Comparison

Messenger vs Google Meet

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

Head to head
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.

About

Google Meet

Connect with friends, family, and colleagues through high-quality video calls and meetings. Schedule calls, send video messages, or join spontaneous conversations. Enhance interactions with features like real-time captions, in-call chat, and engaging effects.

Highlights
  • High-quality video calls
  • Scheduled meetings
  • Video messages
  • Real-time translated captions
  • In-call chat
  • Screen sharing
  • Stackable effects
Features
Read full description

Google Meet is a high-quality video calling app designed to help you have meaningful and fun interactions with your friends, family, colleagues, and classmates, wherever they are. Meet lets you connect in whatever way works for you: Call someone spontaneously, schedule time together, or send a video message that they can watch and respond to later. Meet also helps you get things done. It integrates with other Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs, Slides, and Calendar, and offers a number of features to help you run smooth and engaging meetings, like noise cancellation, in-call chat, recordings, and more.* Features to look forward to: Make spontaneous calls or host video meetings with your friends and colleagues, all in one app. Enjoy one-on-one video calls for up to 24 hours and host meetings for up to 60 minutes and 100 people at no cost. Follow along in your preferred language with real-time translated captions in over 70 languages. Use in-call chat to share ideas, ask questions, or provide feedback without interrupting the flow of the conversation. Make your calls more engaging with in-call emojis that allow you to express yourself seamlessly without interrupting the conversation. Share visuals like photos, videos, and presentations during your call to collaborate or simply share memories from your recent vacation. Make your calls with family and friends more fun with stackable effects that allow participants to add multiple backgrounds, filters, and animations, to create a personalized experience. Use on-the-go mode for an audio-only experience with larger call controls, making it easier to take calls with fewer distractions while walking, driving, or using public transportation. Access on any device: Meet works across mobile, tablet, web, and smart devices,** so everyone can join. High quality video: Show up looking your best with up to 4k video quality video***. Learn more about Google Meet: https://workspace.google.com/products/meet/ Follow us for more: Twitter: https://twitter.com/googleworkspace Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleworkspace Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/googleworkspace/ *Meeting recording, noise cancellation are available as premium features. See https://workspace.google.com/pricing.html for more details **Not available in every language. ***Bandwidth permitting. Google Meet automatically adjusts to the highest video quality possible based on your bandwidth. Data charges may apply. Check your carrier for details. Specific feature availability may vary based on device specifications.

Screenshots

Messenger4 screens
Google Meet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Google Meet at none against Messenger's 10. Google Meet also leads on ads (none vs shown). Messenger's advantage is review sentiment (66% vs 46%) and ratings volume (14M vs 2.3M). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Messenger sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Google Meet asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Messenger against 4.8 for Google Meet. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 2.3M, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Messenger's written reviews are positive against 46% of Google Meet's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Messenger versus Google Meet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMessengerGoogle Meet
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14M ratings)4.8 (2.3M ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.2% of reviews — better46.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14M — better2.3M
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#8 — better#11
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size255 MB327 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMeta Platforms, Inc.Google

Customer experience

Messenger

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

Google Meet

All ratings2,332,598 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews1,383 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral9.8%
Negative44.2%

User reviews

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

Google Meet

From 2.3M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 High-quality video and audio
  • 💡 Cross-platform compatibility
  • 🤝 Allows communication with non-iPhone users
  • 😊 Overall positive experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent freezing and disconnections
  • 🔋 High battery drain
  • 🔇 Audio issues like echoes and delays
  • 📵 Inability to use without a phone number
  • 🤔 Confusing UI and limited features compared to competitors

Bugs and requests

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

Google Meet

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Video freezes when moving away from WiFi
  • Inability to answer calls or end them properly
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add screen sharing capability
  • Implement group chat and texting features
  • Allow customization of user profiles and group chats
  • Improve compatibility with older devices and operating systems

In-app purchases

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
None

Google Meet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Messenger free?
Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Google Meet free?
Google Meet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Messenger or Google Meet?
Google Meet is rated higher. Messenger averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14M ratings, while Google Meet averages 4.8 from 2.3M ratings.
Do Messenger or Google Meet have ads?
Messenger shows ads; Google Meet does not.
Which is updated more often, Messenger or Google Meet?
Messenger ships an update weekly, and Google Meet weekly. Most recently, Messenger was updated on September 24, 2026 and Google Meet on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Messenger or Google Meet?
Messenger currently peaks at #8 in the App Store charts, and Google Meet at #11. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons