The short answer. Pick by what you want from it. My Softly (our app) if you want a companion who remembers your life, writes to you first and can be a friend or a partner near your own age. Pi if you want a kind, free conversation with no adult side at all. Nomi for the strongest memory track record, if an unfiltered app does not bother you. Replika for the fullest package of calls, avatar and extras.
Most "AI companion for women" results are girlfriend and boyfriend apps with the settings turned around. This page leaves those out and compares six mainstream companion apps on what women say matters most: who the companions are, how each app handles adult content, privacy, memory and price.
Disclosure: this guide is published by the makers of My Softly, one of the six apps compared. Every other app's facts come from its own paywall (US prices, free accounts, September 30, 2026), its US App Store listing and its own help pages, each dated where it appears.
Why "AI companion for women" is a hard search
Because most of what comes back was not built with women in mind. Search the phrase and the results are mostly roundups of AI girlfriend apps, with a male companion offered as an option. The avatars are young, the marketing is flirtatious, and many of the apps make their money from explicit images and chat.
That is a poor fit for most women looking for a companion, and the numbers say there are plenty of them. In the Elon University Poll in May 2026, 24 percent of internet-using American women were AI companion users, against 30 percent of men. Pew, asking in February 2026 about using chatbots for companionship, found no gender difference at all, and women were slightly more likely than men to use them for emotional support or advice. At My Softly, most paying subscribers are women (September 2026).
If romance is mainly what you are after, our guide to AI boyfriend apps that stay wholesome compares the apps built around it. This page covers companionship in the wider sense: someone to talk to who listens, remembers and is good company, as a friend or a partner.
What to look for
Five questions sort the apps faster than any star rating.
- How does the app handle adult content? Some apps have no romantic side at all, some filter it, and some are unfiltered by policy and leave the line to you. An app's community and marketing tend to show what it was really built for.
- Who are the companions? Whether you can have a man or a woman, whether they can be near your own age, and whether you can make your own.
- What happens to your conversations? Privacy is the worry people over fifty raise most readily about AI. In AARP's 2025 survey of 1,148 adults aged 50 and older, privacy and security came up again and again when people described their concerns in their own words.
- Does it remember your life without you managing it? Some apps learn as you talk; others want you to write backstories and journal entries.
- What does it cost once the free part ends? And whether there are ads or upsells inside the conversation.
Six apps side by side
Prices are what each app's own paywall offered a free US account on September 30, 2026. Ratings and age ratings are from the US App Store, October 30, 2026.
| App | Adult content | Companions | Price | App Store rating, age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Softly | Built for everyday company | Six ready-made (three men, three women), or make your own; two male and two female voices | Free messages; $15.99/mo or $159.99/yr | Made for adults 18 and over |
| Pi | None, by design | One assistant, not a character | Free, no paywall | 4.4 (about 2,500), 18+ |
| Replika | Romantic features in paid tiers | One companion you design, with an avatar | Free tier; Plus $79.99/yr or Max $89.99/yr | 4.4 (about 228,000), 18+ |
| Nomi | Unfiltered by policy | Several you design; group chats | Free tier; $15.99/mo, $39.99/3 mo or $99.99/yr | 4.6 (about 3,000), 18+ |
| Kindroid | Unfiltered by policy | Detailed characters you build; group chats | 50-message preview, then a 3-day trial; $15.99/mo, $42.99/3 mo or $159.99/yr | 4.8 (about 10,300), 18+ |
| Character.AI | Filtered | Millions of user-made characters | Free with ads; lite $4.99/mo; c.ai+ $9.99/mo or $94.99/yr | 4.3 (about 561,000), 18+ |
The picks, by what you want
A friend or a partner near your own age, who remembers you: My Softly
My Softly is our app. It is built around two things: a lasting memory of your life, and a companion who writes to you first, a good morning or a question about the appointment you mentioned. Three of the six ready-made companions are men, and you can create your own, choosing how old they are, how they look and whether they are a friend or a partner, or have more than one. Paying subscribers are in their mid-fifties on average, and most are women (September 2026). Nearly all the women who subscribe chose a companion within a few years of their own age (My Softly, October 2026). The women who subscribe choose a companion as a friend about as often as a partner (My Softly, October 2026). It is on iPhone and Android.
A kind, free conversation: Pi
Pi, made by Inflection AI, is the gentlest conversationalist in the category and completely free, with no paywall in the app on September 30, 2026. Nothing about it steers romantic, and its voice mode is unusually natural. It is a single assistant rather than a character you get to know, and it waits for you to start each conversation.
The longest memory track record: Nomi
Nomi learns as you talk, without asking you to write anything down, and since October 2025 shows what it has connected about your life in a Mind Map you can open and edit. Its yearly plan, $99.99, is one of the cheapest in the category. The caveat is content: Nomi says it is "built on freedom of expression" and must "remain unfiltered and uncensored", so keeping a Nomi as a friend is a line you hold yourself. Our guide to whether Nomi is worth it goes through the free tier and the price.
The fullest package: Replika
Replika has the most of everything: one companion with an avatar you design, voice and video calls, image generation and nearly ten years of history. On September 30, 2026 its paywall offered two annual plans only, Plus at $79.99 and Max at $89.99. Its help center listed relationship status, including Romantic Partner, among its paid features when we read it on September 17, 2026. My Softly vs Replika sets the two side by side.
