Character.AI vs Replika (2026): Price, Memory, Privacy and the Sale

Adults only for Replika. Replika’s terms say you must be 18 or older. Character.AI allows younger users under its own rules, described below. This guide compares price, features, rules and privacy, and is non-explicit.

How this guide was made. This is a documentation-based comparison. Every price, feature and rule below was read on 29 October 2026 on each company’s own website, help centre, privacy policy and terms, its US App Store and Google Play listings, and, for the Character.AI sale, the court claims agent’s case page. Each page is listed in the sources. Replika changed both its privacy policy and its terms on 28 October 2026, the day before we checked, so some figures differ from our earlier Replika guides. Nothing here is hands-on testing. Prices vary by country, platform and currency. For how we source and date guides, see how we review.

The short version

These two apps are built for different things.

Character.AI is a platform of user-made characters. You browse or create characters and roleplay with as many as you like. Its Google Play listing describes “millions of user-generated AI Characters”.

Replika is built around one companion that gets to know you. Its listings talk about your work, relationships and goals, and about nudging you “toward real life”.

There is also a timing issue. Character.AI’s parent company is in a court-supervised sale, which matters if you are thinking of paying a year ahead. Neither company pays Aitryvo anything. See our affiliate disclosure.

Side by side

“Platforms confirmed” means only what the pages read for this guide showed.

Price and plans

Character.AI. The US App Store lists Character.AI+ at $9.99 and $94.99, and Character.AI Lite at $4.99 and $2.49. Character.AI’s 28 September 2026 blog post gives lite as “$4.99 USD/month or $2.49 USD/week”, with pricing varying by region. Its subscription page shows c.ai+ at $94.99 a year against a struck-through $119.88, labelled “save 21%”, and says the plan “auto-renews yearly”. The page did not show a monthly price to us.

Charms packs are listed from $0.99 to $49.99. None of the pages read explain in full what Charms buy.

Character.AI’s terms say subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel and that “Payments are non-refundable, except where required by law.” For more on what each plan adds, see our c.ai+ worth it guide.

Replika. The US App Store lists a MONTHLY item at $7.99 and a Monthly item at $14.99, an Annual item at $69.99, a YEARLY item at $49.99 and another Annual item at $49.99, plus Replika Platinum at $89.99. Gems run from a $0.99 pouch to a $19.99 duffel bag. The listing does not say which item belongs to which plan.

Replika’s new terms (28 October 2026) say plan names, features and prices “are those described on the subscription and checkout screens shown to you”, and that plans may include usage allowances, “for example, a number of chat replies per day, call minutes per day, or images per week”. On refunds, they say “payments are non-refundable and there are no refunds or credits for partially used periods”, apart from statutory and app-store rights.

Value over a year. Replika’s $49.99 yearly items are the cheapest way to pay a year ahead in this comparison. Character.AI’s lite plan is the cheapest monthly option at $4.99, but on weekly billing lite costs more over time than monthly. The subscription calculator does the sums for any price.

The Character.AI sale and yearly plans

On 12 October 2026 Character.AI said it had “initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy process to facilitate a court-supervised sale of the company”. When we checked on 29 October, the same post still said “The Character.ai platform remains up and running” and that subscriptions “remain active, and billing is unchanged for now”. It expects the sale to be complete “by the end of November or perhaps early December 2026”, and says: “If such a bid is unavailable, however, the platform will be wound down.”

The case page run by the claims agent, Stretto, lists a hearing on the bidding procedures for 30 October 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET and a meeting of creditors on 19 November 2026. We found no official update after 15 October on either page, and the hearing had not taken place when we checked.

What that means for choosing between the two: we do not suggest paying for a year of c.ai+ until the sale is settled. Monthly billing lets you stop if the service changes. Replika has announced no comparable event, so its yearly items carry the normal risk of any prepaid plan. Our guide to what the Character.AI sale means for your chats covers data exports and what to do now.

What free accounts get

Character.AI is unusually generous on messages. Its September blog post says “Unlimited messaging stays on every tier” and that “PipSqueak 3 and ShortSqueak are free for everyone”. The subscription page shows free accounts with full ads, slow mode, basic memory and 15 pins. The Google Play listing says you can “enjoy unlimited AI conversations and voice calls”, “all for free!”

