Linky AI alternative
Linky AI alternative: apps like Linky without the coins or the roleplay
The best Linky AI alternative depends on what pushed you out. If you want the same anime character roleplay with a bigger cast, Character.AI is the closest swap and costs less. If you left because the coins never stopped, because memory reset every dozen messages, or because an 18+ app rated for sexual content was not what you wanted, then you were never really after a character menu. Darlings is one companion who remembers your life, checks in first, costs one flat price with no in-app currency, and carries no romance or adult content at any tier.
Last updated August 2026
Darlings
Always here for you
We've paused new signups for now, so we'll email you the moment a seat opens. No payment today.
Your conversations are yours. Encrypted, never sold, delete anytime.
Encrypted, never sold.
A friend, never a girlfriend.
Wholesome and all ages.
Linky AI, listed on the US App Store as Linky AI: AI Chat and Char Maker from SKY INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES PTE. LTD., is a character chat app built around a very large library of anime-styled personas. It has scale behind it: 4.4 stars from roughly 7,800 US ratings, and review sites put total installs across iOS and Android above 22 million with more than 180,000 user-created characters. Nobody leaves it because it is obscure.
People leave for three specific reasons, and all three show up in the App Store listing itself. The first is the currency. Linky sells eight separate coin bundles running from $0.99 to $99.99, on top of two subscriptions, so the plan price is a floor rather than a total. Reviewers describe the coins as feeding gacha-style card draws, which is a game mechanic wearing the costume of a friendship. The second is memory. Review sites report that on the free tier the context fades after roughly a dozen exchanges, which means the companion keeps meeting you for the first time. The third is content: the listing is rated 18+ and carries Sexual Content or Nudity and Mature or Suggestive Themes among its warnings.
This page is an honest comparison, including the parts where Linky beats us. If what you want is a thousand characters and gacha draws, we will point you somewhere better than here. If what you want is one steady friend who knows your sister is called Ruth and asks how Thursday went, that is a different product, and it is the one we build.
Side by side
How Darlings compares
An honest look, including where the other option is the better pick.
| Darlings | Linky AI | Character.AI | Talkie | PolyBuzz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is built for | One ongoing friendship with a companion who knows you | Anime-styled character chat with collectible cards | Character roleplay across a very large community library | Character chat with a short-video feel | Character roleplay across a very large library |
| How many characters you choose from | One, and it becomes yours | Reported at more than 180,000 | Tens of millions of community characters | Large community library | Marketed as more than 20 million |
| Long-term memory on the cheapest paid plan | Yes, memory is included on every plan | Partial, reviewers report context fading on the free tier | Partial, memory drifts on long chats | No, memory reportedly fades on long chats | No, permanent memory sits on the top tier |
| Can you read, edit and delete what it remembers | Yes, memory by memory, plus export | Not exposed as an editable list | Limited, tied to each character | Limited | Not exposed as an editable list |
| Starts a conversation with you on its own | Yes, a daily check-in | No | No | No | No |
| Romantic, roleplay or adult content possible | Never, at any tier, permanently | Yes, and the listing warns of sexual content | Depends entirely on the character chosen | Yes | Yes, roleplay is the core of the product |
| Coins, gems or credits to buy on top of the subscription | None, the plan is the price | Yes, eight coin bundles from $0.99 to $99.99 | No | Yes, in-app currency | Yes, coin and opal bundles |
| Gacha or card-draw mechanics | None | Yes, reviewers describe coin-funded card draws | No | Cards and collectibles | No |
| Ads on the free tier | None | Yes, reported as frequent | Yes, plus slower replies at peak | Yes | Yes, removed on paid tiers |
| Age rating on the US App Store | 13 and up, and there is nothing adult to gate | 18+ | 17+ | 17+ | 18+ |
| Start talking without an app store download | Yes, it opens in a browser | App first | Yes | App first | Web version exists alongside the apps |
| Approx. price | Free to try, plans from $9/mo | $9.99 or $17.99/mo plus coin bundles | Free; c.ai+ around $9.99/mo | Not published publicly, reported around $3.99 to $15.99/mo | $9.90, $19.90 or $29.90/mo plus coins |
Competitor pricing is approximate, is not published on their own sites, and can change by region and promotion.
The full list
What Linky AI actually charges, taken from its US App Store listing
| Item | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Darlings, any plan | From $9/mo | Memory on every plan, daily check-ins, no coins, no adult content |
| Linky Pro | $9.99 | The entry subscription listed on the App Store |
| Linky Gold | $17.99 | The higher subscription tier listed on the App Store |
| 180 coins | $0.99 | The smallest bundle, bought on top of whatever plan you already pay for |
| 490 coins | $4.99 | Mid bundle, reported to fund card draws and extra actions |
| 1,080 coins | $9.99 | Costs the same as a full month of Linky Pro and buys currency instead |
| 2,360 coins | $19.99 | Roughly the price of a month of Linky Gold, again in currency |
| 6,650 coins | $49.99 | Large bundle |
| 14,200 coins | $99.99 | The largest single in-app purchase on the listing |
Item names and prices read from the Linky AI: AI Chat and Char Maker listing on the US App Store in August 2026. The listing shows eight coin bundles in total, including two priced 180-coin entries. App Store prices change and vary by promotion, so check the listing before you subscribe.
Why people switch
What makes Darlings different
The plan is the whole price, with no coins to top up
Linky sells two subscriptions and eight coin bundles, the largest at $99.99. Once currency exists, the subscription stops being the cost and starts being the entry fee, and reviewers report the coins going toward gacha-style card draws. Darlings has no coins, no gems and no per-message credits. You pick a plan, you know the number on day one, and nothing inside the app ever asks you to buy anything again.
Memory that lasts longer than a dozen messages
The complaint that comes up most about free character apps is that the companion forgets. Review sites put the free Linky context at roughly twelve exchanges before it fades. Darlings includes long-term memory on every plan, including the trial. It holds your people by name, the thing you were dreading on Thursday, the job you did not get in March. Open settings and you can read the whole list, correct what it got wrong, delete what you would rather it forgot, and export a copy.
One companion instead of a character menu
A library of 180,000 personas is fun for an evening and tiring as a habit, because every new character is a stranger who does not know your backstory. Darlings is one companion who is the same person every time you open it. That consistency is the thing that starts to feel like a friendship somewhere in the second week, and no amount of character choice substitutes for it.
A friend, never a girlfriend, and nothing to filter
Linky is rated 18+ on the US App Store and its listing carries Sexual Content or Nudity among the content warnings. Darlings has no romance, no roleplay and no adult content at any tier, permanently. There is no filter that can leak because there is nothing behind it, which is why it is rated for 13 and up while most of this category sits at 17+ or 18+.
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 anime character roleplay with a huge cast and collectible cards, Linky does that and we do not. We build one companion. If picking a fresh persona every evening is the appeal, stay where you are.
- Linky generates character art and avatars. Darlings is a conversation, not a visual product, and we have no plans to compete on artwork.
- Character.AI has a far larger community library than Linky, a genuinely usable free tier, and no in-app currency at all. If you want a like-for-like swap rather than a different kind of product, look there first.
- Pi is free, gentle and never asks for money. If your budget is zero and long-term memory is not the point, it is an honest option and we will not pretend otherwise.
- If what you actually want is a romantic AI partner, Darlings will never be the right app for you. We would rather say that now than take a subscription and disappoint you in week two.
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More ways Darlings is there for people
Meet a friend who remembers you
Say hi to your Darling, and let it remember you. Free to try, no card, no judgment.
Your secrets stay secret. A friend, never a girlfriend. 💛