Companion CompassHow we rate companion apps
Who writes these pages
The Companion Compass editorial team writes and maintains this Canadian edition, which compares AI companion and adult chat apps for readers in Canada. We work from what each provider publishes: pricing pages, terms of service, privacy policies, help-centre articles and app-store listings. Every figure on a review or comparison page shows the date we checked it, and each page shows when it was last updated. This page explains how we calculate ratings and how the site is funded.
Facts first, tests later
Scores come from each app's published terms, pricing, policies and store listings on the dates shown. We have not yet run paid test accounts, so no rating on this site reflects our own experience of memory, conversation quality or image output.
For that reason, every total is capped at 4.5 out of 5, and the cap stays until we add hands-on criteria. The same scale applies everywhere: the rating an app gets in its review is the figure shown for it in every hub and comparison table.
The eight criteria and their weights
- Pricing transparency: 15%
- Free tier: 15%
- Privacy: 15%
- Reputation: 15%
- Cancellation and refunds: 10%
- Content rules: 10%
- Age check: 10%
- Platforms and language: 10%
We score each criterion from 1 to 5. If there is no published fact for a criterion, we leave it out instead of guessing and rescale the weights of the others. The total is then still a weighted mean of whatever we could score.
Pricing, free tier and cancellation
Pricing transparency starts at 2. An app gets a point for each of these:
- published plans in a confirmed currency
- naming the descriptor that appears on a card statement
- documenting what each token or credit action costs, or not using tokens at all
It loses a point if the introductory price differs from the renewal price, and another if it publishes no plans.
We score the free tier by what it allows:
- 5: unlimited free text, or at least 50 messages a day
- 4: at least 20 messages a day
- 3: a smaller daily allowance, or a free trial of three days or more
- 2: a one-off total, or a free plan that needs a card
- 1: no free plan
For example, Nomi.ai publishes 50 free messages a day (checked 2026-10-28). Candy.ai's five free messages are a one-time preview, not a daily allowance (checked 2026-10-28).
Cancellation and refunds also starts at 2. An app gets a point each for documented cancellation steps, a statement about access after cancelling, and a published refund policy. It loses a point for auto-renewal with no documented reminder, or for a known renewal trap.
Content rules, privacy and age checks
Content rules starts at 2. An app gets one point for a public rules page and one if the rules explicitly prohibit minors and real-person likenesses. It gets another if adult content is opt-in through a toggle or sits behind a stated 18+ gate.
Privacy starts at 2 and stays between 1 and 5. We add points as follows:
- +1: a linked privacy policy
- +0.5: a policy dated within the last 18 months
- +1: a documented way to delete an account
- +0.5: a stated retention period
- +0.5: an operator based in the EU/EEA, UK, Switzerland or Canada
- +1: confirmed end-to-end encryption
If the policy allows chats to be used for model training, we subtract 1.
Age checks are scored by method:
- 5: document, biometric or third-party verification
- 3: email or account registration plus a stated 18+ policy and enforcement notes
- 2: self-declaration only
- 1: no check
Platforms, language and reputation
Platforms and language starts at 1. A web app, an iOS listing and an Android listing each add a point. If there is no store app, an installable web app adds 0.5. An interface in the site language adds one more, and for this Canadian edition English always counts.
Reputation uses the best public rating we can find on Trustpilot, the App Store or Google Play:
- 5: 4.3 or higher
- 4: 4.0 or higher
- 3: 3.5 or higher
- 2: 3.0 or higher
- 1: anything lower
We subtract 1 for a documented incident, such as a data breach or a removed review profile, and 1 for regulator action in the past 24 months. When we checked on 2026-10-28, the Trustpilot pages for Candy.ai and OurDream showed removal notices, so neither page shows a current Trustpilot score. Store ratings and review averages only feed this criterion. We never present them as our own score.
How complete the data is
Each total carries a coverage label:
- Full data: we could score all eight criteria.
- Provisional: we could score five to seven criteria from published facts. The 4.5 cap applies.
- Limited data: we could score only three or four criteria. These totals are capped at 3.5 and are a floor, not a verdict.
Apps with fewer than three scorable criteria get no total. Totals change when missing facts are documented.
Dates, currency and tax
Each fact carries the date we checked it, for example checked 2026-10-29. When we refresh a page, the updated date changes and we replace any figure that has moved.
We show prices in Canadian dollars only when the provider or the Canadian App Store lists them that way, such as Nomi's Standard yearly purchase at CA$129.99 (checked 2026-10-28). Prices published only in US dollars are labelled USD and not converted. A dollar sign with no stated currency is not treated as CAD. GST/HST treatment is unconfirmed unless stated, so check the final purchase details for your province.
We don't assume an app accepts a payment method common in Canada, such as Interac or PayPal, unless the app documents it.
What we never list
Some apps are left out of every hub, table and recommendation on this site. These include services whose features involve sexual imagery of real, identifiable people rather than fictional adult characters. Excluded apps get no rating, and if we mention one, it is only to say that it is not listed. We describe every listed product only in terms of fictional adult characters.
How we make money
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you subscribe through one, the provider may pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links never change a score.
The weights and rules above apply in the same way whether or not an app has a partner programme, and an app with no affiliate arrangement can rank first if its published facts are stronger. Character.AI, Replika and SpicyChat, for instance, have no affiliate relationship with us and are rated on the same criteria.
What changes after paid test accounts
When we start running paid test accounts, we will add three experience criteria: memory in practice, conversation quality and support response. We will then remove the 4.5 cap on facts-only totals, and pages based on those tests will show a tested date next to the checked dates. Until then, no page on this site describes a hands-on test.