An honest, cited look at KoboldAI — what it does well (including where it beats FlirtAlly), what it costs, and who it's for. Researched 2026-10-03 · official site.
100% free and open source (AGPL v3), self-hosted, running entirely on the user's own hardware — total privacy and control, zero subscription, nothing leaves the machine; be honest: for their privacy-first power-user audience this beats any paid cloud service, including ours (Spark $12.99 → VIP $99.99)
no credits, no daily caps, no message limits — usage is bounded only by the user's own hardware; FlirtAlly's free tier caps at 30 msgs/day (memory is unlimited), and even paid tiers meter images, videos, and call minutes
total model and prompt freedom — swap any GGUF model and edit memory/world info directly; FlirtAlly companions run on our engine only
We publish competitor wins on purpose — a comparison that never loses isn't a comparison.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Notes | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free & open source (self-hosted) | $0 | — | no pricing page exists and none is expected — AGPL v3 free software; user supplies own hardware, model files, and electricity; optional external providers (OpenAI, AI Horde) can incur third-party costs if the user chooses to connect them | reported |
Free tier: the entire product is free — no subscription, no account requirement found; 'free' is high confidence from the official repo license (AGPL v3) and corroborating third-party guides Platform variance: n/a — no prices exist; real-world cost varies with user hardware (CPU/GPU/RAM) and any optional third-party API keys, not with the software
KoboldAI free vs FlirtAlly free start + Spark $12.99/Flame $19.99/Exclusive $49.99/VIP $99.99 — frame as free-but-DIY with hardware+time costs vs paid managed experience with real phone lines, mail, and games; present neutrally with tables and cite the AGPL-v3 repo
| Capability | KoboldAI | FlirtAlly |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term memory | persistent memory, world info (lorebooks), author's notes, characters/scenarios, persistent saves; Tavern character-card import high conf | Four-layer memory with semantic recall — tell them your dog's name today, they ask about it next week. Unlimited on every plan, free included. |
| Voice | speech-to-text (Whisper) and text-to-speech (Kokoro, OuteTTS, Dia, Qwen3TTS) run locally — voice input/output pipeline exists, but no companion voice-call product layer high conf | Real-time voice calls in-app, plus companions with real PSTN phone lines you can actually dial. |
| Video messages | video generation listed among built-in media tools — generic text-to-video generation, not companion video calls or lip-synced video messages medium conf | Lip-synced video messages in their own voice (10-second clips). |
| Group chat | none found — not mentioned in the official README or guides reviewed low conf | Group threads with 2–5 of your companions — they read each other's replies and banter. |
| Selfies & photos | local image generation and editing built in (Stable Diffusion, Flux) plus vision-capable models — generic image tooling, not a companion-selfie feature medium conf | Selfies on demand (3cr), identity-locked to their canonical face — always recognizably them. |
| Texts first | none found — no proactive/outbound messaging layer; the software only runs while the user launches it locally low conf | They text first — opt-in, quiet-hours aware, always stoppable. |
| Real games | none found — 'adventure mode' is interactive-fiction storytelling, not game engines low conf | 17 real server-authoritative games with credit wagers — they play for keeps and remember losses. |
| Real phone lines | none found — fully local software with no telephony integration low conf | Buy a matched companion their own dedicated real phone number (200cr/mo); only your calls ring through. |
| Physical mail | none found low conf | Real printed letters and gift cards in your physical mailbox, written from relationship memory. |
Sentiment reflects public community posts, attributed to the community they came from.
We show conflicts instead of hiding them — pricing in this category changes fast.
FlirtAlly is live and free to start — a no-card free plan. Companions who remember you, text first, and answer a real phone number.
Not verified — noted honestly rather than guessed: no pricing page exists (expected for FOSS) — recorded factually; no paid tier or cost data to verify · group chat support unverified — not mentioned in official README · proactive messaging unverified — 'none found', never assert absence in content · games unverified — adventure-mode storytelling confirmed, real game engines 'none found' · real phone line and physical mail unverified — 'none found' for both