Comparison

WeChat vs WatchsApp

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

Head to head
About

WeChat

Connect with friends and family through messaging, voice, and video calls. Discover news, local services, and games within the app. Features mobile payment and health tracking capabilities.

Highlights
  • Text, photo, voice, and video messaging
  • Group chats up to 500 members
  • High-quality voice and video calls
  • Real-time location sharing
  • Moments for sharing photos and videos
  • Official Accounts for news and content
  • Mini Programs for third-party services
  • Mobile payment with Weixin Pay
Features
Read full description

WeChat is more than a messaging and social media app – it is a lifestyle for one billion users across the world. Chat and make calls with friends, read news and use local services in Official Accounts and Mini Programs, play games with friends, enjoy mobile payment features with Weixin Pay, and much more. Why do one billion people use WeChat? • MORE WAYS TO CHAT: Message friends using text, photo, voice, video, location sharing, and more. Create group chats with up to 500 members. • VOICE & VIDEO CALLS: High-quality voice and video calls to anywhere in the world. Make group video calls with up to 15 people. • REAL-TIME LOCATION: Not good at explaining directions? Share your real-time location with the tap of a button. • MOMENTS: Never forget your favorite moments. Post photos, videos, and more to share with friends on your personal Moments stream. • STICKER GALLERY: Browse thousands of fun, animated stickers to help express yourself in chats, including stickers with your favorite cartoon and movie characters. • CUSTOM STICKERS: Make chatting more unique with custom stickers and selfie stickers. • OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS: Tons of accounts to follow with original content and news for your reading pleasure. • MINI PROGRAMS: Countless third-party services all within the WeChat app that don't require additional installation, saving you precious phone storage and time. • TOP STORIES: See the latest articles your friends are reading and discover all kinds of interesting content. • GAMES: Have fun and compete with friends in a huge selection of WeChat Mini Games and Tencent Games (available in select regions). • WEIXIN PAY: Enjoy the convenience of world-leading mobile payment features with Weixin Pay and Wallet (available in select regions). • WECHAT OUT: Make calls to mobile phones and landlines around the globe at super low rates (only available in select regions). • WERUN: Use Healthkit and Health app data to sync your step count on WeRun, where you can compete against friends with daily step rankings. Enable WeRun in “Settings” > “General” > “Plug-ins”. • LANGUAGE SUPPORT: Localized in 20+ different languages and can translate friends' messages and Moments posts. • BETTER PRIVACY: Giving you the highest level of control over your privacy, WeChat is certified by TRUSTe - view our privacy policy for more information. • EASY MODE: Clearer and larger text and buttons for better readability.

About

WatchsApp

This app allows you to use WhatsApp directly on your Apple Watch. Send and receive messages, view photos and videos in HD, and access all your chats and voice messages instantly. Stay connected without needing your phone.

Highlights
  • Access all chats
  • Send messages
  • View Full HD pictures and videos
  • Send and play voice messages
  • Start new chats
  • Send location messages
  • View Memoji Stickers
Features
Read full description

Use whatsApp on your Apple Watch! Send messages and access all chats, messages, pictures, videos, voice messages and more... GET CONNECTED INSTANTLY You don't need to wait hundreds of seconds to connect WhatsApp. EVERYTHING IS FULL HD Access photos and videos in FULL HD resolution. VOICE MESSAGES ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU Send and play them at the highest bit rate. Sound quality even sharper than diamond! Features - Access all chats - Send messages - View pictures in Full HD even without clicking on them. - Play videos - Send voice messages - Listen to voice messages - Start new Chats - Send location messages - View pictures in full screen - View location messages - View Memoji Stickers - Reply/Quote Messages - See quoted messages and who they were quoted from. - Load all messages in a conversation - In group messages, names and phone numbers are colored. * Some features, like sending voice and location messages, accessing all chats and contacts, and using the AI keyboard, require a subscription - WatchsApp isn’t affiliated with WhatsApp.

Screenshots

WeChat4 screens
WatchsApp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: WatchsApp at 4.6 against WeChat's 3.9. WatchsApp also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (43% vs 24%). WeChat's advantage is chart position (#20 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, 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. WeChat sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and WatchsApp sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 6 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

WatchsApp holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 81K and 34K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of WeChat's written reviews are positive against 43% of WatchsApp's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WeChat ships an update every 3 weeks, WatchsApp every 9 days. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
WeChat versus WatchsApp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWeChatWatchsApp
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (81K ratings)4.6 (34K ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.0% of reviews43.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings81K — better34K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#20 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size887 MB109 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWeChatBEYLER Software

Customer experience

WeChat

All ratings80,670 ratings
Positive72.6%
Neutral4.6%
Negative22.8%
Written reviews2,065 reviews
Positive24.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative69.7%

WatchsApp

All ratings34,191 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews1,506 reviews
Positive43.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative48.5%

User reviews

WeChat

From 81K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great all-in-one app
  • 👍 Convenient features like payments and mini-programs
  • 💡 Useful translation and sharing functions
  • 🔒 Secure and private

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Accounts getting blocked for no reason
  • 🔒 Strict security measures and verification requirements
  • 👎 Poor customer support and unresponsive to user issues
  • 🔋 High storage and battery consumption
  • 🤔 Censorship and monitoring concerns

WatchsApp

From 34K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient for using WhatsApp on Apple Watch
  • 🚀 Works well when connected
  • 💡 Lifetime premium option available

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections and sync issues
  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription
  • 🔒 Requires phone to be nearby to function properly
  • 🔍 Limited functionality in free version

Bugs and requests

WeChat

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent app crashes and connectivity issues
  • Syncing problems between devices
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
  • Unreliable voice/video call quality

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve chat organization with folders and pinning
  • Allow editing of posted content
  • Provide better translation and language support
  • Simplify account recovery and unblocking process

WatchsApp

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App gets stuck on loading screen
  • Unable to connect after WhatsApp beta update
  • Premium features not working as expected

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add support for FlickType keyboard
  • Improve notification reliability
  • Allow standalone use without phone nearby

In-app purchases

10 purchases

WeChat

One-time10
  • WeChat Out Top-Up Card$0.99
  • 42 WeBeans$0.99
  • WeChat Out Top-Up Card$1.99
Show 7 more
  • 126 WeBeans$2.99
  • WeChat Out Top-Up Card$3.99
  • 350 WeBeans$6.99
  • WeChat Out Top-Up Card$9.99
  • WeChat Out Top-Up Card$14.99
  • 896 WeBeans$19.99
  • 9086 WeBeans$199.99
10 purchases

WatchsApp

Subscriptions6
  • Premium3 Days trial2 variants$6.996 Months
  • Premium3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Premium3 Days trial$9.996 Months
Show 3 more
  • Premium3 Days trial$12.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial2 variants$17.996 Months
  • Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time4
  • Premium$19.99
  • Premium$24.99
  • Premium$29.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium$39.99

Questions

Is WeChat free?
WeChat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is WatchsApp free?
WatchsApp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WeChat or WatchsApp?
WatchsApp is rated higher. WeChat averages 3.9 out of 5 from 81K ratings, while WatchsApp averages 4.6 from 34K ratings.
Do WeChat or WatchsApp have ads?
WeChat shows ads; WatchsApp does not.
Which is updated more often, WeChat or WatchsApp?
WeChat ships an update every 3 weeks, and WatchsApp every 9 days. Most recently, WeChat was updated on September 25, 2026 and WatchsApp on September 25, 2026.

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