# Signal vs Advently

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Advently at none against Signal's 1. Signal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months) and chart position (#11 vs unranked). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Signal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Advently asks for nothing beyond the download.

Signal ships an update weekly, Advently every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and September 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Signal | Advently |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.1M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.1M** | — |
| Positive reviews | 67.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#11** | — |
| Size | 239 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Signal Messenger, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/874139672) | [Edward Buckham](https://appshunter.io/developer/1570984351) |

## What reviewers say

### Signal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669)

**Currently charting:** #11 Top Free · Social Networking, #147 Top Free, #155 Top Grossing · Social Networking (US App Store)

This messaging app prioritizes your privacy with strong end-to-end encryption for all communications. It offers free text, voice, and video messaging, including group chats and disappearing stories, all without collecting your data.

**Highlights:** End-to-end encrypted messaging, Free voice and video calls, Group chats up to 1000 people, Disappearing Stories, File sharing, Admin controls for groups

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Signal Secure Backups | $1.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 🔒 Security and privacy
- 👍 Ease of use
- 🚀 Great call quality
- 🚀 Smooth and pleasant user interface
- 🔒 End-to-end encryption

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Delayed message delivery
- 🐛 Inconsistent image/video quality
- 🐛 Buggy call functionality
- 🐛 Inability to edit sent messages
- 🐛 Unreliable notifications

**Reported bugs**

- Problem retrieving data, resulting in lost message history
- Keyboard covering the current conversation
- Inconsistent behavior when attaching photos/videos
- Scrolling issues when reading through messages
- Inability to recover message history after device change

**Requested features**

- Add filters and customization options
- Allow adding music to stories
- Implement a sticker store
- Add ability to pin messages in group chats
- Allow new members to view previous group messages


### Advently

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/advently/id1571504549)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Signal free?

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

### Is Advently free?

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

### Do Signal or Advently have ads?

Neither Signal nor Advently shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Signal or Advently?

Signal ships an update weekly, and Advently every 4 months. Most recently, Signal was updated on October 31, 2026 and Advently on September 4, 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.*