Comparison

GroupMe vs Messenger

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

Head to head
About

GroupMe

Connect with family, friends, and colleagues through group chats, direct messages, and shared media. Easily add members via phone number or email, control notifications, and express yourself with custom emojis and GIFs. Share photos and videos to relive memories later.

Highlights
  • Group chat creation
  • Direct messaging
  • Custom emoji and GIFs
  • Photo and video sharing
  • Notification control
  • Web access
Features
Read full description

GroupMe - the free, simple way to stay in touch with the people who matter most. Family. Roommates. Friends. Coworkers. Teams. Vacations. Greek Life. Bands. Faith Groups. Events. “Lifechanger.... utterly indispensable” -Gizmodo START CHATTING Add anyone to a group via their phone number or email address. If they don’t have the app, they can start chatting over SMS immediately. CONTROL NOTIFICATIONS You’re in charge! Mute specific chats, or the entire app – you can even leave or end group chats. SAY MORE THAN WORDS With an extensive set of exclusive emoji, you can express yourself in a whole new way. THE WHOLE INTERNET IN YOUR GROUP Meme images, search for and send GIFs and videos, and see content shared from URLs displayed in the chat. SHARE NOW, RELIVE LATER The gallery saves your memories. Easily explore the photos and videos shared in your group now, or later. LEAVE TEXTING BEHIND With direct messages, you can use all the features you love for group chat, but one-on-one. CHAT WHEREVER YOU ARE Including from your computer at groupme.com Stay in touch whether you’re separated by a hallway or a hemisphere. Get your group together. We want to hear your feedback! Support: https://aka.ms/groupmesupport Twitter: @GroupMeSupport Facebook: facebook.com/groupme Instagram: @GroupMe Love, Team GroupMe NOTE: SMS chat currently available in US only. Standard text messaging rates may apply. Privacy Policy: https://groupme.com/privacy Made with love in Seattle

About

Messenger

Connect with friends and family through text, audio, and video calls. Share photos, videos, and large files, and express yourself with custom themes and animated content. Features an AI assistant for help and support.

Highlights
  • Text, audio, and video calls
  • High-definition photo sharing
  • Shared photo albums
  • QR code connections
  • Large file sharing (up to 100MB)
  • Edit and unsend messages
  • Disappearing messages
  • AI assistant
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

GroupMe4 screens
Messenger4 screens

Verdict

The call

GroupMe and Messenger both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 66% of Messenger's written reviews are positive against 30% of GroupMe's. Messenger also leads on ratings volume (14M vs 1.6M). GroupMe's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. GroupMe sells 10 one-off in-app purchases 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for GroupMe against 4.7 for Messenger. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 1.6M, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 30% of GroupMe's written reviews are positive against 66% of Messenger's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
GroupMe versus Messenger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGroupMeMessenger
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.6M ratings)4.7 (14M ratings)
Positive reviews30.1% of reviews66.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6M14M — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#7 — better#9
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size379 MB255 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperSkype Communications S.a.r.lMeta Platforms, Inc.

Customer experience

GroupMe

All ratings1,559,158 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews1,583 reviews
Positive30.1%
Neutral12.1%
Negative57.8%

Messenger

All ratings13,628,351 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews12,366 reviews
Positive66.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative28.2%

User reviews

GroupMe

From 1.6M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent group communication
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 🚀 Reliable
  • 👍 Versatile for various use cases

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Syncing and loading issues
  • 🐛 Notification problems
  • 🐛 Bugs with media uploads
  • 🐛 Laggy performance

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

GroupMe

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to log in or account issues
  • Problems with adding/removing group members
  • Disappearing messages and chat history
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to delete/edit messages
  • Announcement mode for admins
  • Pinned messages
  • Improved group management features
  • Better cross-device/platform sync

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

10 purchases

GroupMe

One-time10
  • Most Wanted Emoji Pack$0.99
  • Michigan Wolverines Emoji Pack$0.99
  • Wisconsin Badgers Emoji Pack$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Florida Gators Emoji Pack$0.99
  • March Madness Emoji Pack$0.99
  • Most Wanted 2 Emoji Pack$0.99
  • University of Alabama Emoji Pack$1.99
  • University of Texas Emoji Pack$1.99
  • Adventure Time$1.99
  • University of Notre Dame Emoji$1.99
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 GroupMe free?
GroupMe 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, GroupMe or Messenger?
GroupMe and Messenger are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.6M and 14M ratings respectively.
Do GroupMe or Messenger have ads?
Messenger shows ads; GroupMe does not.
Which is updated more often, GroupMe or Messenger?
GroupMe ships an update weekly, and Messenger weekly. Most recently, GroupMe was updated on September 25, 2026 and Messenger on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, GroupMe or Messenger?
GroupMe currently peaks at #7 in the App Store charts, and Messenger at #9. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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