Comparison

WhatsApp Messenger vs ChatSecure Messenger

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encrypted messaging
  • High-quality voice and video calls
  • Group chats and calls
  • Cross-device connectivity
  • Status updates
  • Location sharing
Features
Read full description

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

About

ChatSecure Messenger

This free and open source messaging app provides secure, end-to-end encrypted conversations using OTR and OMEMO over the XMPP protocol. It offers interoperability with other XMPP clients and uses well-known cryptographic libraries for privacy.

Highlights
  • OTR encryption
  • OMEMO encryption
  • XMPP protocol
  • TLS certificate pinning
  • SQLCipher local encryption
  • Open source
Features
Read full description

ChatSecure is a free and open source messaging app that features OTR and OMEMO encryption over XMPP. You can create new accounts on public XMPP servers, or even connect to your own server for extra security. Unlike other apps that keep you stuck in their walled garden, ChatSecure is fully interoperable with other clients that support OTR, OMEMO and XMPP. ChatSecure only uses well-known open source cryptographic libraries to keep your conversations private. Other apps may make claims about 'military grade' security but, without publicly auditable source code and verifiable end-to-end encryption, you cannot be truly safe. * XMPP with TLS certificate pinning. * OTR for verifiable end-to-end encryption and forward secrecy. * OMEMO for a mobile-friendly alternative to OTR. * SQLCipher to locally encrypt conversation logs. * Free and Open Source: https://github.com/chatsecure/chatsecure-ios Follow @ChatSecure on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chatsecure ►► ChatSecure Donations Subscribe to ChatSecure to help make developing free and open source privacy tools sustainable. We welcome any contribution to support ongoing development. The donation levels are currently $2.99/month, $5.99/month or $19.99/month. Here's what you get: • Feel good supporting indie software • Continued development and updates • Help keep the app free for everyone To manage your subscription: • You can turn off auto-renewal via the main Settings app: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4098 • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. • Visit the following URL to view our Privacy Policy: https://chatsecure.org/privacy/ • Visit the following URL for full terms of use: https://chatsecure.org/terms/

Screenshots

WhatsApp Messenger4 screens
ChatSecure Messenger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: WhatsApp Messenger at 4.7 against ChatSecure Messenger's 4.2. WhatsApp Messenger also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (19M vs 282). ChatSecure Messenger's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. WhatsApp Messenger sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.00 per month and ChatSecure Messenger sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

WhatsApp Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WhatsApp Messenger has 19M ratings behind it against 282, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 51% and 51% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WhatsApp Messenger ships an update every 3 days, ChatSecure Messenger every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
WhatsApp Messenger versus ChatSecure Messenger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhatsApp MessengerChatSecure Messenger
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (19M ratings) — better4.2 (282 ratings)
Positive reviews50.5% of reviews51.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19M — better282
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS15.112.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB34 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWhatsApp Inc.Chris Ballinger

Customer experience

WhatsApp Messenger

All ratings18,645,986 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews16,421 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral8.2%
Negative41.3%

ChatSecure Messenger

All ratings282 ratings
Positive76.6%
Neutral7.8%
Negative15.6%
Written reviews145 reviews
Positive51.0%
Neutral13.8%
Negative35.2%

User reviews

WhatsApp Messenger

From 19M App Store ratings

What 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

ChatSecure Messenger

From 282 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 🔒 Secure chat
  • 👍 Intuitive setup
  • 🚀 Reliable
  • 👍 Excellent service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes often
  • 🐛 Buggy
  • 🐛 Notifications not working
  • 🐛 Messages not syncing
  • 🐛 Stability issues

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

ChatSecure Messenger

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Fails to send messages
  • Notifications not working
  • Syncing issues across devices
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add group chat support
  • Improve background support
  • Add search functionality
  • Customization options
  • Improve message delivery reliability
Show 1 more
  • Restore Tor support

In-app purchases

3 purchases

WhatsApp Messenger

Subscriptions3
  • 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
3 purchases

ChatSecure Messenger

Subscriptions3
  • $2.99 Donation$2.991 Month
  • $5.99 Donation$5.991 Month
  • $9.99 Donation$9.991 Month

Questions

Is WhatsApp Messenger free?
WhatsApp Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChatSecure Messenger free?
ChatSecure Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WhatsApp Messenger or ChatSecure Messenger?
WhatsApp Messenger is rated higher. WhatsApp Messenger averages 4.7 out of 5 from 19M ratings, while ChatSecure Messenger averages 4.2 from 282 ratings.
Do WhatsApp Messenger or ChatSecure Messenger have ads?
WhatsApp Messenger shows ads; ChatSecure Messenger does not.
Which is updated more often, WhatsApp Messenger or ChatSecure Messenger?
WhatsApp Messenger ships an update every 3 days, and ChatSecure Messenger every 2 months. Most recently, WhatsApp Messenger was updated on September 28, 2026 and ChatSecure Messenger on September 15, 2026.

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