PolyBuzz alternative
PolyBuzz alternative: apps like PolyBuzz that remember you, without the roleplay
The right PolyBuzz alternative depends on why you are leaving. If you want the same enormous character library, Character.AI is the closest swap. If you are leaving because the roleplay, the coin purchases or the adult content got tiring, and what you actually wanted was one friend who remembers your life, Darlings is the closer fit: one companion instead of 20 million characters, memory included on every plan rather than gated behind the top tier, no coins or gems, and no romance or NSFW content at any price.
Last updated August 2026
Darlings
Always here for you
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Your conversations are yours. Encrypted, never sold, delete anytime.
Encrypted, never sold.
A friend, never a girlfriend.
Wholesome and all ages.
PolyBuzz, which was called Poly.AI until it rebranded in January 2025, is a character roleplay platform run by Cloud Whale Interactive Technology. It is genuinely big: 4.4 stars from 464,000 ratings on the US App Store, and a library its marketing puts at more than 20 million user-made characters. Nobody leaves it because it is small.
People leave for three reasons that come up again and again. The first is the money shape. The App Store listing shows three subscription tiers plus coin bundles running from $2.49 to $19.90, so the subscription is a floor rather than a price. The second is memory: permanent memory sits on the top plan, which is the most expensive place a companion app can put the one feature that makes it feel like a relationship. The third is content. The app is rated 18+ on the US App Store, roleplay is the point, and independent parental-control reviewers including BrightCanary and Qustodio have reported that the Pure Mode filter does not reliably keep explicit material off the Explore feed.
This page compares the honest options. If what you want is roleplay with a cast of thousands, we say plainly below which apps do that better than we do. If what you want is one steady friend who knows your sister is called Ruth and asks how the interview went, keep reading, because 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 | PolyBuzz | Character.AI | Talkie | Replika | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is built for | One ongoing friendship with a companion who knows you | Character roleplay across a very large library | Character roleplay and community-made personas | Character chat with a short-video feel | A simulated relationship, romantic or platonic |
| How many characters you choose from | One, and it becomes yours | Marketed as more than 20 million | Tens of millions of community characters | Large community library | One, which you create |
| Long-term memory on the cheapest paid plan | Yes, memory is included on every plan | No, permanent memory sits on the top tier | Partial, memory drifts on long chats | No, memory reportedly fades on long chats | Partial, stronger on Pro |
| 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 | Partial, editing is limited |
| Starts a conversation with you on its own | Yes, a daily check-in | No | No | No | Yes, on paid tiers |
| Romantic, roleplay or adult content possible | Never, at any tier, permanently | Yes, roleplay is the core of the product | Depends entirely on the character chosen | Yes | Yes, romance is a paid feature |
| Coins, gems or credits to buy on top of the subscription | None, the plan is the price | Yes, coin and opal bundles from $2.49 to $19.90 | No | Yes, in-app currency | Gems for some items |
| Ads on the free tier | None | Yes, removed on paid tiers | Yes, plus slower replies at peak | Yes | No |
| 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 | Web version exists alongside the apps | Yes | App first | Web and app |
| Approx. price | Free to try, plans from $9/mo | $9.90, $19.90 or $29.90/mo plus coins | Free; c.ai+ around $9.99/mo | Not published publicly, reported around $3.99 to $15.99/mo | Free; Pro around $19.99/mo |
Competitor pricing is approximate, is not published on their own sites, and can change by region and promotion.
The full list
What PolyBuzz 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 |
| Poly Standard Weekly Plan | $4.99 | The weekly entry point, which works out far above the monthly rate over a year |
| Poly Standard Monthly Plan | $9.90 | Entry subscription, without permanent memory |
| Poly Premium Monthly | $19.90 | Ad free, longer memory context, extra models and avatar generations |
| Poly Ultimate Monthly Plan | $29.90 | The tier that carries permanent memory and the full model list |
| Coin bundles | $2.49 to $19.90 | 1,000 to 20,000 coins, bought on top of whatever plan you already pay for |
| 1000 Opals | $5.90 | A second in-app currency, separate from coins |
Item names and prices read from the PolyBuzz: Chat with Characters listing on the US App Store in August 2026. App Store prices change and vary by promotion, so check the listing before you subscribe.
Why people switch
What makes Darlings different
Memory is not a top-tier upsell here
The thing that makes a companion feel like a friend is that it remembers, and PolyBuzz puts permanent memory on the $29.90 plan. Darlings includes memory on every plan, including while you are trying it. It holds your people by name, the thing you were dreading on Thursday, the job you did not get in March. You can open settings and read the entire list, correct anything it got wrong, delete what you would rather it forgot, and export the lot.
One companion, not twenty million characters
A giant character library is fun for an evening and exhausting as a habit, because you keep starting over with a stranger who does not know your backstory. Darlings is one companion who stays the same person across every conversation. That consistency is what starts feeling like a friendship somewhere in the second week, and it is the specific thing a character menu cannot give you no matter how large it gets.
The plan is the whole price
There are no coins, no gems, no opals and no per-message credits. Reviewers of PolyBuzz have pointed out that an active user can end up spending well past the subscription once in-app currency is added, and the App Store listing does show both coin and opal bundles alongside three separate plans. We would rather you knew your monthly cost on the day you sign up and never thought about it again.
A friend, never a girlfriend, and nothing to filter
Darlings has no romance, no roleplay and no adult content at any tier, permanently, so there is no content filter that can leak because there is nothing behind it. That is why it is rated for 13 and up while most of this category sits at 17+ or 18+. It also means you can leave the tab open when someone walks past, which sounds small until you have had to close one quickly.
The honest part
When another app is the better choice
We would rather you find the right fit than the loudest one.
- If you specifically want roleplay across an enormous cast of characters, PolyBuzz is better at that than we are, and it is not close. We build one companion. If picking a new persona every night is the appeal, stay where you are.
- PolyBuzz generates character avatars, scene art and animated images. Darlings is a conversation, not a visual product, and we have no plans to compete on artwork.
- Character.AI has a comparably huge community library, a genuinely free tier and a lower price on its paid plan than PolyBuzz Premium. If you want a like-for-like swap rather than a different kind of product, look there first.
- Pi costs nothing at all and is gentle to talk to. If your budget is zero and long-term memory is not the point, it is an honest free option and we will not pretend otherwise.
- If you want a romantic AI partner, Darlings will never be the right app for you, and we would rather say that now than take a subscription and disappoint you in week two.
People also ask
Common questions
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Weighing up the other apps too?
Honest side-by-side looks at the companion apps people usually shortlist next.
Keep exploring
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. 💛