UPDATED OCTOBER 25, 2026
Apps Like Talkie (2026): 7 Talkie AI Alternatives
The best apps like Talkie in 2026 are SynClub for characters you can call with voices you choose, Character.AI for the biggest character library, Saylo for story worlds, Soulplay for group stories, Moescape for anime art, Sesame for natural voice calls, and Duple for companions you design with selfies on iPhone. Pick by what you used Talkie for, below. Prices (in USD) and age ratings come from each app’s store listing, checked October 25, 2026. This guide covers Talkie the AI character app from SUBSUP, not Talkie.ai the business phone tool.
What happened to Talkie
Talkie is still running, but on iPhone it now goes by Talkie Lab - AI Playground. The original app, from the Singapore-registered developer SUBSUP, vanished from Apple’s App Store in December 2024; Talkie blamed “technical reasons”, while it stayed on Google Play. At the time it was one of the biggest companion apps, with 11 million people using it each month in July 2024 (South China Morning Post). Talkie Lab was released on the App Store on February 11, 2025. Its listing now leads with AI models for text, images and voice, including a voice editor where you can generate or clone voices, alongside character chats (Talkie Lab listing). It is rated 18+, with subscriptions of $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, Talkie+ Pro at $24.99 a month, and gem packs. Read our Talkie profile.
Why people look for apps like Talkie
We pulled the 500 most recent App Store reviews of Talkie Lab on October 25, 2026, written between September 23 and October 23, 2026. 204 of them, about two in five, mention the “change your topic” filter. That one message drives more complaints than anything else (Talkie Lab reviews).
“Please change your topic.” One reviewer who likes the app says they “genuinely hate how it keeps saying ‘please change your topic’”. A paying subscriber says they verified their age but the restrictions did not change, and that the filter fired when they told a character how much they cared about a child. If the filter is your reason, Character.AI, Saylo and Moescape are the closest swaps for roleplay, though every app here moderates content.
“WAY too many ads.” 55 of the 500 reviews mention ads, including watching one to keep a conversation going. Sesame says it has no ads, and Duple and SynClub are free to start with paid plans.
“They deleted my character.” One reviewer says Talkie removed a private character they describe as completely safe for work, with no explanation of which rule it broke. If your own characters matter most, keep a copy of their descriptions, and look at Duple or Saylo, which are built around characters you design.
“Used to be good.” Another reviewer says prices went up after the move to the new app, extra memory costs more, and age checks use camera detection. A reviewer who wants to “upload a voice memo to use as the character voice” shows how much Talkie’s custom voices matter; SynClub has the most voice options here.
On Reddit, ads come up too. In an r/talkie thread about ad lengths, one fan wrote that they are “fine with most ads (which are 5-30s), but 80 seconds feels like too much for a single ad” (r/talkie). Another replied that a membership is one of the only ways to avoid them. In r/CharacterAI, people worried about Character.AI’s future keep suggesting Talkie, while asking how it compares for roleplay and character memory (r/CharacterAI).
Talkie alternatives compared
Talkie Lab itself is rated 18+, with subscriptions of $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, Talkie+ Pro at $24.99 a month and gem packs from $1.99 (App Store listing, checked October 25, 2026).
| App | Best for | Age rating | Free plan | Paid options (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SynClub | The closest swap: characters you can call, with voices you choose | 16+ | Free to download; subscription and coins | Weekly $7.99; Monthly $9.99 or $12.99; Quarterly $19.99; coin packs $0.99 to $19.99 |
| Character.AI | The biggest character library, with voice calls | 18+ | Free to chat; optional subscription | c.ai+ $9.99/mo or $94.99/yr; Character.AI Lite $4.99 |
| Saylo | Story worlds that turn into comics and videos | 18+ | Free with ads; subscriptions and top-ups | Plus $9.99/mo; Plus 1-Month Pass $14.99; Pro $19.99/mo; Quarterly $24.99; ad removal $2.99 |
| Soulplay | Group stories with several characters at once | 18+ | Free; chat with gems earned by watching ads | Soulplay Pro $9.99; gem packs $0.99 to $19.99 |
| Moescape | Anime characters plus AI art and video | 16+ | Free to download; Mochi currency and plans | Plus $9.99/mo; Pro $16.99/mo; Premium $32.99/mo; Platinum $44.99/mo; Plus Annual $89.99 |
| Sesame | Natural voice conversations, free | 18+ | Free; no in-app purchases listed | None listed |
| Duple | Companions you design yourself, with selfies, on iPhone | 16+ | Duple Lite free by default | Duple Plus $6.99/wk · $14.99/mo · $69.99/yr; Dokens packs from $1.99 |
Characters, voice, images and group stories
Talkie offers a character library, voice chats with custom voices, image generation and story worlds. Here is what each alternative advertises. “Not listed” means the App Store listing does not mention it, not that the feature is missing.
