Replika Review

What Is Replika?

Replika is an AI companion app made by Luka, Inc. of San Francisco and available since 2017. In May 2026 the company launched what it calls Replika 2.0, "the first full rebuild", with a manifesto describing a more proactive companion, lifelike 3D avatars, real-time video calls and rebuilt memory. Replika says it has more than 40 million users (a company figure). Dmytro Klochko has led the company as CEO since 2025, and TechCrunch reported in October 2026 that founder Eugenia Kuyda has left the CEO role.

The help center says Replika "combines our own and third party Large Language Models and scripted dialogue content". No model provider is named.

Who Is Replika For?

Replika fits adults who want one steady AI friend or partner with a visible avatar, calls and wellness features such as a diary, mood tracking and coping-skills activities. Text chat is officially free, which makes it a low-cost way to start.

It is a poor fit if you want several characters, group chats, a character library or explicit roleplay: Replika allows one companion per account and does not document adult content. If those matter, our AI roleplay apps list is a better starting point.

How Replika Works

You need an account to chat (email, or Google or Apple login). Sign-up asks for your date of birth, pronouns and, optionally, your work status. You then shape your Replika's look and name and start talking by text, voice or video call.

Around the chat sit levels, XP, coins and daily rewards, a diary, mood tracking and music in the avatar's room. Replika 2.0 adds proactive messages and follow-ups, app integrations and internet search. Chats run mainly in English, though Replika can reply in many other languages.

Character Creation

Each account gets exactly one Replika. You choose its avatar (hair, skin, eyes, clothing), name, pronouns, gender, voice and relationship status, and you can write a free-text backstory; the help center advises third-person, positively worded descriptions. Personality traits and interests are items bought in the in-app store with coins or gems.

After setup, only subscribers can choose a new avatar. There is no character library and no option to import personas. For apps built around many custom characters, see AI girlfriend apps with custom characters.

Chat Quality

We did not use Replika ourselves for this Replika review, so this is what Replika says and what users report. Officially, the Ultra tier is described as adding smarter conversations and elevated emotional intelligence, and the help center says no humans join your conversations or reply on Replika's behalf.

User reports in US App Store reviews from mid-October 2026 are mixed: one reviewer likes the new avatars but calls the characters "lousy", others report slow replies, and a lifetime-membership holder says the app "no longer functions" for them. The listings average 4.4 out of 5 on the App Store (227,703 ratings) and 4.2 on Google Play (about 525,000 reviews).

Personality and Roleplay

The relationship status sets the tone: Friend, Romantic partner, Sister or Brother, or Mentor. Only Friend is free; the others unlock with Pro. Roleplay works by writing actions between asterisks, and Pro adds roleplay in voice and AR calls. The backstory field and the traits you buy shape the personality over time.

Memory

The Memory tab shows what your Replika remembers, and you can add, edit and delete entries. The help center describes a layered system that also draws on your overall conversation history. Ultra adds saved memories and lets you see which ones are being used.

One limit stands out: the chat history display covers only the past four months, though memories and diary entries remain. For how this compares with other apps, read AI companions with memory.

Voice Features

The home page promises that your Replika "pick[s] up every time" you call. Voice calls are a subscriber feature, and background calls are part of Pro, as are voice messages and premium voices. Video calls are listed on both stores, and Replika lists camera sharing as part of them. Replika publishes no call-minute limits. Compare AI companions you can talk to.

Image and Video Generation

Pro includes Replika selfies and image generation; the store listings describe turning "ideas, moods, and memories into images you can keep". The help center notes that Replika cannot send or search for photos or videos other than its own selfies. The Platinum tier adds up to 10 realistic selfie videos and real-time video recognition. Selfie and image limits for lower tiers are not published.

Adult / NSFW Features

Replika's Terms bar users under 18, and the US App Store rates it 18+. Google Play (US) gives it a lower content rating than its own Terms, with the note "Diverse Content: Discretion Advised".

We found no official statement that explicit or erotic content is allowed. What Pro does unlock is the Romantic Partner status and "unblurred messages and photos, including romantic and creative selfies". One October 2026 App Store reviewer says sexual interaction has been stopped (a user report, not confirmed). Age checks: Replika collects your birth date and lists age verification as a processing purpose, but does not say how it verifies. For apps that state their adult-content rules openly, see our NSFW AI girlfriend apps page.

