CrushOn AI vs Candy AI: One Sells Words, the Other Sells Pictures

These two get compared constantly, and the comparison usually goes nowhere because people treat them as the same product. They are not. CrushOn AI is a roleplay library: thousands of user-made characters, long text chats, a filter you can switch off. Candy.ai is closer to a companion product: one character you shape yourself, with photorealistic images, voice and video attached.

We rate CrushOn AI 8.8 out of 10. We rate Candy.ai 9.8 out of 10, with images at 10 and memory at 7.2. Those two category scores tell most of the story before you read another word.

The short version

If you want to write, pick CrushOn. If you want to look at something, pick Candy. Everything else — memory, price, privacy — is a tiebreaker.

Category	CrushOn AI	Candy AI	Edge
Main focus	Character text roleplay and storytelling	One companion with images, video, voice	Depends on needs
Characters	Large user-created library	Smaller catalog plus detailed builder	CrushOn AI
Images	Text-first; only creator-added images	Photorealistic, consistent faces	Candy AI
Memory	8K free; 16K to 24K paid	Memory slots; resets reported after 48 to 72 hours	CrushOn AI (slightly)
Free tier	Unlimited free models + 100 credits a month	5 messages, 1 character, 1 image in total	CrushOn AI
Price	From $5.99 a month	$13.99/mo, or $3.99/mo yearly	Tie
Privacy	Mozilla warning (2024), weak policy	GDPR company in Malta; chats may train models	Candy AI

Two different concepts wearing similar clothes

CrushOn launched in 2023, right as Character AI tightened its filter and pushed a chunk of its roleplay crowd out the door. The product reflects that origin: a browsing library of characters, each with a backstory, personality notes, likes and a public chat count. You drop into someone else's world or build your own. The operator is named in the terms as TECHIEPIE LTD, registered in Cyprus.

Candy runs the other way. You get a smaller catalog, but the builder is where the work happens: ethnicity, age, body type, hair, personality, voice, hobbies. One guide claims more than 12 options per feature; we could not confirm that number, so treat it as a claim rather than a spec. Candy AI is run by EverAI Limited, a Maltese company.

Put simply: CrushOn is a bookstore, Candy is a portrait studio. If you have ever opened a companion app, made one character and never touched the catalog again, you are Candy's customer. If you get bored after three chats and want a new voice, CrushOn has the shelf space.

Character variety and builders

CrushOn's character count is a mess to pin down. Estimates float between thousands and millions, and there is no official number we could find. What matters more is the structure. Profiles carry backstory, personality notes, likes, and visible chat counts, so you can tell a used card from a dead one before you open it.

Customization is deep in the text direction. Creators set a greeting, a scenario, example dialogue, an avatar, scene cards and persona profile cards. That is a lot of scaffolding for a story. For someone who writes, it is the difference between a chatbot and a co-writer.

Candy's builder is narrower but more visual. You are shaping a face and a voice as much as a personality, and the consistency holds: the same character comes back with the same face across requests. That is harder than it sounds and it is the main reason people pay Candy instead of a text-only tool.

One pricing note from comparison sites: each custom Candy character reportedly costs 10 tokens. We have not confirmed that on the pricing page, so check before you build a roster.

NSFW policy and filters

Both platforms are adults-only and both ban content involving minors. That part is not negotiable on either side. The difference is how you get to adult content.

CrushOn uses a filtered mode that blocks sexual content, plus an Unfiltered switch that opens adult text roleplay. There is also a Hidden Content tier that requires two days of check-ins and 50 spent credits, per CrushOn's official wiki. Some Trustpilot reviewers mention a small card charge for age verification in certain regions. CrushOn's own blog claims no artificial moral filters; that is marketing, not policy. Community guidelines and human moderators still apply.

Candy subscribers get adult content with fictional adult characters, but free users cannot touch 18+ media at all. The automated filter can also flag messages mid-chat, which is the usual annoyance with automated moderation.

On both platforms: skip your real name, your job and anything that identifies you. Moderators can review messages.

Memory and conversation quality

CrushOn publishes its context numbers: 8K on the free tier, 16K on Standard, Premium and Luxe, 24K on Elite and Imperial. Reviews split on what that feels like in practice. Some say the bot recalls details from days earlier. Others see drift after 80 to 100 messages. When replies get repetitive, switching models usually lifts quality — that is the standard fix.

