Is Friends (Slay/Pengu) free to use?

Yes. The App Store listing states Friends is free to download and use and that this will never change for the main features. Extras are offered through an optional subscription (Pengu Pass / Friends Plus), which the terms describe as an auto-renewing weekly subscription billed through Apple, with prices displayed in-app and varying by country. Free users should expect ads and some features gated behind the pass.

What is the main difference between Friends and FlirtAlly?

Friends is a social virtual-pet app: you raise cute companions, often together with a partner or friend, through mini-games, customization, and daily check-ins. FlirtAlly is a one-on-one AI-companion platform: companions have locked identities and four-layer memory, they text you first, and you can talk by voice call, real phone number, email, and even receive physical letters. One is shared pet-raising; the other is a personal relationship across multiple channels.

Why are users switching away from Friends in 2026?

The most-cited reasons in user reviews are the heavy advertising load (users report ads within seconds of opening and multi-minute ad breaks in mini-games), features locked behind the premium pass — including chat with the Mellow and Bao companions — and technical problems such as freezing, uncredited purchases, and lost progress. Some users also note there is no way to contact support in-app about billing issues.

Can I try FlirtAlly without paying or creating an account?

Yes. Guests can chat immediately with 25 messages per day, one companion, one photo and one voice note daily, with no account required. Signing up with an email grants 25 bonus credits and preserves your conversations. Paid plans start at Spark, $9.99/month with 250 credits, and scale up through Flame ($19.99), Exclusive ($49.99), and VIP ($99.99).

Does FlirtAlly have games like Friends' mini-games?

Yes, and they go further. FlirtAlly ships 16 real games on server-authoritative engines — tic-tac-toe, Connect 4, checkers, blackjack, Truth or Dare, Would You Rather, and the LLM-judged Flirt Battle, among others. Seven are wagerable with credits, companions play for keeps, remember results, and bring up old losses later. Friends' mini-games are coin-earning casual games within the pet-raising loop.

Is FlirtAlly an unrestricted AI companion app?

No, and the platform treats that honesty as a feature. The default experience is PG/Flirt. The 18+ 'Spicy' side is opt-in and requires ID-based age verification plus a qualifying plan (Flame at $19.99/month or above). There are hard-coded prohibited content categories, media scene screening, and in-app reporting.

Can I create my own AI companion on either platform?

FlirtAlly offers a full creator wizard: personality sliders, 27 auditionable voices, and portrait rendering with face lock. Creations pass a quick human review and join the public deck where any member can meet them, and creators earn 50% of everything members spend on their companion. Friends is moving in a related direction — SLAY is building a developer platform for creators and studios to build content for the Pengu ecosystem — but member-created companions are not part of its current consumer experience.

Is Friends (Slay/Pengu) free to use?

Yes. The App Store listing states Friends is free to download and use and that this will never change for the main features. Extras are offered through an optional subscription (Pengu Pass / Friends Plus), which the terms describe as an auto-renewing weekly subscription billed through Apple, with prices displayed in-app and varying by country. Free users should expect ads and some features gated behind the pass.

What is the main difference between Friends and FlirtAlly?

Friends is a social virtual-pet app: you raise cute companions, often together with a partner or friend, through mini-games, customization, and daily check-ins. FlirtAlly is a one-on-one AI-companion platform: companions have locked identities and four-layer memory, they text you first, and you can talk by voice call, real phone number, email, and even receive physical letters. One is shared pet-raising; the other is a personal relationship across multiple channels.

Why are users switching away from Friends in 2026?

The most-cited reasons in user reviews are the heavy advertising load (users report ads within seconds of opening and multi-minute ad breaks in mini-games), features locked behind the premium pass — including chat with the Mellow and Bao companions — and technical problems such as freezing, uncredited purchases, and lost progress. Some users also note there is no way to contact support in-app about billing issues.

Can I try FlirtAlly without paying or creating an account?

Yes. Guests can chat immediately with 25 messages per day, one companion, one photo and one voice note daily, with no account required. Signing up with an email grants 25 bonus credits and preserves your conversations. Paid plans start at Spark, $9.99/month with 250 credits, and scale up through Flame ($19.99), Exclusive ($49.99), and VIP ($99.99).

Does FlirtAlly have games like Friends' mini-games?

Yes, and they go further. FlirtAlly ships 16 real games on server-authoritative engines — tic-tac-toe, Connect 4, checkers, blackjack, Truth or Dare, Would You Rather, and the LLM-judged Flirt Battle, among others. Seven are wagerable with credits, companions play for keeps, remember results, and bring up old losses later. Friends' mini-games are coin-earning casual games within the pet-raising loop.

