The closest Candy AI alternatives are OurDream for image and video features, SweetDream for a looser refund rule, Nomi and Kindroid for one companion that remembers you, and CrushOn and SpicyChat for many characters on a low monthly price. We compared eight apps on what their own pages published, first read between 18 and 22 October 2026 and re-checked on 30 October 2026: price, free tier, refund rule and whether they train on your chats. All eight are for adults 18 and over.
This is desk research. We have not paid for these apps, so there are no scores and no single winner. How we test explains what a paid test would add. We earn a commission if you subscribe through links marked with a dagger (†). The other apps pay us nothing.
Why people look past Candy AI
Candy AI’s own pages explain most of the reasons. The free plan allows 5 messages in total. Paid plans run on tokens. There is no app in the App Store or Google Play, only a web app. Its privacy policy, revised on 19 October 2026, says it uses your data to “train and develop our AI models”. The refund rule is narrow:
Candy’s own pages also disagree about tokens. Its terms, revised on 22 September 2026, say remaining tokens “will expire and become unusable” when a cancelled plan ends. A newer help article says “Canceling your subscription does NOT delete your tokens”. If you hold unused tokens, ask Candy’s support in writing which rule applies before you cancel.
Buyers have complained in public too. Candy’s Trustpilot profile now reads “This profile has been removed”, with Trustpilot saying the business “goes against our guidelines”. The comments under Candy’s own refund article show three repeat problems:
- Refund requests that go unanswered: “Would be nice if you actually respond to the refund request” (25 March 2026).
- Payments that do not activate the plan: “purchase went through but my subscription was not activated.” (12 March 2026).
- Tokens lost after cancelling, from a German-language comment on 6 March 2026.
The table and sections below show which apps publish a different rule on refunds, free use or data.
Eight Candy AI alternatives side by side
| App | Best for | Published price | Free tier | Refund rule | Trains on chats? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candy AI (for reference) | Lowest yearly price | $13.99 a month ($9.99 first month), $26.97 a quarter, or $47.88 a year | 5 messages in total | 24 hours, 20 tokens or fewer, cards only | Yes |
| OurDream † | Image and video features | $19.99 a month, or $119.88 a year | Not listed | None after 25% of a product is used; crypto never | Yes |
| SweetDream † | A looser refund rule | $12.99 a week, $79 every 3 months, or $179 a year | 5 messages and 3 voice plays in total | Full refund if 10% or less of a payment’s tokens are used | Yes, in anonymised form |
| GoLove † | Candy-style rules, web only | Shown at the paywall | A few messages (its terms give 10 as an example) | 24 hours, 20 credits or fewer, cards only | Not stated |
| Nomi | One long-term companion | $15.99 a month, $39.99 a quarter, or $99.99 a year | Two images a day; message limit not stated | No refunds for buyer’s remorse or lack of use | Training archive, not attributable after deletion |
| Kindroid | A free preview before you pay | US App Store: $15.99 a month, $42.99 for 3 months or $159.99 a year; web usually cheaper | One-time preview of 50 messages (15 in some regions), then read-only | Generally none, all sales final, decided case by case | No training clause; may use de-identified chats “for any purpose” |
| CrushOn | The biggest monthly free allowance | $5.99 to $199.99 a month, or from $58.88 a year | 100 message credits a month | Usage fees non-refundable | Yes |
| SpicyChat | The cheapest monthly plan | $5.95, $19.95 or $29.95 a month, or from $60 a year | Yes, with ads | Non-refundable once used, no partial months | Not addressed in policy |
| Replika | A mainstream app-store companion | Shown in the app only | Text chat, which its help centre says “will always be free” | Non-refundable, no credit for partial periods | Its own models only, not third-party ones |
How we chose these eight
Every app here is an adult companion app that people compare with Candy AI, and each one publishes its own refund rule. We compare whatever else its pages state about price, free use and data, and we mark the gaps as “not stated”. We read those pages ourselves and quote them with dates. Commission does not set the order of the table or the “best for” labels. Each label names the one published fact where that app differs most from Candy.
If you want a looser refund rule than Candy’s
SweetDream’s pricing page has the widest published refund rule of the eight: “If you’ve used 10% or less of the tokens a payment includes, we refund that payment in full”. There is no 24-hour limit in that sentence. Our SweetDream AI overview covers the rest of its terms, including its weekly billing.
