How to get an AI friend

Step 1: decide which kind you want

Checked November 11, 2026 against each vendor’s own pages and store listings.

These overlap. Kindroid subscribers can also text one of their characters from the Messages app, Khio calls itself both an AI friend and a personal assistant, and Replika has voice calls. Pick by what you’d do most days. If you aren’t sure whether you want a friend or an assistant at all, read AI friend vs AI assistant.

Step 2: check four things before you pay

Where it talks to you. An app you open, your Messages app, or a chat app such as WhatsApp. Check the phone requirement too: Khio’s FAQ says texting it “requires iMessage on an iPhone”, Tolan’s help center describes Apple devices only, and Gemini in Google Messages needs an Android phone with RCS chats turned on.

What’s free, and for how long. “Free” means different things:

• Replika’s help center says “chatting with Replika will always be free”, and also that access to free use “may be denied at Replika’s discretion.”
• Nomi’s homepage says “It’s free (no credit card required) to start chatting.” The free tier has a daily message allowance, and Nomi doesn’t publish the number.
• Kindroid retired unlimited free messaging on October 1, 2026. New accounts get a one-time preview of 50 messages (15 in some regions), then the account becomes read-only. Its 3-day trial needs a payment method and converts to a subscription unless you cancel.
• Tolan’s trial is 24 or 72 hours and converts automatically to the plan you selected at signup.
• Meta says Meta AI “is free to use for everyday use.”

Who can see your messages. Every one of these services receives and processes what you send. Policies differ on how long messages are kept, whether they train AI models, and whether people review them. Our guide to whether texting an AI is private quotes the vendors’ own wording and gives a checklist.

How you cancel and delete. Cancelling a subscription and deleting your data are separate steps, and removing the app does neither. Replika’s help center says “Deleting the app does not cancel your subscription.” Nomi’s cancellation policy says the same, and Kindroid’s docs say deleting your account does not cancel a subscription. In general you cancel wherever you subscribed: the website, the App Store, or Google Play. For deletion, look for a self-serve button. Nomi has one in Account Settings, Kindroid has one under Profile, then Preferences, and Kindroid also lets you request a data file once every 30 days.

Step 3: start

A friend in your texts

The conversation happens in your Messages app, in the same list as texts from people. A reply, or a message it sends first, arrives as a text. No app is required, and with a ready-made character there is nothing to write before the first message.

• Hallie: she texts in iMessage on iPhone (and Messages on a Mac) and in Google Messages on Android. You answer a few questions on the web about how you like to text, then you text her. She keeps track of the people, plans and events you mention, and after you’ve texted her she starts conversations too, usually about something you told her. Her own section below has the rest.
• Khio: it texts over iMessage on an iPhone. It has a free plan, and its pricing page lists Khio Pro at $14.50 a month (khio.ai pricing page, checked November 11, 2026).
• Kindroid, as an add-on: if you already pay for Kindroid, you can turn on text messaging under Profile, then Preferences, and text one character.

A character you design

Download the app or use the website, then build the character.

• Kindroid: you shape personality, backstory, key memories, avatar and voice. Subscribers get 10 character slots and free users 2. Kindroid doesn’t publish prices on its site; it says you see the price for your country and platform at checkout.
• Nomi: you write a backstory and choose an appearance, or “just start chatting and let your Nomi develop their personality naturally”. You can make several and put them in a group chat.
• Replika: one Replika per account. You shape the avatar and choose the kind of relationship; setting it to Romantic Partner requires the Pro plan. Replika doesn’t publish prices on its website.

A voice companion

Download the app and start talking.

• Sesame: you choose from four ready-made characters (Maya, Miles, Simone or Charlie) and call or text them inside the app, on iOS or Android. Both stores list the app as free with no in-app purchases shown. Sesame calls them agents and says they are not designed for romantic roleplay.
• Pi: one ready-made AI with voice on iOS, Android and the web.
• Tolan: one ready-made character with voice and text chat in an app for Apple devices. New users get a limited trial, and full access requires a subscription.