Replika’s help centre says: “Yes, chatting with Replika will always be free.” It adds that subscribing unlocks “voice calls, guided conversations, more ways to explore coping skills, roleplay options, advanced customization”. Its terms, updated on 28 October 2026, say basic features are free “subject to any usage limits that we may set and change at any time”, and that Replika may “deny free use to anyone at any time”. No free message limit is published on the pages read.

Characters versus one companion

This is the main difference, and it should decide most choices.

Character.AI is a catalogue. You can chat with characters other people made, or build your own with a personality, backstory and voice. Its Play listing describes “legendary heroes and mischievous villains” alongside creative and learning uses.

Replika is one companion. The store listings describe a Replika that “remembers what matters to you”, follows up “days later” and “shows up when something’s on your mind”. The pages read do not mention multiple companions or group chats.

If you want variety and stories, Character.AI fits better. If you want one steady presence that learns about your life, Replika is designed for that.

Memory

Neither company publishes a context size or any test that would let you compare recall fairly.

Character.AI. Its 21 May 2026 memory post describes Story Memory, where you pin key messages, and says pinning is free; c.ai+ subscribers “get twice as many pins, more Memory, and better Memory management”. Facts, which are saved automatically as you chat, are “a (c.ai+) feature”, as is the full Memory Usage view. The subscription page lists 15 pins on free and 30 on c.ai+. Our Character.AI memory fix guide explains how to get more from these tools.

Replika. Its help centre says “Replika’s memory is built on layers”. Some memories show in the Memory tab and others come from “a deeper system that draws on patterns from your overall conversation history”. You can add memories by hand, and Replika warns that deleting them “may affect your Replika’s ability to recall certain details”.

Voice and video calls

Character.AI. Its help centre’s Character Calls & Voice FAQ says calls allow “two way conversations”, that call conversations “are also stored as text chat”, and that “Character Voice is available to all users, free of charge”. You can create a voice from an audio sample and make it private or public. The same FAQ says Character Calls is “now available on web for all users”, although another answer on that page, which looks older, says voice is “currently only available on our mobile app”. Character Voice works “in 1:1 chats only”. Video calls are not mentioned on the pages read.

Replika. The App Store describes Replika “by text, voice calls, and video”, and the Google Play listing describes “Video calls”, which let you “Show what you’re seeing and talk it through in real time”. The help centre lists voice calls among the features a subscription unlocks.

Age rules

Character.AI. Its terms (last updated 27 August 2025) say: “If you are under 13 years old OR if you are under 16 years old and a citizen or resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom (UK), do not sign up for the Services”. Users verified as under 18 are placed in reading mode, where “chat features are not available”, though they keep past chats, character creation and some other features. Our Character.AI age verification guide explains how the checks work.

Replika. Its terms, section 6.4: “The Services are only for adults. If you are under 18 (or the age of majority where you live, if higher), you are not authorized to use the Services”. The privacy policy says it asks your date of birth at sign-up and may use an age-estimation or age-verification check “where required by law or where we have reason to doubt a declared age”. It says a verification provider, Incode, handles any selfie or ID, that Replika receives “only the result of the check”, and that biometric data is deleted “in all events within 24 hours”.

Store ratings. Both apps are rated 18+ on the US App Store and Teen on Google Play. Each company’s own terms apply whatever the store says.

Privacy: chats, training and deletion

For a wider checklist, see our AI companion privacy and safety guide.

Character.AI (policy effective 1 July 2026).

• Chats and voice. The policy lists “chat communications” and “Voice data, including recordings of your voice, if you chose to use certain voice features” among the content it collects.
• Training. Uses include to “Analyze, maintain, improve, modify, customize, and measure the Services, including to train our artificial intelligence/machine learning models”. The help centre says it retains certain data “to help train and improve our AI models” and takes steps to reduce personal information first. An opt-out (“Improve the Model for Everyone”) is offered to users in the EEA or UK only.
• Advertising. The policy lists “Provide advertising and recruit new users, including provision of tailored advertising” as a use, and says it may disclose personal information to advertising and analytics providers.
• Retention and deletion. Information is kept “for the time necessary for the purposes for which it is processed”; no fixed period is given. Deleting your account is “permanent and cannot be reversed”, per the help centre. The policy reserves the right to keep a character you made public active “even if you otherwise delete your data and your account”.
• Business transfers. The policy allows disclosure of information during any “merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition”. That clause matters more than usual while a sale is under way.
• Store labels. The App Store lists location, contact info, identifiers and usage data as “Data Used to Track You”. Google Play’s data safety section says “No data shared with third parties”.