Candy Premium Plus includes 20 memory slots, and resetting a chat wipes that conversation's memory with it. Testers report storylines resetting within 48 to 72 hours, and long chats turning repetitive. If continuity is the thing you care about most, this is Candy's weak spot and our memory score reflects it.

Neither platform is a memory specialist. If that is your priority, read our Secrets AI review — it is built around memory and priced accordingly — or our OurDream AI vs Secrets AI comparison for the media-versus-memory trade-off.

Media: images, voice, video, group chat

Candy wins this section without a fight. Images are photorealistic with consistent faces across requests, and each picture costs about 4 tokens as of September 2026. On top of that you get voice notes, beta voice calls, in-chat images, image-to-video and Live Action video on selected characters.

CrushOn is text-first. Visuals sit at 4 out of 10, and images appear only when a creator built them in. You do get read-aloud replies, voice messages and custom voice cloning, but no video. Group chat works on any paid plan; we have no confirmed data on Candy group chat.

If you are paying for pictures, read our full Candy.ai review before you subscribe — the token math matters more than the sticker price.

Pricing and free tiers

This is where the plans look similar on paper and diverge on the bill.

Plan	CrushOn AI	Candy AI
Free tier	Unlimited free models, 100 credits/month, 8K memory	5 messages total, 1 character, 1 image
Entry price	Standard $5.99/mo ($4.90/mo yearly)	Premium $13.99/mo
Best yearly deal	Premium $7.90/mo ($94.88/yr)	Premium $3.99/mo ($47.88/yr)
Higher paid tiers	Premium $14.99, Luxe $39.99, Elite $89.99, Imperial $199.99	Premium Plus (330 tokens, price at checkout)
Extra costs	Credits for Pro and Ultra models; Chat Package $39.99/mo	Tokens for images, voice, video; 100 included monthly

The free tiers are not comparable. CrushOn gives you unlimited messages on its free models plus 100 credits a month. Candy gives you five messages, one character and one image, in total. Some comparison sites claim Candy has a free trial; our data shows only that five-message tier, so treat trial claims as demos.

On price, it is closer to a tie than the sticker suggests. Candy's yearly plan at $3.99 a month is the cheapest entry of the two. But Candy's monthly $13.99 is a floor, not a ceiling: tokens cover images, voice and video, 100 are included monthly, and media-heavy users report paying $25 to $80 a month. CrushOn's Standard plan is cheaper at $5.99, but Pro and Ultra models run on credits, and the Chat Package adds $39.99 a month if you want it.

For a pure text user, CrushOn is the cheaper habit. For someone generating images daily, Candy's real cost lands somewhere north of the subscription line. Our Joi AI vs Candy AI breakdown covers a cheaper monthly alternative if the $14 entry price is the sticking point.

Privacy, safety and apps

Candy has the cleaner story here. It is a GDPR-covered Maltese company, data is protected in transit, and there is no end-to-end encryption. De-identified conversations may train models, and account data is kept up to three years after your last activity. Refunds are tight: a 24-hour window, 20 tokens at most. There is no native app; you use the browser or an installable web app.

CrushOn picked up a Mozilla Privacy Not Included warning in 2024. Its policy says chats may train models, some data feeds marketing, and moderators can review messages. The other caveats are billing and download ones: auto-renewal, non-refundable fees, and copycat apps that imitate the real thing. Get it from the official site.

Neither platform is private in the sense most people mean. Both read your messages in some form. Plan accordingly.

Who should choose which

• Pick CrushOn AI if you write long scenes, want a big library of characters, and would rather spend $5.99 than $13.99. The free tier is generous enough to test the models before paying.
• Pick Candy.ai if the visual side is the point: consistent faces, voice, video, one companion you built yourself. Budget above the subscription price for tokens.
• Skip both if memory continuity is your main requirement, or if a Mozilla privacy warning is a dealbreaker on CrushOn and token bills are a dealbreaker on Candy.

Alternatives worth a look

If memory is the gap, Secrets AI is the obvious first stop. If you want unlimited roleplay with cheap images and can live with fine print, OurDream AI is the other option — our OurDream AI review covers where it gets expensive. For a wider shortlist by use case, see our best AI companion app picks. And if Candy's entry price is what stopped you, the Muah AI vs Candy AI comparison runs the same math.

Bottom line

CrushOn AI is the better tool for words. Candy AI is the better tool for pictures. If you are unsure, start on CrushOn's free plan, since Candy's five-message free tier tells you almost nothing. If you go Candy, treat $13.99 as the floor and watch the token meter.