HeyReal
#60 on the ranking
HeyReal is a small, anonymous character-chat site that gets its visitors by ranking for other brands' names, and a month with it found a competent engine inside a bad deal.
Read my full HeyReal analysis →AI girlfriend sites side by side · Both tested first-hand · Data through September 2026
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HeyReal vs Candy AI
I bought a membership on both and tested each for a month. What they offer, their measured numbers and what their users say, next to each other, with my verdict on each at the end.
The scoreboard
Candy AI leads on 3 of the 4 figures that decide most choices.
HeyReal
Candy AIRank on this site#60▲#5
Google US, “ai girlfriend”–#11
Search visits a month12.0K▲592K
Name searches a month, US70▲301K
In short
Candy AI is the bigger site; here is what separates them.
- Candy AI ranks #11 in United States Google results for "ai girlfriend"; HeyReal holds no tracked position for it, so it is placed by all-traffic rank instead (#5 against #60 on this site).
- Candy AI gets about 592,075 search visits a month worldwide against 11,977 for HeyReal, roughly 49 times as many (DataForSEO, September 2026).
- People search for Candy AI by name about 301,000 times a month in the US, against 70 for HeyReal.
- HeyReal has a free tier and paid plans from $12.99/mo; Candy AI has no free tier and starts at $13.99/mo.
What they offer
| What they offer |  HeyReal |  Candy AI |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ▲Yes | No |
| Entry paid plan | $12.99/mo | $13.99/mo |
| Adult content | Allowed on paid plans | Allowed on paid plans |
| Features |
|
|
| Best for | Users seeking emotionally engaging, text-based NSFW chats with realistic companions and strong character customization | Users wanting a widely recognized platform with expressive chat and flexible pricing who can tolerate slower response speeds |
| Not for | Those wanting NSFW images, voice features, or video calls; users preferring mobile apps or free trial access | Those who need real-time live calling or a strong free tier to evaluate before paying |
| Operator | Not disclosed on the site or in any source I read: the terms page returns a 404, the privacy policy is a generic template with no company name, and no video, post or directory names one | EverAI Limited |
| Pricing notes | A free plan now exists alongside the paid tiers. Paid monthly: $12.99, $49.99. Yearly: $46.88, $238.88. No crypto. Affiliate program available. | 1 Month: $13.99. 3 Months: ~$26.97 (~$8.99/mo). 12 Months: ~$47.88 (~$3.99/mo). Tokens (used for voice, images, and video) are included per tier with add-on packs available. Cryptocurrency payments accepted. |
My take
If you want to try before you pay, HeyReal lets you: Candy AI asks for a card first. A free tier is a sampler, not a plan, but it tells you whether the chat suits you before money moves. HeyReal is the cheaper way in at $12.99/mo against $13.99/mo for Candy AI. The entry price is only part of it: image, voice and video are often metered on top, so the pricing notes row matters as much as the headline.
The numbers
| The numbers | HeyReal | Candy AI |
|---|---|---|
| Rank on this siteOn the combined data gathered for every site | #60 | ▲#5 |
| Google US rank, “ai girlfriend”DataForSEO ranked keywords, September 2026 | – | #11 |
| Tranco rank, all domainsAll-traffic rank among the top million domains | #3,541,418 | ▲#12,246 |
| Chrome UX tierGoogle Chrome UX Report | – | Top 10,000 |
| Search visits a month, worldwideDataForSEO estimate | 11,977 | ▲592,075 |
| Search visits a month, US | 3,070 | ▲116,063 |
| Brand searches a month, USGoogle Ads data via DataForSEO | 70 | ▲301,000 |
| Domain RatingDomain Rating by Ahrefs, out of 100 | 31 | ▲76 |
| Referring domains | 1,084 | ▲4,683 |
| Backlinks | 4,427 | ▲127,630,165 |
| Domain registered | December 2023 | December 2017 |
| Public record I read | 3 videos, 1 Reddit threads, 0 articles | 17 videos, 8 Reddit threads, 10 articles |
The better value in each row is marked in green. Search visits and brand searches are DataForSEO estimates; Tranco and Chrome UX tiers are ranks, not visit counts.
My take
Start with the row this site ranks on. When someone types "ai girlfriend" into Google in the US, Candy AI is there at #11; HeyReal does not appear in the tracked positions at all. That is why Candy AI sits higher here even if it is the smaller site: it is the one the category sends newcomers to. On size, Candy AI is the busier site: 592,075 search visits a month worldwide, more than 50 times what HeyReal gets (11,977). These are estimates of visits from Google only, so a site with apps or ads can be bigger than this shows. Brand searches are the loyalty line: 301,000 people a month type Candy AI's name, against 70 for HeyReal. A name people type on purpose is a site they come back to; a site with lots of visits and few brand searches is living on rankings it could lose. Candy AI's Domain Rating of 76 against 31 means far more sites link to it, which is what keeps rankings stable; the weaker link profile is the one more likely to move, up or down, when Google reshuffles. Candy AI is the older domain (2017 against 2023), which counts for something in a category where sites close without notice. In plain terms: Candy AI is both the bigger site and the one the category search points to.
What users say, and what I found
| Feature by feature | HeyReal | Candy AI |
|---|---|---|
| Chat and model switching | Users positiveMy test: Agree | – |
| Memory | Users negativeMy test: Disagree | Users positiveMy test: Agree |
| Images and unlock props | Users mixedMy test: Partly disagree | – |
| Characters and creation | Users mixedMy test: Agree | – |
| Voice and video | Users negativeMy test: Agree | – |
| Free tier | Users mixedMy test: Agree | Users negativeMy test: Agree |
| Price | Users negativeMy test: Disagree | – |
| Messages as a meter | Users negativeMy test: Agree | – |
| Privacy and legitimacy | Users negativeMy test: Agree | – |
| Findability | Users negativeMy test: Agree | – |
| Chat and roleplay | – | Users mixedMy test: Agree |
| Image generation | – | Users positiveMy test: Agree |
| Voice calls | – | Users mixedMy test: Agree |
| Video ('Live Action') | – | Users mixedMy test: Partly disagree |
| Characters and customisation | – | Users positiveMy test: Agree |
| Price and tokens | – | Users negativeMy test: Agree |
| Privacy and billing | – | Users mixedMy test: Agree |
| Safety and legitimacy | – | Users positiveMy test: Agree |
“Users” is the balance of the YouTube reviews, Reddit threads and articles read for each brand page; “my test” is whether my own month on the site agreed with them.
My take
Users are happier with Candy AI: 4 of its 10 features come out positive, against HeyReal's 1 of 10, with 6 features where the complaints win. Candy AI gets it on memory. My own month did not always match the crowd: I disagreed with users on 3 points for HeyReal and 1 point for Candy AI, and each disagreement is spelled out on the brand page.
My verdict on each
Candy AI
#5 on the ranking
Candy AI is the category's reference point, and after a month with it I understand why.
Read my full Candy AI analysis →More comparisons
Written by Hunter Gray, Founder, Owner & Writer. Every figure is from the two brand pages and refreshes monthly. HeyReal and Candy AI are two of the sites in my best AI girlfriend ranking, where the whole category is ordered on the same data.