Comparison

LINE vs FaceTime

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

Head to head
About

LINE

Connect with friends and family through free voice and video calls, messages, and a wide array of stickers and themes. This communication platform offers a seamless experience across mobile, desktop, and smartwatches, with enhanced privacy features and content discovery options.

Highlights
  • Free voice and video calls
  • Messaging
  • Stickers and emojis
  • Customizable themes
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Encrypted messages
  • Keep Memo for storage
Features
Read full description

LINE is transforming the way people communicate, closing the distance between family, friends, and loved ones—for free. With voice and video calls, messages, and a limitless variety of exciting stickers, you’ll be able to express yourself in ways that you never thought possible. Available all around the world on mobile, desktop, and Apple Watch, the LINE platform continues to grow, always offering new services and features that make your life more fun and convenient. ◆ Messages, Voice calls, Video calls. Enjoy voice and video calls and exchanging messages with your LINE friends. ◆ LINE stickers, emojis, and themes Express yourself just the way you want with stickers and emojis. Also, find your favorite themes to customize your LINE app. ◆ Home Gives you easy access to your friends list, birthdays, the sticker shop and various services and contents offered by LINE. ◆ Seamless connection on mobile, Apple Watch, and desktop Chat anytime and anywhere. Whether you’re on the go or working at the office or remotely, use LINE via your iPhone, Apple Watch, or desktop. ◆ Store your personal information with Keep Memo My own chatroom to temporarily store messages, photos, and videos. ◆ Messages protected with Letter Sealing Letter Sealing encrypts your messages, call history and location information. Always be assured of your privacy when using LINE. *We recommend using a data plan or connecting to Wi-Fi as you may incur data usage fees otherwise. *Please check the recommended specifications from LINE settings > “Help center” > “LINE usage environment/Settings” > "System requirements for LINE” when installing/updating the LINE app. In addition, if you're using an old version of iOS, we recommend updating it to the latest version. ▼Click here to see how to update your iOS version. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204 ********** If your network speed is too slow or you don't have enough device storage, LINE may not install properly. If this happens, please check your connection and try again. **********

About

FaceTime

Connect with loved ones through high-quality audio and video calls. Share experiences like watching videos or listening to music together, collaborate on projects, and enhance your calls with fun effects and improved audio quality. Easily invite anyone to join, regardless of their device.

Highlights
  • Video and audio messaging
  • SharePlay for synced media
  • Screen sharing with remote control
  • Real-time document collaboration
  • Web link invitations for non-Apple users
  • Advanced mic modes and video effects
  • Seamless call handoff between devices
Read full description

Connect with family and friends around the world with FaceTime audio and video calls. FaceTime Messages When someone doesn’t pick up your FaceTime call, leave them a video or audio message to capture exactly what you want to say. SharePlay Watch videos and listen to music together with SharePlay. Synced playback and shared controls keep everyone on the same beat, and smart volume makes it easy to keep the conversation going over FaceTime while enjoying a video or song you love. Screen sharing Share your iPhone, iPad or Mac screen to bring your favorite apps into FaceTime. When someone is screen sharing, you can tap and draw on your screen to point out what they should do on theirs. If you need to assist more directly, you can ask for permission to remotely control their device. Collaboration Work on documents, presentations and more with the people on your call. Unknown Callers list Screened calls from unknown numbers are placed in a new area of your call list and out of your way. FaceTime links Invite your friends into a FaceTime call using a web link you can share anywhere. Even friends who don’t have an Apple device can join the call from their browser instantly — no login necessary. Mic Modes Automatic Mic Mode picks the right Mic Mode for you. Voice Isolation blocks out ambient noise and spotlights your voice. Wide Spectrum will leave ambient noises unfiltered, allowing your voice and all the sounds around you to be heard. Portrait mode & Studio Light Portrait mode blurs your background, while Studio Light dims the background and brightens your face. Reactions & gestures Layer screen effects directly into your camera feed, like balloons, confetti, stormy rain, fireworks, or laser beams. Double tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the reaction buttons, or trigger reactions using hand gestures. Contact Posters Create a customized poster to represent yourself when you give people a FaceTime Audio call. Choose from various treatments for photos, Memoji and your name. Spatial audio With spatial audio, your friends’ voices are spread out to sound like they’re coming from the direction in which they’re positioned on the call. Grid view Grid view lets you see people in your Group FaceTime calls in the same-size tiles, and highlights the current speaker so it’s easy to know who’s talking. Center Stage Center Stage uses machine learning to adjust the front-facing Ultra Wide camera during FaceTime video calls to help keep you and anyone else with you in the frame. Handoff in FaceTime Move FaceTime calls seamlessly from your iPhone to your Mac or iPad, and vice versa. When you hand off a call, your connected Bluetooth headset transitions to the new device simultaneously. Handoff to FaceTime on Apple TV 4K Connect with family and friends around the world from the comfort of your couch. Launch the FaceTime app on Apple TV to initiate a call or start on iPhone and handoff to Apple TV. Get everyone together Enjoy Group FaceTime calls with up to 32 people at once. Live Captions in FaceTime See automatically transcribed dialogue integrated into your FaceTime video calls. With speaker attribution, it's easy to follow along with group conversations. Flexible calling Reach contacts using their phone number or Apple Account. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi and cellular. Dual Capture on FaceTime Stream your front and rear cameras at the same time during one-on-one FaceTime calls—great for sharing what you’re looking at while staying face to face. (Available on iPhone Air and iPhone 17 models)

