Comparison

WeChat vs rednote

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

rednote

Connect with a global community to share your daily life, from hobbies and interests to personal experiences. Discover inspiration and build connections through authentic and helpful interactions.

Highlights
  • Share daily life moments
  • Connect with global users
  • Discover diverse content
  • Authentic self-expression
  • Helpful life tips
  • Inclusive community
Features
Read full description

Dear rednote villagers, Welcome to the community. this is a place where people share their life and connect with each other. Millions of users share their daily life here, from favorite music to fashion looks, from cooking recipe to home decor, from travel tips to their beloved cats and dogs. We welcome you to share everything about your life and connect with the villiagers around the global. To better navigate here, we’d like to share some CORE VALUES of rednote with you: Authenticity: Everyone is unique and has their own life story, so just be yourself here. You can think of us as friends and feel free to share your daily life or special moments. We believe authenticity builds trust, what you share may also help or inspire others, so we encourage you to be genuine and friendly in your posts. Helpfulness:For years, rednote villagers have been sharing billions of life experience and tips and helped countless people they’ve never met. The world is big, but we believe people share more similarities in their life than they thought. We encourage you to share your unique experiences here and inspire another "you" somewhere on this planet. Inclusivity: We believe the world is a "global village", where people from different regions and cultures can connect and communicate. In this welcoming community. We hope everyone respects each other and embraces differences in values, cultures, and perspectives. We encourage you to show your likes and appreciation for other villagers. We believe that kindness will always be returned, and you’ll feel the warmth and love from others. Have fun and happy sharing! Lots of love from the rednote team

Screenshots

WeChat4 screens
rednote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: rednote at 4.9 against WeChat's 3.9. rednote also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. WeChat sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and rednote sells 20 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

rednote holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 81K and 269K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of WeChat's written reviews are positive against 38% of rednote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WeChat ships an update every 3 weeks, rednote every 4 days. Both last shipped on September 28, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
WeChat versus rednote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWeChatrednote
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (81K ratings)4.9 (269K ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.9% of reviews37.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings81K269K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#18#14 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size887 MB454 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperWeChatXingin

Customer experience

WeChat

All ratings80,670 ratings
Positive72.6%
Neutral4.6%
Negative22.8%
Written reviews2,081 reviews
Positive23.9%
Neutral6.2%
Negative69.8%

rednote

All ratings269,147 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral0.6%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews4,400 reviews
Positive37.6%
Neutral4.8%
Negative57.6%

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

rednote

From 269K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Amazing app with great features
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💕 Welcoming and supportive community
  • 🌍 Opportunity to connect with diverse cultures
  • 🎨 Excellent platform for creative expression

Room to improve

  • 🔇 Lack of translation options for non-Chinese users
  • 🚫 Strict content moderation and censorship
  • 🤖 Aggressive recommendation algorithm
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns and data collection
  • 🔥 High data and storage consumption

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

rednote

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Inability to load images and videos consistently
  • Unexpected account bans or restrictions
  • Inconsistent behavior across different devices
  • Sync issues between mobile and desktop versions
Show 1 more
  • Unreliable notification and comment systems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add comprehensive translation capabilities
  • Improve transparency around content moderation
  • Provide more control over recommendation settings
  • Enhance privacy protections for user data
  • Optimize app performance and reduce resource usage
Show 1 more
  • Clarify community guidelines and appeal process

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
20 purchases

rednote

One-time20
  • 42 薯币$0.99
  • 70薯币$0.99
  • 105薯币$1.99
Show 17 more
  • 210薯币$3.99
  • 350薯币2 variants$6.99
  • 476 薯币$9.99
  • 476薯币$9.99
  • 672薯币$12.99
  • 679薯币$12.99
  • 693薯币$14.99
  • 686薯币$14.99
  • 700薯币$14.99
  • 686 薯币$14.99
  • 756薯币$14.99
  • 1386 薯币$29.99
  • 3626 薯币$74.90
  • 10486 薯币$219.00
  • 13986 薯币$299.99
  • 18193薯币$399.99
  • 52493薯币$1000.00

Questions

Is WeChat free?
WeChat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is rednote free?
rednote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WeChat or rednote?
rednote is rated higher. WeChat averages 3.9 out of 5 from 81K ratings, while rednote averages 4.9 from 269K ratings.
Do WeChat or rednote have ads?
WeChat shows ads; rednote does not.
Which is updated more often, WeChat or rednote?
WeChat ships an update every 3 weeks, and rednote every 4 days. Most recently, WeChat was updated on September 28, 2026 and rednote on September 28, 2026.
Which is more popular, WeChat or rednote?
WeChat currently peaks at #18 in the App Store charts, and rednote at #14. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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