Comparison

Jami vs hellotern

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Jami

This is a free communication platform prioritizing privacy through end-to-end encryption. It offers secure instant messaging, audio/video calls, and file sharing. The app supports multi-device usage and can function as a SIP client.

Highlights
  • Instant messaging
  • Audio and video calls
  • Photo and file sharing
  • Group conversations
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Multi-device support
  • SIP client functionality
Features
Read full description

Jami is a free, unified communication platform that puts privacy first. Built on end-to-end encryption, Jami keeps your conversations secure and your personal data private. Features: - Instant messaging - Audio and video calls - Photo and file sharing - Group conversations and video conferences - End-to-end encrypted communications Multi-device support: - Use Jami on multiple devices - Sync your conversations seamlessly - Link devices to your account Additional capabilities: - Works as a SIP client For more information, visit https://jami.net Jami is published under the GPL license, version 3 or higher. Copyright © Savoir-faire Linux Inc.

About

hellotern

Features
Read full description

Tern is a private messenger for the people you actually talk to: end-to-end encrypted rooms, voice and video calls, and small communities, with the intelligence running on your phone, inside the encryption, instead of on a server that reads along. NO ACCOUNT, NO PHONE NUMBER Open Tern, pick a name, create a room. Share its invite code or link and the people you invite are in. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to verify, nothing to sell. ENCRYPTED END TO END, INCLUDING CALLS Messages, photos, voice notes and files are sealed on your device with modern group encryption (MLS) and stay sealed through the relay. Voice and video calls are encrypted frame by frame on your phone; the call server forwards packets it cannot decode. CALLS THAT HOLD UP One-to-one and group voice and video calls, ring everyone in a room at once, add someone mid-call, switch from voice to video, picture-in-picture, call history, and a Test call engine button in Call diagnostics for when a network is being difficult. ROOMS THAT FEEL LIKE HOME Channels and threads, pinned messages, polls and events, voice rooms you can hop in and out of, a Space Home that shows who is around, disappearing and view-once media, stickers you cut out yourself. INTELLIGENCE THAT STAYS ON YOUR PHONE Catch Me Up summarizes what you missed, in eight languages, from your own device. Search finds the message you half-remember. Voice notes are transcribed locally. No message leaves your phone to make any of this work, and everything AI-generated is labelled as such. CALM BY CONSTRUCTION No feed, no algorithmic ranking, no streaks, no autoplay. A chronological view is the only view. You are always caught up when the messages end. WHAT WE CANNOT SEE Tern's relay stores sealed envelopes it cannot open and forwards call packets it cannot decode. Notifications are content-free nudges. There are no ads, no trackers, and no third-party analytics in the app or on hellotern.com. Tern is free. Details of what the app can and cannot do, and how the encryption works, are at hellotern.com.

Screenshots

Jami4 screens
hellotern4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: hellotern at every 8 days against Jami's every 3 weeks. Jami's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jami ships an update every 3 weeks, hellotern every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Jami versus hellotern: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJamihellotern
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (91 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews41.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings91 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSavoir-faire LinuxSaad Maan

In-app purchases

None

Jami

No in-app purchases

None

hellotern

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Jami free?
Jami is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is hellotern free?
hellotern is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Jami or hellotern have ads?
Neither Jami nor hellotern shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jami or hellotern?
Jami ships an update every 3 weeks, and hellotern every 8 days. Most recently, Jami was updated on October 16, 2026 and hellotern on October 8, 2026.

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