Dondi AI copies Candy’s refund window rather than widening it: its terms require a request “within 24 hours of payment”. Our Dondi AI overview lists its plans and token rules.
OurDream allows refund requests until a quarter of the product is used, but monthly plans cannot be refunded once their coins are spent, and crypto payments are final. Nomi and SpicyChat refuse refunds for unused time, and CrushOn’s terms call usage fees non-refundable. Kindroid says it “generally” does not offer refunds and decides each request case by case. GoLove’s terms match Candy’s almost exactly: 24 hours, 20 credits or fewer, cards only.
If you want more free messages before you pay
Candy’s 5 free messages are among the lowest allowances here. CrushOn lists 100 message credits a month. Kindroid gives a one-time preview of 50 messages, or 15 in some regions, after which chats become read-only. Nomi’s free accounts get two images a day, and its page does not state a message limit. SpicyChat has a free tier with ads, and lists ad-free chat as a paid feature.
If you want one companion that remembers you
Nomi and Kindroid are built around a single long-running companion more than a gallery of characters. Both have apps in the App Store and Google Play, which Candy does not. Nomi’s privacy policy says it deletes personal information “within 28 or so days” after you confirm account deletion. Kindroid’s legal page has no training clause, but its terms let it use de-identified chats “for any purpose”. In Mason AI Studio’s video review of 6 August 2026, a free Nomi account answers “You love eating Mango Sticky Rice” when asked what the user likes to eat, and voice chat sits behind an upgrade prompt. The video is below the article. Both apps are covered in our Nomi and Kindroid overviews.
If you want image and video features like Candy’s
OurDream is the closest match. Its paid plans include unlimited messages, image and video generation and 1,000 dreamcoins, and the yearly plan adds a one-time bonus of 1,000 more. Our Candy AI vs OurDream comparison sets the two plans side by side. Secrets AI is the other close match, with a free plan of 20 messages a day. Our Candy AI vs Secrets AI comparison lines up its prices and credits against Candy’s. SweetDream also sells photos, videos and voice calls from a weekly token allowance.
Stay with Candy AI if the yearly price is what you want
Candy’s yearly plan is billed as $47.88, or $3.99 a month, the lowest yearly figure in our table. CrushOn’s lowest yearly tier works out at $4.91 a month and SpicyChat’s at $5.00. If you already pay yearly and your problem is not refunds or tokens, switching may cost you more. Read our Candy AI review before you decide.
How to switch from Candy AI without losing money
- Settle your tokens first. Candy’s terms and its help centre disagree on whether tokens survive a cancellation, so use them or get a written answer from support.
- Cancel before the renewal date. Candy’s refund window is 24 hours from payment, so a missed renewal is unlikely to be refunded. Our guide to cancelling Candy AI has the steps.
- Delete your data if you want it gone. Candy puts “Delete Account” under My Profile, Settings, Danger Zone, and says it keeps “some data for legally mandated periods”. You cannot clear a chat without also resetting the companion’s memory.
- Start the new app on its free tier. Use CrushOn’s 100 monthly credits or Kindroid’s preview to judge the chat before you pay for a plan.
What this comparison does not cover
We have not checked chat quality, memory or image output, because that needs a paid test. Prices change often, so check the app’s own pricing page on the day you subscribe. Prices in this table are the US view. From other regions, Candy showed rupees and SweetDream showed pounds.
Pick the one column in the table that matters most to you, refunds, free messages or yearly price, and start with the app that leads on it.
For the same apps ranked on published facts, with Candy AI included, see the best AI girlfriend apps list.
What changed on 30 October 2026
We re-read every source. Candy’s help centre now says cancelling does not delete tokens, which contradicts its terms. Kindroid’s refund wording changed to “generally” no refunds. Replika’s terms now say payments are non-refundable. Nomi’s page now states only an image allowance for free accounts. Kindroid’s 30 October legal page lets it use de-identified chats “for any purpose”. We added a best-for label per app, the switching steps, the buyer complaints, a third-party Nomi video and two new questions.
Correction, 31 October 2026: an earlier version said Replika’s pages no longer promise free chat. Its help centre still says chatting “will always be free”, and the Replika row now says so. It also said OurDream does not state whether it trains on chats. OurDream’s privacy policy says it uses data “to train our artificial intelligence/machine learning models”, so that row says Yes again.
Later on 31 October 2026, Kindroid’s US App Store listing began showing prices, so its row now gives them instead of “shown at checkout only”.