WhatsApp Messenger vs WeChat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WhatsApp Messenger
Connect with friends and family globally through private messaging and high-quality calls. Share moments, documents, and stay in touch across devices, even on slow connections. Your conversations are secured with end-to-end encryption.
- End-to-end encrypted messaging
- High-quality voice and video calls
- Group chats and calls
- Cross-device connectivity
- Status updates
- Location sharing
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WhatsApp from Meta is a free messaging and calling app used by over 2 billion people across 180+ countries. It's super simple, reliable and private, making it perfect for staying in touch with your friends and family worldwide. WhatsApp works across mobile, tablet, and desktop even on slow connections, with no subscription fees*. Private messaging and calls across the world Your privacy is our priority. With end-to-end encryption, you can be sure that your personal messages and calls stay between you and who you send them to. And no one, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them. Simple and secure connections, right away All you need is your phone number - no usernames or logins needed. Easily view your contacts on WhatsApp and start messaging. And what's more, you can easily link your other devices, including iPads, for seamless connectivity. High quality voice and video calls Enjoy free, secure video and voice calls with up to 32 people for free. Your calls work across devices, even on slower connections, using your phone or tablet’s Internet service. Group chats to keep you in contact Stay close to friends and family through end-to-end encrypted group chats and calls. Share messages, photos, videos and documents across mobile, tablet, and desktop. You can also use call links and screen-sharing to make group calls and collaboration easy. Stay connected in real time You can share your location with those in your individual or group chats while using WhatsApp on your mobile phone. Or record a voice message for those moments when just text isn't good enough. Share daily moments through Status Share your everyday life with those who matter. With Status you can share text, photos, video, and GIF updates that disappear after 24 hours. You're always in control of who sees your status. Just choose who you want to share it with - all your contacts or selected ones. And bring your everyday to life. *Data charges may apply. Contact your provider for details. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any feedback or questions, please go to WhatsApp > Settings > Help > Contact Us Terms of Service: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/terms-of-service Learn more about messaging privately: https://www.whatsapp.com/privacy Learn more about WhatsApp safety: https://www.whatsapp.com/security
Connect with friends and family through messaging, voice, and video calls. Discover news, local services, and games within the app. Features mobile payment and health tracking capabilities.
- Text, photo, voice, and video messaging
- Group chats up to 500 members
- High-quality voice and video calls
- Real-time location sharing
- Moments for sharing photos and videos
- Official Accounts for news and content
- Mini Programs for third-party services
- Mobile payment with Weixin Pay
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WeChat is more than a messaging and social media app – it is a lifestyle for one billion users across the world. Chat and make calls with friends, read news and use local services in Official Accounts and Mini Programs, play games with friends, enjoy mobile payment features with Weixin Pay, and much more. Why do one billion people use WeChat? • MORE WAYS TO CHAT: Message friends using text, photo, voice, video, location sharing, and more. Create group chats with up to 500 members. • VOICE & VIDEO CALLS: High-quality voice and video calls to anywhere in the world. Make group video calls with up to 15 people. • REAL-TIME LOCATION: Not good at explaining directions? Share your real-time location with the tap of a button. • MOMENTS: Never forget your favorite moments. Post photos, videos, and more to share with friends on your personal Moments stream. • STICKER GALLERY: Browse thousands of fun, animated stickers to help express yourself in chats, including stickers with your favorite cartoon and movie characters. • CUSTOM STICKERS: Make chatting more unique with custom stickers and selfie stickers. • OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS: Tons of accounts to follow with original content and news for your reading pleasure. • MINI PROGRAMS: Countless third-party services all within the WeChat app that don't require additional installation, saving you precious phone storage and time. • TOP STORIES: See the latest articles your friends are reading and discover all kinds of interesting content. • GAMES: Have fun and compete with friends in a huge selection of WeChat Mini Games and Tencent Games (available in select regions). • WEIXIN PAY: Enjoy the convenience of world-leading mobile payment features with Weixin Pay and Wallet (available in select regions). • WECHAT OUT: Make calls to mobile phones and landlines around the globe at super low rates (only available in select regions). • WERUN: Use Healthkit and Health app data to sync your step count on WeRun, where you can compete against friends with daily step rankings. Enable WeRun in “Settings” > “General” > “Plug-ins”. • LANGUAGE SUPPORT: Localized in 20+ different languages and can translate friends' messages and Moments posts. • BETTER PRIVACY: Giving you the highest level of control over your privacy, WeChat is certified by TRUSTe - view our privacy policy for more information. • EASY MODE: Clearer and larger text and buttons for better readability.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WhatsApp Messenger at 4.7 against WeChat's 3.9. WhatsApp Messenger also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (51% vs 24%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. WhatsApp Messenger sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.00 per month and WeChat sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
WhatsApp Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WhatsApp Messenger has 19M ratings behind it against 81K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of WhatsApp Messenger's written reviews are positive against 24% of WeChat's.
WhatsApp Messenger ships an update every 3 days, WeChat every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | WhatsApp Messenger | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (19M ratings) — better | 3.9 (81K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.5% of reviews — better | 24.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19M — better | 81K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #2 — better | #16 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 361 MB | 887 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | WhatsApp Inc. | |
Customer experience
WhatsApp Messenger
User reviews
WhatsApp Messenger
From 19M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💬 Great communication tool
- 🌍 Connects people globally
- 🔒 Secure and private messaging
- 📱 Versatile features (calls, video, groups)
- 🆓 Free to use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (freezing, crashing, notification issues)
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with data sharing
- 🙈 Lack of customization and control (status, groups)
- 📤 Backup and restore issues
- 🚫 Arbitrary account bans
What we love
- 🚀 Great all-in-one app
- 👍 Convenient features like payments and mini-programs
- 💡 Useful translation and sharing functions
- 🔒 Secure and private
Room to improve
- 🐛 Accounts getting blocked for no reason
- 🔒 Strict security measures and verification requirements
- 👎 Poor customer support and unresponsive to user issues
- 🔋 High storage and battery consumption
- 🤔 Censorship and monitoring concerns
Bugs and requests
WhatsApp Messenger
Reported bugs
4 issues- App freezing and crashing issues
- Notification problems (missing, delayed)
- Backup and restore failures
- Arbitrary account bans with poor support
Requested features
5 requests- Add dark mode option
- Improve group management features
- Allow more customization of status and notifications
- Enhance backup and restore functionality
- Provide better customer support and appeal process
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent app crashes and connectivity issues
- Syncing problems between devices
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
- Unreliable voice/video call quality
Requested features
5 requests- Add dark mode option
- Improve chat organization with folders and pinning
- Allow editing of posted content
- Provide better translation and language support
- Simplify account recovery and unblocking process
In-app purchases
WhatsApp Messenger
- No ads (1 account)$4.001 Month
- No ads (4 accounts)5 variants$21.991 Month
- No ads (5 accounts)4 variants$26.991 Month
- WeChat Out Top-Up Card$0.99
- 42 WeBeans$0.99
- WeChat Out Top-Up Card$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 126 WeBeans$2.99
- WeChat Out Top-Up Card$3.99
- 350 WeBeans$6.99
- WeChat Out Top-Up Card$9.99
- WeChat Out Top-Up Card$14.99
- 896 WeBeans$19.99
- 9086 WeBeans$199.99






