Comparison

Zalo vs Telegram Messenger

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

Head to head
About

Zalo

This messaging app offers fast and private communication with friends. Send text, voice, and group messages, share your location, and discover new people nearby. It also allows for in-app games and expressive emoticons.

Highlights
  • Fast messaging with instant notifications
  • Expressive emoticons and stickers
  • High-quality voice messaging
  • Discover and connect with nearby friends
  • Easy group messaging
  • In-app games
  • Location sharing
Features
Read full description

(Vietnamese below) Zalo is the new market-leading messaging app with amazing features. * Rich feature set: => Message your friend in a snap. Receive notifications the moment they reply back. => Express your emotion with fun and cheerful emoticons and stickers. => Send voice messages with fantastic quality and no outside noises => Find and get acquainted with friends nearby. => Send group messages easily with no effort. => Discover and play games with your friends. => Share your location. => High level of privacy. Download Zalo and chat with your friends! Terms of Use: https://zalo.vn/dieukhoan/ Support Information: - Online: https://zalo.me/zalohotroiOS - Email: feedback@zalo.me - Website: https://zalo.me --- Zalo là ứng dụng nhắn tin kiểu mới và kết nối cộng đồng hàng đầu cho người dùng di động Việt. * Zalo có điều gì đặc biệt? => Tốc độ gửi tin nhắn cực nhanh, bạn luôn nhận được thông báo khi có tin nhắn mới kể cả khi không mở ứng dụng. => Thể hiện cảm xúc với emoticon và hình động vui nhộn. => Nhắn tin lời nói với chất lượng âm thanh nén rõ ràng, không tạp âm, không méo tiếng. => Kết nối bạn với những người thú vị xung quanh nơi bạn ở. * Chat với bạn bè, gửi tin nhắn nhóm trong danh bạ thật dễ dàng (chat, sms, voice, photo, games). * Gặp gỡ với những người bạn thú vị trên Phòng Trò Chuyện hoặc Xung quanh nơi bạn ở. * Chia sẻ những khoảnh khắc ngay tức thì với gia đình và bạn bè. * Chia sẻ vị trí. * An toàn và riêng tư. Hãy kích hoạt Zalo và chat ngay với bạn bè trong danh bạ! Thỏa thuận dịch vụ: https://zalo.vn/dieukhoan/ Hỗ trợ người dùng: - Trực tuyến: https://zalo.me/zalohotroiOS - Email: feedback@zalo.me - Website: https://zalo.me

About

Telegram Messenger

A fast, secure, and powerful instant messaging app synced across all devices. It offers unlimited media and file sharing, robust encryption, and extensive group chat capabilities. Enjoy a simple, private, and customizable communication experience.

Highlights
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Unlimited file and media sharing
  • End-to-end encrypted secret chats
  • Large group chats (up to 200,000 members)
  • Customizable themes and stickers
  • Bots for task automation
  • Photo and video editing tools
Features
Read full description

Pure instant messaging — simple, fast, secure, and synced across all your devices. One of the top 5 most downloaded apps in the world with over 1 billion active users. FAST: Telegram is the fastest messaging app on the market, connecting people via a unique, distributed network of data centers around the globe. SYNCED: You can access your messages from all your phones, tablets and computers at once. Telegram apps are standalone, so you don’t need to keep your phone connected. Start typing on one device and finish the message from another. Never lose your data again. UNLIMITED: You can send media and files, without any limits on their type and size. Your entire chat history will require no disk space on your device, and will be securely stored in the Telegram cloud for as long as you need it. SECURE: We made it our mission to provide the best security combined with ease of use. Everything on Telegram, including chats, groups, media, etc. is encrypted using a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie–Hellman secure key exchange. 100% FREE & OPEN: Telegram has a fully documented and free API for developers, open source apps and verifiable builds to prove the app you download is built from the exact same source code that is published. POWERFUL: You can create group chats with up to 200,000 members, share large videos, documents of any type (.DOCX, .MP3, .ZIP, etc.) up to 2 GB each, and even set up bots for specific tasks. Telegram is the perfect tool for hosting online communities and coordinating teamwork. RELIABLE: Built to deliver your messages using as little data as possible, Telegram is the most reliable messaging system ever made. It works even on the weakest mobile connections. FUN: Telegram has powerful photo and video editing tools, animated stickers and emoji, fully customizable themes to change the appearance of your app, and an open sticker/GIF platform to cater to all your expressive needs. SIMPLE: While providing an unprecedented array of features, we take great care to keep the interface clean. Telegram is so simple you already know how to use it. PRIVATE: We take your privacy seriously and will never give any third parties access to your data. You can delete any message you ever sent or received for both sides, at any time and without a trace. Telegram will never use your data to show you ads. For those interested in maximum privacy, Telegram offers Secret Chats. Secret Chat messages can be programmed to self-destruct automatically from both participating devices. This way you can send all types of disappearing content — messages, photos, videos, and even files. Secret Chats use End-to-End Encryption to ensure that a message can only be read by its intended recipient. We keep expanding the boundaries of what you can do with a messaging app. Don’t wait years for older messengers to catch up with Telegram — join the revolution today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Zalo4 screens
Telegram Messenger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Telegram Messenger at 4.0 against Zalo's 2.1. Telegram Messenger also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (34% vs 6%). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Zalo sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Telegram Messenger sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Telegram Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Telegram Messenger has 285K ratings behind it against 8.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 6% of Zalo's written reviews are positive against 34% of Telegram Messenger's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zalo ships an update every 10 days, Telegram Messenger every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Zalo versus Telegram Messenger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZaloTelegram Messenger
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (8.5K ratings)4.0 (285K ratings) — better
Positive reviews6.2% of reviews34.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.5K285K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#175#3 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size276 MB232 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperZalo GroupTelegram FZ-LLC

