Joi AI vs Candy AI: free start or the yearly deal?

Where they split is the free start. Candy AI gives very little away: a free-tier check on 2026-09-22 showed 3-5 messages and 3-5 images on a free account, with no video, and adult content is paid-only. Joi AI is more relaxed about it.

No free chat message cap could be found, the free account shows 10 Neurons, and you get 6 lifetime image generations plus free character creation to start. Adult content is allowed on every plan, not just Premium.

So if you judge only by the free plan, Joi AI wins, and it is not close. I like that about it. A free start that lets you actually talk to a character for a while is the fairest way to find out if an app suits you.

Candy AI fights back once you are willing to pay. Its 12-month plan is running at 70% off, which brings it to €3.99 a month, billed as €47.88 for the year. Voice calls are included on Candy AI, while Joi AI keeps voice calls on the paid side. And the billing line on your statement reads EverAI, which I find more discreet than joi.com.

My take: start with Joi AI if you want to explore for free, and choose Candy AI if you already know you want a voice companion for the long run. The two apps side by side, right below, sum up the features. For the full picture of the free account and Premium, see my Joi AI review with its Neurons explained.

On Joi AI, other reviewers report that free chat feels stiff and forgetful, while paid chat is warmer and holds context across a session. My read: for long stories neither is a memory specialist, and on Joi AI the upgrade seems to matter more than on Candy AI.

I'd call this round even, with a slight nod to Joi AI for letting you build a character before paying anything.

Joi AI's image generator is called capable but inconsistent, and a failed attempt still spends Neurons. Joi AI's live video calls are described as low-latency when they work. On content, Joi AI allows adult content on every plan, while Candy AI keeps it for paying members. If that matters to you, it is the single biggest difference on this page.

More detail on Candy AI's side is in my Candy AI review, from free account to yearly plan.

When the free tier was checked on 2026-09-22, it offered between 3 and 5 messages and about as many images, with no video, and adult content stays locked until you pay.

Once you pay, the picture changes. For €13.99, the 1-Month Plan brings text messages with no cap, custom companions, image and video generation, plus 100 tokens each month. The 3-Month Plan costs €26.97, so €8.99 monthly.

Right now the 12-month plan is the best value: 70% off makes it €3.99 a month, or €47.88 for the whole year (verified on 2026-09-23). If voice companions are already your thing, that yearly deal is the plan I would pick, and I don't say that about many annual plans.

The catch is the image error rate reported above and the short memory window, so I would not buy Candy AI mainly for long, detailed stories. The refund rule is also tight: outside the EU and UK, you have 24 hours after payment to ask for a refund, and nothing after that. That is fair only if you decide quickly, so test the plan hard in the first day.

Try a voice call, generate a few images and see whether the character holds up before the window closes.

Cancelling is simple and published: Settings, then Unsubscribe, inside your account. If you want to see Candy AI against other apps as well, my full list of app comparisons has several more.

• Starting free: Free tier
• Lowest price: €3.99 monthly (12-Month Plan)
• Allowed: mature chat, paid plans
• Runs on: web

A free video option is advertised as well. My advice: those 6 images are for life, not monthly, so spend them on a character you already like.

The honest caveat is quality on the free plan. Free chat is described as poor, while Premium is said to make chat genuinely fun and flirty. That gap tells me Joi AI treats its free plan as a showroom, which is fine, as long as you judge the app by Premium and not by the first evening.

Memory, voice calls and video all sit on the record too, with voice calls on the paid side.

Premium Monthly is $13.99 and includes better chat models, improved memory, one free custom-character creation, about 50 image generations a month and about 5 videos. New accounts can use the code HELLO50 for 50% off, verified on 2026-09-22. That discount is the smart way into a first paid month.

The money rules are strict. Once a subscription is active, the money generally stays paid: Premium opens in full the moment you pay, and no part of a period gets refunded. To cancel, go to My Subscriptions in your account. A renewal left unpaid 7 days past its due date drops the account to Basic.

If you want to know where these facts come from, my page on how the facts on each app are gathered walks through the sources.

• Starting free: Free tier
• Lowest price: $13.99 monthly (Premium - Monthly)
• Allowed: mature chat permitted
• Runs on: web

For a light reader who wants to try things out, Joi AI costs nothing for longer. There is no free chat cap on record, and its policy permits adult content without paying. Candy AI's free account runs out after a handful of messages, so a light reader there is really just sampling before a decision.

For a regular reader who pays month to month, the two are level on the number: €13.99 for Candy AI and $13.99 for Joi AI. Joi AI's HELLO50 code takes 50% off for new accounts, which makes the first paid month the cheaper one to try. After that, the currency and your bank's exchange rate decide which is cheaper for you.

For anyone ready to commit, Candy AI pulls well ahead. The 12-month plan at €47.88 comes to €3.99 a month with the current 70% discount, and even the 3-Month Plan, €26.97, lands at €8.99 monthly. Joi AI has no yearly plan on record, so it has no answer to that.

My advice: if you're sure you'd like a long-term companion with voice, the Candy AI yearly plan is the cheapest serious option on this page.

One warning on both sides: tokens and Neurons pay for extras, so images and video can push the real cost above the plan price. Candy AI's plan includes 100 tokens a month, so budget around that. If pictures are your main interest, my Candy AI vs OurDream AI comparison for image fans weighs the coin costs.

With Candy AI, the catch is the free plan and the refund window. You get only a few messages to judge it, adult content stays locked until you pay, and outside the EU and UK you get 24 hours to ask for a refund. That combination means you are paying partly on faith. The yearly deal softens it, since the risk is €47.88 for a whole year.

With Joi AI, the catch is that the free plan undersells the app, and that failed images still cost Neurons. You may walk away from a stiff free chat that Premium would have fixed. Refunds are generally off the table once Premium is active.

If I had to pick which catch I'd rather live with, it would be Joi AI's. A weak free plan costs you an evening; a short refund window can cost you money. Both apps are still worth a look, and your priorities, voice or a free start, should decide it.

• Want to look around first: open Joi AI, since the free plan has no chat cap on record.
• Want voice calls: Candy AI, where calls are part of the plan.
• Want the lowest price for a year: Candy AI, which the current deal brings to €3.99 monthly.
• Want a discreet card statement: Candy AI, which shows up as EverAI.
• Want your first paid month cheap: Joi AI with the HELLO50 code, which takes 50% off for new accounts.
• Want pictures with a steady look: Candy AI, whose images are reported as highly realistic and consistent.

I'd also tell that friend not to judge Joi AI by its free chat alone, because the free plan is described as much weaker than Premium. And I'd tell them to decide on Candy AI within the first day of paying, because of the 24-hour refund window outside the EU and UK.

If neither feels quite right and memory is what you care about most, look at the pairing I would check next. My Candy AI vs Nomi AI comparison for long memory sets Candy AI against Nomi AI, where memory is the headline feature.