WhatsApp vs Swiftgram
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Connect with friends and family through messaging, voice, and video calls. Organize groups, share moments, and make plans with features like polls and live location sharing. Enjoy private conversations with end-to-end encryption across multiple devices.
- Group messaging and calling
- End-to-end encryption
- Live location sharing
- Polls for decision making
- HD photo and video sharing
- Disappearing messages
- Cross-device compatibility
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Bring your group together on WhatsApp. WhatsApp from Meta is a free messaging and calling app for the people and groups in your life. Bring your best friends, parent group, study group, or neighborhood together to chat, make plans, and share moments. Get everyone into the conversation Invite people with a link or QR code. Names and profile photos help you know who's who, and shared message history helps new members catch up. Make plans together Create events and track RSVPs. Use polls to choose a date or make a decision. Share your live location to find each other, and send documents up to 2GB. Keep your group organized Pin important messages. Admins can approve requests to join, and set group permissions. Have several related groups? Bring their chats and announcements together in a Community. Share more than messages Send HD photos and videos, voice messages, and short video notes. Make conversations your own with custom stickers, reactions, GIFs, and chat colors and backgrounds. Share everyday moments through Status-updates that disappear after 24 hours. Get together on a call Make unlimited voice and video calls with up to 32 people, with screen sharing, effects, and reactions. Speak freely Your personal messages and calls—including group chats and calls—stay private with end-to-end encryption. Not even WhatsApp can read or listen to them. Turn on disappearing messages to choose when your messages disappear. WhatsApp works on your phone, computer, tablet, and supported watch, including on slower connections. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
Swiftgram
This enhanced messaging client offers robust privacy features, unlimited accounts, and advanced chat management. Enjoy real-time translation, voice-to-text transcription, and extensive customization options for a personalized communication experience.
- Unlimited account support
- Message filtering for spam
- Real-time chat translation
- Voice-to-text transcription
- Extensive customization options
- Apple Watch companion app
- Instant passcode lock
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Swiftgram is a modded client for Telegram with Lots of features, focus on Privacy, No Limits, No Ads. Completelly Open Source and includes all latest updates from Telegram plus UNLIMITED ACCOUNTS: Add as many numbers as you want for FREE. ACCOUNTS BACKUP: Log-in to your accounts without SMS-code. Restore all Sessions that are still Active on Telegram servers. MESSAGE FILTER: Reduce visibility of SPAM, promotions and annoying messages. FORMATTING PANEL: Bold, Italic, Links? Formatting with just a single tap. VOICE-TO-TEXT: Transcribe audio messages to text for FREE. TRANSLATOR: Real-time translations for an entire chat. Translate messages you send with a single tap. STORIES: Hide stories or disable swipe for recording. APPLE WATCH COMPANION: Send and Receive Text and Voice messages on your Watch, only in Swiftgram! CHAT MANAGEMENT: Control Tabs, Hide "All Chats", move Folders to bottom and remember the last opened Folder to quickly jump into the discussion. HIDE NOTIFICATIONS: No more Pinned Messages or @mentions when you need some piece of mind. 50+ CUSTOMIZATIONS: Tabs, Chat List and Folders, Profiles, Stories, Translator, Better Photos, Stickers, Context Menu and much, MUCH MORE! SIMPLICITY: Swiftgram remains easy to use with no interface clutter. PRIVACY-FOCUSED: Instant Passcode Lock, Completelly Open Source, No Ads, No Trackers. Your messages and chats remain secure. ACCESSIBILITY: Improved VoiceOver support for Messages Sharing, cause A11y matters! Follow the news: @swiftgram Discuss: @swiftgramchat Swiftgram is an unofficial fork based on Telegram API. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Swiftgram at none against WhatsApp's shown. Swiftgram also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 50%). WhatsApp's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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 sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.00 per month and Swiftgram sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
WhatsApp holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WhatsApp has 19M ratings behind it against 657, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of WhatsApp's written reviews are positive against 70% of Swiftgram's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
WhatsApp ships an update every 4 days, Swiftgram monthly. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.
| Parameter | Swiftgram | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (19M ratings) — better | 4.2 (657 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.4% of reviews | 69.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19M — better | 657 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #3 — better | #129 |
| 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 | 392 MB | 240 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | WhatsApp Inc. | Akentech Ltd |
Customer experience
Swiftgram
User reviews
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
Swiftgram
From 657 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and accurate translation
- 🔒 Robust security features
- 👍 Extensive customization options
- 🚀 Lightweight and efficient
- 👍 Feature-rich alternative to official Telegram
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Accounts sometimes get locked or banned
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Unreliable voice message transcription
Bugs and requests
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
Swiftgram
Reported bugs
5 issues- Search bar crashes the app
- Forwarded messages disappear
- Notification issues and unknown caller spam
- Slow message loading and account switching
- Crashes when accessing storage usage section
Requested features
5 requests- Add Thai language support
- Integrate with iOS call features
- Implement 'show restricted content' for entire chats
- Add 'add to cloud' option for direct message saving
- Allow custom app icon selection
In-app purchases
- 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
Swiftgram
- Swiftgram Pro$3.991 Month
