Chat Explorer vs Stacks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chat Explorer
This app allows you to privately search, analyze, and relive your exported chat conversations. It transforms years of messages, photos, and audio into an interactive timeline and topic map, all processed on your device.
- Search by words or meaning
- Browse by timeline or topic
- Relive media and audio
- Export conversations as PDF
- Group chat analytics
- On-device processing
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Chat Explorer is a private reader, search tool, timeline, and analytics app for exported chats from WhatsApp and Telegram, plus supported local chats on Mac. Import a WhatsApp .zip or .txt export, a Telegram Desktop JSON or HTML export, or explore supported local iMessage and WhatsApp chats on Mac. Turn years of messages, photos, videos, stickers, voice notes, and shared moments into something you can revisit on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Independent and not affiliated with WhatsApp, Meta, Apple, or Telegram. SEARCH BY WORDS OR MEANING Find the address, plan, joke, link, or tiny detail you forgot. Use full-text search for exact words, or semantic search when you only remember the meaning. Jump straight to the right moment in context. EXPLORE BY TIMELINE OR TOPIC Use Timeline to browse history by date, activity, milestones, and shared media. Use the Topic Mind Map to explore themes, recurring subjects, and connected ideas, rediscovering parts of the chat you might not know how to search for directly. RELIVE MEDIA AND AUDIO Browse photos, videos, stickers, and shared media from your export in one place. Open any item full-screen and jump back to the exact message. Listen to audio messages and generate transcripts so voice notes become searchable and readable. Audio transcription uses on-device processing by default. An optional Apple server fallback is disabled by default and only used if you enable it. EXPORT AND SHARE Export the full conversation as a PDF (including messages, media references, and audio transcripts) to save or print. Create beautiful shareable snapshots from milestones, statistics, timelines, activity patterns, and Wrapped-style insights. GROUP CHATS ARE FIRST-CLASS Group chats get dedicated graphs, participant analytics, activity breakdowns, timelines, message statistics, media insights, and group-specific views. UNDERSTAND THE CONVERSATION See message volume, active periods, response habits, emoji patterns, shared media, milestones, recurring topics, participant balance, and memorable moments. Some advanced analytics, semantic search, Timeline, Topic Mind Map, PDF export, transcription, and Wrapped cards require Chat Explorer Pro. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Imported chats are stored and analyzed on your device. Search, browsing, media gallery, analytics, timeline, and AI insights use on-device processing. No server upload is required. USE CHAT EXPLORER TO: • Import .zip and .txt chat files • Search messages by words or meaning • Browse photos, videos, and stickers • Listen to and transcribe audio messages • Export conversations as PDF • Revisit private and group chats • Explore timelines and topic mind maps • View message and group statistics • Create beautiful shareable snapshots Whether you want to find something specific, revisit a favorite memory, listen to old voice notes, export a conversation, explore topics, or understand years of private or group chat history, Chat Explorer makes your supported chat sources worth keeping. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://chatexplorer.app/privacy
Stacks
Create and share rich, personal messages with friends and family. Combine audio, photos, videos, and text to tell stories or save memories. Enhance your messages with features like time capsules and location-based sharing.
- Create rich messages with audio, photos, videos, GIFs, and text
- Share via link, access code, or in-app
- Time Capsule messages
- Location-based sharing
- Optional AI-powered creative tools
- Expanded media storage with subscription
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Messages + AI + NFC Utilities Stacks is an NFC utility for creating messages you can share digitally or attach to something physical. Create stacks with voice, photos, videos, GIFs, and text. Share them in the app, send them with a link or access code, share through Messages, or write them to an NFC tag for gifts, prints, cards, stickers, packages, keepsakes, and creative projects. You can also create location-based messages, location-locked messages, and Time Capsules that reveal at the right place, the right time, or the right moment. Whether you’re a family saving a memory, a creator sharing work, a maker adding meaning to something physical, or a friend sending something more thoughtful, Stacks helps you say more than a regular message can. Features: • Create messages with voice, photos, videos, GIFs, and text • Share stacks through links, access codes, NFC tags, or in the app • Attach digital stories to gifts, prints, cards, stickers, packages, and keepsakes • Create location-based and location-locked messages • Create Time Capsules for future moments • Use optional AI-powered creative tools • Upgrade to Stacks PRO for expanded storage and AI features Stacks PRO is an optional monthly auto-renewing subscription that includes expanded media storage and access to AI features. AI credits are also available for select tools, including image editing and image-to-video generation. Terms of Use: https://mystacksapp.com/legal/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Stacks at every 5 days against Chat Explorer's fortnightly. Stacks also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Chat Explorer's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Chat Explorer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Stacks sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Chat Explorer against 5.0 for Stacks. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Chat Explorer ships an update fortnightly, Stacks every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chat Explorer | Stacks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 98 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Hugo Alonso Luis | Jose Araneta |
Customer experience
Chat Explorer
Stacks
In-app purchases
Chat Explorer
- Pro Access (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Pro Access (Yearly)$19.991 Year
- Chat Explorer Pro$59.99
Stacks
- 10 GB Storage + AI$1.991 Month
- 40 Ai Credits$3.99
- 400 Ai Credits$39.99









