Demand for a male companion is climbing faster than the apps can answer it. In the search-demand data pulled for this article on 17 September 2026, the query pairing Talkie with a boyfriend grew 238% over twelve months to 720 searches a month, and the one pairing Anima with a boyfriend grew 336% to 320 a month. Two rising queries name an app, and neither app names a boyfriend on its own store listing. Talkie's Google Play page does not contain the word, and Anima's boyfriend app is published under a different title on iOS than on Android.
Short version: Anima and Replika sell the boyfriend as a product, Talkie, Character.AI and Nomi leave him to a library or a menu, and Kindroid and YourCrush.AI let you write him from a blank form. Everything below is read from each platform's own listings and help pages on 17 and 18 September 2026.
YourCrush.AI lets you build the character the app stores do not ship, a male companion with your own greeting, traits and voice, and it is the answer this article ends on.
What counts as a male AI companion?
An AI boyfriend is a chat character with a male persona, a personality that survives between sessions, some form of memory for what you have told it, and a relationship frame (partner, crush, date) that the app either lets you set or bakes in. A virtual boyfriend is the same thing under an older name, and continuity is what separates either from a generic chatbot.
The male half of the market is served three ways. Anima ships a dedicated boyfriend product with its own listing. Replika, Nomi and Kindroid ship one companion whose gender and relationship status you set in a menu. Talkie, Character.AI and YourCrush.AI run libraries where "boyfriend" is a search term rather than a product.
Why YourCrush.AI is the better place to build an AI boyfriend
YourCrush.AI sits in the build-your-own group, with a Human category for people who want a male character that already exists and a no-code form for people who want to write one. Plans as listed on the pricing page on 18 September 2026:
| Plan | Price | Chat tokens a month | Pinned memories | Story branches | Characters created | Image credits a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 400K | 10 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Pro | $9.99 a month | 5M | 50 | 5 | 50 | 50 |
| Premium | $19.99 a month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 200 |
YourCrush.AI builds a character from the fields the seven steps later in this article ask for, in the character creator: a name, an image, a description of up to 2,400 characters, a backstory of up to 2,400, a greeting of up to 500, three to seven traits from a list of 32, up to four speaking-style words and a behavior mode. YourCrush.AI generates the description, backstory, greeting and traits from a name and an image when you would rather edit than write. YourCrush.AI pins memories per character as a counted, editable list, 10 on Free, 50 on Pro and unlimited on Premium, so the turn-two detail in step six is something you choose to keep rather than something the model may retain. YourCrush.AI includes voice messages and in-chat image generation on the free plan, branches a story from a chosen point (one branch on Free, five on Pro), lists community-made male characters under Human in the explore library, is 18+ only, and states in its privacy policy that conversations are not sold to third parties.
The limit is the token meter. Free is 400,000 chat tokens a month, one long daily conversation rather than an unlimited one, and only Premium at $19.99 removes the cap, while Character.AI gives unlimited text on free. A wider comparison of memory, voice and data labels across seven platforms is in the best AI companion apps test.
Which apps ship male characters well?
Anima and Replika sell the boyfriend as the product itself. Talkie, Character.AI and Nomi hand you a library or a menu where he is one option among many. Kindroid publishes its memory spec and never mentions gender at all.
Anima's boyfriend is a separate app. On Google Play it is Anima: My Virtual AI Boyfriend, published by LABANE CORP. Limited, with more than 1 million downloads, a 4.1 average across 13.7K reviews, a Mature 17+ rating, in-app purchases from $0.99 to $199.99 per item and a last update of 15 August 2026, read on 17 September 2026. The description promises a partner whose "personality and interests evolve the more you chat," and the data-safety section says the app may share personal info and app activity with third parties. The same app ID on the Apple App Store now carries an iBoy-branded title from LABANE CORP. LTD, rated 18+, with a 4.5 average across 4.9K ratings and purchases from $2.99 to $49.99; its privacy label lists contact info and identifiers as data used to track you. Neither listing mentions voice or memory, and the 336% rise in Anima boyfriend searches is chasing a product that has renamed itself on one store.