Is FlirtAlly an unrestricted AI companion app?

No, and the platform treats that honesty as a feature. The default experience is PG/Flirt. The 18+ 'Spicy' side is opt-in and requires ID-based age verification plus a qualifying plan (Flame at $19.99/month or above). There are hard-coded prohibited content categories, media scene screening, and in-app reporting.

Can I create my own AI companion on either platform?

FlirtAlly offers a full creator wizard: personality sliders, 27 auditionable voices, and portrait rendering with face lock. Creations pass a quick human review and join the public deck where any member can meet them, and creators earn 50% of everything members spend on their companion. Friends is moving in a related direction — SLAY is building a developer platform for creators and studios to build content for the Pengu ecosystem — but member-created companions are not part of its current consumer experience.

Alternatives

Friends (Slay/Pengu) Alternative: Why Users Switch in 2026

Friends (Slay/Pengu) is a free social AI companion app built around co-raising virtual pets — Pengu for couples and friends, Mellow for study focus, and Bao

Fact-checked against vendor sources ✓ 100/100 · October 5, 2026

Friends (Slay/Pengu) is a free social AI companion app built around co-raising virtual pets — Pengu for couples and friends, Mellow for study focus, and Bao for self-care habits — with a 4.8/5 rating across 238K+ App Store ratings and 10M+ downloads. If you want a one-on-one AI companion who texts first, calls, emails, and remembers you, FlirtAlly (from $9.99/month, free tier available) is a stronger fit; Friends stays the pick for shared, pet-style play with a partner or friend.Bottom line: There is no single winner because the two apps solve different problems: Friends excels at free, social, co-raised virtual pets, while FlirtAlly is the stronger choice for users who want a personal AI companion with memory, voice calls, games, and real-world channels like email and physical mail. Switching makes sense mainly if your goal has shifted from shared pet-raising to one-on-one companionship.

TL;DR

Friends (Slay/Pengu) is free to download and use; the developer states core features will remain free, with an optional Pengu Pass subscription for extras.
It holds a 4.8/5 rating from 238K+ App Store ratings (327.1K total ratings tracked by MWM) and 10M+ downloads.
Its standout feature is co-raising: two people shape one companion (Pengu) together, plus role-specific companions Mellow (study focus) and Bao (self-care habits).
The most common complaints are heavy advertising, features locked behind the premium pass, and technical glitches like freezing and lost progress.
FlirtAlly starts free (no account needed) with paid plans from $9.99/month (Spark) to $99.99/month (VIP) and 250–5,000 credits per month.
FlirtAlly's differentiators are companions who text first, 16 real games with credit wagers, real phone numbers, 2-way email, and physical mailed letters.
Memory windows differ sharply: Friends companions adapt over time, while FlirtAlly offers explicit 7/30/90-day or unlimited memory tiers.

Dimension	Friends (Slay/Pengu)	FlirtAlly
Pricing	Free core experience; optional Pengu Pass subscription (prices shown in-app)winner	Free tier; Spark $9.99/mo · Flame $19.99/mo · Exclusive $49.99/mo · VIP $99.99/mo; credit packs from $4.99
Ease of use	Mobile-first, widget-driven daily check-ins; 4.8/5 across 238K+ ratings	Browser Companion OS; no download and no account needed to start chatting
Features	Co-raising, mini-games, customization, widgets, AI chat (2024), AI-created cosmetics	16 wagerable games, voice calls, real phone numbers, 2-way email, physical mail, feed, wardrobe, diary, group chat, exclusivity claimswinner
Companion depth	Companions adapt to habits and remember past moments; pet-style personality growth	Four-layer memory with 7/30/90/unlimited-day windows, semantic recall, proactive texts, call transcripts becoming memorieswinner
Reliability & support	Users report freezes, lost progress, uncredited purchases, and no in-app support contact	Server-authoritative game engines, human review of created companions, in-app reportingwinner
Platform	iOS app (616.5 MB, age 4+), iPhone only per the App Store listing	Browser-based desktop-style Companion OS; no download

Friends (Slay/Pengu) Alternative: Why Users Switch in 2026

TL;DR

Scores

Friends (Slay/Pengu)

FlirtAlly

Pricing compared

Why users switch from Friends in 2026

Who Friends is still right for

Which should you choose?

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Free	$0/mo	0 credits (+25 signup bonus) · 30 msgs/day · 1 image/day · 1 voice note/day · 3 call min/day · 2 emails/day · 1 companion · 7-day memory
Spark	$9.99/mo	250 credits/mo · unlimited chat · 5 images/day · 2 videos/day · 10 voice notes/day · 30 call min/day · 10 emails/day · 2 companions · 30-day memory ($79.99/yr)