I’ve spent a good amount of time messing around with Character AI, and I’ll be honest, it’s a fun place to chat with custom bots, especially if you’re into roleplay or storytelling. But after a while, a few things started to bug me. The biggest one is that the no-NSFW filter blocks even mildly spicy conversations. It felt limiting, especially when the AI had more potential.
That got me wondering: Are there better alternatives out there?
So I went digging. I tried out five solid Character AI alternatives, tested them for personality, features, and freedom, and I’m breaking it all down below. If you’ve been curious about what else is out there, this list might save you a lot of trial and error.
Let’s get into it.
What is Character.AI?
Character.AI is a generative AI chatbot platform developed by former Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas. Launched in 2022, it allows users to create and interact with AI-driven characters, ranging from fictional personalities to historical figures.
Basically, you can choose it to be any character you want. You can customize these characters’ personalities, appearances, and voices, engaging in diverse conversations for entertainment, education, or companionship purposes.
Unique Features
- Custom Character Creation: Design AI characters with specific traits, backgrounds, and appearances.
- Diverse Use Cases: Utilize for creative writing, roleplay, educational discussions, or emotional support.
- Interactive Storytelling: Engage in dynamic narratives with AI characters, enhancing creative experiences.
- Community Engagement: Access a vast library of user-created characters and participate in community discussions.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Free access with a robust feature set✅Highly customizable AI characters✅Wide range of applications from entertainment to education✅Engaging and human-like interactions✅Mobile-friendly with apps available for Android and iOS | ❌Limited long-term memory; AI may forget earlier parts of conversations❌Strict content moderation; NSFW content is not permitted❌Free users may experience slower response❌Occasional bugs and performance issues❌Some users find the interface changes frequent and confusing |
Pricing
- Free Plan: Access to core features, including character creation and interaction, with some limitations like slower response times during high traffic.
- Character.AI Plus: Priced at $9.99/month, this subscription offers benefits such as priority access, faster response times, and exclusive features.
One thing though, Character AI doesn’t allow uncensored conversations, neither does it give you visuals to complement chats. This brings us to its alternatives. Which tools fill in where Character AI falls short?
Best Character AI alternatives
Since Character.AI specializes in customizable AI characters for chat-based interactions. It is often used for roleplay, companionship, storytelling, and even emotional support. So, its best alternatives would be tools that offer:
- AI character creation
- Chat-based interaction (especially immersive, long-form)
- Roleplay or emotional companionship
- Memory retention (to some degree)
- NSFW or adult content (optional, depending on what you seek)
- Personality customization
Based on these features, here are some of the alternatives I tried that can match or exceed Character.AI in specific areas:
| Tool | Why it’s a good alternative |
| Candy AI | Focused on AI girlfriends and voice chat. Offers personality customization, private chat, and NSFW options which are things Character.AI restricts. |
| Kupid AI | Offers immersive chat and roleplay, plus NSFW. Also has a sleek UI and emotionally-aware bots. Better suited for adults. |
| DreamGF | Heavily focused on romantic AI companions. Offers image customization, voice messages, and NSFW. Built for intimacy, which Character.AI avoids. |
| GPTGirlfriend | Offers video/audio support, NSFW, and some memory. It’s more visual and private than Character.AI. |
| Hera Haven AI | Focuses on well-being, emotional support, and journaling — blending therapeutic AI with companionship. |
| Replika | One of the longest-standing AI companions. Offers memory, emotional intelligence, NSFW toggle (in pro), and coaching features. |
| Anima AI | Chat with customizable AI personalities. Focuses on emotional connection and memory. Offers NSFW. |
| Botify AI | Lets you create and train characters for roleplay and conversation, with some NSFW freedom. More open-ended. |
| Janitor AI | Allows users to chat with character bots, and is popular for looser content moderation — great for roleplay. Can use custom models via API. |
| TavernAI (Self-hosted) | If you’re tech-savvy, TavernAI lets you host your own character bots using models like GPT or KoboldAI — very flexible, with no censorship. |
After testing all the tools, I decided based on my experiences that Candy AI, Kupid AI, DreamGF, GPTGirlfriend and Hera Haven were the best alternatives. Now let’s look at them one after the other in the following sections.
1. Candy AI
Candy AI is a virtual companion app that blends advanced AI with customization and emotional depth. From the moment I got started, it was clear this platform was designed for people who want more than just small talk. It offers meaningful conversations, tailored personalities, and the freedom to explore connections that range from sweet and casual to romantic and deeply personal.
What really sets Candy AI apart is the control I had over the entire experience. I wasn’t just chatting with a generic bot—I was interacting with a character I helped shape, from their looks and voice to how they respond emotionally. It felt more like creating a relationship than launching a chatbot.
