Comparison

Telegram Messenger vs Crait Lite

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

Head to head
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/

About

Crait Lite

This secure messaging tool enhances workgroup productivity with encrypted calls, self-destructing messages, and file sharing. It protects digital assets by offering end-to-end encryption for sensitive business communications.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Self-destructing messages
  • Secure voice and group calls
  • Large group chat support (up to 1000)
  • Secure file sharing
  • Secure email for users
Features
Read full description

Crait Lite is where secure communication and collaboration happens. It is a secure messaging tool designed to make working life easier and more productive for work-groups. Why Crait? The simple answer is: Businesses need to protect their digital assets. Businesses are targets and will be targets of cyber hacking because they have information valuable to would-be criminals. No sector of corporate America is excluded from the threat of cyber hacking. This is why at Crait, we believe that business communication deserves a security upgrade. What Crait provides - Secure one-on-one or group calls and can support chats with up to 1000 people. - Messages that self-destruct after the messages are read. - End-to-end encryption between the sender’s device and the recipient such that the encryption key never leaves the device; no party in the middle. - Secure chat, voice, as well as file-sharing capabilities to work-groups. - Secure email for Crait-to-Crait users.

Screenshots

Telegram Messenger4 screens
Crait Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crait Lite at 4.7 against Telegram Messenger's 4.0. Crait Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 22). Telegram Messenger's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (280K vs 10). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. Telegram Messenger sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Crait Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crait Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Telegram Messenger has 280K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Telegram Messenger ships an update weekly, Crait Lite every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Telegram Messenger versus Crait Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTelegram MessengerCrait Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (280K ratings)4.7 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings280K — better10
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#4 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.012 — better
Further details — not scored
Size232 MB58 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTelegram FZ-LLCCrait Technology Inc.

Customer experience

Telegram Messenger

All ratings279,846 ratings
Positive73.4%
Neutral6.2%
Negative20.4%
Written reviews8,385 reviews
Positive34.6%
Neutral8.9%
Negative56.5%

Crait Lite

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

Bugs and requests

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

Crait Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

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
None

Crait Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Telegram Messenger free?
Telegram Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crait Lite free?
Crait Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Telegram Messenger or Crait Lite?
Crait Lite is rated higher. Telegram Messenger averages 4.0 out of 5 from 280K ratings, while Crait Lite averages 4.7 from 10 ratings.
Do Telegram Messenger or Crait Lite have ads?
Neither Telegram Messenger nor Crait Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Telegram Messenger or Crait Lite?
Telegram Messenger ships an update weekly, and Crait Lite every 3 months. Most recently, Telegram Messenger was updated on September 24, 2026 and Crait Lite on July 9, 2026.

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