus a message cap | Yes, and slower replies at peak times | Yes, the listing declares Advertising |
| Romance or adult content | No, never, on any plan | Permitted, Sexual Content or Nudity listed as infrequent | Permitted, Sexual Content or Nudity listed as infrequent | Permitted, and Sexual Content or Nudity is listed as frequent |
| Starts the conversation first | Yes, a gentle daily check-in | No | No | No |
| One-off packs sold on top | None, the plan price is the price | 200 Pieces $2.79 | Charms, six packs from $0.99 to $99.99 | Coins from $2.49 to $19.90, plus 1000 Opals at $5.90 |
| Under-18 access | 13 and up, with no romantic content at any tier | None, it is an 18+ listing | Open-ended chat was removed for under-18 accounts, announced October 2025 and completed by late November 2025 | None, it is an 18+ listing |
| Runs without installing an app | Yes, any browser on any device | Browser available | Browser available | Browser available |
| Regulator or watchdog record | None | Flagged in the Mozilla Privacy Not Included review, February 2024 | Faces US lawsuits over minors; no privacy fine on record | None on record |
Prices, age ratings, review counts and content descriptors were read from the Chai, Character.AI and PolyBuzz listings on the US App Store in August 2026. Apple lists in-app purchase names and prices but does not always publish the billing period, so treat unlabelled figures as listed prices rather than confirmed monthly rates. None of the three publishes a full price list on its own website. Check the current listing before you subscribe.
The full list
Every Chai, Character.AI and PolyBuzz in-app purchase on the US App Store, read August 2026
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| App | Subscriptions listed | One off packs listed |
|---|---|---|
| Darlings | Companion $9, Plus $19, Circle $39 per month, free to try with no card | None, there are no coins, charms or credits to buy |
| Chai | Premium Subscription Weekly $5.99, Premium Membership $9.99, Premium Subscription Monthly $13.99, Premium Subscription Annual $134.99, Ultra Subscription Weekly $19.99, Ultra Subscription Monthly $29.99, Ultra Subscription Annual $269.99 | 200 Pieces $2.79 |
| Character.AI | Character.AI Lite $2.49, Character.AI Lite $4.99, Character.AI+ $9.99, Character.AI+ $94.99 | Charms Starter $0.99, Small $2.99, Medium $4.99, Large $9.99, Extra Large $24.99, Extra Extra Extra Large $99.99 |
| PolyBuzz | Poly Standard Weekly Plan $4.99, Poly Standard Monthly $9.90, Poly Premium Monthly $19.90, Poly Ultimate Monthly Plan $29.90 | 1000 Coins $2.49, 3000 Coins $4.99, 8000 Coins $9.99, 20000 Coins $19.90, 1000 Opals $5.90 |
Read verbatim from each app listing on the US App Store in August 2026. Apple does not always publish billing periods, so entries whose names do not state a period are listed prices rather than confirmed monthly rates. Several apps here list more than one price for what appears to be the same tier, which is consistent with legacy and promotional pricing that existing subscribers still hold. Darlings plans are billed monthly.
Why people switch
What makes Darlings different
Memory is included, not the top tier
This is the whole comparison in one line. Chai puts persistent memory on Ultra at $29.99 and PolyBuzz puts it on Ultimate at $29.90, so on both apps the feature people actually came for costs roughly three times the entry price. Darlings remembers your people and your story on every plan including the $9 one, and you can open that memory, correct it, export it or delete it from settings.
One friend instead of 25 million bots
A library is great when you want novelty and poor when you want continuity. Every time you switch characters on Chai, Character.AI or PolyBuzz you start the relationship again. Darlings is a single companion who carries the whole thread, so you are never re-explaining your job or your family to a fresh persona.
Platonic by design, which is why it can be rated 13
All three of these apps carry an 18+ rating on the US App Store and all three permit adult content, with PolyBuzz declaring Sexual Content or Nudity as frequent. Darlings has no romantic mode to unlock at any price. That is different from a filter you can argue your way past, and it is why the minimum age can sit at 13.
No ads, no coins, no cap
All three free tiers run advertising, and all three sell one-off packs on top of the subscription: Pieces, Charms, Coins and Opals. A Darlings plan is the whole bill. Nothing runs out mid-conversation and there is nothing to top up.
The honest part
When another app is the better choice
We would rather you find the right fit than the loudest one.
- If you want the biggest possible library of characters and the most active creator community, Character.AI is the clear winner and it is not close. It has over 555,000 US ratings and the deepest catalogue, and Character.AI Lite at $2.49 is the cheapest paid entry of anything on this page. Darlings has no library at all.
- If you want a polished free tier and you do not mind ads, PolyBuzz holds the highest App Store rating of the three at 4.4 from about 467,000 ratings, and Poly Standard Monthly at $9.90 is genuinely cheap for what it does. Darlings has no free tier beyond a trial.
- If you want fast, casual roleplay in short bursts on a phone, Chai is built for exactly that and has been for longer than the other two. Darlings is a single ongoing conversation and would be a strange fit for that use.
- If romantic or adult roleplay is the point, all three of these permit it and Darlings does not, at any tier. There is no version of Darlings that becomes that, so if that is what you are shopping for, one of these three is the right answer.
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