Nomi vs Candy AI (2026): Memory, Price and Privacy

How we compared

We compared Nomi and Candy AI on the nine companion dimensions from our full companion ranking, plus price, free tier and platforms. The table above lists every fact side by side. Facts come from each company’s own pricing pages, policies, help articles and app listings. Trustpilot figures are third-party and marked as such. Where a company does not publish a fact, we write “Not stated”.

The nine dimensions are customization, memory, photos and voice and calls, content rules, credits and tokens, privacy and training, age verification, cancellation and refunds, and user reports. Memory and media weigh most, because they decide whether a companion still feels like the same person after weeks of chat. Written content rules come next, then real cost, then privacy.

Nomi is second in our ranking. Candy AI is sixth. Both are cheaper than our top pick, Kindroid, which makes this a common choice for budget buyers. Candy AI wins on yearly price and on its builder. Nomi wins on memory, privacy, apps and a free start. Our methodology page explains the full process. Facts were last checked on 25 October 2026.

How do Nomi and Candy AI compare on each dimension?

Nomi leads on memory, media, privacy, age checks and the public record. Candy AI leads on its builder, written rules, a refund window and the yearly price. Each section below starts with the short answer.

Customization: which one lets you set more?

Candy AI. Its builder covers more of the look in one flow.

Candy AI lets you set ethnicity, age range, eyes, hair, body, personality, voice and hobbies. It is the most detailed builder in our companion ranking, and it suits users who want to design a character before the first message.

Nomi works through writing. You write a backstory and preferences, and you set the look through its image system. This gives you freedom in the personality, but less structure for the appearance. Nomi’s published facts do not mention a voice picker or custom voices.

Edge: Candy AI.

Memory: which one still knows you next week?

Nomi, clearly. Memory is Nomi’s strongest point and one of Candy AI’s weakest.

Nomi has short, medium and long-term memory. Its Mind Map view shows what the companion has learned about you, so you can see and check its memory. Third-party Trustpilot reviews of Nomi praise its memory. Our Kindroid vs Nomi comparison found Nomi’s memory close to Kindroid’s, the best-documented on the desk.

Candy AI says it remembers your preferences. Premium Plus adds 20 memory slots. Its help article says memory ties to the active chat, so a new chat does not inherit what an older one learned. The total memory length is Not stated.

Edge: Nomi.

Photos, voice and calls: what can each one send?

The two are close. Nomi’s calls are out of beta, and it adds AI video and image art.

Nomi offers selfies, image art, AI video, voice messages and hands-free voice calls. It also supports group chats. NSFW selfies may fail, which is a weak point for an adult companion.

Candy AI offers images, voice messages, voice calls (still in beta) and short videos made from generated images. Images are what the app is built around, and its builder feeds directly into them.

If photos matter most, Candy AI is built for that. If voice calls matter most, Nomi’s hands-free calls are the more finished feature.

Edge: Nomi, narrowly, for calls that are out of beta.

Content rules: which one writes down what adults can do?

Candy AI. Its rules are in its own policies. Nomi’s adult content appears only in an App Store listing.

Candy AI’s subscriptions page lists 18+ images and videos on every Premium plan. Its blocked content policy bans CSAM, minor-like content, deepfakes, celebrity impersonation and illegal content. Its underage policy is a separate page.

Nomi’s App Store listing rates the app 18+ and lists sexual content or nudity with in-app controls. Nomi’s terms of service do not set adult-content rules. They ban planning harm to others. Third-party Trustpilot reviews of Nomi include complaints about filters.

If you want the rules in the company’s own documents, Candy AI has them and Nomi does not.

Edge: Candy AI.

Credits and tokens: what costs extra?

Candy AI states that chat is unlimited for subscribers. Nomi uses daily limits, with credits for more.

Candy AI includes unlimited chat. It gives 100 tokens a month, or 330 on Premium Plus, for images, videos, voice messages, calls and custom AIs. One small pool covers every kind of media, so heavy media users run out first.

Nomi sells Nomi Credits, from 40 credits for $4.99. Credits pay for videos and for requests after the daily limits run out. The size of those daily limits is Not stated in the sources we used.

Candy AI’s model is easier to plan for. You know chat is unlimited and you know the token number. Nomi’s daily limits are not published, so you learn them in use.

Edge: Candy AI, for unlimited chat in writing.

Privacy and training: what happens to your chats?

Nomi. Neither rules out training, but Candy AI says yes in writing and keeps data far longer.

Candy AI’s privacy notice says chats may be de-identified and used to train AI models. Account data is kept for up to 3 years after your last activity.

Nomi’s privacy policy refers to training archives, so whether chats train models is unclear. Personal data is removed about 28 days after account deletion.

The deletion gap is large. About 28 days after you delete a Nomi account, against up to 3 years after last activity at Candy AI.

Edge: Nomi.

Age verification: how does each check that you are an adult?

Both rely mostly on self-declaration. Nomi has one more control.

Nomi is 18+ and takes the age given at sign-up. Its App Store listing shows an Age Assurance control, and Nomi says it may add more checks.

