How to Get an AI Girlfriend (Without Wasting Money on Tokens)
Getting an AI girlfriend takes about ten minutes. Getting one who remembers you takes a plan. Here is the four-step route: platform, character,...
A dating-sim feel needs more than a chat box. Here is which games and companion apps deliver progression, memory and voice, what they charge, and where the privacy gaps sit.
You want the dating-sim experience: a partner who has a backstory, a mood, and something that changes as you keep talking. A plain chatbot gives you text. A simulator gives you a scenario. The difference matters more than most app store listings admit, so this guide sorts games from companion apps, prices each one, and flags the traps.
We work from store pages, pricing pages, privacy policies and user reports. Where a company makes a claim we can't check, we say so. We rate companion platforms with our own scores, and those scores move as products change.
| Simulator | Type | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI2U: With You 'Til The End | PC game (Steam) | Yandere escape room game | $14.99 on itch.io |
| Blush | Mobile dating sim | Matches, storylines, dating practice | Free download, from $9.99/week |
| Secrets AI | Web companion | Long-term memory, growing relationship | Free tier; $19.99/month |
| OurDream AI | Web companion | Designing an anime or realistic partner | $9.99/month (annual) |
| Candy.ai | Web companion | Photorealistic visuals | $3.99/month (annual) |
| MyAnima | Web and mobile | Free yandere chat | Free version |
A classic dating sim ships hand-written dialogue. You pick a menu option, the writer already decided what happens next. An AI girlfriend simulator swaps that script for a large language model that generates replies in real time. Same fantasy of a relationship that builds, different machinery underneath.
That machinery is why progression feels different. In a game, progression usually means unlocking scenes and reaching endings. In a companion app, progression means conversational depth: the model remembers your preferences and references them later. Games give you an ending. Apps give you memory. Pick the one you actually want before you pay for anything.
Most simulators support two kinds of memory: short-term recall inside a session and long-term recall across chats. Long-term memory is the expensive part. It is also the first thing to degrade on cheap tiers, which is why our AI girlfriend reviews hub treats memory as a category score rather than a footnote.
AI2U: With You 'Til The End is the clearest example of a game built around an AI partner. Developer AlterStaff released a free prototype in 2023 under the name Yandere AI Girlfriend Simulator. The Early Access version landed on Steam in January 2025, and the full launch followed on August 12, 2026.
The premise: you are in an escape room inside an AI character's home. You talk your way out. You can charm her, trick her, or push your luck. Input is typed or spoken, with no menu picking. The Steam page says the characters see and hear what you do, so the game leans on you treating the conversation as the mechanic. Steam tags it Psychological Horror, and endings vary with how you chat. Replaying is encouraged.
The full game spans four homes, from Eddie's apartment to Eiona's island. At the time of writing the Steam rating sits at Very Positive, with roughly 1,060 English reviews. A free Prototype DLC arrives October 1, 2026 and preserves the original game. That DLC runs the AI locally, with no API key and no usage fees, which is a real change: the original prototype required players to bring their own API key.
Two caveats matter. The main game uses third-party AI services: Azure OpenAI, Gemini and Minimax. Your messages leave your machine. The local DLC avoids that, but it needs a graphics card with 6 GB of VRAM or more. The developer describes romantic themes and mild fantasy violence, no explicit content. At $14.99 on itch.io, it is the cheapest way to get an actual game structure around an AI partner.
Blush is a mobile dating sim, and the App Store listing calls it an AI dating simulator for dating practice. Each match has their own backstory and dating style, and storylines run per match rather than one open sandbox. It is rated 18+ and holds 4.4 stars from about 7,900 App Store reviews.
The pricing needs a careful read. Subscriptions run $9.99 per week, $14.99 or $19.99 per month, and $29.99 per month for VIP. The app also sells gem packs. The listing does not explain what each tier unlocks, which is a problem when the weekly plan costs more than most monthly plans elsewhere. If you only want a few evenings of structured dating scenarios, the weekly tier can make sense. If you keep it for a month, you are paying $40 or more.
Secrets AI is a web companion built around remembering you. The free tier gives 20 messages a day with basic memory. Premium runs $19.99 per month or $109.99 per year, about $9.17 per month, and includes 8,000 Moments credits. Ultimate runs $39.99 per month and adds larger memory tiers, Lorebooks, personality editing and proactive messages.
Two traps. The free tier cannot generate media at all, and the best memory features sit behind Ultimate, not Premium. Monthly Moments credits do not roll over, so unused media allowance vanishes. We cover the memory tiers in more detail in our Secrets AI review, and we rate it 9.9 out of 10 overall.