| App | Characters | Voice | Images and video | Group stories | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SynClub | Thousands, community-made | Voice calls; 1,000+ voices to choose | Not listed | Not listed | iPhone, Android |
| Character.AI | Very large library | Voice conversations and calls | Not listed | Not listed | iPhone, Android, Web |
| Saylo | Library plus your own | Voice you set for your characters | Visual Stories, comics, plot videos | Party Mode | iPhone, Android |
| Soulplay | Hundreds, plus community | Not listed | Not listed | Group chats | iPhone, Android |
| Moescape | Community library plus your own | Not listed | Anime images and videos | Not listed | iPhone, Android, Web |
| Sesame | Four set characters | Voice-first calls | No | No | iPhone, Android |
| Duple | Companions you design | No (text only) | Selfies, photos, outfits | Several companions | iPhone |
SynClub
SynClub is the nearest thing to Talkie in one app. Its App Store listing describes thousands of community-made AI characters you can text or voice-call, story chats you steer with every message, and a creator where you set a character’s look, personality and voice. Voice is its strength: you pick from more than 1,000 Japanese anime-style voices, including gentle tones and regional dialects.
Watch out: You choose a voice from its list rather than cloning one from a sound clip, as Talkie Lab’s voice editor offers. Its characters are mostly anime-style.
Store listing: rated 16+ · Weekly $7.99; Monthly $9.99 or $12.99; Quarterly $19.99; coin packs $0.99 to $19.99. Sources: App Store listing · official site (checked October 25, 2026).
Character.AI
Character.AI is where most people who leave Talkie look first. You browse a very large library of characters and stories or build your own, then chat, roleplay or take part in an interactive story, and voice conversations and calls are part of the app.
Watch out: Character.AI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 12, 2026 and is being sold. The app is still running, but its future depends on the sale (our update). Recent reviewers also complain about ads and age checks.
Store listing: rated 18+ · c.ai+ $9.99/mo or $94.99/yr; Character.AI Lite $4.99. Sources: App Store listing · our update (checked October 25, 2026).
Saylo
Saylo suits people who liked Talkie’s story worlds more than its one-to-one chats. You design characters down to their look, voice and personality, steer a story with each choice, and Saylo keeps track of key characters, events and items so a plot can continue. Finished plots can become Visual Stories, comics or plot videos, and Party Mode lets several people play one story.
Watch out: It is free with ads, like Talkie, and the best features sit behind paid plans and top-ups.
Store listing: rated 18+ · Plus $9.99/mo; Plus 1-Month Pass $14.99; Pro $19.99/mo; Quarterly $24.99; ad removal $2.99. Sources: App Store listing · official site (checked October 25, 2026).
Soulplay
Soulplay, from Studio Dopa, gives you hundreds of characters and story settings, a creator for your own, personas so a character knows who you are playing, and group chats with several characters in one story. Other people’s characters sit in a shared community library, much like Talkie’s.
Watch out: Chatting runs on gems, which you earn by watching ads or buy, so it is not a fix if Talkie’s ads are why you are leaving. Its listing does not mention voice.
Store listing: rated 18+ · Soulplay Pro $9.99; gem packs $0.99 to $19.99. Sources: App Store listing · official site (checked October 25, 2026).
Moescape
Moescape is for people who liked making images in Talkie as much as chatting. You chat with community-made anime characters or create your own characters and worlds, pick between several AI models for the writing, and use its anime-style image and video generator. Reviewers say lorebooks let you attach world or character lore so you do not have to explain the setting every time.
Watch out: Chats and art both use Mochi, its in-app currency, and the top plans are expensive. Its listing does not mention voice.
Store listing: rated 16+ · Plus $9.99/mo; Pro $16.99/mo; Premium $32.99/mo; Platinum $44.99/mo; Plus Annual $89.99. Sources: App Store listing · official site (checked October 25, 2026).
Sesame
If voice is what you loved about Talkie, Sesame is worth trying. It is built around calls: you pick one of four set characters, Maya, Miles, Simone or Charlie, and talk. Sesame says its agents know when to respond, when to listen and when to stay quiet, and memory carries across voice calls and text chats.
