# Messages vs Katered

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Katered at none against Messages's 3. Katered also leads on ads (none vs shown). Messages's advantage is update cadence (daily vs fortnightly). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Messages sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Katered asks for nothing beyond the download.

Messages ships an update daily, Katered fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Messages | Katered |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (428 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messages-sms-and-text-messaging/id6505050591/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **428** | — |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 31 MB | 63 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Kailashben Radadiya](https://appshunter.io/developer/1753646507) | [Marco Oliver](https://appshunter.io/developer/6774992891) |

## What reviewers say

### Messages

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messages-sms-and-text-messaging/id6505050591)

This communication platform streamlines your messaging and calling experience. It offers instant messaging, group chats, media sharing, and direct calling. Manage multiple accounts, set reminders from conversations, and organize all your messages in a unified inbox.

**Highlights:** Dual app accounts, Instant messaging and media sharing, End-to-end message encryption, Reminders from conversations, Voice and video calls, Unified message inbox, Spam protection

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly | $5.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $24.99 | per year |


### Katered

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/katered/id6774992889)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Messages free?

Messages is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Katered free?

Katered is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Messages or Katered have ads?

Messages shows ads; Katered does not.

### Which is updated more often, Messages or Katered?

Messages ships an update daily, and Katered fortnightly. Most recently, Messages was updated on October 27, 2026 and Katered on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*