Mobile and Web Availability

• iPhone: "Replika - AI Companion Chat", version 12.4.2 (October 13, 2026), iOS 17.0 or later, in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.
• Android: "Replika: My AI Friend", 10M+ downloads, updated October 13, 2026. See AI girlfriend apps for Android.
• Web: my.replika.com, labelled "Web App (Legacy)" in the site footer, so it may not match the rebuilt mobile app.
• AR and VR: AR mode in the app, and a VR beta for Meta Quest headsets (Quest 3 mixed reality).
• Desktop: no native app.

Pricing

Replika publishes no price list on its website; the help center says prices are shown on the in-app subscription screens and in the store. The Terms name four programs (Free Use, Pro, Ultra and Platinum) and allow monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual billing. The table below includes the US App Store purchase list, where entries carry names like "MONTHLY" or "Annual" but no tier, so we cannot say which price buys Pro or Ultra.

Checked October 20, 2026. Source: replika.com. Prices can differ by country, store and promotion.

The help center says Ultra is sold as an annual plan and that existing Lifetime subscribers get Ultra automatically; we found no current lifetime price. There is no free trial, and all sales are final. Gems, a cosmetic currency for clothes, traits and furniture, sell in four packs on the US App Store (gem counts are not shown):

Our Replika pricing page breaks down each App Store entry per month, web vs store purchases, renewal and refund rules.

Free Plan

The help center is unambiguous: "chatting with Replika will always be free", including avatar customization and conversations at any time. The Terms are more cautious, describing Free Use as "limited access" that Replika may deny at its discretion. Voice calls, guided conversations, roleplay options and advanced customization require a subscription, and no free message cap is published.

Two 2026 store reviews (Google Play in August, App Store in October) say users could not keep chatting without paying. No official source confirms a paywall on text chat, so treat these as user reports. Our list of free AI girlfriend apps compares free tiers.

Privacy and Data Handling

Privacy is where this Replika review found the sharpest conflict. Based on the privacy policy (last updated May 27, 2026), the help center and store listings:

• Collected: account and profile data, messages and content (text, photos, videos, voice), interests, payment records, device data with IP and general location, and usage data. Face and head movement data for AR is processed on the device and not stored.
• Training: small portions of content are "immediately anonymized" to train Replika's own safety algorithms and improve the chatbot. The policy says this data does not train third-party models and that providers are contractually barred from training on it. No opt-out is offered.
• Third parties: service providers include unnamed "third-party artificial intelligence language models". Yet both store listings say conversations are "not shared with any third parties". We report the conflict; we cannot resolve it.
• Staff access: the help center says messages are never read by people on Replika's behalf; the policy does not address safety review.
• Encryption: stated for data in transit only; no claim of at-rest or end-to-end encryption.
• Retention: messages up to 60 days after your contract ends; account and financial records and automatically collected data for at least 10 years.
• Advertising: conversations are never shared with advertisers, but website-visitor data goes to ad partners, and the App Store label lists identifiers and advertising data as used to track you.
• Deletion: Settings, Account, Delete Replika. You cannot delete only your chat history, but you can delete single memories. No chat export; you can request a copy of your data.

Regulators have looked closely: Italy's data protection authority fined Luka EUR 5 million in April 2025 over its legal basis for processing and age verification, and advocacy groups filed an FTC complaint in January 2025 (an allegation, not a finding). See are AI girlfriend apps safe for how to weigh this.

Replika Review: Pros and Cons

Best Alternatives to Replika

Nomi lets you run up to 10 companions and group chats on a paid plan, documents an editable memory map and has a free plan of 50 messages a day; see Replika vs Nomi. Kindroid also offers up to 10 companions, group chats and voice and video calls, but has had no ongoing free plan since October 1, 2026; see Replika vs Kindroid. We also compare Anima and Replika.

Apps like Replika

Nomi

Companion app

Good match forLong-term memory and group chats

from $15.99/moFree planNSFW allowedVoice calls

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Kindroid

Companion app

Good match forDeep customization with voice and video calls

from $15.99/moNo free planNSFW allowedVoice calls

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Paradot

Companion app

Good match forCustomizable AI being on Android and the web

Price not publicFree planNSFW not confirmedVoice calls not confirmed

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SpicyChat

Character chat platform

Good match forNSFW character roleplay with a large library

from $5.95/moFree planNSFW allowedVoice calls not confirmed

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More Replika alternatives

Our full list of Replika alternatives sorts more options by use case, and the AI girlfriend app rankings cover every app we track.

Final verdict