Watch out: There is no character library and you cannot create characters, so it replaces Talkie’s voice chats, not its roleplay.
Store listing: rated 18+ · None listed. Sources: App Store listing · official site (checked October 25, 2026).
Duple
Duple is for people who spent their Talkie time with one or two characters they made themselves. You create each companion, choosing their background, appearance and style, and they remember your conversations and send generated selfies and photos, with outfits you can change. You can have several: its pricing page says Duple Lite includes up to 2 companions and Duple Plus raises that to 10, 15 or 30 depending on the billing interval.
Watch out: Duple is text chat only, with no live voice, and it is iPhone-only. There is no public character library to browse.
Store listing: rated 16+ · Duple Plus $6.99/wk · $14.99/mo · $69.99/yr; Dokens packs from $1.99. Sources: App Store listing · official site · Duple pricing (checked October 25, 2026).
PolyBuzz, Chai and web-only sites
PolyBuzz comes up often in Talkie reviews; one long-time reviewer says they moved to it because it showed fewer ads. It is no longer on Apple’s App Store, but still works on Android and the web (our update, PolyBuzz alternatives). Chai is another character-chat app; its iPhone app has also been off the App Store since October 22, 2026, while Android still works (our CHAI update). Web-only character sites are not covered here because this guide compares apps.
Before you start: a short safety checklist
Character apps are software run by companies, and your chats are stored on their servers. Read the privacy policy, look for export and delete options, and set a monthly budget before you buy gems, coins, Mochi or Dokens. Talkie’s own history shows that apps can disappear from a store or lose your characters, so keep copies of anything you have written. If you are struggling, talk to someone you trust or a local support line.
How we built this list
We read the 500 most recent App Store reviews of Talkie Lab to find why people leave, then chose seven apps that each answer one of those reasons or match a Talkie feature: the character library, voice, images or story worlds. The list is grouped by what you want, not ranked by quality. Features are what each publisher advertises, not hands-on test results. Prices (in USD) and age ratings were copied from each app’s store listing on October 25, 2026 and change often. Reddit blocks our research tools, so no Reddit posts are quoted. Adult-only services are excluded. Read our methodology. Also see our Character.AI alternatives, PolyBuzz alternatives and best AI roleplay apps guides.
Apps like Talkie: common questions
What is the best app like Talkie?
It depends on what you used Talkie for. For characters you can call with voices you choose, try SynClub. For the biggest character library, try Character.AI, keeping its bankruptcy sale in mind. For story worlds, try Saylo; for group stories, Soulplay; for anime art, Moescape; for natural voice calls, Sesame; and for companions you design with selfies on iPhone, Duple.
Is Talkie still on the App Store?
Yes, as Talkie Lab - AI Playground. The original Talkie app disappeared from Apple’s App Store in December 2024, which Talkie put down to “technical reasons” (South China Morning Post). Talkie Lab, from the same developer, SUBSUP, was released on February 11, 2025. On Android it is still called Talkie: Creative AI Community.
Why does Talkie keep saying “please change your topic”?
It is Talkie’s content filter. In the 500 most recent App Store reviews of Talkie Lab we pulled on October 25, 2026, 204 mention the “change your topic” message, often on messages the reviewer says were harmless. Some say they verified their age and still hit it. Talkie does not publish what triggers it.
Is there a Talkie alternative without ads?
Sesame lists no in-app purchases and says it has no ads. Character.AI, SynClub, Moescape and Duple are free to start with paid plans. Saylo is free with ads and sells ad removal, and Soulplay asks you to watch ads to earn gems.
Which Talkie alternative has the best voice?
SynClub is closest to Talkie, with voice calls and more than 1,000 voices for the characters you make. Sesame is built entirely around natural voice conversations, but only with its four characters. Character.AI also has voice calls. Kindroid offers live voice calls with a character you build in depth (Kindroid profile). Duple has no voice.
Is this the same as Talkie.ai?
No. Talkie.ai is a separate company that makes AI phone agents for businesses. This guide is about Talkie, the AI character app from SUBSUP, now called Talkie Lab on iPhone.
Can I move my Talkie characters to another app?
No. Talkie’s characters and chats stay in Talkie. If you made your own characters, copy their names, descriptions, greetings and personality notes into a document before you switch, then paste them into the new app’s character creator.
Want characters that are yours alone?
Duple is free to start on iPhone. Design your companions, then chat and get selfies.