Comparison

Messenger vs WatchsApp

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 in high definition, create shared albums, and send large files directly in chat. Features an AI assistant for instant answers and creative image generation.

Highlights
  • Text, audio, and video calls
  • High-definition photo sharing
  • Shared photo albums
  • Large file sharing up to 100MB
  • AI assistant for questions and creative tasks
  • Disappearing messages
  • Customizable chat themes
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

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

Messenger4 screens
WatchsApp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: WatchsApp at none against Messenger's shown. Messenger's advantage is ratings volume (14M vs 35K) and review sentiment (66% vs 43%). On price, rating, update cadence 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 WatchsApp sells 8 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Messenger against 4.6 for WatchsApp. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 35K, 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 43% of WatchsApp's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Messenger ships an update weekly, WatchsApp every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Messenger versus WatchsApp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMessengerWatchsApp
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14M ratings) — better4.6 (35K ratings)
Positive reviews66.0% of reviews — better43.3% of reviews
Number of ratings14M — better35K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.114.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size283 MB109 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMeta Platforms, Inc.BEYLER Software

Customer experience

Messenger

All ratings13,949,982 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews13,370 reviews
Positive66.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative28.4%

WatchsApp

All ratings34,191 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews1,517 reviews
Positive43.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative48.5%

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

WatchsApp

From 35K 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

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

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

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
8 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-time2
  • Premium$19.99
  • Premium$29.99

Questions

Is Messenger free?
Messenger 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, Messenger or WatchsApp?
Messenger is rated higher. Messenger averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14M ratings, while WatchsApp averages 4.6 from 35K ratings.
Do Messenger or WatchsApp have ads?
Messenger shows ads; WatchsApp does not.
Which is updated more often, Messenger or WatchsApp?
Messenger ships an update weekly, and WatchsApp every 9 days. Most recently, Messenger was updated on November 6, 2026 and WatchsApp on November 6, 2026.

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