Talkie is where the boyfriend demand is largest and the listing is quietest. Its Google Play page, titled Talkie: Creative AI Community and published by SUBSUP PTE. LTD., shows more than 50 million downloads, a 4.5 average across 846K reviews, a Teen rating, purchases from $0.49 to $199.99 per item and an update dated 7 September 2026. The description says "Talkies" "evolve and adapt with extended memory" and does not contain the word boyfriend, girlfriend or partner; the data-safety section says app activity may be shared with third parties. The 720 monthly searches for a boyfriend on Talkie are searches for what its community built, under a Teen rating rather than an adult one.
Character.AI is the same shape at larger scale, with published memory numbers. Its c.ai Lite FAQ, updated early September 2026, states that the free plan keeps unlimited messaging with 15 memory pins, Lite raises that to 30 pins from $4.99 a month, and the full memory suite with private Lorebooks sits in c.ai+. Character.AI also announced on 29 October 2025 that it would remove open-ended chat for users under 18 no later than 25 November 2025, so its romance characters are adult-only by policy even though the app is not rated 18+.
Replika sells the boyfriend as a status line. Its subscription help article describes Free Use as limited access that "may be denied at Replika's discretion," puts "your relationship status" in the Pro tier beside voice messaging, background calls and selfies, and reserves saving messages to memory for Ultra. Prices are shown in the app, and the App Store listing by Luka, Inc. (18+, 4.4 across 228K ratings) shows monthly purchases at $7.99 and $14.99 and a Platinum purchase at $89.99. Read together: on Replika, making your companion your boyfriend is a paid feature, and making him remember a specific sentence is a second paid feature above it.
Nomi names the boyfriend on its front page and publishes no numbers behind him. The Nomi homepage lists boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, mentor and fantasy partner as things a Nomi can be, claims short, medium and long-term memory, says starting is free with no credit card, that you can "send and receive voice chats or hop on a hands-free call," and that "all chats are anonymized and no chat data is shared with 3rd party sites." No caps, pin counts or prices appear on the page.
Kindroid never mentions gender and publishes the most about memory. Its subscriptions page, updated 7 July 2026, gives free users unlimited messages on the smaller Lite model, two Kindroids, one selfie every two hours, 5,000 lifetime audio characters (about five minutes of speech) and basic long-term memory without cascaded memory. Subscribers pay $13.99 a month on the web or $15.99 through the stores for the flagship model, four times the short-term context, cascaded memory and one million audio credits a month. A boyfriend on Kindroid is a backstory you write, and the page tells you how much of it the model will hold.
Who actually uses male companions, according to research?
No published survey splits companion use by the gender of the character, so nobody outside the app companies knows what share of users want an ai boyfriend rather than a girlfriend.
Among teenagers the numbers are large and the romantic slice is small. The Common Sense Media survey of 1,060 US teens aged 13 to 17, fielded in April and May 2025, found that 72% had ever used an AI companion, 52% used one a few times a month or more, and 8% of all respondents used companions "for romantic or flirtatious interactions," against 18% for conversation or social practice. Of all respondents, 67% found companion conversations less satisfying than those with real friends.
Pew points the same way. The Pew Research Center survey of 1,458 US teens, fielded 25 September to 9 October 2025 and published 24 February 2026, found 16% had used chatbots for casual conversation and 12% for emotional support or advice. Its demographic breakdown states that "teen boys and girls use chatbots at similar rates and generally for the same kinds of tasks." That is the closest any public dataset comes to a gender split, and it is a split of users, not of characters.
For adults the evidence is about effect. A series of studies in the Journal of Consumer Research, published online 25 June 2025, found an AI companion reduced loneliness on par with interacting with another person and more than watching YouTube, and that feeling heard explained most of the effect. The counterweight is a four-week randomized trial from MIT Media Lab and OpenAI with 981 participants and more than 300,000 messages, revised 2 October 2025: no significant difference between text, neutral-voice and engaging-voice modes, but consistently worse loneliness and dependence outcomes among people who chose to use the chatbot most. The benefit shows up in doses and the harm in volume, and neither finding depends on the character's gender.
Which free tier gives you a boyfriend?
Character.AI, Kindroid and YourCrush.AI give free users a male character with a published memory number. Replika gives free users a companion but charges for the relationship status. Anima and Nomi publish no free caps at all.
Character.AI's free plan is unlimited messaging with 15 pins. Kindroid's is unlimited Lite-model messages with two characters and about five minutes of lifetime audio. YourCrush.AI's is 400,000 chat tokens a month with 10 pinned memories and 3 created characters, per its pricing page on 18 September 2026. Replika's Free Use can be withdrawn and keeps relationship status in Pro. Anima's app is free to install with purchases from $0.99 and no published free allowance, and Nomi says only that starting is free without a card. The cheapest boyfriend who remembers you is on a free plan with a pin count, and two of the three apps that publish one let you write him yourself.