OurDream AI leans on design. The builder covers realistic and anime styles with a voice choice, subscribers get unlimited chat and group roleplay, and there is a community character library. Paid plans include 1,000 dreamcoins a month for image and video generation. Annual pricing is $9.99 per month against $19.99 month to month.
Memory is the weak spot: it leans on recent messages, so long chats fade. Generated media is blurred if your subscription lapses, which means you do not really own what you made. Our OurDream AI review covers the Dreamcoin maths and the privacy fine print. We rate the platform 9.7 out of 10.
Candy.ai sells photorealistic images. The builder sets appearance, personality, voice and hobbies, and images keep the same face across pictures, which matters if you want a consistent partner rather than a stranger each time. Annual pricing is $3.99 per month against $13.99 month to month.
The free tier is five messages, and Premium includes just 100 tokens a month for media. Reviewers report storylines resetting after a few days. If memory is your complaint, our Candy AI alternatives guide is the better starting point. We rate Candy.ai 9.8 out of 10.
| Product | Free tier | Paid tiers | Caveats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blush | Free download | $9.99/wk; $14.99 or $19.99/mo; $29.99/mo VIP; gem packs | Weekly plan costly; tiers unexplained |
| Secrets AI | 20 messages/day, basic memory | $19.99/mo or $109.99/yr (~$9.17/mo); Ultimate $39.99/mo | No media on free; best features in Ultimate; Moments don't roll over |
| OurDream AI | Not stated | $9.99/mo annual; $19.99 monthly | Memory fades; media blurred if lapsed |
| Candy.ai | Five messages | $3.99/mo annual; $13.99 monthly | 100 media tokens/mo; storylines reset after days |
| AI2U | Prototype DLC free with base game | $14.99 on itch.io | Third-party AI; 6 GB VRAM for local DLC |
You do not need a card to test the format. MyAnima keeps a yandere page free in the browser, with iOS and Android apps, and says the yandere reacts with jealousy and clinginess. It also claims total creative freedom in character design and says chats are private and secure, a claim we could not verify.
Secrets AI's 20 messages a day is enough to test whether its memory style suits you. HakkoAI starts free with login credits and custom traits such as shy or confident. Its page says chats are not shared with third parties, then notes that other AI models process messages, which is the same thing with softer wording. Romantic AI offers realistic or anime styles and conversation tones, says it encrypts conversations, and publishes no prices at all.
The AI2U Prototype DLC is free but needs the paid base game. If you already own it, that is the cheapest way to run a local model with no usage fees.
The yandere archetype is a sweet partner whose love turns obsessive. Games handle it well because the obsession is the puzzle: AI2U makes the character a captor you talk your way past. Chat apps handle it as a personality setting, which is thinner but fine for short sessions.
Keep the line clear. Possessive behavior belongs in fiction, not in real life. If an app's version of clinginess starts to feel like pressure rather than play, close the tab. That is not a failure of the product; it is the product working as designed.
These products can feel romantic and comforting, and the bond can feel real to the person having it. That is not a flaw in you. It is what the models are built to produce. The feelings are generated by a model, not felt by a person who knows you.
Attachment is possible, and for some users that slides into isolation. If you notice you are skipping real conversations to keep a streak alive, take a break. The apps will still be there.
We found no end-to-end encryption in the privacy policies of the big web companions. That means the operator can read your chats. Secrets AI deletes chat history when you delete your account, which is better than nothing. OurDream's policy allows data to be used for model training, so assume your conversations can become training material. AI2U's main game sends messages to outside AI services, though the local DLC avoids that.
Basic hygiene: avoid sharing real names, addresses, workplaces, or photos of real people. Voice calls, offered by Secrets, OurDream and Candy, are usually paid in credits per minute, so check the meter before a long call. If privacy is your main concern, our Venice AI vs Janitor AI comparison covers the private-studio end of the market.
Pick by the game you want to play. AI2U for yandere puzzles and escape rooms, Blush for matches and storylines, Secrets AI for memory, OurDream AI or Candy.ai for designing a partner. Protect your privacy, keep real life in view, and treat the score as a starting point rather than a verdict.
Yes. MyAnima has a free version, Secrets AI's free plan gives 20 messages a day, and HakkoAI starts free with login credits. The AI2U Prototype DLC is free but needs the paid base game.
It was AlterStaff's 2023 free prototype, which became AI2U: With You 'Til The End. It is an escape room inside an AI girlfriend's home, and she will not let you leave without a conversation.
Yes. AI2U supports voice control, and Secrets AI, OurDream AI and Candy.ai offer voice calls. Voice calls are usually paid in credits per minute, so watch the meter.
No. It can feel romantic and comforting, and the bond can feel real, but the emotions are generated by a model rather than felt by a person who knows you.
Realistic AI companions with strong memory, video and voice calls