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Character.AI vs MyLovely.ai

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Character.AI starts at $9.99, MyLovely.ai at $2.99. Only Character.AI has a free tier.

Character.AIRoleplay chat with user-made characters, now adults onlyMyLovely.aiChat, voice, image, and video companion app with 100+ preset characters or a fully custom one, billed as a token subscription.

Side by side

FactCharacter.AIMyLovely.ai
CategoryAI Companions & CharactersAI Companions & Characters
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starts at$9.99 month$2.99 one_time
Public APINoNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CompanyCharacter Technologies, Inc.PromptRepublic S.L.
Launched2021—
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 1, 2026

What our research says

Character.AI

Still the deepest character library anywhere and the reason the whole companion category exists, but it has been rebuilt around safety and identity checks, and the audience it was famous for is now locked out.

Pros

  • Character library is far larger than any competitor's, with voice calls and group scenes included
  • Free tier is genuinely usable, with the subscription mostly buying speed and memory
  • Safety changes are unusually explicit about what was removed and when

Cons

  • Age assurance defaults to face-based estimation, which is a hard stop for privacy-minded users
  • Charms are a second currency on top of c.ai+, so the $9.99 is a floor not a ceiling
  • No API, no export, and no self-hosting
  • The platform has been reshaped by wrongful-death litigation, and further restrictions are plausible

MyLovely.ai

MyLovely covers more ground than a plain chat companion: voice, image, and video generation sit alongside text, and the character creator lets users define a companion instead of picking only from presets. The token system means effective monthly cost depends heavily on how much voice, photo, and video output someone actually uses, and the trial price is not representative of ongoing cost.

Pros

  • Over 100 preset characters plus a full custom-character builder
  • Combines text, voice, image, and video generation in one app
  • Registered company with a named legal entity and VAT number, unusual for this category

Cons

  • Actual plan pricing is buried behind a trial price and token top-up costs rather than shown plainly upfront
  • No confirmed permanently-free chat tier
  • Heavy voice/image/video use draws down tokens faster than casual text chat

Which one fits

Choose Character.AI if you need

  • Adults who want long-running roleplay with persistent personas
  • People building and sharing characters for an existing community
  • Casual conversational entertainment rather than task work

Choose MyLovely.ai if you need

  • Users who want to build a fully custom companion rather than pick a preset
  • People who want voice and image generation alongside text chat
  • Users comfortable with a token-metered cost structure

More comparisons

All MyLovely.ai alternatives →Browse all AI Companions & Characters →