Comparison

Whatool vs Chat Archive

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

Head to head
About

Whatool

Search your WhatsApp, Line, and Viber chats with advanced filters for date, sender, and message content. Keep your messages safe with on-device processing and create backup copies. Merge multiple conversations for a unified search experience.

Highlights
  • Advanced chat search
  • Filter by date, sender, content
  • On-device data processing
  • Merge multiple conversations
  • Create message backups
  • Compatible with WhatsApp, Line, Viber
Features
Read full description

Whatool turns an exported chat into something you can read and search, on your own device. In WhatsApp choose Export chat, then pick Whatool from the share sheet — it sits among the actions, in the bottom row. The .txt file and the .zip WhatsApp produces today are both read, and a chat file already on your device opens just as well. The whole history then becomes searchable: by word, by sender, by date. Jump to the day you are looking for instead of thumbing through years of messages. MERGE puts several conversations into one timeline, so a story told across three chats reads as one. Everything happens on your iPhone or iPad. Your messages are read and stored on the device, nothing is sent to a server, and Whatool works with no connection at all. Whatool also keeps what a messaging app does not. A phone you no longer own, a chat you cleared, someone you have lost: an export opened in Whatool stays readable years later. LINE exports are read too. Free, with optional purchases to remove the ads and lift the free limits. ----------------------------------- Disclaimer: app created by Luca Rubin. WhatsApp Messenger, LINE, their names, registered trademarks and all other aspects of these applications are registered trademarks of their respective owners. If you believe your rights have been infringed, please email us with all the relevant details at whatool@lucarubin.com

About

Chat Archive

Easily import and search your WhatsApp chat exports offline on your device. View messages, media, and voice notes, transcribe audio, and export conversations to PDF for long-term storage or sharing. Take control of your chat history without needing an account.

Highlights
  • Import WhatsApp chat exports
  • Offline chat viewing
  • Searchable messages
  • Media and voice note support
  • Voice note transcription
  • Export to PDF
  • No account required
Features
Read full description

Some conversations matter long after the phone that carried them. They hold a parent’s voice, the date of an agreement, a photograph, a receipt, the words that settled a decision. Chat Archive turns a WhatsApp chat export into a private, readable archive on your iPhone—carefully arranged, searchable, and ready to move with you. BUILT AROUND THE CONVERSATION A conversation is not only its text. It is the sender, the date, the reply, and the photo, document, or voice message beside it. Chat Archive reads the ZIP created by WhatsApp’s Export Chat command, identifies the messages and participants, and arranges the content included in the file in chronological order. Names, dates, media, and voice messages remain in context. A PRECISE, VISIBLE PROCESS 1. In WhatsApp, export the conversation. For the fullest archive, include media. This keeps the available photos, videos, voice messages, and attachments with the conversation. 2. Save or transfer the exported ZIP to the iPhone where you want to keep it. 3. Open it in Chat Archive, review what WhatsApp included, and confirm the import. The result is a readable backup outside WhatsApp: a separate archive you can return to on this iPhone or carry to a new one. MADE TO BE REVISITED Search across imported conversations. Within one conversation, refine by sender, date, time, weekday, file type, filename, or nearby context. Jump to the moment you need without scrolling through years of messages. Listen to voice messages included in the export at 1×, 1.5×, or 2×. Transcribe included voice messages on your device, then search what was said. Select one message, several messages, or a whole day. Save an excerpt, give it a title, and use Labels to bring related passages together across conversations. A RECORD YOU CAN READ, SHARE, AND PRINT Create a carefully composed PDF with messages in order, names, dates, and available images and transcripts. Save a PDF of the full conversation, or select a set of messages and create a focused PDF of only that selection. CHECK YOUR OWN ARCHIVE FIRST Import your first conversation and inspect the messages, search results, media thumbnails, voice messages, and complete PDF preview. IF A CONVERSATION WAS LOST If the chat still exists on an old phone, with the other person, or with a member of the group, export that copy and open it in Chat Archive. The conversation becomes readable and searchable again on your iPhone. YOUR CONVERSATION. YOUR IPHONE. Premium unlocks the complete conversation, its full voice-message history, and the complete PDF for saving, sharing, or printing. You choose the file. Imported conversation content is processed locally on your iPhone. Chat Archive is not cloud storage, so keep the original exported ZIP somewhere you trust. Chat Archive is independent and is not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta. WhatsApp and Meta are trademarks of their respective owners. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://chatarchive.app/privacy

Screenshots

Whatool4 screens
Chat Archive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chat Archive at 5.0 against Whatool's 4.3. Chat Archive also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Whatool's advantage is ratings volume (70 vs 2) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Whatool sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Chat Archive sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chat Archive holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Whatool has 70 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Whatool ships an update every 3 months, Chat Archive weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Whatool versus Chat Archive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhatoolChat Archive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (70 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings70 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuca RubinDanilo Souza

Customer experience

Whatool

All ratings70 ratings
Positive82.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive24.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.5%

Chat Archive

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Whatool

One-time5
  • Unlimited conversations$0.99
  • Remove adverts$1.99
  • Merge up to 5 conversations$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Unlimited merging$3.99
  • Unlock all features$5.99
3 purchases

Chat Archive

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Access (1 Month)$5.991 Month
  • Premium Access (1 Year)$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$20.99

Questions

Is Whatool free?
Whatool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chat Archive free?
Chat Archive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Whatool or Chat Archive?
Chat Archive is rated higher. Whatool averages 4.3 out of 5 from 70 ratings, while Chat Archive averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Whatool or Chat Archive have ads?
Whatool shows ads; Chat Archive does not.
Which is updated more often, Whatool or Chat Archive?
Whatool ships an update every 3 months, and Chat Archive weekly. Most recently, Whatool was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chat Archive on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons