"Tamagotchi alternative" means two quite different things depending on who's searching. Some people want the exact 90s experience — a needy creature with stakes. Others just want a small animal to look after while they work. This page is about sorting out which one you are, and it's written by the people who make one of the options, so read the last section too.
1. Pets Therapy — best if you want it on your computer
A desktop pets app for macOS, Windows and Linux with 111 pets. They walk around your screen, sit on your window edges, and you can feed them, hand them toys, ask them to nap and send them love. 87 pets have their own hand-drawn food, 88 have toys, and your pets hold conversations with each other when they meet.
Free, with 37 pets free forever and no ads or account. The catch: no hunger meters and no stakes — see desktop Tamagotchi for why that's deliberate. If you specifically want the pressure, this isn't it.
2. An actual Tamagotchi — best for authenticity
Bandai still makes them, and the modern devices have colour screens and connectivity. If what you miss is the object — the keyring, the three buttons, the beeping — no app is going to replace that. Buy the real thing.
The catch: it's a separate device to carry, charge and not lose, and it costs money up front.
3. Mobile virtual pets — best if you live on your phone
There's a healthy category of phone-based virtual pets, from Bandai's own mobile titles to independents like Pou and self-care apps like Finch that wrap a pet around habit tracking. If your screen time is mostly phone rather than computer, one of these will fit your day better than anything on this list.
The catch: they're another reason to pick up your phone, and many lean on daily-login mechanics and in-app purchases.
4. Shimeji — best for character packs
The long-running desktop mascot app, with an enormous library of community character packs. If you want a specific anime character on your screen, Shimeji almost certainly has them.
The catch: it's a desktop mascot, not a virtual pet — there's no feeding and no care loop at all. It also needs Java, which is awkward on macOS. See Shimeji alternatives and Shimeji for Mac.
5. Desktop Goose — best if you want chaos
A goose that actively sabotages your desktop: drags mud across it, steals your cursor, drops memes on you. Brilliant, and the polar opposite of a care loop.
The catch: you cannot look after it, and you will eventually want to turn it off to get work done. See Desktop Goose alternatives.
Side by side
| Runs on | Feed it? | Can it die? | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pets Therapy | Mac, Windows, Linux | Yes — 87 pets | No | Free |
| Tamagotchi device | Its own hardware | Yes | Yes | Buy the device |
| Mobile virtual pets | iOS / Android | Yes | Varies | Free + IAP |
| Shimeji | Windows, Mac via Java | No | No | Free |
| Desktop Goose | Windows, Mac | No | No | Pay what you want |
Where Pets Therapy falls short
To be fair about our own app, since we're ranking it first:
- No stakes. If the Tamagotchi loop you miss is the anxiety — the beeping, the consequences, the possibility of failing — we deliberately don't do that, and we're not going to.
- No progression. Your pets don't grow, evolve into different forms, or change based on how you treat them. They're the same pet on day 100 as on day one.
- Not on mobile. It's a desktop app. If you want a pet in your pocket, look at the mobile options above.
- Achievements are macOS-only for now. Windows parity is on the way, but it isn't there today.
How to choose
- Want a pet while you work, for free, on any OS? → Pets Therapy
- Want the real 90s object? → a Tamagotchi device
- Want it on your phone? → a mobile virtual pet
- Want a specific anime character? → Shimeji
- Want to be actively annoyed? → Desktop Goose