Introducing
The Slant team built an AI & it’s awesome
Find the best product instantly
Add to Chrome
Add to Edge
Add to Firefox
Add to Opera
Add to Brave
Add to Safari
Try it now
4.7 star rating
0
What is the best alternative to Material Messaging?
Ad
Ad
Element (formerly Riot)
All
16
Experiences
Pros
15
Specs
Top
Pro
Bridges to other networks
You're not confined within Element's or even Matrix garden, and you don't have to make users of other networks switch to Matrix.
See More
Top
Pro
Markdown support
Code snippets in chats can be highlighted with Markdown.
See More
Top
Pro
Simple interface
Element has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more inexperienced users to use it.
See More
Top
Pro
VOIP and Videoconferencing
See More
Top
Pro
Supports encryption
Element allows for fully encrypted text, voice, and video chatting.
See More
Top
Pro
Widgets support
Want to watch that flick at YouTube and discuss it at the same time? Have Grafana graphs stacked above your DevOps team chat? Collaboratively edit Google Docs and chat over without switching applications? This is possible with Element.
See More
Top
Pro
Decentralized
An open network for secure, decentralized communication.
See More
Top
Pro
Self-hosting and federated network
See More
Top
Pro
Libre/open source
See More
Top
Pro
Search
Search messages in your current room, or all the rooms you're in. Not subject to a message history limit like Slack.
See More
Top
Pro
Cross platform
Web browser Linux OS X Windows Android iOS
See More
Top
Pro
Large existing community
With public rooms for many people, and you can create your own and let people from the community join.
See More
Top
Pro
Etherpad real-time document collaboration
An easy to activate integration that allows multiple authors to edit a document simultaneously.
See More
Top
Pro
File Sharing
See More
Top
Pro
Supports text, voice, video
See More
Specs
Platforms:
MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android, Browser, iOS
License:
Apache License 2.0
Publisher:
New Vector Ltd
End-to-end encryption:
Yes (optional)
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Free
792
103
Handcent Next SMS
All
6
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Can split a group text
Splitting a group text is a great option, so that follow-up can be personal and not everyone sees every response.
See More
Top
Con
Name is confusing
In your app drawer you'll see "Next SMS" but in Google Play "Handcent" is the first word of the app. That might confuse some people.
See More
Top
Pro
Missed notification reminders
See More
Top
Con
Texting from a PC, Mac or tablet requires extra work
See More
Top
Pro
Can text from a PC, Mac or tablet
Texting from another device allows one to not pick up one's phone every minute.
See More
Top
Pro
Customizable appearance
See More
Hide
Get it
here
7
0
Hike
All
7
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Lots of great features
It contains a wallet for money transfer, news update & sports update feature.
See More
Top
Con
Security of user information
First of all, this is closed source software. It also lacks-end-to-end encryption. In today's time, irrespective of every other feature, encryption is the most important one. Because without it, rest of the features become risky to use and thus meaningless.
See More
Top
Pro
Without data media sharing option within 100m
See More
Top
Pro
Great sticker system
A very fast sticker suggestion based on key words typed. This helps to send relevant stickers quickly. Also when we press upon a sticker it opens a quick reply sticker option.
See More
Top
Pro
Night-mode
Hike has an app theme & auto night mode(8pm-6am) inside to reduce strain on eye while texting at night.
See More
Top
Pro
Has a timeline
It has a timeline(photo + text), which is similar to BBM.
See More
Top
Pro
Photo editing feature
It has a selfie edit feature like Instagram, helps with editing selfies for profile photos & photo statuses.
See More
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
4
0
InTouch Messenger
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Filesharing support
Allows sharing any kind of file over the Internet.
See More
Top
Con
Not a lot of people are using the app
The app has just 35 reviews on the Play store.
See More
Top
Pro
Multiple real-time locationsharing features
The app allow shaking the phone to discover nearby people interested in starting a conversation. The app also allows constantly sharing your location with contacts for a set amount of time.
See More
Top
Pro
P2P video
The app has peer to peer video chat.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS / WP
Publisher:
Alpha Touch
File Size:
6.6M
Required Android Version:
4.0 and up
See All Specs
Hide
Get it
here
3
0
Vine Messages
All
6
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Can communicate outside of Vine
You can send messages to people outside of Vine.
See More
Top
Con
Can't share images or videos from camera roll
See More
Top
Pro
Video tools
Vine can capture a video for you and has a grid to help line up shots.