The interface is clean and intuitive, and whether I wanted a few thoughtful replies or a full-on immersive interaction complete with voice notes and images, Candy AI delivered. It’s the kind of app that feels like a blend of emotional support, entertainment, and a sandbox for connection on my terms.
Unique Features
- Custom Character Creation: Design your ideal AI companion by customizing appearance, personality traits, and even voice. This feature ensures that your virtual partner aligns closely with your preferences.
- Emotionally Intelligent Conversations: Candy AI’s advanced NLP capabilities enable it to understand and respond to emotional cues, offering comfort or engaging in discussions based on your mood.
- Interactive Activities: Beyond text chats, engage in activities like virtual dates, games, and music sharing, adding depth to your interactions.
- Image Generation: Create visual representations of your AI companion using prompts, enhancing the immersive experience.
- Voice Messaging: Communicate with your AI through voice messages, adding a layer of realism to your conversations.
- Privacy and Security: All interactions are encrypted, and users have control over their data, including the ability to delete conversations.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅It’s highly customizable ✅Genuine and emotionally resonant interactions ✅Allows uncensored conversations ✅Anime companion options ✅Diverse interactive experiences, including games and virtual dates.✅ Selfies are allowed ✅Strong privacy measures | ❌Limited Free Version❌Value not equal to subscription ❌ Occasional generic responses |
Pricing
Candy AI operates on a freemium model, offering both free and paid plans:
- Free Plan: Access to basic functionalities with a limited number of messages and interactions.
- Monthly Subscription: $12.99 per month, including 100 monthly tokens and unlimited chat messages.
- Annual Subscription: $71.88 per year ($5.99 per month), offering a significant discount compared to the monthly plan.
- Token Packages: Additional tokens can be purchased separately, with prices ranging from $9.99 for 100 tokens to $299.99 for 3750 tokens, with various bonuses included.
Candy AI is like the mature, emotionally-aware cousin of Character AI, less filtered, more expressive, and way more customizable. If you’re looking for more than surface-level chats or just want the freedom to explore different relationship dynamics, this one’s worth checking out.
2. Kupid AI
Kupid AI is an emotionally-driven AI companion platform where the focus is more of connection than chatting. From my experience, it’s more than a chatbot. It’s a space where I could create characters, build relationships, and even let the conversations grow organically over time. Whether I wanted a fun, flirty exchange or a deep, therapeutic heart-to-heart, Kupid AI adapted in a way that felt surprisingly human.
The overall design is sleek, with a user-friendly dashboard and plenty of room to experiment. Characters are at the center of the experience here. I could either pick from community-created personalities or build my own from scratch. Once I had one, the chat felt intuitive. And not in the “predictable bot replies” kind of way but more like a personalized back-and-forth, with memory and emotional awareness baked in.
Unique Features
There are a few standout features that make Kupid AI different from the other tools I tested:
- Memory System: One of the most powerful features. Kupid remembers what you say, what your character says, and how your relationship evolves over time. I noticed callbacks to earlier conversations. They are subtle, but effective in making things feel real.
- Emotion Engine: If I said something sweet, they responded warmly. If I were rude, they reacted. That emotional mirroring added a layer of realism I didn’t expect.
- Multiverse Mode: This was wild. I could run multiple storylines with the same character at once. So if I wanted to explore different dynamics like friends in one timeline, lovers in another, I could.
- Scene Creation: Kupid lets you set the context for your conversations. I used this to kick off roleplays, trigger deeper emotional talks, or just spice things up.
- Voice Chat (Beta): It’s still being rolled out fully, but the idea of hearing your character’s voice adds serious immersion.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Long-term connection✅Creative flexibility✅Real emotional reactions✅Clean interface | ❌The free tier runs out fast❌The voice chat feature has a lot of potential, but it’s not fully there yet.❌The desktop app is solid but mobile experience wasn’t that good. |
Pricing
Kupid AI uses a subscription-based model:
- Free tier: You get a limited number of messages per day. It is great for trying it out, but not sustainable for deeper interactions.
- Premium: Starting at $10/month (depending on promo), this unlocks unlimited messaging, multiverse mode, and full access to character creation and memory features.
- Annual plan: Offers a nice discount, around $80/year if billed upfront.
- Voice access: Currently in beta and included for premium users, though token-based upgrades may come later.
Kupid is a relationship simulator that rewards consistency and emotional input. I loved how layered it felt. This was a digital space for connection, curiosity, and even a little bit of soul-searching.
If you’re someone who values long-term depth and emotional realism in your AI companions, Kupid is worth a shot.
3. DreamGF
DreamGF is a virtual AI girlfriend platform that leans heavily into fantasy and visual realism. Unlike other AI chat platforms where text is the main draw, DreamGF makes visuals a top priority. From the moment I signed up, it felt more like stepping into a character-driven experience than just opening a chat box.