Do these apps remember him, and can he talk?
Memory splits cleanly into two groups. Three platforms give you a number, and three give you an adjective. Character.AI counts pins: 15 free, 30 on Lite. Kindroid counts context tiers, with basic long-term memory free and cascaded memory on subscription. YourCrush.AI counts pins per character: 10 free, 50 on Pro, unlimited on Premium. Then there's the other half. Talkie's listing says "extended memory" and stops there. Nomi's homepage promises "short, medium, and long term memory" without a figure attached. Replika reserves saving messages to memory for Ultra. Ask a boyfriend at turn nine what you said at turn two, and you'll get a real answer on the platforms with a number. On the ones with an adjective, you're gambling.
Voice is messier. Nomi's homepage includes voice chats and hands-free calls but never names a tier. Kindroid meters free audio at 5,000 lifetime characters. Replika puts voice messaging and calls in Pro. YourCrush.AI includes voice messages on the free plan. Anima and Talkie don't mention voice at all. I'd weight voice below memory, and the MIT and OpenAI trial is why: 981 people over four weeks showed no outcome difference between text and voice. A voice that can't recall your name is a good actor reading a cold script.
How do you build your own male companion?
You write him as a character card, and the same seven fields work on every platform that allows user-created characters (Character.AI, Talkie, Kindroid, YourCrush.AI).
- Pick a name and one image before you write anything else. On platforms with AI-assisted creation, those two choices seed the generated description, and a generic name produces a generic man.
- Write a description of who he is today in under 300 words: age, work, where he lives, how he speaks, and two habits that would show up in a text message.
- Write a backstory of what happened before you met. Put three specific facts in it that a memory test can probe later, such as his sister's name or the city he left.
- Choose three to seven personality traits from whatever list the platform gives you, and make at least one of them a flaw. A character with no flaw has no voice when the conversation turns serious.
- Write the greeting as the first message he would send you, under 500 characters. The model imitates its length and tone.
- In your second message, tell him one unusual detail about yourself. Wait nine turns, then ask about it indirectly. If he fails, pin the detail by hand where the platform allows it and test again the next day.
- Set the behavior mode the platform gives you, and read its age rule first: Talkie is rated Teen, Character.AI blocks open-ended chat under 18, and Anima, Replika, Kindroid and YourCrush.AI are adult-only.
A character built this way outlasts most library boyfriends. You know what is in his memory. A library author does not know what is in yours.
Frequently asked questions
Which app has the best male characters?
Look for apps that publish a memory number and let you create characters, because the character you write is the only one whose memory you can actually inspect. That shortlist is Character.AI (15 free pins), Kindroid (published context tiers) and YourCrush.AI (10 free pins). Anima ships a dedicated boyfriend app with more than 1 million Play downloads, but its listing publishes no memory or voice detail at all.
Is there a free virtual boyfriend app?
Yes, on any platform with a free tier and user-made characters. Character.AI's free plan gives you unlimited messaging with 15 memory pins, Kindroid's gives you unlimited Lite-model messages with two characters, and YourCrush.AI's gives you 400,000 chat tokens a month with 10 pins. Replika has a free tier too, but it keeps relationship status behind Pro.
Does Talkie have boyfriend characters?
Its community library does, which is why the Talkie boyfriend query grew 238% in a year. Talkie's own Google Play listing never uses the word, though, and the app is rated Teen rather than 18+.
What happened to the Anima boyfriend app?
It's still on Google Play under the Anima name from LABANE CORP. Limited, updated 15 August 2026, while the same app ID on the App Store is now titled after iBoy. Both listings are adult-rated and sell in-app purchases from under a dollar up to $199.99 on Android.
Who uses these apps, men or women?
No public survey reports the gender of the character people choose. Pew's 2025 survey of 1,458 US teens found boys and girls use chatbots at similar rates, and Common Sense Media's survey of 1,060 teens found 8% used companions for romantic or flirtatious interactions.
The two fastest-growing boyfriend queries of the year point at an app that does not say the word on its listing and an app that renamed itself on one store. The demand is documented. The product that meets it, on most platforms, is whatever a stranger uploaded last month.