Guide
How to choose an AI companion app
We make one of these apps
The checklist is written to work for any AI companion app. The “How Lerk AI answers it” lines describe our own product, so read them as the maker's statements, and check them against Lerk AI the same way you would any other app.
How to use this checklist
Companion apps can look alike from their home pages: a row of attractive characters, a promise of conversations that feel real, and a button to start. The differences that matter show up later, in how well the companion remembers you, what the free tier really includes, how billing works and what happens to your messages.
The twelve points below are grouped into four areas. You don't need a perfect score; you need to know the answers before you pay. Most can be checked in ten minutes by reading the app's pricing page and policies and sending a few test messages. Give each app the same test, and the comparison takes care of itself.
Conversation
This is what you'll spend nearly all your time on, so it deserves the most attention.
1. Memory depth
What to check. Does the companion remember what you said earlier in the conversation, and still remember it days later? Is memory deeper on paid plans, and can you start over if you want to? A simple test: mention a detail, chat about something else for a while, then ask about it.
How Lerk AI answers it. Each conversation keeps its own long-term memory. The VIP and Lerker plans recall much further back than a free account, and Restart begins a fresh conversation without the old conversation's memory. How memory works on Lerk AI.
2. Chat modes and tone
What to check. Can you choose between plain texting and a narrated, story-style roleplay? Can you set how flirty or bold the conversation is, and change it later? Apps that only do one style can feel repetitive.
How Lerk AI answers it. Two modes, chosen when a chat starts and kept for that conversation: Texting and Roleplay. The mood, Flirty or Spicy, can be changed at any time. How chats work.
3. Personality that holds
What to check. Does a character stay recognizably themselves over a long chat, or drift into generic, agreeable replies? Read the profile, then see whether the replies match it after twenty or thirty messages.
How Lerk AI answers it. Every companion has a look and a personality of their own, and adapts to the way you text while staying true to that personality.
Photos, videos and style
If pictures matter to you, check how they work and how they're charged before you rely on them.
4. Photos and videos, and how they're priced
What to check. Are images included in a plan or charged one by one? Do you see the price before you ask? What happens if a generation fails: do you lose what you paid? Are videos offered, and how long do they take?
How Lerk AI answers it. Photos and videos are paid for with stars, and you see the price before you send a request. A generation that fails or is blocked by a safety check refunds its stars automatically. Videos take a few minutes to render. Photos and videos on Lerk AI.
5. Style options
What to check. Does the app offer realistic companions, anime ones, or both? Men as well as women? Can you design your own character, and is what you create private?
How Lerk AI answers it. Both styles, women and men, and a six-step creator. Characters you create are private to your account. Anime vs realistic.
Price and billing
The headline price is only part of what you'll pay. These four points are where most surprises come from.
6. What the free tier really includes
What to check. How many messages, and how often do they come back? Which features need a plan? Is the “free trial” actually a subscription that starts charging on its own after a few days?
How Lerk AI answers it. Signing up and browsing are free. A free account includes a limited number of messages every 24 hours, and verifying your email adds a one-time gift of welcome stars. Lerk AI pricing.
7. How credits work, and whether they expire
What to check. Many apps sell credits or tokens for images and extras. Do bought credits expire? Does a monthly allowance roll over, or is it lost at the end of the month? Which is spent first?
How Lerk AI answers it. Lerk AI uses stars. Stars you buy don't expire. A plan's monthly allowance doesn't roll over, even on yearly plans, and it is spent before purchased stars.
8. Renewal, cancelling and refunds
What to check. Does the plan renew automatically? Can you cancel yourself, online, without emailing anyone? What happens to access after you cancel? Is there a published refund policy, and what does it actually allow?
How Lerk AI answers it. Card subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel, which you can do anytime in the app; access lasts to the end of the period you paid for. Purchases are generally final, with refunds considered case by case for things like duplicate or unauthorized charges. See Lerk AI's refund policy.
9. What shows on your statement
What to check. What name appears on your bank or card statement? Some people care a lot about discretion, and the answer is rarely on the home page. Look in the FAQ or billing policy.
How Lerk AI answers it. Card payments go through a secure payment processor, so card details never reach Lerk AI. Charges show as “Lerk Studios” and never describe what you bought; receipts mention only stars and your plan.
Trust and privacy
You may end up telling a companion things you wouldn't post anywhere. These three points tell you how seriously the app takes that.
10. Age rules and AI disclosure
What to check. Is the app strictly for adults, and does it check at the door? Does it say plainly that you're talking to an AI and not a person? Are its characters all adults?