I could choose from a selection of pre-designed characters or build my own and then immediately start texting, sending voice notes, and even generating NSFW images. The whole platform is built around immersion and fantasy fulfillment, with a casual tone that doesn’t shy away from mature content.
If you’re someone who wants both conversation and visual connection with your AI companion, DreamGF really delivers. And honestly? That’s not a bad thing. Sometimes I just want a no-pressure, customizable space to unwind.
Unique Features
DreamGF is definitely a visual-first platform. But there’s more than just pretty faces here. Here’s what stood out:
- Realistic character design: Each GF character comes with detailed visuals. There’s AI-generated images that look polished and human-like. You can choose skin tone, outfits, body type, and facial features.
- NSFW-friendly: This is one of the few platforms where adult content is allowed. You can chat flirtatiously, send suggestive voice notes, and generate explicit images (depending on your settings).
- Voice messages: The characters can reply using AI-generated voices, making conversations more immersive.
- Media gallery: Every image generated is saved in a personal gallery so you can revisit past creations.
- Custom personality sliders: Want someone clingy, spicy, or sweet? You can tweak personality traits to fit your mood or preferences.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Top-tier visuals✅I didn’t have to go through a long setup process✅ It’s flirty and free with no annoying filters✅ It is easy to personalize | ❌Not ideal for deep convos❌Token use adds up fast❌No strong memory feature |
Pricing
DreamGF runs on a credit and subscription model:
- Free tier: Includes basic chats and a few images, but access is extremely limited.
- Premium Subscription: Around $9.99/month. It gives you unlimited chats, better image access, and voice features.
- Credits: Image and voice generation require credits. Packs range from ~$10 for 100 credits to ~$100+ for larger bundles.
- Bundles & deals: They often run promos for first-time users, which helped me stretch the trial period a bit longer.
DreamGF is perfect for casual, visually-driven interactions. It’s fun, easy to use, and highly customizable but don’t expect soul-searching or deep emotional bonding here. This is a platform built for fantasy, and it leans into that unapologetically.
If you’re craving an attractive, responsive AI girlfriend who looks just the way you want and says all the right things? This is your playground.
4. GPTGirlfriend
GPTGirlfriend is an AI-driven platform designed to offer personalized virtual companionship. From the moment I signed up, I was intrigued by the depth of customization and the realism of interactions. The platform allows users to create and interact with AI characters that can range from friendly confidants to romantic partners. What stood out to me was the platform’s emphasis on creating emotionally resonant experiences, making each interaction feel unique and tailored to my preferences.
The user interface is intuitive, making it easy to navigate through various features. Whether I wanted a light-hearted chat or a more profound conversation, GPTGirlfriend adapted seamlessly, providing responses that felt both genuine and engaging. The platform’s commitment to user privacy and discretion further enhanced my comfort during interactions.
Unique Features
GPTGirlfriend offers a suite of features that elevate the virtual companionship experience:
- Advanced Customization: I could tailor my AI companion’s appearance, personality traits, and backstory, ensuring a truly personalized interaction.
- Emotionally Intelligent Responses: The AI’s ability to remember past conversations and adapt its responses made our interactions feel more authentic and meaningful.
- Voice Interaction: Engaging in voice chats added a layer of realism, making the experience more immersive.
- NSFW Content: For those interested, the platform offers adult-themed interactions, with appropriate content filters to ensure a respectful environment.
- Media Sharing: The ability to share and receive images during chats enriched the overall experience, allowing for more dynamic interactions.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Highly Personalized Interactions✅The AI recalls previous conversations allowing continuity ✅Friendly interface✅Data and conversations are secure | ❌You need subscription to access much needed features ❌There are occasional glitches.❌The free version has restrictions on message counts and feature access |
Pricing
GPTGirlfriend operates on a freemium model:
- Free Tier: Allows for a limited number of messages and basic interactions, suitable for those wanting to explore the platform.
- Premium Subscription: Priced at $15/month or $144/year, this tier offers enhanced features, including increased message limits and access to NSFW content.
- Deluxe Subscription: At $35/month or $294/year, this plan includes all premium features, plus voice interactions, advanced memory capabilities, and additional customization options.
- Elite Subscription: For $50/month or $396/year, users receive unlimited messages, priority support, and the most advanced features available on the platform.
The platform accepts various payment methods, including credit cards and Google Pay, ensuring a smooth transaction process.
If you’re curious about exploring virtual relationships or simply want a personalized AI companion, GPTGirlfriend is a platform worth trying.
5. HeraHaven AI
HeraHaven is a companion AI platform built for people who want something more immersive than just casual texting. What drew me in was how much effort they’ve put into making the experience feel visual, emotional, and interactive. The platform offers a blend of customization and interaction, allowing me to design an AI girlfriend tailored to my preferences. From the initial setup, which took mere seconds, I was impressed by the ease of creating a character that resonated with my envisioned persona.