Candy AI uses self-declaration of 18+ at entry. It says it may add more checks where local law requires them.

Neither app checks as firmly as Kindroid, which uses payment on file or a Yoti selfie or ID. Our age verification brief compares methods across the desk.

Edge: Nomi, narrowly, for the App Store Age Assurance control.

Cancellation and refunds: what happens when you stop?

Candy AI has a written refund window. Nomi refunds only at its own discretion.

Candy AI keeps your access until the end of the paid period. It gives a refund only when you ask within 24 hours, paid by card, and used 20 tokens or fewer. Users in the EU and UK keep a 14-day right of withdrawal.

Nomi’s plans auto-renew. Benefits last to the end of the period. Payments are non-refundable, and refunds happen only at Nomi’s discretion. Third-party Trustpilot reviews of Nomi include complaints about refunds.

Nomi offsets this with a free start. You can chat without a card, so you can judge it before you pay. With Candy AI’s 5 free messages, the 24-hour refund window is your real trial.

Edge: Candy AI, for the written refund rule.

User reports: what do paying users say?

Nomi has a public record. Candy AI has none we could find.

Nomi has 2.3 out of 5 from 42 reviews on Trustpilot. Reviewers praise its memory and complain about refunds and filters. These figures are third-party.

For Candy AI we found no public reviews. Its Trustpilot profile was removed for a guideline breach, according to Trustpilot.

Edge: Nomi.

How much do Nomi and Candy AI cost?

Candy AI is cheaper on yearly billing. Nomi’s Launch plan is cheaper on monthly billing after the first month. Nomi’s Standard plan costs more than either.

Plan	Nomi (App Store)	Candy AI
Monthly	$9.99 (Launch) or $15.99 (Standard)	$9.99 first month, then $13.99
Three months	$39.99 (Standard)	$26.97
Yearly	$59.99 (Launch) or $99.99 (Standard)	$47.88 ($3.99 a month)
Extras	Credits from 40 for $4.99	Monthly token grant; Premium Plus 330 tokens
Free tier	Free chat, no card required	5 messages, 1 custom character, 1 image

Worked from these prices, Candy AI’s yearly plan costs $12.11 less than Nomi’s Launch yearly plan and $52.11 less than Nomi Standard yearly. On monthly billing, the first year of Candy AI costs $163.88 ($9.99 plus eleven months at $13.99). A year of Nomi Launch costs $119.88, which is $44 less. A year of Nomi Standard on monthly billing costs $191.88.

So the cheaper app depends on how you pay. If you commit for a year, Candy AI saves about $12 against Nomi Launch. If you pay month to month, Nomi Launch saves $4 a month after the first month.

Both apps charge extra for heavy media use, so budget for Nomi credits or Candy AI’s Premium Plus if you want many videos or calls. Our AI girlfriend app cost report puts these prices next to the rest of the desk.

What does the free tier give?

Nomi’s free tier gives more. You get free chat, and no card is required. That is enough to judge its memory and personality before you pay.

Candy AI’s free tier gives 5 messages, 1 custom character and 1 image. That is enough to try the builder, not the chat.

Which platforms do they support?

Nomi runs on the web, iOS and Android, and it has an API. Candy AI is a web platform, and we list no native iOS or Android app for it. If you want a native phone app, Nomi is the only choice of the two.

Where does each one win?

Candy AI wins on the builder, written rules, unlimited chat in writing, the refund window and yearly price. Nomi wins on memory, calls and media, privacy, age checks, apps, the free tier and the public record.

Where Candy AI wins

• Yearly price. $47.88 against $59.99 for Nomi Launch.
• Builder. Ethnicity, age range, eyes, hair, body, personality, voice and hobbies in one flow.
• Written rules. Adult images listed on Premium Plus, bans in its own blocked content policy.
• Refund window. 24 hours for card payments with 20 tokens or fewer used, plus 14 days in the EU and UK.

Where Nomi wins

• Memory. Short, medium and long-term memory with a Mind Map. Candy AI ties memory to the active chat.
• Privacy. Data removed about 28 days after account deletion. Candy AI keeps account data up to 3 years and says chats may train models.
• Apps. Web, iOS, Android and an API.
• Free start. Free chat with no card, against 5 free messages.
• Monthly price. $9.99 every month on Launch.
• User reports. 2.3 out of 5 from 42 reviews, against no public record for Candy AI.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Nomi if you want a companion that remembers you and lets you see what it remembers. It also has native apps, a free start with no card and a much shorter data retention period. It is our pick, and it sits second in our companion ranking. Keep in mind that its adult rules appear only in its App Store listing and that refunds are at its discretion. See the Nomi profile.

Choose Candy AI if you will pay for a year up front, care most about designing a character’s look and want images. At $3.99 a month on yearly billing, it is the cheaper commitment. Accept the trade-offs first: chats may train models, data is kept for up to 3 years, age is self-declared and memory ties to the active chat.

If you can pay more for the strongest memory and live video calls, see our Candy AI vs Kindroid comparison. For more options, see our Candy AI alternatives report.