Here to help

A small question?
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Plans, characters, and what happens after checkout—without the mystery.

01

Finding your crew

Look through the buddies, visit each character page and add your favorites.

Meet the buddies
02

Plans & billing

Compare the plans, what a buddy costs and how Monthly, Annual and Lifetime billing differ.

Compare plans
The small print, in plain English

A few good questions.

What is My Dock Buddies?

My Dock Buddies makes small, stylized 3D characters, called buddies, that live on your Mac desktop as companions. Max and Avery can be chosen now; Juno is coming next, with Aadi following him. Members with an active plan download the Mac app, sign in with the same email, and the buddies they own appear on top of their Dock.

What does a plan include?

Monthly is $5.99 per month and Annual is $69 per year. Lifetime is $200 once: a membership that never renews and never expires. No plan includes a buddy: on every plan, buddies are purchased separately, $49.50 each until 13 October 2026, then $99. Annual and Lifetime also come with custom buddy requests. Every new activity we add to your characters is included.

Does any plan include a buddy?

No. Every buddy is bought separately on every plan: a one-time $49.50 unlock until 13 October 2026, then $99. The plans differ only in how you pay (Monthly $5.99 a month, Annual $69 a year, Lifetime $200 once and never renews) and in custom buddy requests, which come with Annual and Lifetime.

Which plan costs least for one buddy in the first year?

At the founding launch price, Annual costs least: $118.50 ($69 for the year plus a $49.50 buddy). Monthly comes to $121.38 (twelve months at $5.99 plus a $49.50 buddy), and Lifetime is $249.50 ($200 plus a $49.50 buddy) but never renews. A buddy costs the same on every plan, so only the plan price differs. Prices are in US dollars, and any tax is added at checkout.

Can I add more characters later?

Yes. Every additional available buddy is a one-time unlock: $49.50 until 13 October 2026, then $99, with no extra recurring charge per character. The $99 standard price is a future price, not a price we previously charged. All buddies work while your membership is active and return when you reactivate it.

What happens to buddy prices after 13 October 2026?

After 13 October 2026, each buddy is $99, the standard price. Until then, buddies are $49.50 each, the founding launch price, and Juno and Aadi will be $99 when they are released. The price that applies is always shown before checkout.

How does checkout work?

You pay on a secure checkout page run by our payment partner. It handles the payment, adds any tax and sends your receipt. Your buddies appear in your library as soon as the payment goes through, usually within seconds, and in the Mac app at its next check-in, or straight away with Refresh purchases.

Can I use a coupon code?

Yes, you can enter a coupon code at checkout.

Can I get a refund?

No, all sales are final, including for a change of mind. We always put right a double charge, a wrong amount or something you paid for that never unlocked, if you tell us within 14 days of the charge. If we can’t deliver a custom buddy, we refund that payment in full.

Can I cancel?

Yes, any time, from your library. Turning off renewal keeps your access until the end of the period you have paid for, and you will not be charged again. You can turn renewal back on before then. Lifetime never renews, so there is nothing to cancel.

Can I switch to Lifetime?

Yes. Choose Lifetime on the pricing page or in your library. When the $200 payment goes through, your Monthly or Annual renewal is turned off so it is never charged again, and your buddies move to Lifetime. Time left on the old plan is not refunded.

What happens to my buddies if my plan ends or a renewal fails?

Your buddies keep working until the end of the period you paid for, then they pause. Start your plan again and they come back, with your library as you left it. Lifetime never renews and never expires.

How do I sign in?

We email you a 6-digit code and a one-tap sign-in button, and either one signs you in. There is no password. The Mac app signs you in with the same emailed 6-digit code. Your plan, characters, orders and custom buddies are all kept in your account’s library.

Where do I get the Mac app?

Sign in on this website with an active Monthly, Annual or Lifetime plan, then open the download page: “Get the Mac app” at the foot of every page. There is no public download link. The app is a direct download, signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, not a Mac App Store app. Open it, agree to the terms and sign in with the same email. Updates download in the background and install when you quit the app.

Who can download the app?

