folk vs Character.AI
Yes, if you want characters outside an app. folk has a character gallery too (anime, games, film, real-world coaches, originals), but the character texts you on iMessage, Telegram or WhatsApp, keeps a memory of you for months, and can still book, remind and research like folk does. Free to start.
Character.AI is where most people first talked to an AI character, and it is very good at one thing: long roleplay inside its own app. folk takes the same idea and moves it into your texts. Pick Satoru Gojo, Levi Ackerman, David Goggins, or make your own from a name and a line, and that character becomes the folk in your iMessage thread, contact card included. It talks like them and still does everything folk does.
why people switch from Character.AI to folk
Your character lives in iMessage, not in an app
Character.AI conversations happen on character.ai or in its app, and stop when you close it. On folk the character IS the contact: it sends you its own contact card on iMessage, texts you first when you asked it to, and picks up the thread days later. Telegram and WhatsApp work the same way, minus the card.
Characters keep folk's tools
A Character.AI bot can only talk. A folk character talks in its voice and still has folk's hands: it sets the alarm, checks your calendar, watches a flight, looks something up, drafts the email. Ask Bakugo to get you to the gym and he will actually text you at 6am.
One memory, many voices
Switch from Gojo to Goggins to plain folk and nothing you told them is lost. What a character learns about your life goes into folk's memory; each character keeps its own story and lore separate. Character.AI memories live per chat and reset when you start another.
Make one in a minute, from anyone
Give folk a name and one line. If the character is someone known, folk reads up on them, finds a face, writes their voice and their lore. If they are original, your line is the whole brief. Publish to the gallery or keep them to yourself; either way they are yours to text.
feature comparison
| Feature | Folk | Character.AI |
|---|---|---|
| Lives in iMessage | Yes | No |
| Lives in Telegram | Yes | No |
| Its own cloud computer | Yes | No |
| Persistent memory | Yes | Yes |
| Books tables (Resy) | Yes | No |
| Watches flights | Yes | No |
| Runs scheduled tasks | Yes | No |
| Connects to all your apps | Yes | No |
| Bring your own API keys | Yes | No |
| Web browsing | Yes | No |
| Code generation | Yes | No |
| Data privacy (no training) | Yes | No |
pricing comparison
Folk Pro
$9.99/mo
- Generous monthly usage for messages and tasks
- iMessage + Telegram
- Persistent memory
- Its own computer with web browsing and code
- Connects to all your apps
Folk Max
$100/mo
- Everything in Pro
- The best AI models available
- Zero queue, priority access
- 2x daily capacity
- First access to new features
frequently asked
Does folk have characters like Character.AI?
Yes. folk has a public character gallery at folk.com/characters with anime, game and film characters, real-world coaches and original characters made by folk users. Pick one and it becomes the folk in your texts; on iMessage it even sends you its own contact card.
Can I text a character on iMessage instead of using an app?
That is the point of folk. Sign up, pick a character during onboarding (or from the dashboard), and the character texts you on iMessage, Telegram or WhatsApp. There is no separate app to open, though the folk iOS app is there if you want it.
Can a folk character do real things, or only chat?
Both. A character keeps all of folk's tools: reminders and wake-up calls, calendar and email, web research, flight and price watching, bookings. It just does them in character.
How is folk's memory different from Character.AI's?
Character.AI remembers within a chat and its memory features are per bot. folk keeps one memory of you across every character and plain folk, for as long as you use it, and each character keeps its own story and lore on top.
Is folk more expensive than Character.AI?
Character.AI has a free tier and c.ai+ at about $10 per month. folk is free to start and folk Pro is $9.99 per month, which also covers folk's own cloud computer, real-world tasks and every messaging app it lives in.
Can I bring my Character.AI character to folk?
Not by import, but recreating one takes a minute: the name and a line about who they are is enough, and folk writes the rest. You can paste in a longer definition if you have one.
people also compare
learn the concepts
Proactive AI
Proactive AI is an assistant that reaches out to you first - sending reminders, briefings, and alerts, and acting on schedule - instead of only responding when prompted.
RCS Messaging
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the modern successor to SMS - supporting read receipts, typing indicators, high-quality media, and richer interactions over mobile networks.
Personal AI
A personal AI is an artificial-intelligence assistant dedicated to one person - it learns your preferences, remembers your context, and takes actions on your behalf across everyday life.
what folk actually does
an ai assistant that lives in your imessage
No app, no tab. Save the number, text folk like a friend, and it gets things done.
an ai habit tracker that texts you instead of waiting for you
Tell folk the habit. It checks in at the right time, keeps the streak, and notices when you go quiet.
an ai that checks in on you every day
One text a day asking how you actually are, from a friend who remembers what you said yesterday.
ready to try folk?
Free to start - free forever. Pro is $9.99/mo. Cancel anytime.
See everything folk can do - explore use cases.