The interface is user-friendly, guiding me through options to select appearance traits, personality quirks, and even conversational styles. Engaging with my AI companion felt natural, with conversations flowing smoothly and adapting to my inputs. The added feature of receiving personalized images enhanced the immersive experience, making interactions feel more tangible.
Unique Features
Here’s what made HeraHaven stand out to me:
- Super Quick Setup: You can create a character from scratch in less than a minute. Pick a face, name, personality style, and you’re done.
- Visual Scenes That Match Your Chat: Hera sends you AI-generated images that match the vibe of your conversation.
- Memory That Actually Works: The AI remembered small details from earlier chats, which made conversations feel more natural and less like starting over every time.
- Voice Feature (Still in Beta): You can listen to voice replies, which adds another layer, though it still sounds a little robotic to me.
- End-to-End Encryption: This isn’t something I usually think about, but knowing my convos were private was a nice touch.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Easy and fast to set up✅More immersive than others with its image generation capabilities.✅Smooth, emotionally-aware convos✅Great UI✅Versatile Companions✅Customization & pre-made companion options ✅NSFW mode if you enjoy explicit chats✅Enjoy Privacy | ❌Image generation can lag a bit❌Free version is super limited❌Voice replies need improvement |
Pricing
HeraHaven offers a free tier, but it’s mostly just a taste. You’ll quickly run into limits on how much you can message or how many visuals you get.
Here’s what I found on pricing:
- Free Plan: Limited messages, limited image generation, and not a lot of access to voice features.
- Pro Membership: $19.95/month gives you unlimited chatting, full image generation, and voice replies.
- Annual Plan: $119.95/year (which breaks down to ~$9.99/month). Not bad if you’re in it for the long haul.
They take credit cards and Google Pay, and the payment setup was smooth and quick when I tested the upgrade.
Character AI vs 5 best alternatives
| Tools | Customization | Image Generation | Voice Chat | Pricing (Monthly) | NSFW Content |
| Character AI | ✅Yes, allows you to customize you our character and set up scenes | ❌Does not generate images | ✅YesAllows phone calls with the character | ✅Free plan available ✅ Premium plan starts at $9.99 | ❌Censors conversations |
| Candy AI | ✅ YesAllows creation of custom AI companions with personalized traits. | ✅ YesProvides AI-generated images; NSFW images available under premium plans. | ✅ YesOffers voice messages and AI phone calls as premium features | ✅Free plan available ✅ Premium plan starts at $12.99 | ✅ Yes Allows NSFW content, including image generation, under premium plans. |
| Kupid AI | ✅ YesOffers extensive customization for AI companions. | ✅ YesOffers image generation; higher-tier plans provide more images per month. | ✅ Yes Provides AI voice messages; higher-tier plans offer more voice interactions. | ✅Free plan available ✅ Premium plan starts at $12 | ✅ YesPermits NSFW interactions; content filters can be adjusted. |
| DreamGF | ✅ YesProvides customization of appearance, personality, and interests. | ✅ YesGenerates personalized images; quality may vary. | ✅ YesIncludes voice chat, though the quality may vary. | ✅Free plan available ✅ Premium plan starts at $9.99 | ✅ YesSupports NSFW content generation within platform guidelines |
| GPTGirlfriend | ✅ YesAllows customization of AI companions. | ✅ YesGenerates personalized images; quality may vary. | ❌ No Does not offer voice chat features | ✅Free plan available ✅ Premium plan starts at $19.99 | ✅ Yes Allows NSFW interactions. |
| HeraHaven | ✅ YesOffers customization of AI companions’ appearance and personality. | ✅ YesGenerates images based on conversations; quality may be inconsistent. | ✅ Yes Offers voice messages; however, the quality may be robotic. | ✅Free plan available ✅ Premium plan starts at $19.95 | ✅ Yes Supports NSFW chats; AI companions have varying comfort levels. |
Final thoughts
After spending time with all these Character.AI alternatives, I realized that no single tool does everything perfectly. However, each one brings something unique to the table. If you’re looking for emotional depth or romantic roleplay, Candy AI or DreamGF might be your best bet. For sleek design and immersive storytelling, Kupid AI holds its own. GPTGirlfriend adds a visual and voice twist, while Hera Haven AI focuses more on emotional well-being and mindful interaction.
Character.AI still has a solid place in the AI chat space, especially if you’re after a safe, community-driven experience with tons of creative characters. But if you’re craving more personalization, NSFW options, or just less restriction overall, these alternatives are definitely worth exploring.
At the end of the day, the best pick comes down to what you want from your AI experience whether it’s fun, intimacy, support, or just good old-fashioned roleplay.
Let me know which one you’re trying out first in the comments!