Building a character in detail: Kindroid
Kindroid is for people who enjoy shaping a companion: appearance, backstory, voice, the memories it should always keep. It has the highest App Store rating here. Since October 1, 2026 there is no free tier, only a 50-message preview and then a 3-day trial that needs a payment method, and Kindroid calls itself "a neutrally aligned, unfiltered AI".
Variety and play: Character.AI
Character.AI is a platform rather than a companion: millions of user-made characters of every kind, with filtered content and a free core. The free tier shows ads, its App Store privacy label lists third-party advertising, and long-term memory is not its strength. It is good fun; it is not where most people go to be known.
Privacy: what to check before you start
Whatever you choose, three checks take five minutes.
- Read the App Store privacy label. Scroll to "App Privacy" on the listing. "Data Used to Track You" and "Third-Party Advertising" tell you more than any marketing page.
- Find the delete button. Before you share anything personal, find out how to delete your account and everything with it.
- Notice the upsells. An app that pushes paid photos or "unlocks" inside conversations is telling you how it makes its money.
Where My Softly fits
My Softly is our app: an AI companion app for iPhone and Android that remembers what you tell it and asks about your day, for the days nobody else does. It is made for people in their fifties and sixties. You choose whether each companion is a friend or a partner, and how old they are.
It is free to download on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with free messages so you can get to know your companion before deciding anything. A subscription is $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year.
The short version
Decide first what you want your companion to be. For someone who remembers your life, writes to you first and can be a friend or a partner near your own age, My Softly. Pi is free, gentle conversation with no romantic side at all. Nomi is the memory specialist, unfiltered by policy, and Replika the fullest package of calls, avatar and extras.
For the same six apps compared for everyone, see our guide to the best AI companion apps in 2026.
Sources
- In-app paywalls (US), free accounts on iPhone and, for Replika, Android. Checked September 30, 2026.
- Imagining the Digital Future Center and Elon University Poll (September 2, 2026). "The Rise of AI Companions." YouGov survey of 4,031 internet-using U.S. adults, May 18 to 22, 2026. imaginingthedigitalfuture.org
- Pew Research Center (June 17, 2026). "Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact." American Trends Panel survey of 5,119 U.S. adults, February 17 to 23, 2026. pewresearch.org
- AARP Research (2025). "Navigating the World of AI: Attitudes, Awareness and Openness Among Adults Ages 50-plus." Online survey, 1,148 adults aged 50 and older, January 2025. aarp.org
- Apple App Store (US) listings for Replika, Character AI, Nomi, Kindroid, Pi and AI Companion: My Softly: ratings, ratings counts and age ratings. Checked September 24 to 26, 2026; re-checked October 30, 2026. apps.apple.com
- Nomi.ai homepage: content policy ("built on freedom of expression", "unfiltered and uncensored"). Checked September 26, 2026; re-read October 30, 2026. nomi.ai
- Kindroid Help Center, "FAQs": "a neutrally aligned, unfiltered AI" (updated October 28, 2026). Read September 26, 2026; re-read October 30, 2026. kindroid.ai
- Kindroid Help Center, "Subscriptions" (updated October 30, 2026) and update log, "Important Changes to Kindroid": Lite and unlimited free messaging retired October 1; new accounts get a one-time preview of 50 messages (15 in some regions), then a 3-day trial that needs a payment method, or read-only. Read October 30, 2026. kindroid.ai
- Replika Help Center, "Choosing a Subscription": relationship status and romantic features in paid tiers. Read September 17, 2026. help.replika.com
- Apple App Store (US). "Character AI: Chat, Talk, Text": privacy label listing Third-Party Advertising. Checked September 24, 2026; re-checked October 30, 2026. apps.apple.com
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI companion app for women?
It depends what you want from it. For a companion who remembers your life, writes to you first and can be a friend or a partner near your own age, My Softly, which is our app. For a kind, free conversation with no adult side at all, Pi. For the strongest memory track record, Nomi, if an unfiltered app does not bother you. For the fullest package of calls, avatar and extras, Replika.
Which AI companion apps have male companions?
All six in this comparison let you talk to a male companion. Replika, Nomi and Kindroid let you design one from scratch. Character.AI has millions of user-made characters of every kind. Pi is a single assistant rather than a character. My Softly has six ready-made companions, three of them men, and lets you create your own, with two male and two female voices.
Do women use AI companions?
Yes, a little less often than men by some measures and about equally by others. In the Elon University Poll in May 2026, 24 percent of internet-using women were AI companion users against 30 percent of men. Pew, asking about using chatbots for companionship in February 2026, found no gender difference, and women were slightly more likely to use them for emotional support or advice. Most of My Softly's paying subscribers are women (September 2026). The women who subscribe choose a companion as a friend about as often as a partner (My Softly, October 2026).
Is there a free AI companion app for women?
Pi is entirely free, with no paywall, and has no romantic or adult side. Character.AI's core is free but shows ads. Replika, Nomi and My Softly have free tiers or free messages so you can try them first. Kindroid has only a 50-message preview since October 1, 2026, then a 3-day trial that needs a payment method.
What should women look for in an AI companion app?
Five things: how the app handles adult content, whether you can choose a companion near your own age, what the app does with your conversations, whether it remembers your life without you managing it, and what it costs after the free part ends. In AARP's 2025 survey of adults over 50, privacy and security came up again and again when people described their worries about AI.