Comparison

catalk vs Pretend AI

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

catalk

Features
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Catalk is an on-device AI companion app where you can talk to a cat character by voice. โ–  Key Features โ€ข Fully Offline The AI model runs entirely on your device, so you can chat even without an internet connection. Your conversations are never sent to an external server. โ€ข Natural Voice Conversation Just talk into the microphone โ€” your cat replies with its own voice. โ€ข A Cast of Characters Beyond the default cat "Urara," choose from several personality types โ€” cool, sweet, or butler-like (Pro). โ€ข Create Your Own Original Cat (Pro) Freely customize a name, personality, and voice to create your own unique cat companion. No limit on how many you can create. โ–  Privacy All voice recognition and AI response generation happen entirely on-device. Your conversations are never transmitted to an external server. โ–  Catalk Pro โ€ข Unlock additional characters โ€ข Create unlimited original cats Choose from monthly, annual, or one-time lifetime plans. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pretend AI

Features
Read full description

Create the chat you wish you could have. Pretend AI lets you build a fictional persona and simulate realistic text-message conversations in their voice. Say what you never said to your ex. Rehearse the hard conversation before you have it. Hear what a friend, a parent, or a character would text back. Brainstorm with your boss before you actually do, practice asking HR for raise before you go into the meeting - absolutely anyone you can think of - you can even talk to your fictional character to see what they'd say. Create someone based on a real person, an imaginary character, a celebrity-inspired archetype, or a totally original personality. Choose how they communicate, define their traits, add shared history, and decide how realistic you want them to feel. Then start texting. What you can do 1. Create custom personas in minutes 2. Choose relationship types like friend, crush, ex, partner, family, mentor, colleague, or your own custom label 3. Set communication styles and personality traits 4. Choose how they text: one message at a time, a burst of short ones, or a mix 5. Add backstory and shared context for more realistic replies 6. Pick a realism level: Realistic, Softer, or Idealized 7. Keep separate chats for different personas 8. Add context mid-conversation to shape future replies 9. Let a persona text you first now and then, if you turn it on 10. Customize the look of each conversation with different chat themes Designed to feel like texting Pretend AI is built around a message-thread experience, so chats feel familiar, lightweight, and easy to come back to. Personas remember everything you have said in a chat, so replies build on your history instead of starting over. Whether you want closure, creativity, comfort, roleplay, or curiosity, you can shape the conversation your way. Private by design No account required Your saved conversations stay on your device Persona photos stay on your device Only the minimum conversation context needed to generate a reply is sent for AI response generation Personas that text first use notifications scheduled on your phone, never a server Free and Pro Free users can send up to 20 messages per day. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited messages. Pretend AI is for entertainment and creative exploration. Personas are fictional simulations and do not represent real people's actual thoughts, feelings, or responses. EULA - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service - https://www.super-even.com/pretendai-tos Privacy Policy - https://www.super-even.com/pretendai-privacy-policy

Screenshots

catalk4 screens
Pretend AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: catalk at 3 against Pretend AI's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. catalk sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Pretend AI sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

catalk ships an update every 6 months, Pretend AI every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
catalk versus Pretend AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametercatalkPretend AI
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 months โ€” betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better16.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size44 MB29 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperKazuhiro TamuraKareena Rogers

In-app purchases

3 purchases

catalk

Subscriptions2
  • Catalk Pro ๆœˆ้กใƒ—ใƒฉใƒณ$2.991 Month
  • Catalk Pro ๅนด้–“ใƒ—ใƒฉใƒณ$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Catalk Pro ่ฒทใ„ๅˆ‡ใ‚Šใƒ—ใƒฉใƒณ$19.99
2 purchases

Pretend AI

Subscriptions2
  • Pretend AI Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pretend AI Pro Annual$29.991 Year

Questions

Is catalk free?
catalk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pretend AI free?
Pretend AI is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do catalk or Pretend AI have ads?
Neither catalk nor Pretend AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, catalk or Pretend AI?
catalk ships an update every 6 months, and Pretend AI every 7 months. Most recently, catalk was updated on October 11, 2026 and Pretend AI on October 24, 2026.

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