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Ash vs Replika

A side-by-side comparison of Ash and Replika, drawn from Ignaite's continuously-verified listings.

Compared from listings verified as of

Ash

Healthcare

AI built specifically for therapy and mental-health support.

View Ash

Replika

Companion

An AI companion that learns your personality through ongoing conversation.

View Replika

At a glance

Feature comparison of Ash and Replika
AttributeAshReplika
Category (differs)HealthcareCompanion
Pricing (differs)FREEFREEMIUM
LicenseProprietaryProprietary
DeploymentCloudCloud
Platforms (differs)iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
Model support (differs)Single model (proprietary)—
Vendor (differs)Slingshot AILuka, Inc.
Capabilities (differs)
  • Companion chat
  • Companion chat
  • Roleplay characters

The honest brief

Ash

Unlike general chatbots tuned to agree with you, Ash is trained only for therapy on a psychology-specific model and is built to push back, not just validate.

  • Draws on CBT, DBT, ACT methods
  • Free on iOS and Android
  • Built by a dedicated mental-health research lab
  • Not a replacement for a licensed therapist
  • No crisis or emergency care
  • Long-term efficacy still unproven
  • Free now; a paid tier is expected later

Replika

Years of head start on long-term persona and memory, where most companion apps are far newer and shallower.

  • Long-running, mature companion app
  • Persistent avatar and memory
  • Free unlimited text chat
  • Voice/video calls on Pro
  • Italy fined maker Luka €5M (2025)
  • Abruptly cut then restored romantic content (2023)
  • Privacy/age-verification scrutiny
  • Roleplay shallower than SillyTavern setups

When to pick which

Both cover Companion chat.

Pick Replika if you need Roleplay characters.

  • Roleplay characters (secondary capability)

They also differ on:

Pricing
FREE · FREEMIUM
Platforms
iOS, Android · Web, iOS, Android
Ash detailsReplika details