Messaging Apps comparisons
Messaging apps look alike until you need a 1,000-person group, a 2 GB file transfer or true end-to-end encryption. We compare active users, default encryption, group size, file limits, backup, platform support, ownership and ads so you can pick the app that fits how you actually talk.
Popular messaging app comparisons
Messaging apps in our database, ranked by VersusAnything Score
- Telegram79/100Telegram is a cloud-based messenger known for enormous groups, channels, 4 GB file sharing and bots, with encryption only in Secret Chats.
- WhatsApp75/100WhatsApp is the world's most-used messaging app, with end-to-end encryption by default, large communities and support on every major platform.
- Discord42/100Discord is built around servers with text and voice channels, originally for gamers and now used by communities, study groups and startups.
- Facebook Messenger29/100Messenger is Meta's Facebook-linked chat app, now end-to-end encrypted by default, with games, payments and the largest social reach in the West.
- Signal25/100Signal is the privacy benchmark: open-source, non-profit, end-to-end encrypted for everything, and it collects almost no metadata.
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How we score messaging apps
Every messaging app is scored on the same rows: end-to-end encryption, owned by, ads in the app, max group size, max file size, voice and video calls, chat backup, monthly active users, platforms, price. Measurable rows are normalised across the category and weighted (Overall 100%); rows without a sensible direction are explained, not scored. Full rules on our how we score page.