Comparison

Kik Messaging & Chat App vs Messenger

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

Head to head
About

Kik Messaging & Chat App

Connect with friends and discover new ones through chat. Share photos, videos, games, and more without needing phone numbers. Explore interests and join groups for seamless communication.

Highlights
  • Connect with friends
  • Group chats
  • Share photos and videos
  • Play games
  • Meet new people
  • Username-based accounts
Features
Read full description

Get connected. Kik is way more than just messaging. It’s the easiest way to connect with your friends, stay in the loop, and explore – all through chat. No phone numbers, just pick a username. • Choose who to chat with one-on-one and in groups • Share pics, videos, gifs, games, and more • Meet new friends with similar interests Get on Kik now. Start chatting! You can read our End User License Agreement here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Messenger

Connect with friends and family through text, audio, and video calls. Share photos in high definition, create shared albums, and send large files. Features an AI assistant for instant answers and creative image generation.

Highlights
  • Text, audio, and video calls
  • High-definition photo sharing
  • Shared photo albums
  • Large file sharing (up to 100MB)
  • AI assistant for questions and creative tasks
  • Disappearing messages
  • Customizable chat themes
Features
Read full description

Messenger is a free messaging app that helps you connect with anyone, anywhere. Stay in touch with your friends and family, explore your interests with people like you, build your community, and share your vibe beyond words, all in one app. CHAT AND CALL ANYONE, ANYWHERE
 Find and connect with your friends and family on Facebook and Messenger, no phone number needed. GET INSTANT ANSWERS FROM YOUR AI ASSISTANT* Meta AI is your assistant that can answer any questions, give you advice, help with homework, and more. SEND YOUR PHOTOS IN HIGH DEFINITION Send and receive clearer, crisper picture of your favorite moments with Messenger. CREATE SHARED ALBUMS From a recent summer vacation to your grandma’s 80th birthday, create albums of photos and videos to share, organize and reminisce over important moments in your group chats. EASILY ADD NEW CONNECTIONS WITH QR CODES Connect with people you meet in real life by scanning their Messenger QR code or sharing yours via a link. SHARE LARGE FILES DIRECTLY IN CHAT Whether it’s a Word, PDF, or Excel doc, you can send large files up to 100MB right inside of Messenger. EDIT AND UNSEND MESSAGES Hit send too soon? You can edit the message up to 15 minutes after sending DISAPPEARING MESSAGES Some things aren’t meant to last forever. Choose how long your end-to-end encrypted chats stick around after they’ve been read. COME TOGETHER WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES Meaningfully connect with people like you from your school, neighborhood, and interest groups. GET IN YOUR FAVORITE CREATORS’ INNER CIRCLE Stay in the know with creators by joining their broadcast channels for authentic and casual content. UNLEASH YOUR IMAGINATION W/ META AI* Tap into your go-to creative partner to create, edit, animate images and more. CAPTURE EVERYDAY MOMENTS ON STORIES Highlight moments of your day using photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours in Stories. DROP A NOTE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS Stay connected with your friends by sharing quick updates that disappear after 24 hours. BRING YOUR VIBE TO YOUR CHATS Sometimes words just don’t cut it. Tap into more ways to express yourself with animated stickers, GIFs, reactions and more. SET THE MOOD OF YOUR CHAT WITH THEMES Customize your chat with a large and constantly evolving list of themes featuring popular artists, holidays, and more. *Meta AI is available in select languages and countries only, with more coming soon.

Screenshots

Kik Messaging & Chat App4 screens
Messenger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Messenger at 66% against Kik Messaging & Chat App's 36%. Messenger also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (14M vs 486K). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Kik Messaging & Chat App sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Messenger sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 486K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Kik Messaging & Chat App's written reviews are positive against 66% of Messenger's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kik Messaging & Chat App ships an update fortnightly, Messenger weekly. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Kik Messaging & Chat App versus Messenger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKik Messaging & Chat AppMessenger
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (486K ratings)4.7 (14M ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.6% of reviews66.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings486K14M — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#105#8 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size169 MB277 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperMedialab - KikMeta Platforms, Inc.

Customer experience

Kik Messaging & Chat App

All ratings484,897 ratings
Positive79.8%
Neutral7.4%
Negative12.8%
Written reviews3,053 reviews
Positive35.6%
Neutral12.0%
Negative52.4%

Messenger

All ratings13,881,157 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews13,193 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral5.6%
Negative28.5%

User reviews

Kik Messaging & Chat App

From 486K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💬 Great chat features
  • 🌐 Connects people globally
  • 🤝 Helps make new friends

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Overrun by bots and spam
  • 💤 Slow and laggy performance
  • 📢 Intrusive and annoying ads
  • 🔑 Account security issues
  • 🔒 Lack of moderation and safety

Messenger

From 14M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📱 Useful for staying connected with friends and family
  • 🗣️ Enables easy communication through text, voice, and video
  • 💬 Convenient group chat features
  • 🌐 Works across multiple devices and platforms

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Privacy and security concerns
  • 🔄 Unnecessary updates that remove useful features
  • 📤 Issues with message delivery and notifications
  • 🗂️ Cluttered interface and poor organization of chats

Bugs and requests

Kik Messaging & Chat App

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notifications not working properly
  • Messages not sending or getting stuck
  • Profile pictures not updating correctly
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved group management tools
  • Option to disable live streaming
  • Better chat organization and search
  • Ability to delete messages across devices
  • Restore previous video chat functionality

Messenger

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to log in or access account
  • Messages failing to send or receive
  • Unexpected app crashes and freezes
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to delete or unsend messages
  • Improve search functionality for chat history
  • Introduce customizable notification settings
  • Bring back old features like emoji reactions and location sharing

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Kik Messaging & Chat App

Subscriptions2
  • Ad Free$2.991 Month
  • Ad free (annual)$32.991 Year
One-time12
  • 100 Live Credits$0.99
  • 100 Live credits$0.99
  • 3 Chat Credits$0.99
Show 9 more
  • 200 Live Credits$1.99
  • 500 Live Credits Offer$1.99
  • 500 Live Credits$4.99
  • 2000 Live Credits$14.99
  • Special Offer$14.99
  • 3700 Live Credits$24.99
  • Special Offer$99.99
  • 16500 Live Credits$99.99
  • 70000 Live Credits$399.99
10 purchases

Messenger

One-time10
  • Avatar Item$0.99
  • Avatar Item$1.99
  • Avatar Item$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Avatar Item$3.99
  • Avatar Item$4.99
  • Avatar Item$6.99
  • Avatar Item$7.99
  • Avatar Item$8.99
  • Avatar Item$9.99
  • Avatar Item$10.99

Questions

Is Kik Messaging & Chat App free?
Kik Messaging & Chat App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Messenger free?
Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kik Messaging & Chat App or Messenger?
Messenger is rated higher. Kik Messaging & Chat App averages 4.3 out of 5 from 486K ratings, while Messenger averages 4.7 from 14M ratings.
Do Kik Messaging & Chat App or Messenger have ads?
Both Kik Messaging & Chat App and Messenger show ads.
Which is updated more often, Kik Messaging & Chat App or Messenger?
Kik Messaging & Chat App ships an update fortnightly, and Messenger weekly. Most recently, Kik Messaging & Chat App was updated on October 30, 2026 and Messenger on October 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, Kik Messaging & Chat App or Messenger?
Kik Messaging & Chat App currently peaks at #105 in the App Store charts, and Messenger at #8. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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