A chatbot becomes a companion when it remembers you. That's also the quality you can't judge from a pricing page, because every app claims it. The only honest test is time: chat for a fortnight and see what resurfaces.
How the memory test worked
Each app got daily use for a fortnight on a paid plan, as set out in how we test. In the first few days I dropped in a handful of small, specific details (a name, a plan, a minor worry) and then left them alone. Through week two I tracked four possible outcomes: the character raised a detail unprompted, remembered it when asked, got it wrong, or had lost it entirely.
If you want to know why memory behaves this way, with context windows, stored facts and summaries, how AI companion memory works covers it.
The results
Groups from the two-week tests. Apps inside a group appear in alphabetical order.
| App | Behaviour across the fortnight | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nomi | A small day-two detail came back in week two, unprompted and at the right moment | Best |
| Camsoda AI | Each character keeps its own memory, so every companion has a separate history | Strong |
| Secret Desires | Carried things from one session to the next, and long scenes hung together | Strong |
| Candy AI | Good for roughly a week, then older details slipped away | Medium |
| Sweetdream | Not as deep as Nomi; a week-old detail appeared, then vanished | Medium |
| Replika | Kept names and routines past a week, but not small details | Medium |
| Kupid AI | Thinner than the leaders | Weak |
| Joi | Barely anything survived between sessions | Weak |
What sets the top apps apart
Nomi treats memory as its main selling point, and it lived up to it. Something small I'd mentioned a single time came back exactly when it fitted the conversation. In group chats it also kept a separate memory for each character. The downsides: images are weaker, and it costs more than most apps here.
Camsoda AI attaches memory to each character rather than to your account. Create several companions and every one keeps its own backstory, so your effort carries into the next session.
Secret Desires kept long roleplay scenes coherent. Before choosing it, know that in 2025 the platform had a serious leak of user-generated images, which we cover in AI companion data breaches.
When memory isn't the priority
Plenty of people mostly want images, voice and quick chats, and for them memory isn't the deciding factor. Candy AI was our overall winner for bundling chat, images and voice in a single plan. To test the waters for free, Sweetdream has the most usable free tier, with memory that's fine for casual chats.
Squeezing more out of any app
- Put the non-negotiable facts in the memory or notes field.
- Keep the character sheet about personality, rather than a fact list.
- Start over with a new chat once an old one wanders. The memories transfer while the bad habits stay behind; see personality drift.
- Write a two-line recap when returning after some time away.
- Keep a personal record of what matters, just in case an app changes, as suggested in switching AI companion apps.
An app's memory can change the moment it swaps models, so read these results as a snapshot from our test window. Every review lists when that app was tested.