See More
Top
Con
No group messaging
See More
Top
Pro
Video messages
Videos can be up to six seconds long.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS / WP
Publisher:
Vine Labs
File Size:
Varies with device
Required Android Version:
Varies with device
See All Specs
Hide
Get it
here
2
0
Taptalk
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Lacks advanced functionality that could get in the way of sharing
Taptalk lacks any additional features and choices that could take away from sending a photo as fast as possible. There's no preview screen that asks to reconfirm sending a message or choosing a filter. As soon as the photo or video is taken, it's sent.
See More
Top
Con
No groups
Taptalk only allows one-to-one communications.
See More
Top
Pro
Offers a very quick way of sharing photos and videos
Tap a contact to take a picture, tap and hold a contact to record video. Tapping the screen will allow you to add text to photos and videos just taken. The whole interface consists of a single screen.
See More
Top
Pro
One-to-one conversations increase chance of feedback
Limiting conversations to only two parties increases the likelihood of getting a response.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS
Publisher:
Wit Dot Media Inc
File Size:
5.9M
Required Android Version:
4.0.3 and up
See All Specs
Hide
Get it
here
2
0
GroupMe
All
8
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Reads receipts
GroupMe has a built in function to read receipts.
See More
Top
Con
Drains battery fast
GroupMe, in order to have a constant connection which allows for notifications drains the battery of a device quickly, which is not ideal for a messaging app that one needs on time notifications from.
See More
Top
Pro
Great web client
GroupMe has an excellent web client that can be used to send and receive messages and manage groups from the desktop.
See More
Top
Pro
IFTTT Integration
Allows sending messages from web services via IFTTT.
See More
Top
Pro
Integrated calendar
It's possible to add location and time with reminders directly in the GroupMe app.
See More
Top
Pro
Makes it easy to silence 1 or all groups
GroupMe has settings that allow muting a single group or turn off all GroupMe notifications from within the app.
See More
Top
Pro
Does not require everyone in the group to have a smartphone
GroupMe can set up a custom phone number which allows people without the App to send and receive messages. This makes it easy to add anyone to messaging.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android iOS WP
Publisher:
groupme
File Size:
Varies with device
Required Android Version:
Varies with device
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
7
1
StealthChat
All
8
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Con
Many people have difficulty registering the app
Multiple people have reported not being able to receive the activation code required to register the app.
See More
Top
Pro
Can send self-destructing messages
Messages can be set to self-destruct after a set time.
See More
Top
Con
Code is not verified
See More
Top
Pro
Offers 3 types of encryption
The app claims to be the only communication app that encrypts data in transit, on disk and on screen. Encryption in transit is used to make sure no-one can listen in on your conversations even if the traffic is going through their servers, encryption on disk is used to make sure that even if someone gets ahold of your phone and is capable of extracting your messages from it they won't be able to read them and screen encryption is essentially a lock screen that sets in after a set amount of time used to make prevent "shoulder surfing".
See More
Top
Con
Poor support
See More
Top
Con
Lacks group chat
See More
Top
Con
Closed source
No way to verify security practices.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS
Required Android Version:
4.0
End-to-end encryption:
Yes
Audio recording:
Yes
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
20
3
Pulse SMS
All
11
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
4
Top
Con
No RCS support
But only Messages has that.
See More
Top
Pro
Multi-platform/Unified Messaging
See More
Top
Con
Inconsistent and intermittently unreliable syncing with web app.
Forgets password periodically - dev insists that it doesn't do this - but it does. Despite syncing via cloud there is no backup option.
See More
Top
Pro
Open-source
See More
Top
Con
The web and pc clients haven't been updated in almost a year. No support for gifs in the web or pc clients. Sometimes the web and pc clients are unable to login or do not sync messages.
See More
Top
Pro
Per-Conversation Customization
See More
Top
Con
Lacks support for UWP on Windows 10
UWP apps aren't hard to build - Luke K could bring his app to the Windows Store easily and make a TON of people happy at work.
See More
Top
Pro
One-time fee
See More
Top
Pro
Good Material Design UI
See More
Top
Pro
Encrypted messaging content on devices
See More
Top
Pro
You can use the iOS app as long as you know how to sideload it
It is on GitHub and there's a way to sideload it with Cydia impactor and appsigner.io
See More
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
38
7
QKSMS
All
14
Experiences
Pros
10
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Allows responding to SMS without opening the app
When a new sms is received, a window will pop up that has the message and allows answering it from there, without having to open the app. It can be dismissed by tapping anywhere else on the screen.
See More
Top
Con
Last update was 2021
See More
Top
Pro
Per-conversation notification settings
Users can set different notification settings per user as an easy way to know who is messaging without having to look at the actual message.
