Bottom line: Replika is one of the oldest AI companion apps, and its strengths are a long track record, a friendly avatar and a free text tier. Its weak spot is trust: in 2025 Italy’s data regulator fined its developer 5 million euros over privacy failures. Read the privacy section before you share anything personal, and compare it with newer apps before you pay.
What Replika is
Replika is an AI companion app from Luka, Inc., a San Francisco company. Reuters reports that it launched in 2017 and lets users customise an avatar that holds conversations with them, marketed as a “virtual friend” that can support emotional wellbeing. It runs on iOS, Android and the web.
The pitch is a relationship that develops over time: you pick a look, a name and a relationship style, then keep talking. That makes it closer to a long-running chat companion than to the image-first apps that dominate the adult end of the market, such as Candy AI or FantasyGF.
- Deep character customization
- Voice messages and calls
- High-quality image generation
- Memory that keeps context
- Build-a-girlfriend creator
- Realistic and anime styles
- Image and voice generation
- Plans from $12.99/mo
- Thousands of ready characters
- Free tier, no card needed
- Uncensored chat modes
- Image generation included
Sources: Reuters, May 19, 2025; European Data Protection Board; CompanionWise Replika pricing guide. Store prices vary by platform and region.
Replika pricing
Replika is free for basic text chat. According to the CompanionWise pricing guide (current as of March 2026), Replika Pro is listed at $19.99 per month, $69.99 per year, or $299.99 for lifetime access, and voice calls, coaching activities and some relationship modes sit behind Pro. The same guide notes that Replika has renamed and reshuffled its paid tiers several times, and that the Apple App Store can show different in-app prices. The checkout screen is the only price that counts, so check whether you are looking at a monthly, annual or lifetime offer before you confirm.
Billing problems are a common complaint in app store feedback, so cancel through the store you subscribed with rather than inside the app.
The privacy record
Replika’s privacy policy says the company does not sell personal information or share it with third parties for profit. That is the company’s own statement, and a regulator has looked at the same service and reached a harsher conclusion on other points.
“Following an investigation, it found that Replika lacked a legal basis for processing users’ data and had no age-verification system to restrict children from accessing the service, resulting in the fine for its developer, Luka Inc.”
Reuters, May 19, 2025
The European Data Protection Board lists the final decision as dated April 10, 2025, citing Articles 5, 6, 12 and 13 of the GDPR: lawfulness of processing and transparency toward users. Italy had already ordered Replika to suspend service in the country in February 2023, citing risks to children, and Reuters reports a separate investigation into how its language model is trained.
What that means in practice: treat every message as data held by a company. Skip passwords, financial details and anything you would not want exposed, and read the current Replika privacy policy before you start.
- Deep character customization
- Voice messages and calls
- High-quality image generation
- Memory that keeps context
- Build-a-girlfriend creator
- Realistic and anime styles
- Image and voice generation
- Plans from $12.99/mo
- Thousands of ready characters
- Free tier, no card needed
- Uncensored chat modes
- Image generation included
Who Replika suits
- People who want a slow, conversation-first companion with an avatar rather than an image generator.
- Anyone who wants to try a free text tier before deciding.
- Users comfortable with the privacy trade-offs after reading the policy.
Who should look elsewhere
- Shoppers who mainly want custom images, video or detailed character building.
- Anyone who wants a clean regulatory record on data handling.
- People who want the lowest ongoing cost. The monthly Pro price is high next to several rivals, as our price and privacy comparison shows.
Replika alternatives
If the privacy history or the monthly price puts you off, start with our ranking of the best AI girlfriend apps. For a chat-first alternative, read our Anima AI review. For image-led options, see Candy AI’s pricing and the DreamGF review.
FAQ
Is Replika free?
Basic text chat is free. Voice calls, activities and some relationship features need a Pro plan.
Was Replika fined?
Yes. Italy’s data protection authority fined its developer, Luka Inc., 5 million euros in a decision dated April 10, 2025, according to the EDPB and Reuters.
Does Replika sell my data?
Its help center says it does not sell personal information or share it with third parties for profit. Read the full privacy policy for what it does collect.
Prefer more control over memory and voice? Compare the Kindroid review.
Weighing two apps? See our Replika vs Nomi comparison.
Looking beyond one app? See our list of Replika alternatives.
