Comparison

Messenger vs Weibo intl.

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

Weibo intl.

Explore trending topics, connect with idols, and share your interests. Discover new content, find people with similar tastes, and express yourself through posts and chats. Offers exclusive VIP memberships for enhanced privileges.

Highlights
  • Discover trending topics
  • Follow favorite idols
  • Share posts and express yourself
  • Connect with new people
  • In-app VIP memberships
  • Real-time news and updates
Features
Read full description

Discover! Hot new stuff at your fingertips. Catch the trendy topics, get closer to your favorite idols, find the story behind the scenes. Explore your interests and share anything you want at anytime, anywhere! - Get the latest news, mind-blowing stuff. - Catch the trendy topics about Movies, Music, Sports, Traveling, fashion and etc. - Discover people with excellent taste and making new friend! - Post&repost anything to express yourself. - Let’s chat,share,have fun together. Weibo VIP: Exclusive privileges and federation privileges, custom sources,make your micro-blogging life more exciting! In-app you can buy Weibo members, and you can buy Weibo members in four ways: The first: 12 yuan / month to buy Weibo members, and automatically renew on a monthly basis. The second: 30 yuan / 3 months to buy Weibo members, and automatically renew every 3 months. Third: 60 yuan / half a year to buy Micro-blogging members, and automatically renew edgy by half year. The fourth: 118 yuan / year to buy Weibo members, and automatically renew edgy by year. What to know about buying: 1. The account will be automatically renewed and charged 1 day before expiration. 2. To cancel automatic renewals, please cancel in your personal account settings at least 1 day in advance. 3. No refund is available after the purchase takes effect. 4. After purchase, users can manage or turn off auto-renewal in their personal account settings. 5. If you are already a member of Weibo, you will extend the service time on the basis of the existing member service period after ordering 6. Weibo Membership Agreement http://new.vip.weibo.cn/newpay/protocol 7. Continuous subscription service agreement http://new.vip.weibo.cn/newpay/baoyueprotocol 8. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use https://m.weibo.cn/c/privacy Tell us what you think We are committed to building the best mobile experiences and would love to hear your feedback. Let us know your thoughts here: support@weico.com

Screenshots

Messenger4 screens
Weibo intl.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Messenger at 66% against Weibo intl.'s 14%. Messenger also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.2) and ratings volume (14M vs 4.8K). Weibo intl.'s advantage is iOS requirement (13 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Messenger sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Weibo intl. sells 21 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 4.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Messenger's written reviews are positive against 14% of Weibo intl.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Messenger ships an update weekly, Weibo intl. every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Messenger versus Weibo intl.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMessengerWeibo intl.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14M ratings) — better3.2 (4.8K ratings)
Positive reviews66.0% of reviews — better13.9% of reviews
Number of ratings14M — better4.8K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.113 — better
Further details — not scored
Size277 MB149 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperMeta Platforms, Inc.Beijing Weimeng Internet Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Messenger

All ratings13,881,157 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews13,193 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral5.6%
Negative28.5%

Weibo intl.

All ratings4,847 ratings
Positive53.1%
Neutral5.5%
Negative41.4%
Written reviews519 reviews
Positive13.9%
Neutral12.5%
Negative73.6%

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

Weibo intl.

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and clean interface
  • 🚀 Faster than the original Weibo app
  • 💡 Useful for following Chinese celebrities and content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔑 Difficult to create/log in to accounts
  • 🔍 Lack of translation and localization options
  • 📢 Intrusive and excessive advertisements
  • 🤖 Forced account linking and following

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

Weibo intl.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to view trending topics
  • Disappearing likes and comments
  • Inability to share content
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices and OS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Easier account registration and recovery
  • Full translation to English and other languages
  • Option to disable advertisements
  • Improved stability and performance

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
21 purchases

Weibo intl.

Subscriptions8
  • 连续包月会员$1.991 Month
  • 按月订阅尊享会员$2.991 Month
  • 连续季度会员$3.993 Months
Show 5 more
  • 按月订阅微博社交会员$3.991 Month
  • 连续包季尊享会员$7.993 Months
  • 按季订阅微博社交会员$9.993 Months
  • 连续包年会员$17.991 Year
  • 按年订阅尊享会员$29.991 Year
One-time13
  • VIP($1.99)$1.99
  • 升级一个月尊享会员$1.99
  • 3个月微博会员$3.99
Show 10 more
  • 一个月尊享VIP$3.99
  • 升级三个月尊享会员$3.99
  • 社交会员1个月$3.99
  • 升级6个月尊享会员$7.99
  • 三个月尊享会员$9.99
  • 社交会员3个月$9.99
  • 1年微博会员$17.99
  • 半年尊享会员$17.99
  • 一年尊享会员$29.99
  • 社交会员12个月$39.99

Questions

Is Messenger free?
Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Weibo intl. free?
Weibo intl. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Messenger or Weibo intl.?
Messenger is rated higher. Messenger averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14M ratings, while Weibo intl. averages 3.2 from 4.8K ratings.
Do Messenger or Weibo intl. have ads?
Both Messenger and Weibo intl. show ads.
Which is updated more often, Messenger or Weibo intl.?
Messenger ships an update weekly, and Weibo intl. every 2 weeks. Most recently, Messenger was updated on October 29, 2026 and Weibo intl. on October 29, 2026.

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