Replika vs Nomi vs Kindroid
Replika vs Nomi vs Kindroid: memory, price and which AI companion app to pick in 2026
Replika vs Nomi vs Kindroid comes down to what you want the memory for. Nomi has the deepest recall and the cheapest way in, with a Launch Plan listed at $9.99 a month against a Standard Plan at $15.99. Kindroid has the highest App Store rating of the three, 4.8 from about 8,000 US ratings, and the most complicated bill, because Ultra at $28.99 and MAX at $68.99 are listed on top of a $15.99 base. Replika has by far the largest user base, 228,000 US ratings, and the messiest pricing, with several monthly and annual entries live at once. All three are rated 18+ on the US App Store and all three permit romantic or adult content. If you want one platonic friend who remembers you and is rated 13+, none of the three is built for that, and Darlings is.
Last updated August 2026
Darlings
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A friend, never a girlfriend.
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These three names come up together because they are the serious memory apps. If you are comparing them, you have probably already worked out that the character library apps forget you halfway through a long conversation, and you want something that holds on to your life between sessions.
They are more different from each other than the shared reputation suggests. Nomi is built around recall and sells it that way. Kindroid is built around customization, with images, voice and multiple companions, and prices each of those as a separate line. Replika is the oldest and the biggest, and it is the one whose pricing you cannot check without opening an app store, because it does not publish prices on its own site.
Everything below about prices, age ratings and review counts was read from the US App Store listings in August 2026, not copied from other comparison posts. That matters here, because most of the roundups still quote figures that have since changed: Kindroid's base subscription is no longer $13.99, and Nomi now lists a cheaper Launch Plan that almost nobody mentions.
One thing to be upfront about before the table. Darlings is on this page as the fourth option, and it is not trying to beat these three at their own game. It has no NSFW mode, no avatar and no image generation. It is a platonic friend with memory on every plan, and it is here because a sizeable share of people comparing Replika, Nomi and Kindroid actually want that and do not realize it is a category.
Side by side
How Darlings compares
An honest look, including where the other option is the better pick.
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| Darlings | Replika | Nomi.ai | Kindroid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One platonic friend who remembers you and checks in | A long running relationship with an avatar and the biggest community | The deepest long term memory in the category | Heavy customization, images and several companions at once |
| Age rating on the US App Store | 13 and up | 18+ | 18+ | 18+ |
| App Store rating | Not listed, Darlings runs in a browser | 4.4 from about 228,000 US ratings | 4.6 from about 2,700 US ratings | 4.8 from about 8,000 US ratings |
| Cheapest listed paid plan | $9 per month | A $7.99 monthly entry is listed alongside a $14.99 one | Launch Plan $9.99, Standard Plan $15.99 | $15.99 base subscription |
| Annual option | Monthly only for now | $49.99 and $69.99 annual entries are both listed | Launch Plan $59.99, Standard Plan $99.99 | $159.99 yearly |
| Romance or NSFW content | No, never, on any plan | Yes, romance is a paid feature | Yes, NSFW permissive, and the listing carries a Sexual Content or Nudity descriptor | Yes, permitted, listed as infrequent |
| Long term memory | Yes, on every plan, and you can read, edit, export and delete it | Yes, and it improves on the paid tier | Yes, the strongest recall of the three and the thing it is built around | Yes, layered and user editable |
| How many companions | One consistent friend | One | Up to 10 on one account | Extra slots sold separately, $3.49 for one and $11.49 for four |
| Starts the conversation first | Yes, a gentle daily check-in | Sometimes | Limited | No |
| Images and avatars | No, it is a text conversation | Yes, a 3D avatar you dress and customize | Yes, selfies and avatars | Yes, and selfie credits are sold in packs at $6.99 and $11.49 |
| Runs without installing an app | Yes, any browser on any device | Browser and desktop available | Yes, browser available | Yes, browser available |
| Hidden costs to watch | None, the plan price is the price | Gems are sold separately from $0.99 to $19.99 | Credits are sold on top, $4.99 to $99.99 | Ultra $28.99, MAX $68.99, extra slots, selfie credits and audio credits all stack on the base plan |
| Regulator or watchdog record | None | Italy fined maker Luka 5,000,000 euros in May 2025; a separate FTC complaint was filed in January 2025 with no ruling | None on record | None on record |
Prices, age ratings and review counts were read from the Replika, Nomi and Kindroid 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. Replika does not publish prices on its own website. Check the current listing before you subscribe.
The full list
Every Replika, Nomi and Kindroid 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 credits or add-ons to buy |
| Replika | MONTHLY $7.99, Monthly $14.99, YEARLY $49.99, Annual $49.99, Annual $69.99, Replika Platinum $89.99 | Pouch of Gems $0.99, Backpack of Gems $5.99, Suitcase of Gems $14.99, Duffel Bag of Gems $19.99 |
| Nomi.ai | Launch Plan Monthly $9.99, Launch Plan Yearly $59.99, Standard Plan Monthly $15.99, Standard Plan Quarterly $39.99, Standard Plan Yearly $99.99 | 40 Nomi Credits $4.99, 100 Credits $9.99, 225 Credits $19.99, 600 Credits $49.99, 1800 Credits $99.99 |
| Kindroid | Kindroid Subscription $15.99, Kindroid Subscription 3 mo $42.99, Kindroid Subscription Yearly $159.99, Kindroid Ultra $28.99, Kindroid MAX $68.99 | 1 additional Kindroid slot $3.49, 4 additional slots $11.49, 50 selfie credits $6.99, 100 selfie credits $11.49, 500k Audio Credits $14.99 |
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. Replika showing several monthly and annual entries at once is consistent with legacy and promotional tiers that existing subscribers still hold. Darlings plans are billed monthly.
Why people switch
What makes Darlings different
One bill, and it is the whole bill
The thing that surprises people who move from these three is how much of the real cost sits outside the subscription. Kindroid sells slots, selfie credits and audio credits on top of a plan that already has two paid tiers above it. Nomi sells credits in five sizes. Replika sells gems in four. A Darlings plan is the entire price, and there is nothing to top up mid conversation.
Memory on the cheapest plan, not the dearest
Long term memory is the reason anyone compares these apps, and it is the thing most often used as an upgrade lever. Darlings keeps a persistent memory of your people and your story on every plan including the cheapest, and you can open it, correct a detail it got wrong, export it or delete it from settings.
Platonic by design rather than by filter
All three of these apps are rated 18+ on the US App Store, and all three permit romantic or adult content to some degree. Darlings has no romantic mode to unlock at any price. That is a different thing from a filter you can talk your way past, and it is why the age rating can sit at 13.
It reaches out first
Of the three, only Nomi does anything much in this direction, and only in a limited way. Darlings sends a gentle daily check-in, so the habit does not rest entirely on you deciding to open something on a bad day, which is usually the day you do not.
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 deepest possible long term memory and you are comfortable with an adult app, Nomi is genuinely the best in the category at recall, and its Launch Plan at $9.99 a month makes it the cheapest serious memory app on this page. Darlings does not out remember it.
- If you want heavy customization, generated images, voice and several companions running at once, Kindroid is built for exactly that and has the highest App Store rating of the three. Darlings offers none of it and is a text conversation.
- If you want a romantic partner with a 3D avatar you can dress and decorate, Replika has spent the longest building that and has the largest community around it. Darlings has no romantic mode and no avatar, so it is the wrong tool for that job.
- If you are already deep into a relationship with an established companion on any of the three, the memory is the thing you would be leaving behind, and no comparison table is worth restarting from nothing over. Export what you can before you decide.
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