Urban India's new reality? Pay Rs 600 to talk, walk and hang out with a 'friend'

Want someone to play badminton with, go grocery shopping, or spend time on PlayStation? Even accompany you to the hospital for an MRI? You can now pay for companionship.

In Short

• Urban India faces a growing loneliness epidemic
• Loneliness is now a significant public health concern in India
• Startups offer companionship services to address urban isolation

Walk through any big Indian city and you’ll see crowds everywhere - packed metros, buzzing cafes, endless notifications on glowing screens. And yet, beneath all that activity, something quieter is growing: loneliness.

It is not just a feeling anymore, it’s becoming a public health concern.

The loneliness paradox

India is more connected than ever before. With over 958 million internet users and cities bursting with people, you’d think loneliness would be rare. But the opposite seems true.

Long work hours, migration to new cities, nuclear families, and surface-level digital interactions have created what many call “crowded loneliness.”

Researchers have begun linking loneliness to something deeper than emotional discomfort. It’s been described as a “fertiliser of disease” - associated with everything from sleep disorders and heart disease to cognitive decline and even faster progression of illnesses like Alzheimer’s.

A new kind of service: companionship on demand

In response, a new category of startups is quietly emerging in India, offering something simple, yet surprisingly rare: human presence.

Want someone to play badminton with, go grocery shopping, or spend time on PlayStation? Even accompany you to the hospital for an MRI? You can now pay for companionship, with platforms like GetCompanion and similar services beginning to explore this space in India.

The concept may remind you of Japan’s viral boyfriend rental service, but it is different. These services emphasise that they are strictly emotional, conversational, and companionship-based, with no dating, escorting, intimacy, or sexual services involved.

Hire a gym buddy, gaming partner, hospital companion

Offerings range from casual activities like walking or conversations to practical support such as running errands, interview practice, gym buddy or accompanying someone to appointments.

It is essentially a cross between a friend, a support system, and a reliable helping hand, available when your own circle isn’t. Charges typically range from Rs 600 to Rs 2,000 per hour, depending on the service and the companion.

You can get a pet companion starting at Rs 400, while hiring someone to cook an Indian meal starts at Rs 800. One gets to choose companions based on profiles that list basic details like interests and background.

A businessman who is mostly travelling availed such an in-person service for his 91-year-old father, ensuring someone could read to him, help with his routine and medicines, and keep him regularly updated. He also used it for airport pickups and hospital visits for his family, saying it gave him peace of mind knowing someone dependable was present when he couldn’t be.

While lifestyle managers can handle similar responsibilities, services like these are especially useful for those rare, unexpected moments when you simply need someone by your side, or when you are new to a city and still finding your footing.

It’s the kind of thing people usually rely on friends or family for, but increasingly, those networks aren’t always available. It’s all deeply ordinary, everyday human interaction that’s somehow become hard to access.

But is it even safe?

The boundaries, however, are strict: no physical intimacy (not even hugging), no contact outside the platform, and no dating or romantic involvement.

"We monitor interactions and step in if users become overly dependent, sometimes rotating companions or suggesting alternative support systems," Shradha Chaturvedi of GetCompanion tells us.

"If a female executive is requested for home visits, a male executive accompanies her as part of the company’s safety protocol," she adds.

This is not the first time something like this has appeared in India. Around 2016, similar ideas, including platforms like Rent A Friend and various Facebook groups, created buzz but eventually faded, in part due to safety concerns and lack of verification. Newer entrants say they are trying to address this through stricter checks and more structured processes.

Even now, a simple search for terms like “rent a friend” or “hire a companion” brings up a wide range of websites. Anyone considering such services should proceed with caution. In my case, one such platform led to me being added to a questionable WhatsApp channel with over 33,000 members. From there, I was directed to Telegram groups for specific cities, where listings included so-called “friends,” even featuring profiles labelled as “Russian.”

A Ghaziabad-based man has created a website where he offers his time as a paid companion. He provides strictly platonic companionship for Rs 399 per hour.

“I’m Shobhit, a real, verified person you can hire to show up for a wedding, an outing, a doctor’s visit, or simply for chai and conversation. No judgment. Full confidentiality,” his website states.

He also claims to ensure authenticity through a video call and government ID verification before being hired.

Discernment and multi-level checks are important from a safety perspective.

GetCompanion’s model is more streamlined. All its companions, whether offering on-call, chat or in-person support, are on a monthly payroll.

Chaturvedi claims candidates undergo verification, psychometric tests focused on empathy, multiple rounds of interviews, and training led by mental health professionals before joining.

Are Indians open to it?

Demand for in-person visits, however, is compared to people’s greater openness to seeking support via chat and calls. The idea is still finding its footing. Adoption is slow, and hesitation is natural. Inviting a stranger into your personal space, especially for something as intimate as companionship, requires trust.

There are signs that the need is real. Families living apart are turning to these services for support. Individuals navigating transitions, whether new cities, breakups, or burnout, are experimenting with what it means to outsource presence.

So is this the future of human connection? Maybe not the future, but definitely a reflection of the present. Such services do fill a gap - especially in a world where people are constantly connected, yet often feel unseen. Because sometimes, what people need isn’t advice, therapy, or solutions. It’s just someone to sit beside them.

- Ends