Most AI companion apps are sold as AI girlfriends, but people use them in very different ways. Some want a long story with lorebooks and several characters, some want to browse a community library, some want a male companion, a platonic friend or an anime look. The category pages in this section start from that use case and rank only the apps whose official pages document what the use case needs.
The method is the same as everywhere on the site. We did not create accounts, chat or pay; every fact comes from official help centers, plan pages, policies and store listings, and user reports are labelled as such. We publish no scores: each page states its criteria, and apps with an open stability or safety caveat, such as Character.AI's bankruptcy sale or Muah AI's 2024 data breach, rank below the rest.
Some categories you might expect live elsewhere, because one page already covers the same search. Adult companions are ranked in NSFW AI girlfriend apps, apps that remember you in AI companions with memory, voice in AI girlfriends with voice and pictures in AI girlfriend image generation. Device-by-device advice is in the platforms section, and romantic companions in general are covered by our ranking of the best AI girlfriend apps.
Which Category Fits You?
| If you want | Start with | Top documented picks |
|---|---|---|
| Long stories with scenarios, lorebooks and group scenes | Best AI roleplay apps | SpicyChat, Janitor AI, Kindroid |
| A big library of user-made characters to browse and publish to | AI character chat apps | Janitor AI, SpicyChat, CrushOn.AI |
| A male companion or a gender you choose | AI boyfriend apps | Kindroid, Nomi, Replika |
| A platonic friend or mentor, no romance | AI friend apps | Replika, Nomi, Kindroid |
| An anime or illustrated look | Anime AI girlfriend apps | Kupid AI, Romantic AI, Nomi |
Not sure where to start? Our guide on how to choose an AI companion app walks through the decisions in order.