Screenshots

LINE4 screens
FaceTime2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FaceTime at 4.2 against LINE's 3.2. FaceTime also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 14) and ads (none vs shown). LINE's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 months) and chart position (#42 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume and device support 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. LINE sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. FaceTime asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FaceTime holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18K and 27K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 14% of LINE's written reviews are positive against 40% of FaceTime's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LINE ships an update every 9 days, FaceTime every 6 months. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
LINE versus FaceTime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLINEFaceTime
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (18K ratings)4.2 (27K ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.3% of reviews40.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18K27K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#42 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size401 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLINE CorporationApple Distribution International

Customer experience

LINE

All ratings18,449 ratings
Positive51.0%
Neutral9.5%
Negative39.5%
Written reviews1,644 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative79.4%

FaceTime

All ratings26,960 ratings
Positive78.8%
Neutral4.7%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews2,771 reviews
Positive40.3%
Neutral12.3%
Negative47.4%

User reviews

LINE

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💬 Great messaging app
  • 🎨 Customizable with cute stickers
  • 🌐 Useful for international communication
  • 🔒 Secure and private

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
  • 🔑 Difficult account recovery and transfer
  • 🚫 Accounts suspended without explanation
  • 🤖 Poor customer support
  • 🔍 Difficulty adding and searching for contacts

FaceTime

From 27K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💕 Seamless and reliable video calling
  • 🔍 Excellent audio and video quality
  • 🤝 Great for staying connected with friends and family
  • 🎨 Fun features like Animoji and Memoji
  • 🌐 Compatibility with non-Apple devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent call drops and connection issues
  • 🔇 Audio cutting out or not working
  • 🔍 Blurry or low-quality video
  • 🤯 Confusing UI changes and button placements
  • 🔋 Phone overheating during calls

Bugs and requests

LINE

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Unable to log in or sign up
  • Messages not sending or receiving
  • Notifications not working properly
  • App crashing after updates
  • Incompatibility with new devices and OS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • See who is online and typing
  • Ability to translate messages
  • Automatic chat history backup and sync
  • Easier sticker management and organization
  • More ways to earn free stickers and points

FaceTime

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Calls not connecting or dropping unexpectedly
  • Inability to mute or unmute during calls
  • Duplicate participants in group calls
  • Screen sharing not working as expected
  • Automatic call receiving with speaker on

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add filters and fun effects
  • Improve screen sharing functionality
  • Implement a video voicemail feature
  • Allow mirroring of asymmetric faces
  • Provide an option to permanently display the camera button

In-app purchases

13 purchases

LINE

Subscriptions2
  • スタンダード1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan1 Month trial2 variants$4.991 Month
One-time11
  • 50 LINE Coin$0.99
  • 70 LINE Coin$1.39
  • LINE Characters: All the Love$1.99
Show 8 more
  • Brown & Cony's Secret Date!$1.99
  • Brown & Cony's Lovey Dovey Date$1.99
  • 100 LINE Coin$1.99
  • 150 LINE Coin$2.99
  • 200 LINE Coin$3.99
  • 500 LINE Coin$7.99
  • 800 LINE Coin$11.99
  • 1600 LINE Coin$22.99
None

FaceTime

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LINE free?
LINE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FaceTime free?
FaceTime is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LINE or FaceTime?
FaceTime is rated higher. LINE averages 3.2 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while FaceTime averages 4.2 from 27K ratings.
Do LINE or FaceTime have ads?
LINE shows ads; FaceTime does not.
Which is updated more often, LINE or FaceTime?
LINE ships an update every 9 days, and FaceTime every 6 months. Most recently, LINE was updated on October 14, 2026 and FaceTime on October 14, 2026.

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