Most lists of Candy AI alternatives rank sites by how good their generated pictures look. That skips the obvious thing. Candy AI's subscription already gives you unlimited text chat. What runs out is tokens, and tokens pay for the extras: images, voice and video. So before you compare anything, work out which of the two you were actually paying for. If you mostly typed, almost any companion app will cover you for a flat fee. If the pictures and calls were the point, every alternative has its own meter, and the switch only helps if the new meter suits how you use it.
This guide starts there. It goes through how Candy AI charges as of October 2026, what you lose when you leave, and five alternatives matched to the reason you're going. Prices, age rules and policies below were checked against each service's own pages or app store listings between September 30 and October 3, 2026, unless a different source is named.
How Candy AI actually charges
Candy AI is run by EverAI Limited, a company registered in Malta. Its terms of service, revised on September 22, 2026, split the product in two. Free users can send "a maximum of 5 messages" to AI characters. Paid subscribers get unlimited messaging plus a monthly allowance of tokens, and the terms say tokens cover "extended features like image generation or voice notes." Subscriptions renew automatically, monthly, quarterly or yearly, and you cancel in Settings.
Candy doesn't print its prices on the homepage. It shows a discount banner and sends you to a plans page. Independent reviewers who checked in 2026 found the monthly plan at $12.99 to $13.99, with much lower per-month prices on the quarterly and annual plans, and 100 tokens a month included. One September 2026 review counted about 4 tokens per image, 3 tokens per minute of voice call and 12 tokens to turn an image into a short video, with extra packs from $9.99 for 100 tokens up to $299.99 for 3,750. Two reviewers who used it heavily put the real monthly cost somewhere between $25 and $80.
That gap between the sticker price and the bill is why most people go looking for a Candy AI alternative. The text is flat-rate. The media is metered, and the meter is where the money goes.
The obvious thing: decide what you were paying for
Here's the question most comparison lists skip. Look at your last two months on Candy and sort your use into one of three piles.
- Mostly text. You chatted with one or two companions, sometimes asked for a picture, rarely called. You were already getting most of the value from the flat subscription. Leaving Candy won't save you much unless the new service is cheaper for text, and you should pick on conversation quality and memory.
- Text plus regular media. You asked for images most days or used voice calls weekly. Your bill was the subscription plus token packs. Here the switch is about finding a service where media is included in the plan, or where you can live without it.
- Media first. The generated photos and videos were the main thing. Every alternative that offers the same also charges by credits, coins or gems. You're comparing meters, not escaping one.
A lot of disappointment after switching comes from skipping this step. People leave because of the token bill, move to a service that sells a similar experience with its own credits, and end up paying about the same.
What you lose when you leave Candy AI
Three things are worth sorting out before you cancel.
Your custom companion doesn't travel. Candy's character builder lets you pick looks, personality and voice. None of the services below can import that character. Before you leave, write down the personality, the backstory you gave it and a few lines that sound like how it talks. That text is what you'll paste into the next app's creation screen.
Your tokens don't either. The terms say tokens can't be transferred to another account or exchanged for money. If you have a balance, spend it before your plan ends. Refunds are narrow: outside the EU and UK you have 24 hours after payment to ask, and only if you've used fewer than 20 tokens. In the EU and UK there's a 14-day withdrawal right, with a deduction for what you've already used.
Your data stays unless you ask. Candy's privacy notice, updated July 30, 2026, says account data is kept for "three years after your last Account activity," and that chats can be used, after anonymization, to train its AI models. The terms also give EverAI a perpetual, transferable license to what you send. If you want your account and chats removed, the privacy notice lists support@candymail.ai and says requests usually take about a month. Cancelling the subscription alone doesn't delete anything.
Five Candy AI alternatives, checked October 2026
Each pick below says which pile from the section above it fits, and where it falls short. Nomi, Kindroid and Replika all set the minimum age at 18 in their terms or store listings.
Nomi: for people who mostly typed and want memory
If your Candy time was mostly conversation with one companion, Nomi is the closest match that puts memory first. Its homepage describes short, medium and long-term memory, and a Mind Map feature shows what the companion has stored and lets you edit it. You can run group chats with several companions, use voice chats and calls, and ask for in-the-moment selfies.
On the App Store, Nomi is rated 4.6 from about 2,900 ratings and listed as 18+. The in-app purchases show a Launch plan at $9.99 a month and a Standard plan at $15.99 a month, $39.99 a quarter or $99.99 a year, plus credit packs from $4.99 to $99.99. You can start free without a card. So Nomi has its own meter for extras, but text with memory is the core of the product. Where it falls short for ex-Candy users: there's no visual character builder like Candy's. You describe your companion in words.
Kindroid: for people who want to tune everything
Kindroid suits people who liked shaping their companion and want more control over personality and memory. Its subscription page, updated October 2, 2026, lists Standard at $13.99 a month on the web or $15.99 through the app stores, with quarterly and annual options. Standard adds unlimited messages, up to 10 Kindroids, voice and video calls, and a deeper memory system. Ultra and MAX add-ons buy more memory on top.