How Lerk AI answers it. Lerk AI is for adults 18 and over (or older where local law requires it) and shows an age check on your first visit. Every companion is a fictional adult AI character, and Lerk AI says so in its own AI Companion Disclosure and User Wellbeing Notice.
11. What happens to your data
What to check. Read the privacy policy for three answers: are conversations sold or shared, are they used to target ads, and can you delete your chats, characters and images yourself? Be wary if the policy is vague or hard to find.
How Lerk AI answers it. Chats, characters and media are private to your account and never published. Lerk AI doesn't sell conversations or use them to target ads, and you can delete chats, characters and media whenever you like. Is Lerk AI safe?
12. Who runs it, and how to reach them
What to check. Is there a named company behind the app, with policies you can read and a support address that answers? An app with no visible owner is hard to hold to anything.
How Lerk AI answers it. Lerk AI is run by Lerk Studios, Inc., reachable at support@lerk.ai, with its policies in Lerk AI's Help and Legal pages.
A ten-minute test for any app
You can answer most of the checklist before paying anything. Give every app on your shortlist the same five steps:
- Read the pricing page. Note what the free tier includes, what the cheapest plan costs per month and whether yearly billing is offered.
- Skim the privacy policy. Search it for “sell”, “advertising” and “delete”. Clear answers are a good sign; vague ones are not.
- Test the memory. Early in a chat, mention one specific detail. Twenty messages later, ask the companion about it.
- Check one picture. If the app offers photos, see whether the price is shown before you ask and what happens if it fails.
- Find the cancel option. Before you subscribe, find out where you would cancel. If you can't find it, that tells you something.
Red flags worth walking away from
Some warning signs are serious enough that we'd skip an app on sight, whatever else it does well:
- No company name, no contact address and no published privacy or refund policy.
- A “free trial” that asks for card details and doesn't say clearly when it starts charging.
- No adults-only rule, or no check at all before you see adult content.
- Offers to make images of anyone who exists from a photo you upload.
- Companions who push you to buy things in the middle of a conversation, again and again.
- Any suggestion that the character is a person, or that someone is typing the replies.
If you're weighing up apps for a specific reason, such as wanting calls or an installable app, our page on Lerk AI alternatives describes when a different kind of app is the better fit.
The checklist at a glance
The whole checklist on one screen, with Lerk AI's answers for comparison.
| Check | What to look for | Lerk AI |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memory | Remembers details across days; deeper on paid plans; can reset | Long-term memory per conversation; paid plans recall further; Restart |
| 2. Chat modes | Texting and roleplay; adjustable tone | Texting or Roleplay per chat; Flirty or Spicy, changeable |
| 3. Personality | Stays in character over long chats | Own personality; adapts to how you text |
| 4. Photos and videos | Price shown first; refunds on failures | Paid with stars; price shown first; automatic refunds |
| 5. Style options | Realistic, anime, men and women, a creator | Both styles, both genders, six-step creator |
| 6. Free tier | Clear limits; no surprise trial charges | Limited messages every 24 hours; welcome stars |
| 7. Credits | Bought credits don't expire; rollover rules stated | Bought stars don't expire; allowance doesn't roll over |
| 8. Renewal and refunds | Cancel online yourself; published refund policy | Cancel anytime in the app; refund policy published |
| 9. Statement | Discreet billing name | Shows “Lerk Studios” |
| 10. Age and AI disclosure | Adults only; clearly an AI | 18+; all companions fictional adults; disclosure notice |
| 11. Your data | Not sold or used for ads; deletable | Not sold or used for ads; delete anytime |
| 12. Who runs it | Named company; reachable support | Lerk Studios, Inc.; support@lerk.ai |
Frequently asked questions
What matters most in an AI companion app?
It depends on why you want one, but for most people it comes down to three things: how well the companion remembers and stays in character, what you'll really pay once the free tier runs out, and whether the company is open about privacy and who runs it. The checklist at a glance covers all twelve points.
Are free AI companion apps worth trying?
Yes, as a test. A free tier is the easiest way to see whether you enjoy the conversations before paying anything. Check what it includes, whether a trial turns into a paid plan on its own, and what the app asks you to share when you sign up. Lerk AI's free account includes a limited number of messages every 24 hours; Lerk AI pricing shows what the paid plans add.
How can I tell if an AI companion app is safe?
Look for a named company with a way to contact it, a published privacy policy that says whether conversations are sold or used for ads, a clear way to delete your data, an adults-only rule, and a plain statement that you're talking to an AI. For how Lerk AI handles each of these, see Is Lerk AI safe?
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