AI chatbots and companions tools

Chatbots built around a character rather than an assistant: roleplay, companions, and the apps that sell a persona instead of a task.

Character.AI is free with ads. c.ai lite costs $4.99 a month and c.ai+ $9.99, and unlimited messaging stays on every tier.

DeepSeek chat is free with an account. The API bills per token from $0.003 per million.

Grok is the assistant built by xAI, sold inside an X subscription.

Perplexity answers questions with cited sources. Free, Pro at $17 and Max at $167.

What to check before buying in this group

Memory, not message count. Every tier in this group tends to include unlimited messaging, so the paid plan buys longer memory and cleaner models, not more conversations.
The filter is not for sale. No plan on this market removes the content rules, so read the policy before paying and not after.
The billing period hides the price. A weekly rate is not a monthly rate divided by four, and a yearly rate printed next to a monthly one is the cheaper of the two.
Teen accounts are separate. Where the company runs a distinct model for users under 18, the adult experience described on the pricing page is not the one a minor gets.