How many people rent a friend?

Nobody has a worldwide number. On Roavi, 293 Local Friends in 128 cities offer platonic company by the hour as of 28 October 2026; the directory counts travellers who message them but does not publish that number.

What does renting a friend cost per hour?

On Roavi the median listed rate is US$25 an hour, and half of all Local Friends list between US$15 and US$35. The lowest listed is US$5, the highest US$150. There is no membership fee and no commission.

Which country has the most people offering to be a rented friend?

On Roavi it is Dominican Republic with 66 Local Friends in 16 cities, then Colombia (56) and Mexico (27).

Is renting a friend legal?

Yes, in every country Roavi operates in: it is paid platonic company, like hiring a guide or a companion for an event. What is not allowed on Roavi is anything romantic or sexual, and both sides must be 18 or over. The guide on the rules is linked below.

Where do these numbers come from?

From Roavi's own public directory, counted on 28 October 2026. Roavi is the company behind this page; the numbers describe Roavi, not the whole category.

Rent a Friend Statistics (2026)

As of 28 October 2026, Roavi lists 293 Local Friends in 128 cities across 47 countries. The median listed rate is US$25 an hour; half of all Local Friends list between US$15 and US$35. Every number on this page is counted from public profiles, and the date is the count date.

Count date: 28 October 2026

314
Local Friends listed right now: 141
cities with at least one, live: 46
countries, live: US$25
median hourly rate: US$15–US$35
the middle half of rates: 3%
with the paid Verified badge

How much does it cost to rent a friend?

On Roavi the price is whatever the Local Friend lists, paid to them directly; Roavi charges the traveller nothing and takes no commission. Of the 260 profiles with a rate, the lowest is US$5 an hour and the highest US$150; the median is US$25 and the mean US$29. The spread by band:

Under US$20 an hour28% (74)
US$20 to US$3446% (119)
US$35 to US$5018% (47)
Over US$508% (20)

Membership sites in this category charge the member a monthly fee on top of the friend's rate; Roavi does not. The comparison, with the other site's published prices, is in what RentAFriend costs.

Where you can rent a friend

Countries by number of Local Friends listed, with the median rate they list. Each country has its own page with the live list.

Country	Local Friends	Cities	Median rate
Dominican Republic	66	16	US$30
Colombia	56	7	US$20
Mexico	27	14	US$25
United States	20	11	US$50
India	15	11	US$18
Argentina	11	4	US$23
Pakistan	11	6	US$10
Indonesia	9	5	US$20
Thailand	9	2	US$20
Venezuela	6	3	US$10
Japan	5	3	US$30
Peru	4	3	US$13
Nigeria	3	2	US$38
Egypt	3	3	US$10
Vietnam	3	2	US$25

The largest cities

City	Country	Local Friends	Median rate
Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	35	US$30
Medellín	Colombia	29	US$20
Bogotá	Colombia	15	US$20
Mexico City	Mexico	13	US$30
Bangkok	Thailand	8	US$20
Buenos Aires	Argentina	8	US$20
Santiago	chile	8	US$30
Cali	Colombia	7	US$20
New York	United States	7	US$35
Jakarta	Indonesia	5	US$10
Lahore	Pakistan	5	US$10
Puerto Plata	Dominican Republic	5	US$23
Punta Cana	Dominican Republic	4	US$50
Caracas	Venezuela	3	US$10
La Vega	Dominican Republic	3	US$10

See every city

Who the Local Friends are

3% (8) hold the paid Verified badge, which includes an identity check. Reviews from meetups are new on the directory and no profile shows one yet. Every profile was reviewed by a person before going live, and every Local Friend is 18 or over. Languages they list:

English 78% · 228
Spanish 67% · 197
Hindi 7% · 21
French 5% · 15
Italian 4% · 13
Portuguese 4% · 12
Japanese 3% · 8
Thai 2% · 7
Urdu 2% · 6
Chinese 2% · 5

Questions

How many people rent a friend?: Nobody has a worldwide number. On Roavi, 293 Local Friends in 128 cities offer platonic company by the hour as of 28 October 2026; the directory counts travellers who message them but does not publish that number.
What does renting a friend cost per hour?: On Roavi the median listed rate is US$25 an hour, and half of all Local Friends list between US$15 and US$35. The lowest listed is US$5, the highest US$150. There is no membership fee and no commission.
Which country has the most people offering to be a rented friend?: On Roavi it is Dominican Republic with 66 Local Friends in 16 cities, then Colombia (56) and Mexico (27).
Is renting a friend legal?: Yes, in every country Roavi operates in: it is paid platonic company, like hiring a guide or a companion for an event. What is not allowed on Roavi is anything romantic or sexual, and both sides must be 18 or over. The guide on the rules is linked below.
Where do these numbers come from?: From Roavi's own public directory, counted on 28 October 2026. Roavi is the company behind this page; the numbers describe Roavi, not the whole category.

Method

Counted from the public Local Friend profiles on Roavi's directory on 28 October 2026, every city, each profile once (two spellings of one city are one city). Rates are what each Local Friend typed on their own profile, in US dollars an hour; the 33 profiles with no rate, or a rate outside US$5 to US$250 (a typo, not a price), count as people but not in the price figures. "Verified" is the paid Verified Local badge. The live counts at the top come from the directory as you read this, so they can differ slightly from the dated figures below them. The page is regenerated when the numbers move; the date is the count date.

How to cite

Roavi, "Rent a Friend Statistics 2026", counted 28 October 2026, https://roavi.com/rent-a-friend/statistics