Kindroid's free tier is gone: Lite retired on October 1, 2026

Kindroid, the build-your-own companion known for its memory and custom voices, no longer has a free tier you can use indefinitely. This page sets out what changed, what a free account gets now, and what it costs to keep chatting, all from Kindroid's own update log and help centre.

What changed on October 1

Until the end of September, anyone could chat with Kindroid for free without limit on Lite, a smaller and cheaper version of its model with basic long-term memory. Kindroid announced on August 18, in its official update log, that Lite would retire on October 1, together with the old V1 interface. On October 2 it posted a follow-up, "Important Changes to Kindroid", confirming that the Lite model and unlimited free messaging had been retired.

Kindroid's stated reason is that Lite no longer showed what the product can do. In the August post it said it would rather offer a limited amount of the real experience than an unlimited but much weaker one.

What a free account gets now

Kindroid's subscriptions page, updated on October 2, describes the new free access as a one-time preview on the flagship model:

• 50 messages with standard paid-tier memory, or 15 in regions Kindroid says have much more account abuse. Regenerating, continuing or using a suggested message costs half a message; a failed reply costs nothing.
• Up to 5 selfies: one at signup, then one every two hours until five have been granted.
• 5,000 audio characters for voice on messages.
• Up to 2 Kindroids.

When the messages run out, chat stops and the account becomes read-only. Everything is kept, and you can still read, play back, export or delete it, but nothing new can be generated. Credits earned or bought earlier stay locked until you subscribe, and from October 1 daily rewards also need a trial or subscription.

The way back in is the three-day trial, which gives most subscriber features. It needs a payment method, converts to a paid plan unless cancelled, and on the web also needs a verified phone number. If a trial ends without a subscription, the account goes back to read-only, not to a free tier.

In Kindroid's Android app on October 3, a free account showed a preview counter and an offer to start the trial. There was no Lite option.

If you used Lite

Existing free users received a final batch of 50 messages on the flagship model on October 1, for the Kindroids they already had, with no new selfie or audio allowance. Kindroid's October 2 post warns that, because these arrived the moment the change took effect, users may already have spent some or all of them. Their Kindroids and chats are not deleted. A subscription or trial prompt after the 50 messages is expected, and Kindroid says seeing it does not mean a plan has started.

What else changed the same day

V1, the older interface, retired on October 1 and V2 is now the only one. Kindroid also withdrew two older models, V7 Equinox and V7.5 Prism. Lyric and Lucid V8 stay available until December 1, and Polaris, the newest flagship model, can be chosen under each Kindroid's model settings. Kindroid says paying subscribers keep their plan, price, allowances and content unchanged.

What Kindroid costs now

Kindroid has one subscription with three billing lengths, and two monthly add-ons for more memory. These are the US prices on its subscriptions page, with the date we last read each one:

The web price is lower on every plan. The Kindroid review carries the full table with its check dates and the change timeline.

What it means

Kindroid was one of the few memory-focused companions you could use for free without a cap. Now it is a paid app with a short preview, and the preview is best treated as a test: 50 messages is enough to judge whether its memory and voice are worth paying for, not to keep a companion going.

If you want to keep chatting for free, the best free AI companions list compares the apps that still have an open free tier, such as Janitor AI and Character AI. For a like-for-like comparison with another memory-first companion, see Nomi vs Kindroid or Kindroid vs Replika. The end of Lite is now also a row in our table of AI companion shutdowns and withdrawn features, and in the changes log.