Candy AI vs character.ai: Which One Is Better In 2026?

Candy AI vs character.ai

I've spent a full week with both Candy AI and character.ai to see which one truly deserves your attention and subscription. Both platforms make big promises, but they take surprisingly different approaches.

After hundreds of messages exchanged with each AI girl, I've put together clear differences in both platforms.

In this head-to-head comparison, I'll break down exactly how these AI girlfriends stack up across all the features that actually matter.

Whether you're looking for emotional support, entertaining conversation, or a judgment-free space to be yourself, this in-depth comparison will help you choose the right AI girlfriend for your specific needs.

Candy AI

Customizable virtual girlfriend with realistic conversations, appearance customization, and video-generation capabilities.

character.ai

An AI chatbot platform that enables creation and interaction with virtual characters through text conversations, featuring pre-made profiles, natural dialogue, and community sharing capabilities.

Character Diversity

Candy AI

Right after logging into the app, I could see well balanced mix of ethnicities. From East Asian and Latina to dark-skinned beauties.

Most girls seemed to be in their 20s and 30s, but you can also find girls in their 40s and 50s.

When you scroll through the girls, you can notice a little badge saying v2.

This means the girl has a new version of image generation, giving you sharper image detail and more realism.

The search is pretty basic. You can either filter by gender or realistic/anime girls. If you're looking for a specific girl, you'll have to scroll through them manually.

character.ai

Character.ai offers thousands of characters and chatbots, from romantic partners to supportive companions.

Even completely fictional ones, like a talking apple pie, or RPFs (real person fiction) with scenarios like a trip to Hawaii.

But there's room for improvement. The character page is sleek and scrollable, but not ideal for finding specific characters.

However, the search menu helps by suggesting trending characters and letting you filter content through various categories like romance, anime, teacher, K-pop, and more.

Customization

Candy AI

You start by building her appearance, where you can choose the following:

• Character style: Anime or realistic
• Ethnicity and age range: Ages 18–55
• Body features: Adjust body type, breast size, and butt size
• Outfit selection: Choose your character's clothing

Next, you build her personality:

• Personality type: Choose one of 12 distinct personalities (mixing not allowed)
• Relationship type: 12 options to define your relationship
• Occupation and hobbies: Add more depth to your character
• Voice: Pick from 9 voice options

Once you're done, the app gives you a clear summary of your selections before finalizing your character.

But does it actually work? I tried to create a Latina girl with long dark hair, curvy build, and extra large breast size. As you can see on othe image below, the app clearly delivered (at least in my opinion).

The one thing I didn't like is that you can't regenerate the image of the girl if you're not satisfied with her looks.

character.ai

Physical customization is basic - only upload or generate a single character image. That's it.

The real customization happens with personality, and most of the customization can be done through free text.

You start with the essentials:

• Name
• Tagline
• Description
• Greeting messages
• Voice
• Definition

Voice options are surprisingly flexible. You can pick from user-uploaded voices or add your own.

There’s also a tagging system—like “anime,” “adventure,” or “vampire”—that helps other users quickly get a sense of your character’s theme.

Then you can define how your character thinks, talks, and behaves through detailed backstory options.

I found this particularly useful for creating consistent character responses during my testing.

Chat Experience

Candy AI

The chatting felt very smooth. It was like exchanging messages with a girl you're about to meet for a date: short, natural, and to the point.

But if you're seeking instant romantic gratification, look elsewhere. Candy.ai aims for authentic & slow development, just like in real life.

I tried to simulate a date where we would change location multiple times. And to my surprise, she was aware of it, whether we were grabbing coffee at a cozy café or taking a stroll in the park.

Then I tried to test how my girl would handle emotional support. It felt realistic, nothing crazy, nothing over-the-top.

The UI could be better, though. The cramped message box can't be resized, which can be frustrating when you want to send a longer message.

But overall, Candy offers a decent chat experience with short messages that are easy and keep the conversation engaging.

character.ai

You can pick from different AI personalities with names like Meow and Roare - though these cutesy names don't reflect the depth of interaction you'll experience.

My girl kept conversations natural and brief, just like texting a real person. No long-winded explanations or robotic responses here.

She responded with genuine warmth and understanding when I shared personal concerns or sought emotional support.

