# Monal vs Vibest

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Monal at none against Vibest's 2. Monal also leads on ads (none vs shown). Vibest's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Vibest sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Monal asks for nothing beyond the download.

Monal ships an update monthly, Vibest every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Monal | Vibest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.7 (142 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monal-xmpp-chat/id317711500/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **142** | — |
| Positive reviews | 57.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 72 MB | 105 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.0.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Molitor und Dietzel, Inh. Thilo Molitor](https://appshunter.io/developer/1508738269) | [Vibest UG](https://appshunter.io/developer/1862255887) |

## What reviewers say

### Monal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monal-xmpp-chat/id317711500)

This open-source messenger provides a fast and user-friendly way to connect to the XMPP public chat network. Enjoy private, ad-free communication with end-to-end encryption and features like group chats and file sharing.

**Highlights:** Open Source, No Ads, OMEMO encrypted chat, Multi user chat (MUC), Audio/Video calls, File sharing

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Works well
- 🔒 Secure XMPP client
- 👍 Best XMPP client on iOS
- 🚀 Robust and dependable
- 👍 Actively developed

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Encryption problems
- 👎 Buggy UI and UX
- 🔍 Missing basic features (copy/paste, etc.)
- 🔋 High battery consumption

**Reported bugs**

- Disconnects frequently
- Incompatible with some XMPP servers
- Crashes when sending messages
- Issues with loading contact lists

**Requested features**

- Add OTR/PGP encryption support
- Improve group chat functionality
- Allow customization of sounds and notifications
- Optimize for older iOS versions


### Vibest

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vibest/id6756680832)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vibest Plus | $11.99 | per month |
| Vibest Aura | $22.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Monal free?

Monal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Vibest free?

Vibest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Monal or Vibest have ads?

Vibest shows ads; Monal does not.

### Which is updated more often, Monal or Vibest?

Monal ships an update monthly, and Vibest every 6 days. Most recently, Monal was updated on November 6, 2026 and Vibest on November 9, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*