A free assistant

If you mainly want something to talk a question through with, you may already have one. ChatGPT’s Free plan works on the web, iOS and Android, with what OpenAI’s pricing page calls “Limited memory and context”. Gemini has a free plan and, on Android, a chat inside Google Messages. Meta AI is inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook, and Meta says no account is needed beyond your Meta account. All three describe themselves as assistants, and they are the better choice for work, research and writing.

How Hallie handles it

You answer a few questions on the web about how you like to text, then you text her. She replies in iMessage on iPhone (and Messages on a Mac) or in Google Messages on Android, from a US number. There’s no app to install, and she never texts a number that hasn’t texted her first.

You meet her as she is. There is one Hallie, and the sign-up questions are about how you text, not about who she is. She keeps track of the people, plans and events you mention and brings them up later. After you’ve texted her, she starts conversations too, usually about something you told her. If you go quiet she checks in once or twice, then waits for you, and if you ask her to stop, she stops.

She understands photos, voice memos and links you send, and her replies are text. Paid members can also call her number like a regular phone call; she can’t call you, and there’s no video.

Of the AI companions we’ve used, Hallie is the one that feels most like texting a person. That is our judgment, and we make her.

How you pay: a subscription. Depending on the offer, your first conversation is free or you start with a free trial. There’s no free plan. The price is shown before you pay, and you can cancel any time in your account.

Her watch-outs for someone choosing a first AI friend: she can miss or get a detail wrong, which you correct in the thread because there’s no memory screen, and deleting your data is by email to hello@hallie.io.

The steps are laid out on how it works.

Questions

Is there a free AI friend?

Yes, with limits. Replika says text chat is free. Nomi is free to start with a daily message allowance. Sesame is listed as free on the App Store. Kindroid ended unlimited free messaging on October 1, 2026. Hallie is a subscription: depending on the offer, your first conversation is free or you start with a free trial.

Do I need to download an app?

Not always. Hallie and Khio are reached from your phone’s Messages app, and Meta AI and Gemini sit inside apps many people already have. Kindroid, Nomi, Replika, Tolan, Sesame and Pi are apps or websites you open.

Can I get an AI friend on Android?

Yes. Hallie works in Google Messages on Android; new Android sign-ups need a US number for now. Kindroid, Nomi, Replika, Sesame and Pi have Android apps. Khio’s texting requires an iPhone, and Tolan’s pages describe Apple devices only.

How do I stop paying if I don’t like it?

Cancel in the same place you subscribed, and do it before deleting the app or the account. Replika, Nomi and Kindroid each say that deleting does not cancel a subscription. With Hallie you cancel in your account on hallie.io.

What should I ask before I share personal things?

How long messages are kept, whether they are used to train AI models, whether people can review them, and how you delete them. The privacy guide lists what each vendor says.

Sources

• Khio FAQ and pricing page, khio.ai, checked November 11, 2026
• Kindroid docs, “Subscriptions”, “FAQs” and “Chat features and tools”, kindroid.ai; Kindroid App Store listing, checked November 11, 2026
• Nomi homepage, Cancellation Policy, “Delete Account” and Nomi Knowledge, “Proactive Messaging”, nomi.ai, checked November 11, 2026
• Replika Help Center, “Is Replika free?”, “Choosing a Subscription”, “How many Replika accounts can I create?”, “What is Replika Pro?” and “How to cancel your subscription”, checked November 11, 2026
• Tolan FAQ, tolans.com, and Tolan Help Center, “How does the free trial work?” and “Logging in, Logging out, and Switching Devices”, checked November 11, 2026
• Sesame Journal, “Getting started” (October 5, 2026); Sesame App Store and Google Play listings, checked November 11, 2026
• Pi App Store and Google Play listings; Pi Help Center, “How do I use voice to talk with Pi”, checked November 11, 2026
• ChatGPT pricing page, chatgpt.com; ChatGPT App Store listing, checked November 11, 2026
• Google, Gemini Apps Help, “Use Gemini in Google Messages”; Gemini subscriptions page, checked November 11, 2026
• Meta AI assistant page (FAQ), ai.meta.com, checked November 11, 2026
• Hallie: hallie.io and our own product records, checked November 11, 2026