Updated 2026-11-01 · 10 min read · How we review

Best Candy AI Alternatives in 2026: 6 Apps Compared

Candy AI alternatives: five phones showing AI companion chats beside a jar of wrapped candies, 18+

The best Candy AI alternative depends on why you are leaving. OurDream.ai is the closest match if images and video keep draining your tokens, because it gives 1,000 coins a month and publishes what each costs. SpicyChat has the cheapest paid plan. JanitorAI is the strongest free option for text roleplay. Nomi suits people who care most about memory, Kindroid has the most candid privacy policy, and CrushOn publishes the most detailed limits.

I compared six apps on the checks from our Candy AI review: price, free tier, how images are paid for, privacy, refunds and content rules. Every figure below comes from each app's own pages or its US App Store listing, read on November 1, 2026.

Candy AI alternatives at a glance

AppPick it if you are leaving Candy becauseFree tierPaid plans fromWatch out for
OurDream.aiImages and video keep eating your tokensChat costs 1 coin per message; no images or video$19.99 a month or $119.88 a yearUnused time generally not refunded
SpicyChatYou want to pay lessFree with ads$5.95 a month or $60 a yearPhotorealistic adult images banned
JanitorAIYou want to stop payingFree, about 9k context$12.99 a month or $99 a yearNo pornographic images at all
NomiYou want a companion that remembersFree to start, no card$9.99 a month on the App StorePayments are non-refundable
KindroidYou want a clearer privacy policyLimited free preview$15.99 a month on the App StoreIts own pages do not promise adult content
CrushOnYou want published memory limits100 message credits a monthPer-tier prices unclear on its pricing pageFree chat history deleted after 7 days inactive

How I picked them

I started from what people search after Candy: cheaper, free, with images, and better memory. For each app I read its pricing page, terms or help center, and its US App Store listing where it has one, all on November 1, 2026. I did not create accounts, so nothing here describes using these apps. Where an app does not publish something, I say so rather than borrow a number from another review. The checks themselves are on our how we review page.

One app is missing on purpose. Nectar AI tops some lists, but its public pages show no prices, and its terms say users under 18 may use its non-adult areas. An adult companion site that lets under-18s in, even to a separate area, does not belong on this list.

Why people leave Candy AI

Candy's own pages explain most of it. As of November 1, 2026:

  • Free use is short. Its help center says free users can send up to 5 messages across all characters, create one custom character and generate one image.
  • The monthly price is high. Candy's subscription page showed me £13.99 a month after a £9.99 first month, £26.97 for three months, or £47.88 for a year. I checked from the UK, so prices showed in pounds.
  • Tokens run out. Premium includes unlimited chat and 100 tokens a month. Images, video, voice messages, voice calls, custom characters and private content packs all spend tokens, and extra tokens cost more. Premium Plus raises the allowance to 330 a month.
  • Refunds are tight. You must ask within 24 hours of paying, with 20 tokens or fewer used, and only card payments qualify.
  • Your chats can train its AI. Candy's privacy notice says de-identified chats can be used to train its models.

If one of those is your reason, the matching pick is below.

The 6 best Candy AI alternatives

1. OurDream.ai: a bigger, published image allowance

OurDream is the closest swap for someone who uses Candy for pictures. Its plans cost $19.99 a month, or $119.88 a year, which works out to $9.99 a month. Both include unlimited messages on the standard chat models, access to image and video generation and 1,000 dreamcoins a month, and the yearly plan adds 1,000 bonus coins at the start.

The case for it is the allowance. Both apps meter pictures. On Candy, 100 tokens a month cover every image, video and voice note, the pages I read did not say how many tokens each costs, and you buy more when they run out. OurDream gives 1,000 coins a month, and its help center prices each action at 10 coins for 2 standard images, 100 coins per 5 seconds of video and 50 coins a minute for voice calls. That is about 200 standard images, or 50 seconds of video, or 20 minutes of calls a month, and you can do the sums before you pay.

The case against it is real too. Video spends coins fast, since one 60-second clip costs 1,200 coins, more than a month's allowance. Free chat costs a coin per message, images need a subscription, and OurDream does not say how many coins a free account starts with. Its home page claims end-to-end encryption, but its privacy policy describes encryption at rest and in transit, which is a weaker promise. Unused time is generally not refunded, disputes go to individual arbitration unless you opt out, and it runs on the web only. Our OurDream AI review covers each point.

2. SpicyChat: the cheapest paid plan

SpicyChat's pricing FAQ lists three tiers since September 8, 2026. Get A Taste is $5.95 a month or $60 a year, True Supporter is $19.95 or $199.95, and I'm All In is $29.95 or $299.95. Subscribers from before that date keep their old price. The free plan carries ads, and the company says core features will stay free.

SpicyChat is a library of community characters built for roleplay, not a single companion with a face. Its guidelines allow NSFW chatbots when they are labeled and ban photorealistic adult images. If you came to Candy for the chat more than the pictures, the cheapest tier costs well under half of Candy's monthly price.

