Joyland
#34 on the ranking
Joyland is the budget roleplay platform for people who left Character.AI, and after a month with it I understand both the pull and the leak.
Read my full Joyland analysis →AI girlfriend sites side by side · Both tested first-hand · Data through September 2026
vs
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
Joyland leads on 3 of the 4 figures that decide most choices.
In short
| What they offer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ▲Yes | ▲Yes |
| Entry paid plan | Free | $19.95/mo |
| Adult content | Allowed on paid plans | Filtered or limited |
| Features |
|
|
| Best for | Users wanting variety across character styles and SFW/NSFW modes at a budget-friendly price | Users who prioritize high-quality image generation and emotionally deep chat over live voice stability |
| Not for | Users requiring voice interaction, image generation depth, or a native mobile app | Those who need reliable live voice calling or responsive customer support |
| Operator | Generatively Inc., a Delaware company (the iOS app is published under the name Eldoria Pte. Ltd.) | Vilala Limited |
| Pricing notes | Free ad-supported tier with daily credits, Standard at $9.99/month ($107.99/year), Premium at $19.99/month ($191.99/year, unlimited image generation). Browser-based with mobile-responsive design. | 1 Month: $19.95. 12 Months: $79.80 (~$6.65/mo). Token purchases and cryptocurrency payments accepted. |
My take
Both give you a free tier, so you can try the chat on each before paying; expect message caps and few or no images until you upgrade. HeraHaven simply does more: immersive ai chat with memory, nsfw capability and image generation are on its list and not on Joyland's. More features is only better if you will use them. On adult content they are not the same product: Joyland allows it on paid plans, HeraHaven keeps a filter. Decide that first and half the comparison decides itself.
| The numbers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank on this siteOn the combined data gathered for every site | ▲#34 | #42 |
| Google US rank, “ai girlfriend”DataForSEO ranked keywords, September 2026 | – | – |
| Tranco rank, all domainsAll-traffic rank among the top million domains | ▲#113,646 | #405,892 |
| Chrome UX tierGoogle Chrome UX Report | ▲Top 100,000 | Top 500,000 |
| Search visits a month, worldwideDataForSEO estimate | ▲233,430 | 118,642 |
| Search visits a month, US | ▲58,185 | 29,751 |
| Brand searches a month, USGoogle Ads data via DataForSEO | ▲49,500 | 5,400 |
| Domain RatingDomain Rating by Ahrefs, out of 100 | 44 | ▲52 |
| Referring domains | ▲2,656 | 2,446 |
| Backlinks | 11,972 | ▲19,209 |
| Domain registered | April 2023 | June 2024 |
| Public record I read | 8 videos, 3 Reddit threads, 3 articles | 3 videos, 2 Reddit threads, 0 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
None of these ranks in the tracked positions for "ai girlfriend", so their places on this site come from all-traffic rank, and their visitors arrive by name, by ads or from app stores rather than from the category search. On size, Joyland is the busier site: 233,430 search visits a month worldwide, about twice what HeraHaven gets (118,642). 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: 49,500 people a month type Joyland's name, against 5,400 for HeraHaven. 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. Joyland is the older domain (2023 against 2024), which counts for something in a category where sites close without notice.
| Feature by feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chat and roleplay | Users mixedMy test: Agree | Users mixedMy test: Partly disagree |
| Memory | Users negativeMy test: Partly disagree | Users mixedMy test: Agree |
| Image generation | Users mixedMy test: Agree | Users positiveMy test: Agree |
| Voice | Users negativeMy test: Agree | – |
| Characters and customisation | Users positiveMy test: Agree | – |
| Content filter | Users mixedMy test: Partly disagree | – |
| Free tier | Users mixedMy test: Partly disagree | Users mixedMy test: Agree |
| Price and credits | Users mixedMy test: Agree | – |
| Privacy and billing | Users mixedMy test: Agree | Users mixedMy test: Agree |
| Safety and legitimacy | Users mixedMy test: Agree | – |
| Voice messages and live calls | – | Users negativeMy test: Agree |
| Companion builder | – | Users positiveMy test: Partly disagree |
| Price and tokens | – | Users positiveMy test: Agree |
| Customer support | – | Users negativeMy test: Agree |
| Legitimacy and access | – | Users mixedMy 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 HeraHaven: 3 of its 10 features come out positive, against Joyland's 1 of 10, with 2 features where the complaints win. HeraHaven gets it on image generation. My own month did not always match the crowd: I disagreed with users on 3 points for Joyland and 2 points for HeraHaven, and each disagreement is spelled out on the brand page.
My verdict on each
Joyland
#34 on the ranking
Joyland is the budget roleplay platform for people who left Character.AI, and after a month with it I understand both the pull and the leak.
Read my full Joyland analysis →HeraHaven
#42 on the ranking
HeraHaven makes the best images at the lowest annual price of any companion I have tested, and after a month with it I would still hesitate to recommend the company behind them.
Read my full HeraHaven analysis →More comparisons
Written by Hunter Gray, Founder, Owner & Writer. Every figure is from the two brand pages and refreshes monthly. Joyland and HeraHaven are two of the sites in my best AI girlfriend ranking, where the whole category is ordered on the same data.