Customer experience

Zalo

All ratings8,505 ratings
Positive26.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative70.6%
Written reviews1,289 reviews
Positive6.2%
Neutral4.0%
Negative89.8%

Telegram Messenger

All ratings284,212 ratings
Positive73.3%
Neutral6.2%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews8,887 reviews
Positive34.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative56.9%

User reviews

Zalo

From 8.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient messaging
  • 🚀 Good call quality
  • 💡 Customizable features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔒 Privacy and security concerns
  • 🔋 High data and battery usage
  • ⚠️ Difficult account recovery

Telegram Messenger

From 285K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 👍 Customizable and user-friendly
  • 💡 Innovative features like channels and bots
  • 🌟 Great overall messaging experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable at times
  • 🔋 Battery life issues
  • 🚫 Lack of video calling feature
  • 📂 Issues with media uploads and downloads
  • 🔍 Inadequate search functionality

Bugs and requests

Zalo

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to receive verification codes
  • Inconsistent performance on different devices
  • Deleted accounts and lost data
  • Unreliable video/audio calls

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to use on multiple devices simultaneously
  • Improved cloud sync and backup
  • Better translation and language support
  • Option to disable unwanted notifications

Telegram Messenger

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Keyboard issues and cursor placement problems
  • Frequent app crashes, especially in large group chats
  • Inaccurate 'last seen' timestamps
  • Notification issues and duplicate messages
  • Problems with media auto-save and download

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add video calling feature
  • Improve search capabilities
  • Implement a story/status feature
  • Allow more customization options
  • Segregate channels, bots, and individual chats

In-app purchases

20 purchases

Zalo

Subscriptions14
  • zCloud Mini$0.991 Month
  • zStyle - 1 Month2 Months trial$0.991 Month
  • zStyle - 1 Month2 variants$0.991 Month
Show 11 more
  • zStyle - 6 Months2 variants$3.996 Months
  • zStyle - Annual1 Year trial$5.991 Year
  • zStyle - 12 Months7 Days trial$6.991 Year
  • zStyle - 12 Months$6.991 Year
  • zCloud Mini$9.991 Year
  • Pro 1 month$9.991 Month
  • zCloud Standard$22.991 Year
  • zCloud Standard$24.991 Year
  • zCloud Family$79.991 Year
  • Pro 12 months1 Year trial$99.991 Year
  • Pro 12 months$99.991 Year
One-time6
  • Sticker zStyle - 29K$0.99
  • Sticker zStyle - 9K$0.99
  • Sticker zStyle - 19K$0.99
Show 3 more
  • Gift zStyle - 3M$1.99
  • Gift zStyle - 6M$2.99
  • Gift zStyle - 12M$5.99
19 purchases

Telegram Messenger

Subscriptions2
  • Telegram Premium$4.991 Month
  • Telegram Premium Annual$35.991 Year
One-time17
  • 50 Telegram Stars$0.99
  • 1x Telegram Premium (One Week)$1.19
  • 100 Telegram Stars$1.99
Show 14 more
  • 250 Telegram Stars$5.09
  • 500 Telegram Stars$9.99
  • Telegram Premium (3 Months)$14.99
  • 750 Telegram Stars$14.99
  • Telegram Premium (6 Months)$19.99
  • 1x Premium (6 Months)$19.99
  • 1000 Telegram Stars$19.99
  • 1500 Telegram Stars$29.99
  • Telegram Premium (1 Year)$35.99
  • 1x Premium (1 Year)$35.99
  • 2500 Telegram Stars$50.90
  • 5x Premium (3 Months Each)$74.99
  • 10x Premium (3 Months Each)$149.99
  • 5x Premium (1 Year Each)$179.99

Questions

Is Zalo free?
Zalo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Telegram Messenger free?
Telegram Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zalo or Telegram Messenger?
Telegram Messenger is rated higher. Zalo averages 2.1 out of 5 from 8.5K ratings, while Telegram Messenger averages 4.0 from 285K ratings.
Do Zalo or Telegram Messenger have ads?
Zalo shows ads; Telegram Messenger does not.
Which is updated more often, Zalo or Telegram Messenger?
Zalo ships an update every 10 days, and Telegram Messenger every 2 weeks. Most recently, Zalo was updated on October 29, 2026 and Telegram Messenger on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Zalo or Telegram Messenger?
Zalo currently peaks at #175 in the App Store charts, and Telegram Messenger at #3. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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