3. JanitorAI: the best free option for text

JanitorAI is free, with about 9k context on the free plan, and its janitor+ page says "Free stays free." janitor+ costs $12.99 a month, or $99 a year, which is about $8.25 a month. It adds five times more context, faster replies and more models.

The trade is images. JanitorAI's guidelines permit adult text between consenting adult characters and ban pornographic images. If you mostly read Candy's replies and rarely made pictures, this is the cheapest move you can make. If pictures were the point, it will not replace Candy. If you like its style but want other choices, see our guide to the best Janitor AI alternatives.

4. Nomi: for a companion that remembers

Nomi sells itself on memory, with "Human-Level Memory" on its home page, along with selfies and voice calls. It is free to start with no card. On the US App Store, which rates it 18+, the Standard Plan costs $15.99 a month, $39.99 a quarter or $99.99 a year. The listing also shows a Launch Plan at $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, which Nomi's own pages do not explain, and credit packs from 40 credits for $4.99.

Nomi says it stays unfiltered and uncensored, and that chats are anonymized and not shared with third-party sites. Its terms say payments are non-refundable, so use the free start before you pay for a year.

5. Kindroid: the most candid privacy policy

Kindroid says chats, audio, selfies and memories are encrypted in storage and in transit, and it says plainly that it is not end-to-end encrypted. No other app here is that direct. Its age checks are also the strictest in this group, through your payment method or a Yoti selfie or ID check. The US App Store, which rates it 18+, lists a subscription at $15.99 a month, $42.99 for three months or $159.99 a year, with Ultra at $28.99 and MAX at $68.99. Selfie credits cost extra, from 50 for $6.99.

Kindroid's moderation guidelines, updated October 9, 2026, say its harm rules do not police fictional scenarios, fantasy or NSFW roleplay, while anything sexual involving a minor is banned outright. The caution is money. Its terms say it will not refund fees already paid.

6. CrushOn: published memory limits

CrushOn's pricing page is the most detailed here. Free accounts get 100 message credits a month, 8K memory and 200 saved messages per character, and chat history is deleted after 7 days of inactivity. Paid tiers run from Standard at 2,000 credits a month up to Imperial at 125,000, with memory up to 24K.

Monthly prices run from $5.99 for Standard and $14.99 for Premium up to $199.99 for Imperial, and yearly plans run from $58.88 to $1,799.99. The pricing page opens on yearly billing, so check which one you are looking at before you pay. Its guidelines ban explicit sexual imagery and allow implied scenes, and humans and automated systems moderate chats.

Is there a free Candy AI alternative?

Yes, for text. JanitorAI and SpicyChat both say free use is staying, and neither sets a five-message cap on the pages I read. CrushOn's free plan gives 100 message credits a month, and Nomi is free to start. Images are another matter. Candy's free plan includes one, and none of these apps publish a free image allowance, so plan to pay wherever pictures are the goal. Our guide to free AI girlfriend apps goes further on free tiers.

Is a Candy alternative actually cheaper?

App and planMonthlyYearlyPer month, paid yearly
Candy AI Premium£13.99, first month £9.99£47.88£3.99
SpicyChat Get A Taste$5.95$60$5.00
Nomi Launch Plan$9.99$59.99$5.00
janitor+$12.99$99$8.25
Nomi Standard Plan$15.99$99.99$8.33
OurDream.ai$19.99$119.88$9.99
Kindroid$15.99$159.99$13.33

The honest result is that price alone is a weak reason to leave Candy. Its yearly plan, at £3.99 a month, is about level with the cheapest yearly plans here. Leaving saves money if you pay Candy monthly, since £13.99 is more than SpicyChat's cheapest tier, janitor+ or Nomi's Launch Plan, or if you keep buying extra tokens. And a year paid up front is money you cannot get back from Candy after 24 hours, or from Nomi and Kindroid at all.

Candy AI alternatives price comparison on a laptop next to a receipt, a calculator and a phone chat
Monthly and yearly prices tell different stories, so compare the plan you would actually buy.

Before you leave Candy: cancel, refund and tokens

Check three things in Candy's help center before you go:

  1. Cancelling is not a refund request. Cancel under My Profile, then Settings, then Unsubscribe. If you want money back, email support@candymail.ai within 24 hours of paying and say you are asking for a refund. You must have used 20 tokens or fewer, and only card payments qualify.
  2. Spend your tokens first. Candy's help center says cancelling does not delete your tokens and that they come back if you resubscribe. Its terms, revised more recently on September 22, 2026, say subscription tokens expire at the end of the billing period and do not carry over. Plan on losing whatever is left.
  3. Delete your account if you are not coming back. Cancelling keeps your chats, images and characters, and only deleting the account removes them. Candy's privacy notice says account data is kept for up to three years after your last activity unless you ask for deletion.

Whichever app you move to, the same habits apply. Keep real names, addresses and photos of real people out of chats. Our guide to whether AI companion apps are safe covers the wider risks.

