Roleplay
Chai review
Mobile-only character chat with a swipe feed, weekly billing and an 18+ policy that bans explicit content
Radar score
5.1
/ 10
Desk-researched profile
Pricing model
Subscription
Starting price
$13.99/mo ($5.99/wk, $134.99/yr)
Free tier
Yes
Adult content
Limited
Platforms
iOS, Android
Launched
2021
Video generation
No
Voice
No
Features:
Chat
Image generation
Verdict
Fast, permissive-feeling roleplay on a phone with a huge character feed, but short memory, ads and message limits on free, weekly-billing defaults, and an Ultra tier that reviewers say barely beats Premium.
What works
Large user-generated character feed with quick, responsive replies Free tier exists with a rolling message allowance Real-time self-harm scanning and crisis referrals documented on the safety page Native iOS and Android apps
What holds it back
Memory is widely described as a few dozen messages; Ultra’s “4x memory” did not hold up in tests Weekly plans ($5.99 and $19.99) are pushed at checkout; annual Ultra is $269.99 Policy bans sexually explicit content yet the app is marketed to adults for romance; explicit roleplay is hit-or-miss
What Chai is
Chai is a mobile-first character chat app from Chai Research Corp., founded in 2021 by William Beauchamp and now based in Palo Alto. There is no web version; the site says one is coming. The app presents a swipeable feed of user-created characters for roleplay, interactive fiction and companionship, and the company reports very large revenue and daily-user figures that we do not repeat.
Features
The company trains its own language models and serves many of them, with higher-tier models reserved for paid plans. Character creation is a no-code form. A “Selfies” feature in early 2026 lets some bots send generated images mid-chat; there is no general image generator, no video and no verified voice calls. Memory is the recurring weakness: reviewers describe context loss after a few dozen messages, and the Ultra tier’s promised “4x better memory” did not survive independent testing. Safety filters let users hide mature content in search and block characters.
Pricing
App Store items on 3 September 2026: Premium at $5.99 a week, $13.99 a month or $134.99 a year; Ultra at $19.99 a week, $29.99 a month or $269.99 a year. Premium removes ads and the recharge timer and unlocks better models; Ultra adds a priority queue, longer replies, exclusive characters and early model access. The free tier gives roughly 70 messages per rolling window with ads. In January 2026 the company introduced region-based paywalls and, after a backlash, a Basic tier with unlimited ad-supported messages; in February 2026 unannounced token limits froze chats for paying users while the store listing still promised unlimited messages.
Content policy
The safety centre states that Chai is exclusively an 18+ service, that the EULA prohibits sexually explicit content, self-harm content and anything that sexualises minors, and that messages are scanned in real time with crisis referrals in 175 countries. In practice reviewers find romance and suggestive content pass and explicit content is inconsistent by model. The app relies on store age ratings rather than its own verification. A 2023 Belgian case in which a man died after weeks of conversation with Chai’s default bot led to an investigation and to the crisis-intervention features.
Who it is for
Phone users who want quick, varied roleplay and can live with ads or a monthly plan. Not for anyone who needs memory, a web version, or a reliable adult policy.
Research basis: desk research from the official site, help centre and public user reports, September 2026.
How to cancel Chai
Chai is sold only through the app stores.
iOS: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Chai → Cancel Subscription.
Android: Google Play → profile → Payments and subscriptions → Subscriptions → Chai → Cancel.
Access runs to the end of the billing period. Annual plans are billed up front and unused time is not refunded; refund requests go through Apple or Google. Support is hello@chai-research.com.