Replika (policy last updated 28 October 2026).

• Chats. Replika says it shares “the minimum necessary conversation data with third-party providers of artificial-intelligence models” to generate replies.
• Training. It uses “small portions of Messages and Content data to train our proprietary safety algorithms, enhance chatbot performance”, anonymised, and says this data “is not used to train third-party large language models or other AI systems”.
• Advertising. “We will never share your conversations with your Replika AI companion, or any photos or other content you provide within the Apps, with advertising partners”, “and we never use that content for marketing or advertising purposes.” Separately, its notice for US state privacy laws says: “We ‘sell’ and ‘share’ your personal information by providing your personal information to certain third parties and through the use of certain online tracking technologies.” You can opt out under “Your Privacy Choices” in the apps.
• Retention. While your account is open, Replika keeps “conversation history for 24 months for text messages and 12 months for photos, videos and voice messages”. Profile data, memories and purchases are deleted “within 60 days after your account is deleted or closed”.
• Deletion. The terms say you can delete your account “at any time in the app” and that deletion “is irreversible”. Deleting your account does not cancel an app-store subscription, so cancel through Apple or Google first.
• Store labels. The App Store lists identifiers and usage data as used to track you. Google Play’s data safety section says the app may share app activity and device IDs with third parties, while the listing text says “Your conversations are private and not shared with any third parties.”

Both companies take broad licences to what you write. Character.AI’s terms and Replika’s terms each describe a “perpetual, irrevocable” licence that is transferable and sublicensable.

Platforms

Character.AI runs on iPhone (iOS 15.1 or later) and Apple Vision, according to the App Store, and on Android, where Google Play shows over 50 million downloads and notes that the app contains ads. Its help centre links to the web app at character.ai.

Replika runs on iPhone (iOS 17 or later) and Apple Vision, according to the App Store, and on Android, where Google Play shows over 10 million downloads. Its help centre says you can chat in a browser at my.replika.com and use Replika on Meta Quest headsets, with the VR app “still in beta”.

Who should pick which

• You want to roleplay with many different characters, or build your own: Character.AI. Replika is built around a single companion.
• You want one companion that follows your everyday life, with video calls: Replika.
• You want the most free use: Character.AI, on its stated unlimited free messaging and free voice features, with ads. Replika’s chat is free too, but its new terms allow usage limits.
• You want the cheapest yearly plan: Replika’s $49.99 items, and Character.AI’s yearly plan is best avoided until the sale is settled anyway.
• You care most about chats not being used for training: Replika’s policy limits training to anonymised data for its own systems. Character.AI trains its models on user data and offers an opt-out only in the EEA and UK.
• You are under 18: Replika does not allow you. Character.AI limits you to reading mode.

Still unsure? The companion matcher suggests a shortlist, our Character.AI alternatives guide covers more options, and Replika vs Nomi compares Replika with another companion app.

What we could not confirm

• The outcome of the 30 October 2026 bidding procedures hearing, the bid deadline and any auction date. None were on Character.AI’s blog or the Stretto case page when we checked.
• Which Replika App Store item is which plan, and what Replika Platinum includes.
• The c.ai+ monthly price on Character.AI’s own subscription page, which did not display it; the $9.99 figure comes from the US App Store.
• What Charms buy in full, and how many premium-style messages lite’s daily allowance includes.
• Replika’s free usage limits; the terms allow limits but no figure is published.
• Whether Character.AI’s group chat is currently available. Its voice FAQ refers to group chats, but no current page read describes the feature.
• Whether Character.AI offers video calls, or Replika offers group chats; neither appears on the pages read.
• Prices outside the US App Store, including Google Play and web checkout.