Verdict: the best Candy AI alternative for you

For most people leaving Candy because images and video keep draining tokens, OurDream.ai is the best Candy AI alternative. Its $19.99 monthly plan, or $9.99 a month billed yearly, gives 1,000 coins a month at published rates, about 200 standard images, where Candy gives 100 tokens without saying what an image costs. Weigh that against three facts. We earn from it, its encryption claim is stronger on the home page than in its policy, and unused time is generally not refunded. If you mostly chat and want to pay less, SpicyChat's $5.95 tier is the cheapest paid plan here. If you want to stop paying, JanitorAI is the strongest free option for text. Nomi suits people who value memory, Kindroid suits people who want a plain privacy policy, and CrushOn suits heavy text users who want published limits. If price alone is the problem, check Candy's yearly plan first. At £3.99 a month it is about as cheap as anything here.

Try the lead pick

If images and video are why you are leaving Candy, the Crushella home page lets you pick a look and a mood for your AI girlfriend, then continue to OurDream.ai to chat with her. Sign-up is free. For a wider field, see our comparison of the best NSFW AI chat apps. If you are weighing sites outside this list, our guide to PolyBuzz alternatives compares six adult apps.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Candy AI alternative?

It depends on why you are leaving. OurDream.ai is the closest match for images and video, with 1,000 coins a month and published costs per image on its $19.99 monthly plan. SpicyChat has the cheapest paid plan at $5.95 a month. JanitorAI is the strongest free option for text roleplay. Nomi focuses on memory, and Kindroid has the most candid privacy policy.

Is there a free alternative to Candy AI?

Yes, for text chat. JanitorAI is free with about 9k context and says free stays free. SpicyChat is free with ads and says core features remain free. CrushOn gives free accounts 100 message credits a month, and Nomi is free to start. Candy's own free plan allows 5 messages, one custom character and one image.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Candy AI?

On a monthly plan, yes. SpicyChat starts at $5.95 a month and janitor+ at $12.99, while Candy showed me £13.99 a month after a £9.99 first month. On a yearly plan, Candy's £47.88, or £3.99 a month, is about level with the cheapest yearly plans here, so price alone is a weak reason to leave.

What app is like Candy AI but with images included?

OurDream.ai is the closest, though both meter images. Its $19.99 monthly or $119.88 yearly plan gives 1,000 dreamcoins a month, and its help center prices standard images at 10 coins for 2, about 200 a month. On Candy, images and video spend tokens from a 100-a-month allowance. Text-first apps such as JanitorAI and SpicyChat ban explicit or photorealistic adult images.

Do I lose my Candy AI tokens if I cancel?

Candy's pages disagree. Its help center says cancelling does not delete your tokens and that they come back if you resubscribe. Its terms, revised on September 22, 2026, say subscription tokens expire at the end of the billing period and do not carry over. The safe plan is to spend them before your plan ends.

Is OurDream AI better than Candy AI?

For heavy image users, it is likely the better fit, because OurDream's 1,000 monthly coins come with published per-item costs, while Candy's 100 tokens do not. Candy wins on its 24-hour refund window, its lack of an arbitration clause and its honest encryption claim, and its yearly plan costs less. We earn a commission from OurDream, so factor that in.

Which Candy AI alternative is most private?

Kindroid has the most candid policy. It says chats, audio and selfies are encrypted in storage and in transit, and says plainly it is not end-to-end encrypted. Nomi says chats are anonymized and not shared with third-party sites. Every app here has to read your messages to reply, so keep real names and photos out of chats.

Sources

  1. Candy.ai subscription plans
  2. Candy.ai help: What can I do as a free user?
  3. Candy.ai help: What can I do as a paid user?
  4. Candy.ai help: What is Premium Plus?
  5. Candy.ai help: What can I do with tokens?
  6. Candy.ai help: Do I lose my content and tokens after I cancel?
  7. Candy.ai help: Does canceling give me a refund?
  8. Candy.ai help: How do I cancel my subscription?
  9. Candy.ai Terms of Service
  10. Candy.ai Privacy Notice
  11. OurDream.ai home page and FAQ
  12. OurDream help: What costs coins?
  13. OurDream help: Can I generate images or videos if I don't have a subscription?
  14. OurDream help: Monthly vs Annual Subscriptions
  15. OurDream.ai Refund Policy
  16. OurDream.ai Privacy Policy
  17. SpicyChat docs: September 2026 pricing update FAQ
  18. SpicyChat Community Guidelines
  19. janitor+ plans
  20. JanitorAI Community Guidelines
  21. Nomi home page
  22. Nomi Terms of Service
  23. Nomi on the App Store
  24. Kindroid on the App Store
  25. Kindroid legal: terms and privacy policy
  26. Kindroid moderation guidelines
  27. Kindroid help: age verification
  28. CrushOn pricing
  29. CrushOn Community Guidelines
  30. Nectar AI Terms of Service

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