Chai alternatives: 8 AI chat apps compared

What happened to Chai

• The iPhone app is gone from the App Store. It stopped appearing around 22 October 2026, and on 10 November its listing still returned "not found" in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, Japan, India and Brazil.
• No reason has been given. Chai's founder posted on Reddit that the team is "working on improving our Apple app" and that people who already have it installed are unaffected. Neither Chai nor Apple has said why it was removed.
• Android still works. The Google Play app was updated on 7 November 2026.
• There's a new web app at app.chai-ai.com. Chai says your characters, chats and subscription carry over to it. We haven't been able to check that. Don't mix it up with chai-ai.com ("Chai Web Pro"), a separate product that doesn't share data with the phone app.
• iPhone subscriptions keep billing through Apple until you cancel them in Settings → your name → Subscriptions. Deleting the app doesn't cancel them.
• Separately, on 3 November some users lost saved personas and memory. The founder said they would be back within 24 to 48 hours. We couldn't confirm that they have been.

So you don't have to leave Chai. But if you're on iPhone, or you've lost memories you cared about, it's a sensible moment to try a second app.

The alternatives at a glance

The "Best for" labels are our judgement, not a ranking. Prices change, so check before you pay.

DreamPress: best for chats that turn into stories

Good at: chats with a cast. Set up a scenario, add one character or several, and play as your own persona. The narrator and each character speak in their own voices, and each chat keeps its own memory. You can also co-write an interactive story chapter by chapter, with AI cover art and scene pictures (anime style by default) and narration that comes with every chapter at no extra cost. Over 800,000 writers have signed up.

Not so good: it's built around stories and scenes, so if you want quick throwaway chats with hundreds of bots, a feed-style app like Talkie feels lighter. There's no Android app. Free use runs on daily credits, and pictures cost 3 credits on every plan, Pro included.

Price: free. Verify your email and you get 15 credits a day, plus a one-off 50. A chat reply costs 1 credit on the standard model. Pro is $9.99 a month or $71.99 a year (web prices) and includes unlimited standard-model writing within fair use, plus 1,000 credits a month.

Platforms: any browser; iOS app on the App Store.

Talkie: closest to Chai's character feed

Good at: browsing and chatting with community-made characters ("Talkies"), with extended memory and tools for images, audio and music.

Not so good: the free version shows ads. On the US App Store the iPhone app is called "Talkie Lab – AI Playground".

Price: free with ads. The App Store lists subscriptions from $9.99 a month.

Character.AI: the biggest character library

Good at: sheer choice of characters, on every platform.

Not so good: its future is uncertain. Character.AI is in a Chapter 11 sale, with bids due on 24 November and an auction on 1 December 2026. It says the platform keeps running for now but will be wound down if no workable bid comes in. Users under 18 no longer get open-ended chat. Our full Character.AI alternatives guide covers the sale and how to export your chats.

Price: free with ads and slow mode; c.ai lite from $4.99 a month, c.ai+ $9.99 a month.

Kindroid: best for one companion with voice and video

Good at: one detailed companion with long-term memory, voice and video calls, AI selfies, and group "Rooms" with several of your own characters.

Not so good: in practice it's paid. The free preview is 50 messages, then the account becomes read-only.

Price: the App Store lists $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year.

Nomi: best for companions in group chats

Good at: companions with short, medium and long-term memory, editable backstories, group chats, voice and pictures.

Not so good: free messages are capped at 400 characters, against 800 on paid plans. The iOS app was last updated in March 2026.

Price: free to start. The App Store lists plans from $9.99 a month.

Replika: best for a single friend-style companion

Good at: one supportive companion by text, voice and video that remembers your people, plans and goals.

Not so good: one Replika per account and no group chats. Voice messages, image generation and relationship options beyond "friend" need Pro.

Price: chatting is free. The App Store lists subscriptions from $7.99 a month.

Perchance: best free option, no account needed

Good at: being free, with no account and no message limit. It supports custom characters, group chats, a lorebook and pictures in chat.

Not so good: your chats live in your browser. Clear your browser data and they're gone, and nothing syncs between devices.

Price: free.

AI Dungeon: best for text adventures

Good at: open-ended adventures where you type what you do and the AI writes what happens, with Story Cards and memory to keep track of the plot, plus multiplayer.

Not so good: the free plan's memory is small, and it plays more like a game than a chat.

Price: free plan; paid plans from $14.99 a month.

How to choose

• You want Chai, but on iPhone. Try Chai's web app at app.chai-ai.com first. For an App Store app with a similar feel, try Talkie (Talkie Lab) or Character.AI.
• You care most about memory. Kindroid, Nomi and DreamPress all keep long-term memory. Chai's memory feature went down on 3 November.
• You want a cast, not one bot. DreamPress, Nomi and Kindroid do group chats. Replika doesn't.
• You want it free. Perchance is free with no account. DreamPress gives 15 free credits a day, and Talkie and Character.AI are free with ads.
• You want a story, not just a chat. DreamPress and AI Dungeon.