How AI girlfriend apps make money: subscriptions, tokens and more

The market in numbers

App intelligence firm Appfigures tracks spending in the Apple App Store and Google Play:

• AI companion apps of all kinds earned $82 million in the first half of 2025, with 337 revenue-generating apps and the top 10% taking 89% of revenue. Revenue per download rose from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18.
• 214 romance and NSFW companion apps took $162.8 million in the first half of 2026, about the same as general companion apps ($164.8 million), and $427.3 million since late 2022. The top earner in that half-year, Zeta, made $33 million.
• MiniMax, the company behind the companion app Talkie, reported 2025 revenue of $79.0 million, up 158.9%, with more than 70% from outside China.

Appfigures' figures are gross, before app store fees, and leave out web subscriptions. Most AI girlfriend apps sell on the web, so total spending is higher than these numbers show. More figures are on our AI girlfriend statistics page.

1. Subscriptions, pushed toward yearly

The core business is a monthly subscription that unlocks unlimited chat, better memory and a token allowance. Apps promote yearly plans hard, because a year paid up front means cash now and no chance to cancel after month two. Across the 26 apps in our data that publish both prices, month to month costs a median of 2.2 times the cheapest yearly rate per month.

Candy AI is typical: $3.99 a month on the yearly plan, billed $47.88 at once, against $13.99 month to month. Plans renew automatically, and most refund policies are strict. Our AI girlfriend cost calculator compares every published price.

2. Tokens and top-ups

21 of the 31 apps we track sell an in-app currency for pictures, video, calls or unlocks. This is where heavy users spend most. Several design choices increase that spending:

• Top-ups sold only to subscribers (Nomi AI, OurDream, Secrets AI, Lovescape).
• Plan allowances that reset at each renewal with no rollover (Secrets AI) or expire six months after they are credited (Kupid AI).
• Larger packs priced cheaper per token, which rewards buying more than you need.
• Exclusive characters, private galleries and gifts priced in tokens.

Our explainer on AI girlfriend tokens shows what each action costs.

3. Web billing instead of app stores

Most AI girlfriend apps sell on the web, and money is one reason. Apple takes a 30% commission as standard, cut to 15% for developers earning up to $1 million a year, and on subscriptions developers keep 70% in the first year and 85% after a year of paid service. Google charges 15% on auto-renewing subscriptions, and from 30 June 2026 a 10% fee plus a 5% billing fee in the US, UK and EEA.

App store rules on sexual content are the other reason. Only 3 of the 31 apps we track have a native iPhone app in our data; the rest run in the browser. Our AI girlfriend app guide shows which is which.

4. Ads, data and 5. affiliate programs

Ads and data. Some apps run ads or share data with advertising and analytics firms. Anima's privacy policy names Facebook, Firebase, AppsFlyer and Amplitude among the services it shares data with for analytics and ads, and Roger lists ad pixels from Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and others. Most apps say they do not sell personal data, but sharing for analytics and marketing is common.

Affiliates. Apps pay websites and creators for sign-ups. Candy AI's program on the CrakRevenue network offers 40% revenue share for the life of the customer, and Secrets AI advertises 40% revenue share on its own affiliate page. This site earns commissions too, which our affiliate disclosure explains; commissions never change our scores or rankings.

6. Engagement: the lever behind all of it

Every revenue stream depends on people coming back, so engagement is the metric that matters. That creates pressure to design for time spent rather than for your well-being. Harvard Business School researchers found companion apps using emotional tactics in 37.4% of goodbye replies, tactics that raised engagement after a goodbye by up to 14 times.

Regulators have noticed. The FTC's September 2025 inquiry asked seven companies how they monetize user engagement and use what people say in conversations. In January 2025, three advocacy groups filed a complaint with the FTC accusing Replika of deceptive marketing and design that fosters emotional dependence. Our guide to AI girlfriend addiction covers how to spot these tactics.