The free tier changed in 2026. New accounts now get a preview: 50 messages with paid-level memory (15 in some regions), five selfies, some voice, and up to two Kindroids. When the preview runs out, the account goes read-only. There's also a three-day trial that needs a card and renews automatically unless you cancel. Kindroid is a good fit for the "text plus regular media" pile, because calls and selfies come with the subscription. It's a worse fit if you don't want to pay at all.
Replika: for one long-term companion
Replika is the oldest name in this space, and it's still built around a single companion you talk to over months. Its terms set the minimum age at 18. The free version covers a friendship relationship. Romantic status, voice messages, calls and image generation come with Replika Pro, and Ultra adds features for saving and showing memories. Replika doesn't publish its prices on a public page. They're shown in the app and the store, so check there before you subscribe.
Replika's privacy policy, updated May 27, 2026, says it may use "small portions" of conversations to improve safety and the service, and that chats aren't used for advertising. It fits the "mostly text" pile when what you want is continuity with one character. It isn't the place for detailed visual customization of a partner.
Character.AI: for people who were really there for roleplay
Some Candy users realize the companion wasn't the draw. The stories were. If that's you, Character.AI has the largest library of user-made characters and scenarios. Its Android app has 50M+ downloads and 2.4 stars from about 2.45 million reviews. The free plan has ads and limits. A c.ai lite plan costs $4.99 a month in the US, with a higher c.ai+ tier above it.
One thing to know: Character.AI ended open-ended chat for users under 18 by November 25, 2025, and its Android listing is now rated 18+. It fits text-first users who want variety and don't need a custom partner. It doesn't fit anyone who came to Candy for generated images.
Friend2Chat: curated characters, text only
Friend2Chat is a narrower option and fits the "mostly text" pile only. The team builds the characters and sorts them into categories, so you pick from a curated shelf instead of designing a partner from scratch. It runs in the browser. There's no app, no voice and no calls.
Before a chat starts, you choose your role and the context of the scene, which helps if you're bringing over a story from Candy: paste in the notes you saved and set the scene from the first message. In roleplay mode the character asks questions to keep things moving, and a relationship level changes as you talk. Replies run on DeepSeek. You need an account, free messages are limited before a subscription, and everything is SFW. There's no image generation and no deep customization, so if the picture side of Candy was the reason you paid, one of the picks above will suit you better.
Quick picks by reason for leaving
- The token bill, and you mostly typed: Nomi or Replika. Both are built around conversation, and your spending shifts to a flat plan.
- The token bill, but you want calls and selfies included: Kindroid's Standard plan bundles them.
- You want a companion that remembers more: Nomi or Kindroid, both of which put memory at the center.
- You realized you wanted stories, not a partner: Character.AI, if you're an adult.
- You want curated characters and scene setup in the browser, no media: Friend2Chat.
For more on the money side, our piece on the mistakes people make choosing between free and paid AI chat goes deeper. If you're choosing between two of the picks above, see Kindroid vs Nomi and Replika vs Nomi.
How to rebuild your Candy companion somewhere else
Start with the text file from earlier. A few habits make the new version feel familiar sooner.
Write the personality in plain sentences, not a list of adjectives. "She teases when she's nervous and gets quiet when she's hurt" gives a model more to work with than "playful, sensitive."
Bring the relationship, not the transcript. Summarize what you are to each other, what happened recently and what's unresolved in four or five sentences. Use it as the first message or in the memory or backstory field.
Give it a couple of dozen messages before you judge. Each service runs a different model with its own style, so the first replies will feel a little off even when the setup is right. If the character slips out of personality later, a short reminder in your next message usually fixes it. Our guide to why AI characters change personality covers the common causes.
Set a budget for media before you start. If you're moving to a service with credits, decide how much you'll spend a month and check the balance weekly for the first month. That's the habit that would have made the Candy bill predictable too.
FAQ
What is the best Candy AI alternative?
It depends on why you're leaving. For conversation and memory, Nomi. For calls and selfies included in one subscription, Kindroid. For a single long-term companion, Replika. For roleplay and a huge character library, Character.AI. For curated characters in the browser with no media, Friend2Chat.
Is there a free Candy AI alternative?
Nomi lets you start without a card, Character.AI has a free plan with ads, and Kindroid gives new accounts a limited preview. None of them are unlimited for free once you add voice, images or long memory. On Candy itself, free users get five messages.
How much does Candy AI cost per month?
Reviewers in 2026 found the monthly plan at $12.99 to $13.99, with 100 tokens included and lower monthly rates on quarterly and annual plans. Images, voice calls and videos use tokens, and heavy users reported paying $25 to $80 a month in total. Candy shows its current prices on its plans page.
Can I get a refund from Candy AI?
Outside the EU and UK, Candy's terms allow a refund request within 24 hours of payment if you've used fewer than 20 tokens. In the EU and UK there's a 14-day withdrawal right, minus what you've used. Tokens can't be exchanged for money.
How do I delete my Candy AI data?
Cancelling a subscription doesn't delete your account. Candy's privacy notice says account data is kept for three years after your last activity and lists support@candymail.ai for deletion and other data requests, with a typical response time of one month.
Is Candy AI safe?
There are no public data breach reports for Candy AI that we could confirm. Its privacy notice says it doesn't sell personal data without consent, but it does use anonymized chat data to train its models and keeps account data for three years after you stop using it. Don't share anything there you wouldn't want stored.
