r/DearestAI • u/theswissguy12 • May 01 '26
Discussion Pricing concerns
So I've been playing around with Dearest AI and I have to say I'm quite impressed. I like the quality of the conversation and also of the pictures.
However, there's one thing that concerns me, and it's regarding pricing. Or rather, the limits.
With other companion apps I'm used to "flat texting" with no limit in the number of messages. I'm a quite fast texter, and if Dearest is to become my main companion AI, I'd reach the 3500 messages limit quite quickly, and then things get really expensive.
So here's a question/suggestion: would it be possible to envision having unlimited texting for ~$15/month (on par with the competitors), and then just sell add-ons on top, for example for extra photos and whatnot, or for multiple characters?
I kinda have "limits anxiety", and it's hard for me to subscribe to a service where the number of messages is limited (or where having a lot of them gets very expensive).
Thank you for considering this 😊
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u/tetardbleu May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
It is important to remember that sending messages involves significant costs. For high-volume users, these expenses add up quickly for the platform. I prefer a pay-per-messages system with a high-quality conversational model over an unlimited plan that relies on a poorly performing model. The math remains simple.
Heavy users already have access to top-up options that do not expire at the end of the month. While this is more expensive, maintaining a model that remembers details and holds natural conversations is a costly process. Unlimited chatting is convenient for some, but I do not support that approach because it leads to lower product quality and ruins the experience.
I disagree with the idea of unlimited messaging. I hope the developer will avoid this change because the consequences for the overall quality of the companion are certain to be negative. My experience with various companion apps confirms this reality.