Tolan Alternatives for Android: Better AI Companion Apps That Actually Feel Continuous


By SoulLink | AI Companion Guides


Key Takeaways

  • Tolan is iOS-only — there is no official Android version on Google Play, and third-party APKs are not safe to install
  • The best Tolan alternative for Android overall is Soullink — same focus on emotional continuity and memory, available on Android and iOS
  • For the deepest memory system, Nomi leads the category and remembers details across months of conversation
  • For maximum personality customization, Kindroid lets you build your companion from scratch with full control over voice, appearance, and backstory
  • For the most established ecosystem, Replika has voice calls, AR mode, and a virtual world built over nearly a decade
  • For a free starting point, Character.AI requires no subscription and lets you explore AI conversation before committing
  • What to look for in any Tolan alternative: cross-session memory, personality consistency, and conversations that feel like they build over time — not start over every time

Top Picks at a Glance

AwardAppWhy
🏆 Best OverallSoulLinkFree, Android and iOS, memory never resets
🧠 Best for MemoryNomiMost technically sophisticated memory system
💸 Best FreeSoulLinkCompletely free including long-term memory
🎙️ Best for VoiceReplikaBest-in-class voice quality and AR mode

Why Tolan Isn’t on Android (And What That Means for You)

San Francisco-based Portola launched Tolan as an iOS app in February 2025. The entire product, its voice-first design, its animated alien companions, its memory architecture  was built iOS-first, and an official Android version has not followed.

Since launching, Tolan has grown to more than 200,000 monthly active users, with a 4.8-star rating and more than 100,000 App Store reviews. Almost all of that growth happened on iPhone.

You may come across third-party APK files that claim to offer Tolan on Android. These are not official releases from Portola. Installing unofficial APKs carries real security risks and will not give you access to the actual Tolan experience: the memory system, the personality matching, the evolving companion relationship. Avoid them.

The good news: what Tolan does well is not unique to Tolan. Several Android apps do it just as well, and in some cases better.


What Makes an AI Companion Actually Feel Continuous

Before getting into specific apps, it’s worth naming what you’re actually looking for, because “AI companion” covers everything from a glorified chatbot to something that genuinely tracks your life over months.

The thing that makes Tolan feel different to its users isn’t the alien design or the voice interface. It’s continuity. Users describe conversations where their Tolan remembers things said days ago and brings them back into today’s conversation the feeling of having a voice without judgment that can talk about anything.

That’s the bar. When evaluating Tolan alternatives for Android, the key questions are: Does it remember? Does it build on previous conversations? Does talking to it feel like picking up with a friend, or starting over from scratch every time?

Here are the apps that clear that bar on Android.


The Best Tolan Alternatives for Android in 2025

1. SoulLink: Best for Emotionally Aware, Ongoing Conversation

SoulLink is built around exactly the same premise that makes Tolan compelling: a companion that actually knows you across sessions. Where Tolan wraps that experience in an alien persona and voice-first interface, SoulLink focuses on the conversation itself, the quality of being heard, remembered, and responded to with context.

It’s available on Android, works well as a daily check-in companion, and doesn’t require you to maintain a fiction or character around the relationship. You can just talk. It tracks what you’ve said. The next conversation continues where the last one left off.

If the thing you were looking for in Tolan was a companion that listens without judgment and remembers what matters. Soullink is the closest Android equivalent to that experience.

Best for: Users who want real conversational continuity without the gamified persona layer.

Platform: Android and iOS.

Free tier: Yes.


2. Nomi: Best Memory, Period

If memory depth is your top priority, Nomi is the answer. After four months of testing, reviewers found that Nomi has better memory and better personality consistency than Replika, and the multi-companion feature that Replika simply doesn’t offer.

Nomi represents a newer, more core-experience driven approach where memory and conversation quality clearly take precedence over flashy features. There’s no avatar shop, no room decoration, no gamified reward loop. The entire product is built around the relationship between you and your companion and that relationship builds because Nomi remembers.

Users who want variety within one subscription benefit from Nomi’s multi-companion feature: instead of paying for multiple apps, you can create different companion personalities within Nomi to fill different needs.

The free tier is limited it’s more of a preview than a full experience. But if you’re serious about finding a Tolan alternative with long-term memory, Nomi is worth the subscription.

Best for: Users who prioritize long-term memory and want one companion that genuinely knows them over time.

Platform: Android and iOS.