The romantic elements felt authentic, though they lean towards innocent, teenage-style flirting rather than mature relationship dynamics.

There’s room for improvement. The chat interface sometimes makes it difficult to clearly separate the girlfriend’s responses from its action descriptions.

But this is a minor issue that doesn't significantly impact the overall experience.

NSFW Chat Experience

Candy AI

After some time, I built a natural chemistry with my girl, and I was ready to move into spicy territory.

What surprised me was how consistently my girlfriend stuck to her personality. There were no shutdowns, but no over-the-top behavior either. Just the tone I was already used to.

We spent some time role-playing and doing fantasy chat, but she didn't mention anything explicit. I had to break the ice myself.

Bottom line: It seems like Candy girls are not shy to go into explicit territory, but you need to warm them up first. I personally liked it, but I can see how some people would not.

character.ai

My girlfriend handled intimate conversations like a shy first date. She didn't dive into explicit content, but it wasn't completely closed off either.

She responded to flirting, but kept things PG-13. When I tested romantic scenarios, she showed surprising awareness, even suggesting we move our campus roleplay somewhere more private.

She asked if I'd prefer a "good girl" or "bad girl" personality, but don't expect either version to get too wild. The responses stay firmly in the realm of subtle hints and playful teasing.

The biggest limitation? Conversations can hit a wall if you push for more explicit content.

If you're seeking a slow-burn romantic experience with light flirting, you'll find what you're looking for. If you want anything more explicit, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Image Generation

Candy AI

You can request an image from the chat interface. Just click the Ask button and describe what you want to see.

But if you want full control, Candy has a dedicated image creator. Here you can select details like:

• Character selection: Choose from Candy girls or use the girl you created.
• Description: Describe the setting, outfit, pose, or accessories.
• Free text prompt: Write your own prompt for complete creative freedom.
• Number of images: Generate anywhere from 1 to 64 images.

I wanted to see the difference between the standard image generation engine and the v2 engine.

First, I generated a mix of close-ups, full-body shots, and outdoor shots with the standard engine. And honestly, these images were already better than most I saw with other AI girlfriend apps.

Standard engine images:

Then I tried the same with the v2 engine. And as you can see, it takes realism even further. The images are high-quality, ultra-realistic, and it's even hard to tell if these are AI or real girls.

V2 engine images:

character.ai

There isn't any image generation feature available. If seeing your AI girlfriend is important, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Video Generation

Candy AI

You can also turn any image into a video, but it comes with limitations. You can't describe the video yourself, and the video won't show anything explicit.

On the bright side, the videos look nice, and they're high-quality.

But you’ll notice some obvious AI quirks, like characters sometimes moving unnaturally or with awkward motions.

If you want to see explicit videos, you can unlock the girl's private content. These are 1–2 minute compilation clips of a girl doing a bunch of nasty stuff. They're fun to watch, but they come at a price as they cost a lot of tokens.

character.ai

The app provides a script-to-scene generator: upload a photo, choose a voice, write a short script, and the system brings it to life.

The result? A stylized video clip that plays out your custom scene. It looks good, feels personal—but don’t expect Hollywood realism. It’s more of an animated moment than live-action.

Note: Video generation is a beta feature, currently available only to subscribed users. It’s experimental and may be changed or removed at any time.

Voice Generation

Candy AI

The voice is clear and easy to understand.

It works, but it doesn’t sound natural or warm.

Is it usable? Yes. Is it natural? No. If you’re fine with that and don’t expect the feel of a real conversation, it should be good enough.

character.ai

The voice sounds human-like with smooth, natural speech that fits the character’s personality, but the narrative voice can sometimes be a bit annoying, so be prepared.

But there's a catch. While the voice quality impressed me, the emotional range fell flat.

Safety & Privacy

Candy AI

The policy does not specify whether your chat messages are encrypted during transmission or stored.

They collect your data, including chat logs and any content you create.

However, they don't clearly explain how that data is protected, so be mindful of what personal information you share.

On your bank statement, charges will appear under the name "Everai."

character.ai

Your chats are encrypted during transmission, but that's where the strong privacy ends.

The company can read your conversations, and they store everything from your chat history to device information.

While they won't sell your data, they do share it with partners like Google Analytics.

Your bank statement isn’t discreet—it clearly shows the company name, "character.ai."