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Plenty of people use ChatGPT, Claude or another general-purpose LLM as a companion rather than a companion app. They bring memory and voice but no companion features, and one hidden risk: a model update can change or retire the manner you have been talking to. No app store rating measures how good they are as companions, so this list is unranked and compares them on the facts that matter for the role.
ChatGPT
Unranked (general-purpose LLM) · Free / Plus $20.00/mo · Web, iOS, Android
OpenAI's general-purpose assistant, which many people also use as a companion. Memory that persists across chats, custom instructions and voice mode support that use, but OpenAI markets it as a productivity tool, its Model Spec rules out erotica, and when OpenAI retires a model, conversations move to a newer one with a different manner.
Read the ChatGPT review · Visit ChatGPT
Claude
Unranked (general-purpose LLM) · Free / $20.00/mo · Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Anthropic's assistant. Claude has memory across chats on personal plans and a voice mode, but no persona system or avatar, and Anthropic's usage policy prohibits sexually explicit content. As with every general-purpose model, its manner can change when a model is updated or retired.
Read the Claude review · Visit Claude
Gemini
Unranked (general-purpose LLM) · Free / $4.99/mo · Web, iOS, Android
Google's assistant, built into Android and the Google app, which makes it the easiest of these to reach for anyone already using Google. Gemini Live handles spoken conversation and the free tier includes it. Google's policy prohibits sexually explicit content, and its own framing is an assistant rather than a companion.
Read the Gemini review · Visit Gemini
Grok
Unranked (general-purpose LLM) · Free, paid plans priced in the app · Web, iOS, Android, X
xAI's assistant, on the web, iOS, Android and inside X. Its policy has an opt-in mode for looser content for adults, and it offers voice conversations and memory. xAI removed the animated companions (Ani and others) from Grok on September 1, 2026; see the Grok Ani entry for where they went.
Read the Grok review · Visit Grok
DeepSeek
Unranked (general-purpose LLM) · Free · Web, iOS, Android
A general-purpose assistant with no consumer subscription at all: the app and website are entirely free. It has no memory feature, no voice mode and no companion features, its terms ban sexual content, and its privacy policy says data is stored in China and chats may train its models unless you opt out.
Read the DeepSeek review · Visit DeepSeek
Pi
Unranked (general-purpose LLM) · Free · Web, iOS, Android
Inflection AI's personal assistant, the general-purpose model built most like a companion: a conversational style, a voice mode and memory across chats. Pi is entirely free, with no paid tier, and its terms prohibit sexually explicit content.
Read the Pi review · Visit Pi| App | Cheapest plan | Free tier | Platforms | 18+ | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | $20.00/mo | Limited | Web, iOS, Android | No | Not rated: general‑purpose AI |
| Claude | $16.67/mo | Limited | Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | No | Not rated: general‑purpose AI |
| Gemini | $4.99/mo | Limited | Web, iOS, Android | No | Not rated: general‑purpose AI |
| Grok | n/a | Limited | Web, iOS, Android, X | Yes | Not rated: general‑purpose AI |
| DeepSeek | n/a | Full | Web, iOS, Android | No | Not rated: general‑purpose AI |
| Pi | n/a | Full | Web, iOS, Android | No | Not rated: general‑purpose AI |
Every price is dated on the app's review. Scores follow our published rubric.
Many people do. Memory, custom instructions and voice mode support it. OpenAI's Model Spec rules out erotica, which is stricter than most companion apps, and model retirements can change its manner.
The personality can shift or disappear. The retirement of GPT-4o in 2025 caused a documented grief wave among people whose companions lived there. This category-wide risk is a core reason we track model changes on every app's timeline.