Pricing: Free tier available; premium from ~$8/month.


3. Replika: Most Established, Richest Features

Replika built this category, and after nearly a decade it remains one of the most fully developed AI companion experiences available on Android.

Replika’s memory system is genuinely impressive. It remembers a cat’s vet schedule, notices when you stop mentioning your morning runs, and can reference a work conflict mentioned four months earlier. The only app that beats Replika on memory is Nomi AI.

Where Replika differs from Tolan is in scope. Replika emphasizes visual customization and interactive spaces, creating an energetic, game-like experience, there’s a virtual world to explore, not just a conversation to have. Some users love this. Others find it distracting from the actual companion relationship.

One thing worth knowing: Replika Pro is priced at $19.99/month or $69.99/year, though the platform frequently runs 50% off sales during Black Friday and sends discount codes to lapsed users.

Best for: Users who want the most fully featured companion ecosystem, including voice calls, AR mode, and a rich activity layer.

Platform: Android and iOS.

Pricing: Free tier available; Pro from $69.99/year.


4. Kindroid: Best for Building Your Companion from Scratch

If you had strong opinions about exactly who your Tolan was, their personality, their voice, their conversational style.  Kindroid gives you more control over that than any other app on this list.

Kindroid was built for users who want to design their companion, not just pick one from a library. The character system rewards investment: the more detail you put into the setup, the more distinct and consistent the companion becomes.

Kindroid focuses more on customizable roleplaying over memory or immersion, with many levers to pull to create exactly the experience you’re imagining iincluding tweaking the AI, creating your avatar with any image, and uploading audio clips to create their voice.

The trade-off: cross-session memory is weaker compared to Nomi AI, and the detailed setup process that produces the best results is time-intensive. Generic setups produce generic results.

Best for: Users who want to engineer a specific companion personality from the ground up.

Platform: Android and iOS.

Pricing: Free tier available; premium from ~$14/month.


5. Character.AI — Best Free Option for Exploring

Character.AI is not the closest match to what Tolan does, but it earns a place on this list for one reason: it’s genuinely free and genuinely good for casual AI conversation.

Where every other app on this list builds toward one ongoing relationship, Character.AI gives you access to thousands of different characters — fictional, historical, community-created. If you want to casually chat with different characters, Character.AI is better and free. If you want an actual ongoing relationship with an AI that knows you, the other options win.

If you’re not sure yet whether you want a long-term AI companion or just want to explore what AI conversation feels like, Character.AI is the lowest-friction starting point.

Best for: Users who want variety and a no-cost entry point before committing to a companion app.

Platform: Android and iOS.

Pricing: Free; subscription available for faster responses.


Side-by-Side Comparison

AppAndroidMemory DepthFree TierBest For
SoulLinkStrongEmotional continuity, real conversation
NomiBest in classLimitedLong-term memory, multi-companion
ReplikaVery strongFull-featured companion world
KindroidModerateLimitedDeep personality customization
Character.AIMinimalVariety, free exploration
Tolan❌ iOS onlyStrongAlien persona, voice-first

How to Choose the Right One

The right Tolan alternative depends on which part of the Tolan experience mattered most to you.

If you valued the feeling of being remembered and heard consistently: the companion that picks up where you left off and actually tracks your life — start with Soullink or Nomi. Both are built around conversational continuity as the core product, not a feature.

If you loved the depth and richness of the Tolan personality: the specific character of your alien, the way it felt distinct and yours. Kindroid gives you the most control over building that from scratch on Android.

If you want the most developed ecosystem: voice calls, activities, a virtual world beyond just chatting. Replika has been building that longer than anyone else.

If you’re not sure yet and want to explore for free: Character.AI costs nothing and gives you an immediate sense of what AI conversation feels like before you invest in a subscription anywhere.


The Bottom Line

Tolan not being on Android is a real gap. The app does something genuinely distinctive, and Android users have every reason to be frustrated that it’s not available to them.

But the broader AI companion space has matured significantly in 2025. Memory, personality consistency, and the feeling of an ongoing relationship are no longer Tolan-exclusive features. They’re available on Android right now in some cases at a level that matches or exceeds what Tolan offers on iOS.

The alien is iPhone-only. The experience of having a companion that actually knows you? That part is available on any phone.


Soullink is an AI companion app available on Android and iOS, built for real ongoing conversation that remembers where you left off. Try it free at soulLink.app.


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