WhatsApp Messenger vs Telegram Messenger
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
Telegram Messenger
A fast, secure, and powerful instant messaging app synced across all devices. It offers unlimited media and file sharing, robust encryption, and extensive group chat capabilities. Enjoy a simple, private, and customizable communication experience.
- Cross-device synchronization
- Unlimited file and media sharing
- End-to-end encrypted secret chats
- Large group chats (up to 200,000 members)
- Customizable themes and stickers
- Bots for task automation
- Photo and video editing tools
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Pure instant messaging — simple, fast, secure, and synced across all your devices. One of the top 5 most downloaded apps in the world with over 1 billion active users. FAST: Telegram is the fastest messaging app on the market, connecting people via a unique, distributed network of data centers around the globe. SYNCED: You can access your messages from all your phones, tablets and computers at once. Telegram apps are standalone, so you don’t need to keep your phone connected. Start typing on one device and finish the message from another. Never lose your data again. UNLIMITED: You can send media and files, without any limits on their type and size. Your entire chat history will require no disk space on your device, and will be securely stored in the Telegram cloud for as long as you need it. SECURE: We made it our mission to provide the best security combined with ease of use. Everything on Telegram, including chats, groups, media, etc. is encrypted using a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie–Hellman secure key exchange. 100% FREE & OPEN: Telegram has a fully documented and free API for developers, open source apps and verifiable builds to prove the app you download is built from the exact same source code that is published. POWERFUL: You can create group chats with up to 200,000 members, share large videos, documents of any type (.DOCX, .MP3, .ZIP, etc.) up to 2 GB each, and even set up bots for specific tasks. Telegram is the perfect tool for hosting online communities and coordinating teamwork. RELIABLE: Built to deliver your messages using as little data as possible, Telegram is the most reliable messaging system ever made. It works even on the weakest mobile connections. FUN: Telegram has powerful photo and video editing tools, animated stickers and emoji, fully customizable themes to change the appearance of your app, and an open sticker/GIF platform to cater to all your expressive needs. SIMPLE: While providing an unprecedented array of features, we take great care to keep the interface clean. Telegram is so simple you already know how to use it. PRIVATE: We take your privacy seriously and will never give any third parties access to your data. You can delete any message you ever sent or received for both sides, at any time and without a trace. Telegram will never use your data to show you ads. For those interested in maximum privacy, Telegram offers Secret Chats. Secret Chat messages can be programmed to self-destruct automatically from both participating devices. This way you can send all types of disappearing content — messages, photos, videos, and even files. Secret Chats use End-to-End Encryption to ensure that a message can only be read by its intended recipient. We keep expanding the boundaries of what you can do with a messaging app. Don’t wait years for older messengers to catch up with Telegram — join the revolution today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WhatsApp Messenger at 4.7 against Telegram Messenger's 4.0. WhatsApp Messenger also leads on ratings volume (19M vs 285K) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). Telegram Messenger's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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 Telegram Messenger sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
WhatsApp Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WhatsApp Messenger has 19M ratings behind it against 285K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of WhatsApp Messenger's written reviews are positive against 34% of Telegram Messenger's.
WhatsApp Messenger ships an update every 4 days, Telegram Messenger every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | WhatsApp Messenger | Telegram Messenger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (19M ratings) — better | 4.0 (285K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.4% of reviews — better | 34.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19M — better | 285K |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #2 — better | #3 |
| 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 | 398 MB | 232 MB |
| Age rating | +12 | 12+ |
| Developer | WhatsApp Inc. | Telegram FZ-LLC |
Customer experience
WhatsApp Messenger
Telegram 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
Telegram Messenger
From 285K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 👍 Customizable and user-friendly
- 💡 Innovative features like channels and bots
- 🌟 Great overall messaging experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable at times
- 🔋 Battery life issues
- 🚫 Lack of video calling feature
- 📂 Issues with media uploads and downloads
- 🔍 Inadequate search functionality
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
Telegram Messenger
Reported bugs
5 issues- Keyboard issues and cursor placement problems
- Frequent app crashes, especially in large group chats
- Inaccurate 'last seen' timestamps
- Notification issues and duplicate messages
- Problems with media auto-save and download
Requested features
5 requests- Add video calling feature
- Improve search capabilities
- Implement a story/status feature
- Allow more customization options
- Segregate channels, bots, and individual chats
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
Telegram Messenger
- Telegram Premium$4.991 Month
- Telegram Premium Annual$35.991 Year
- 50 Telegram Stars$0.99
- 1x Telegram Premium (One Week)$1.19
- 100 Telegram Stars$1.99
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- 250 Telegram Stars$5.09
- 500 Telegram Stars$9.99
- Telegram Premium (3 Months)$14.99
- 750 Telegram Stars$14.99
- Telegram Premium (6 Months)$19.99
- 1x Premium (6 Months)$19.99
- 1000 Telegram Stars$19.99
- 1500 Telegram Stars$29.99
- Telegram Premium (1 Year)$35.99
- 1x Premium (1 Year)$35.99
- 2500 Telegram Stars$50.90
- 5x Premium (3 Months Each)$74.99
- 10x Premium (3 Months Each)$149.99
- 5x Premium (1 Year Each)$179.99
Questions
Is WhatsApp Messenger free?
Is Telegram Messenger free?
Which has better reviews, WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram Messenger?
Do WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram Messenger have ads?
Which is updated more often, WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram Messenger?
Which is more popular, WhatsApp Messenger or Telegram Messenger?
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