Comparison

Telegram Messenger vs Session

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

Session

This secure messenger prioritizes your privacy with a decentralized network and end-to-end encryption. It offers anonymous account creation, IP address protection, and private group chats without collecting any metadata. Share messages and files with confidence, knowing your communications are truly private.

Highlights
  • Anonymous account creation
  • Decentralized server network
  • No metadata logging
  • IP address protection
  • End-to-end encrypted group chats
  • Secure file sharing
Features
Read full description

Session is a new breed of private messenger, built on a unique network of user-operated servers spread all over the world. With no central servers, Session can’t leak or sell your data. And with Session’s private routing protocols, your messages are completely safe. No trackers, no leaks — send messages, not metadata. • Fully private account creation: No phone number or email needed to create an Account ID • Decentralized server network: No data breaches, no central point of failure • No metadata logging: Session doesn't store, track, or log your messaging metadata • IP address protection: Device IP addresses are never exposed to the person you're talking to or the servers holding your data • Closed groups: Private, end-to-end encrypted group chats for up to 100 people • Secure attachments: Share voice snippets, photos, and files with Session's secure encryption and privacy protections • Free and open-source: Don’t take our word for it — check Session's code yourself Session is free as in free speech and free as in free of ads and trackers. It is stewarded by the Session Foundation, a Swiss-based foundation dedicated to advancing digital rights and innovation. Take back your online privacy today — download Session. Want to build from source, report a bug, or just take a look at our code? Check out Session on GitHub: https://github.com/session-foundation/session-ios

Screenshots

Telegram Messenger4 screens
Session4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Session at 63% against Telegram Messenger's 35%. Session also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (4.3 vs 4.0). Telegram Messenger's advantage is ratings volume (280K vs 4.6K) and chart position (#3 vs #100). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Telegram Messenger sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Session sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Session holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Telegram Messenger has 280K ratings behind it against 4.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of Telegram Messenger's written reviews are positive against 63% of Session's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Telegram Messenger ships an update weekly, Session fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Telegram Messenger versus Session: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTelegram MessengerSession
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (280K ratings)4.3 (4.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.6% of reviews63.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings280K — better4.6K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#3 — better#100
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size232 MB96 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperTelegram FZ-LLCThe Loki Project

Customer experience

Telegram Messenger

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

Session

All ratings4,592 ratings
Positive83.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative12.3%
Written reviews701 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral11.7%
Negative25.2%

User reviews

Telegram Messenger

From 280K 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

Session

From 4.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🔒 Secure and private messaging
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 🔒 No phone number or personal data required
  • 💡 Innovative use of blockchain and Tor network

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable notifications and message delivery
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Slow media file transfers
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 👎 Limited features compared to competitors

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

Session

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Messages not syncing across devices
  • Inability to join or view group chats
  • Attachments and media not loading properly
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add voice and video calling
  • Implement self-destruct/ephemeral messaging
  • Allow customization of chat backgrounds and themes
  • Improve group chat functionality
  • Add support for multiple accounts/identities

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
3 purchases

Session

Subscriptions3
  • Session Pro$4.491 Month
  • Session Pro$11.993 Months
  • Session Pro$35.991 Year

Questions

Is Telegram Messenger free?
Telegram Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Session free?
Session is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Telegram Messenger or Session?
Session is rated higher. Telegram Messenger averages 4.0 out of 5 from 280K ratings, while Session averages 4.3 from 4.6K ratings.
Do Telegram Messenger or Session have ads?
Neither Telegram Messenger nor Session shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Telegram Messenger or Session?
Telegram Messenger ships an update weekly, and Session fortnightly. Most recently, Telegram Messenger was updated on September 25, 2026 and Session on September 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Telegram Messenger or Session?
Telegram Messenger currently peaks at #3 in the App Store charts, and Session at #100. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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