Pick Pookie if you want an app built for exactly two people that is free to use without inviting anyone else, with a pet, widgets, games and a private vault, and one $4.99 subscription that covers both of you. Pick Agapé if all you want is one thoughtful, research-based question a day, and you either have three people to connect with or are happy to pay from the start.
Agapé and Pookie are aiming at different moods. Agapé is a quiet daily ritual: one question, one minute, answered separately and then revealed. Pookie is louder. A pet, a doodle on the lock screen, a game of Pool at 11pm. The question is which one you'll still be opening in three months.
What Agapé does well
The one-question-a-day format is the whole product and it is well made. Questions are chosen for you from decades of relationship research, they change based on who you're connected with, and you only see your partner's answer once you've written your own, so nobody can copy. You can opt into categories like long distance, reconnecting, checking in, engaged, religious, finances, parenting and pregnancy, and it will only send a spicy question if you're matched with your partner rather than your mum.
It works with more than a partner. Family and friends can each get their own question thread, and Agapé says 97% of surveyed users felt it helped their relationship. The App Store rating is 4.8 with over 26,000 ratings.
What people complain about
Google Play tells a different story at around 4.1, and the recent one and two star reviews there are dominated by one change.
- You need three connections to use it free. The free version now requires you to connect with three people. Review after review says the same thing: I downloaded a couples app to use with one person, and it will not work unless I add two more. People called it a pyramid scheme, an MLM, data harvesting. Whatever you call it, it is the reason most of these reviews exist.
- "Advertised as free but isn't." If you don't have three people, the alternative is premium, which needs a card up front. Several reviewers said the trial length was not stated and that the free tier lasted only a few days.
- Charged twice. One couple said premium charged both of them when the app said only one had to pay. Others report renewals going through without notice and refunds being refused.
- Android crashes. Crashing at profile creation, stuck on the opening screen, unable to get past the name or gender step even after reinstalling.
- Locked out of settings. Because settings are gated until you have three connections, a few people said they had no way to delete their account from inside the app.
- Repeat questions. A smaller theme: couples who hit the same questions again, or found the question count shrank after paying.
What Pookie does instead
Two people is the whole point. Pookie is built for exactly one pair. You link with your partner and that's it. There is nothing to unlock by inviting friends, because there is no way to invite friends. The passcode-locked memory vault, the relationship map, the daily and monthly check-ins are all designed on the assumption that only two people will ever see them.
Free means free, and we list it. The free tier is the pet and plant, notes and doodles that land on your partner's home screen, moods and replies, the photo vault, widgets, the daily challenge, check-ins, levels and streaks. No card required, no trial clock. The 10,000+ questions, the online games, the whiteboard and the horoscope are premium and we say so before you download.
One subscription, one charge. Premium is $4.99 a month or $24.99 a year and it covers both of you. Your partner does not get billed. That is the specific thing Agapé's reviewers say went wrong for them.
Something to do, not only something to answer. Pookie has daily check-ins you each answer separately and then compare, which is the closest thing to Agapé's format. But it also has real-time games for two, a whiteboard that appears on your partner's lock screen, and a pet that needs both of you, which is what keeps couples opening it after the novelty of a daily question wears off. If you're apart, the long distance app comparison goes deeper on that.
Where Pookie has no answer: Agapé's questions are personalised by relationship type and tuned by research in a way Pookie's are not. Pookie's library is bigger and more playful, Agapé's is more curated. And if you want the same ritual with your parents or your best friend, Pookie can't do that.
Pookie vs Agapé: feature by feature
| Feature | Pookie | Agapé |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier includes | Pet, plant, games, whiteboard, quizzes, doodles, moods, photo vault, widgets, check-ins | One question a day, only with three connections |
| Premium price | $4.99/mo or $24.99/yr | Subscription, see the app |
| One sub covers both | ✓ | Stated, but reviewers report both charged |
| Ads | - | - |
| Real-time games | 14 games: Ludo, Pool, Battleships, and more | - |
| Widgets (home + lock) | ✓ | - |
| Virtual pet | ✓ | - |
| Shared whiteboard/doodles | Doodles and live whiteboard | - |
| Private photo vault | Passcode, free | - |
| Daily questions | 10,000+, plus daily check-ins | One personalised question a day |
| Date ideas library | - | - |
| iPhone + Android | ✓ | ✓ |
Pick Pookie if
- You want a couples app that works with one person, your partner, and nobody else.
- You want a free tier that does not need a card or three friends.
- You want a pet, widgets, games and a whiteboard as well as questions.
- You want one $4.99 subscription that covers both partners, with no second charge.
Pick Agapé if
- You want one curated, research-based question a day and nothing else.
- You want the same daily ritual with parents, siblings or friends, each in their own thread.
- You have three people to connect with, or you are happy to pay from day one.
- You do not want a pet, games or widgets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Agapé or Pookie better for couples?
Pookie is better if you want an app for just the two of you that is free to use without inviting anyone else, with a pet, widgets, games and a private vault, and a single $4.99 subscription that covers both partners. Agapé is better if all you want is one thoughtful, research-based question a day and you either have three people to connect with or are happy to pay.
Is Agapé free?
Agapé is free to download, but recent reviews say the free version now requires you to connect with three people before you can use it. If you only want to use it with your partner, you need premium, which asks for a card up front. That change is the most common complaint in its one and two star reviews.
Do both partners have to pay for Agapé?
Agapé says only one partner needs to pay, but at least one recent review reports both partners being charged. Pookie's premium is one subscription for both of you at $4.99 a month or $24.99 a year, and your partner is never billed.
Does Pookie have a daily question like Agapé?
Yes. Pookie has free daily and monthly check-ins that you each answer on your own and then compare, which is the same reveal format. It also has 10,000+ free questions and quizzes across Would You Rather, Who's More Likely, Draw It Out and topic packs, with new quizzes every week.
Is Agapé good for long distance relationships?
Agapé has a long distance question category and the daily reveal works fine across time zones. It has no games, widgets or shared drawing, so it gives you something to talk about but nothing to do together. Pookie covers both, with a distance widget, real-time games and a whiteboard that lands on your partner's lock screen.
Pookie is free to download on iPhone and Android and used by 250,000+ couples. Download Pookie on the App Store or Google Play. The games, whiteboard and full question library are free, and if you do add premium, one subscription covers both of you.
This is one of a series. See how Pookie compares to every type of couples app, or read the honest comparison of the best couples apps in 2026.