Anyone signed in with an active Monthly, Annual or Lifetime plan. Signed out, the download page asks you to sign in first; signed in without an active plan, it takes you to the plans. Nothing is bundled with the app: after you sign in, only the buddies your account has paid for appear and download.

What are the Mac app’s system requirements?

macOS 14 Sonoma or later. It is one universal app for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. It needs the internet to sign in and download your buddies, and it checks in every 4 hours and when you sign in or out. If it can’t reach us, your buddies keep working for up to 14 days, then pause until the app checks in again.

What does the Mac app do?

It lives in the menu bar, and your buddies stand on top of your Dock, up to two at a time. In Settings you choose each buddy’s size (Small, Medium, Large or Extra large), where they roam (in their spot, along the Dock or across the whole screen) and whether they explore on their own. Click a buddy’s left or right side and they run that way; click the middle for a random activity. Right-click a buddy for moods, actions and stories. The app can open at login.

How many Macs can I use?

One Mac per account. To move to another Mac, sign out in the app on the old Mac first; signing out removes your buddies and account data from that Mac. If a Mac is lost, contact us from the help page and we will free your account. Your plan, buddies and custom buddies belong to the account that bought them.

Which characters are available?

Max and Avery are the launch crew and can be chosen now. Juno is coming next, with Aadi following him; each will be $99 when released. Every unfinished buddy is visibly locked and cannot enter checkout.

What can Max and Avery do?

Max has 37 activities, 33 props and 8 moods. Avery has 39 activities, 38 props and 8 moods. The moods are happy, sad, focused, surprised, tired, thinking, laughing and excited. New activities are added regularly and are included for members at no extra cost.

Will you add new activities?

Yes, regularly. We keep teaching every buddy new things to do, and we ask members for ideas. Members get all of it as part of their plan, with nothing extra to buy. Have an idea? Send it through the contact page.

Can you make a buddy from my photos?

Yes, with an Annual or Lifetime plan. Adults can request a stylized character of themselves or another consenting adult: one request at a time, and at most one a day. Sign in, tell us about the person, add three to five photos, and we set a price before you pay anything. Your buddy is a stylized 3D character, not an exact match of anyone’s face.

How much does a custom buddy cost?

Each custom buddy is priced individually, and sending a request costs nothing. We put a price in your library before any work starts; you pay it up front, and we aim to deliver within 72 hours of payment. Small tweaks after the first look are free; bigger changes such as new colors, outfits or accessories are priced separately.

How long does a custom buddy take?

We aim to deliver within 72 hours of payment. If we need more time, we tell you and ask for it. If we still can’t deliver, we refund your payment in full; that is the only refund for custom work. Small tweaks after the first look are free; bigger changes such as new colors, outfits or accessories are priced separately, because each render takes about 4 hours of paid GPU time.

Can you make a buddy of my child?

No, we don’t make buddies of children. Custom buddies are only of yourself or another adult who has agreed to it, and everyone in the reference photos must be at least 18.

Can I request a famous person?

Yes, as a one-off custom buddy for your own personal use. We make it as a private one-off for you and never list it in the store. Our base designs may be reused for other custom buddies (see the Terms). Named characters of real people only appear in the store with that person’s written agreement, and we never imply an endorsement that does not exist.

Who can see my custom buddy?

Only you. Custom requests belong to your account: you follow progress in your library, only you can unlock the finished buddy, and we never list it in the store or use it in marketing without your permission. We delete your photos 30 days after we deliver your buddy, or within 30 days if the request is declined, cancelled or refunded.

Are my photos used to train AI?

No, we never use your reference photos to train AI or anything else. Only our team sees them, we use them only to make your buddy, and we never show them publicly or use them in promotion. We delete them 30 days after delivery, or within 30 days if the request is declined, cancelled or refunded.

Can I share my buddies or my account?

No, every buddy, custom ones included, belongs to the account that bought it. It is for personal, non-commercial use on your own devices, so please don’t resell, share or post the character files, or share your membership.

What does buying a coffee include?

It is an optional thank-you that helps us make new characters and activities. It is not a character purchase or charity donation, and it does not unlock anything, change delivery priority or add to a custom order. You choose the amount, from $1.

Still wondering?

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