How to choose an AI girlfriend app: seven checks before you pay

Check 1: start with the feature you want

Apps look alike on their homepages, but features differ a lot underneath. Pick the one thing you care about most, then shortlist only apps that offer it. This is how common each feature is across the apps we track, from each app's own feature and pricing pages:

Our ranking of the best AI girlfriend apps scores every app on conversation, memory, media, voice, value and trust, and each feature has its own ranking page.

Check 2: test it on a free plan

Free plans differ more than prices do. Three examples from the top of our rankings:

• Secrets AI: 20 messages a day, no images or calls.
• Candy AI: 5 messages, 1 custom character, 1 image.
• HeyGF: 30 messages a day, no photos or videos.

OurDream has no free plan at all.

Use the free plan as a test, not a preview. In 10 minutes, check four things:

1. Does she write the way you want, at the length you want?
2. Does she remember a fact you told her at the start?
3. Does she stay in character when you change the subject?
4. Can you see what paid features cost before you pay?

Our list of free AI girlfriend apps compares every free plan, and our free vs paid guide shows what upgrading adds.

Check 3: find the price you will actually pay

The headline price is usually a yearly plan divided by 12 and charged up front. Candy AI, for example, costs $3.99 a month on its yearly plan but $13.99 month to month. Across the apps that publish prices, the median cheapest plan is $7.75 and the median month-to-month price is $14.99.

Then add tokens. 21 of the 31 apps sell pictures, video or calls with an in-app currency, and heavy use can cost more than the plan. Our AI girlfriend cost calculator works out the total for the features you want.

Check 4: who runs it, and how billing works

A named company with a registered address tells you whose laws apply and where to send a complaint. 31 of the 31 apps we track name their operating company. Also check:

• What appears on your statement. Candy AI says charges show as "EverAI", and Secrets AI's descriptor is "S LABS INC".
• Refunds. Many apps refuse refunds once you have used the plan. Candy AI allows requests within 24 hours with 20 tokens or fewer used; Infatuated AI says all sales are final.
• Renewal. Plans renew automatically. Set a reminder a few days before.

Trust is one of the six parts of every score in our methodology.

Check 5: privacy and deleting your account

Read two things in the privacy policy before you share much: whether chats are used to train AI, and whether you can delete your account. Candy AI, OurDream and Secrets AI all list training their AI models among the uses of your data, while Lovescape's privacy policy does not mention training on chats. Every app in our data that publishes deletion steps offers a way to delete your account, but what they keep afterward differs: Secrets AI says chat history goes immediately, while Candy AI may keep account data for up to three years after your last activity unless you ask for deletion. Our guide to AI girlfriend app safety covers the details.

Check 6: phone app or web app

Most AI girlfriend apps with 18+ content run in the browser, because the App Store and Google Play restrict sexual content. Only 3 of the 31 apps we track have a native iPhone app and 5 a native Android app in our data; the rest are web apps you can add to your home screen. That is not a drawback for most people, and it keeps the app off your phone's app list. Our AI girlfriend app guide shows which is which.

Check 7: red flags

• No company name or address anywhere on the site.
• No price shown until after you enter card details.
• No cancellation or refund terms you can read before paying.
• A "free" plan that asks for a card up front with a short trial.
• No way to delete your account or data.
• Pressure tactics: countdown timers on every page, or a character who guilt-trips you for leaving.

One red flag is not always a dealbreaker; three is a pattern.