Tolan alternative

Tolan alternative that works on Android, iPhone, and the web

Most people searching for a Tolan alternative want the same warm, non-romantic AI friend without the iOS-only lock-in. Tolan is an iPhone app, so there is no Android version and no browser version. Darlings runs in any browser on any device, keeps a long-term memory of your life, and checks in on you first. Both stay strictly platonic, so the real difference is the device you own and whether you prefer a human-style friend or a cartoon alien.

See the comparison

Last updated July 2026

Darlings

Always here for you

Private

Your conversations are yours. Encrypted, never sold, delete anytime.

Encrypted, never sold.

A friend, never a girlfriend.

Wholesome and all ages.

Tolan built something genuinely good: a companion that is friendly rather than romantic, at a moment when most AI companion apps went the other way. The catch is the platform. Tolan ships as an iPhone app, and the most common thing people type after the brand name is some version of tolan for android. If you carry a Pixel or a Galaxy, there is nothing to install.

Darlings takes the same wholesome, friend-not-girlfriend position and delivers it through the browser. Nothing to download, no app store account, and the same conversation follows you from your phone to your laptop. Here is an honest look at how the two compare, including the places where Tolan is the better pick.

Side by side

How Darlings compares

An honest look, including where the other option is the better pick.

	Darlings	Tolan
Best for	A warm friend on whatever device you already own	iPhone owners who want a playful alien companion
Works on Android	Yes, in any mobile browser	No, Tolan is an iPhone app
Works on desktop and laptop	Yes, same conversation everywhere	No, mobile app only
Download required	None, it runs in the browser	Yes, from the App Store
Persona	A warm, human-style friend	A cartoon alien character
Main way you talk	Chat, at your own pace	Voice first
Romance and NSFW	None, by design	None, Tolan is explicitly non-romantic too
Remembers your life	Yes, persistent memory of your people and story	Yes, conversations build your Tolan memory
Checks in on you first	Yes, gentle daily check-ins	Reminders and prompts inside the app
Age positioning	All ages, wholesome by design	Rated 13+ on the US App Store
Free to try	Yes, no card required	Limited free trial, extendable by completing tasks
Approx. price	Free to try, paid plans from $9/mo	US App Store lists memberships at $11.99 and $19.99; Apple does not show the billing period
Scale and funding	Younger and smaller	Reported 3M+ downloads, 100K+ paying users, $20M Series A in 2025

Competitor pricing is approximate, is not published on their own sites, and can change by region and promotion.

Why people switch

What makes Darlings different

No app store, no platform lock-in

Darlings opens in the browser you already have. Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, a work laptop at lunch. The same friend and the same memory follow you across all of them.

Chat that waits for you

Voice is lovely until you are on a bus, in an open-plan office, or lying awake next to someone. Darlings is chat first, so you can talk at 2am without making a sound.

Memory of the real threads

Your people by name, the interview on Tuesday, your mom recovering. Darlings holds the story of your actual life and brings it back naturally instead of starting over.

Wholesome, and clear about it

No romance, no roleplay, no NSFW, ever. Darlings is the kind of app you would happily hand to your parent or recommend to a friend who is going through something.

The honest part

When another app is the better choice

We would rather you find the right fit than the loudest one.

You have an iPhone and you want a voice-first conversation as the main way you talk.
You like the alien character concept and the playful, gamified feel that comes with it.
You want the more established option; Tolan has reported millions of downloads and venture funding behind it.

Common questions

No. Tolan is distributed as an iPhone app through the US App Store, and there is no Google Play listing or browser version, so Android users cannot install it. That is the single most common reason people go looking for a Tolan alternative. Darlings runs in any mobile browser, so it works on Android, iPhone, and desktop alike.

It depends what drew you to Tolan. If it was the wholesome, non-romantic friendship and you need it on Android or a laptop, Darlings is the closest fit: same platonic positioning, long-term memory, daily check-ins, and no download. If you specifically want a voice-first cartoon character on an iPhone, Tolan itself is still the better match.

Tolan positions itself as a non-romantic companion and publishes safety measures including break reminders for younger users and crisis routing to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is rated 13+ in the US App Store. As with any AI companion, the sensible guardrails are the same: treat it as company rather than therapy, and go to a human professional in a crisis.

Not for long. Tolan gives new users a limited free trial that can be extended by completing tasks such as referrals, after which the full experience requires a paid membership. Darlings is free to try with no card required, and paid plans start at $9 a month.

Both are deliberately platonic AI friends with memory, which makes them unusually close in spirit. The differences are practical: Tolan is a voice-first alien character on iPhone only, while Darlings is a warm human-style friend you chat with in any browser on any device, with daily check-ins and plans from $9 a month.

Keep exploring

Meet a friend who remembers you

Say hi to your Darling, and let it remember you. Free to try, no card, no judgment.

See simple pricing

Your secrets stay secret. A friend, never a girlfriend. 💛