See More
Top
Con
Buggy
There are little annoyances here and there, from dark theme problems making text unreadable to crashing and missing notifications.
See More
Top
Pro
Easily communicate with groups
Users can communicate with large groups at the same time due to the included group messaging feature. This is convenient when trying to synchronize with friends or colleagues.
See More
Top
Con
Lacks features compared to other offerings
See More
Top
Pro
Very active developer who listens to the community
While QKSMS is one of the younger apps, the developer is quickly adding features/fixing bugs.
See More
Top
Pro
Free
The app is available for free with an optional donation IAP that ranges from $1-$10.
See More
Top
Pro
Beautiful design
Responsive, highly customizable Material Design interface makes for a native looking app that fits in well with Google's UI design guidelines.
See More
Top
Pro
Save yourself from sending out bad messages
Through delayed messaging one can set it up so that a message is not sent automatically. This can help for those times that it may be best to think something over before sending out a rash message.
See More
Top
Pro
Readable in day or night due to themes
There are light and dark themes available within the settings which can be switched depending on how light it is around one when using the app. The dark theme can also help to conserve battery when being used as not as much brightness and hence battery will be used.
See More
Top
Pro
Schedule messages
Users can schedule messages to be sent for later.
See More
Top
Pro
Convenient Android Wear support
Those that own an Android Wear device will be able to set it to receive their messages on the Android Wear device making for convenient notifications and easy messaging through not having to take their phone out.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android
Publisher:
QK Labs
File Size:
5.3M
Required Android Version:
4.0.3 and up
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Free
39
9
Mirage
All
7
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Includes filters
It's possible to change the look of images and videos via filters.
See More
Top
Con
Buggy
Messages get lost users have trouble getting their codes to log in and has trouble actually finding the users contacts.
See More
Top
Pro
Groups
It's possible to send messages to multiple people at once. Either by setting up a group or by selecting a bunch of people individually. Groups can also be muted if they get too noisy.
See More
Top
Pro
Messages self-destruct after they've been viewed
Once a message has been viewed, it gets deleted from Snapchat's servers. Thus, unless a person chooses to save the message manually (a notification will be sent if a user decides to take a screenshot), there will be no trace of it left. It enables a bit more consequence-free, in-the-moment kind of communication to occur.
See More
Top
Pro
Generates a contact list
Once the account setup process is complete, Mirage generates a list of people from your contacts that you are most likely interested in sending messages via Mirage.
See More
Top
Pro
Interface designed for getting things done quickly
Tap a contact to take a picture, tap and hold a contact to record video. Tapping the screen will allow you to add text to photos and videos just taken. Swiping the screen changes what camera is used. Swiping from the side allows sending text and voice messages. Voice messages are recorded the same way videos are by tapping and holding on a contact just from a different view.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS
Publisher:
mobli
File Size:
7.7M
Required Android Version:
4.0 and up
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
1
0
Antox
All
6
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Free, open source
Antox is licensed under Creative Commons with source code available on GitHub. Being open source makes it possible to make sure your messaging are not controlled by a corporation.
See More
Top
Con
High data usage
Antox uses the Tox protocol which is Peer to Peer, so there will be high data usage and battery drain. WiFi only mode is currently recommended for now.
See More
Top
Pro
Peer-to-peer
There is no middleman, all communication happens between the users.
See More
Top
Con
Still in early development
Antox is still really early in development, being in beta currently.
See More
Top
Con
Battery drain
Antox uses the Tox protocol which is Peer to Peer, so there will be high data usage and battery drain.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android
Publisher:
im.tox.antox
File Size:
N/A
Required Android Version:
N/A
See All Specs
Hide
Get it
here
9
3
Threema
All
13
Experiences
Pros
9
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Registration without phone number
Registration is handled by random generated IDs. No phone number needed.
See More
Top
Con
Not free
Unlike many other options Threema is not free as it costs $1.99 for the app.
See More
Top
Pro
Encrypted communication
Provides complete end-to-end encryption.
See More
Top
Con
Single device only
You cannot use multiple devices to send messages. However, it does have message mirroring on a web client.
See More
Top
Pro
Company behind Threema is based in Switzerland
See More
Top
Con
No cloud sync
E2E encryption means no cloud syncing of messages.
See More
Top
Pro
Servers in Switzerland
Privacy laws protect the data Threema has.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports encrypted group chats
See More
Top
Pro
Provides a web client
You can control and message with friends via Threema Web, the official web client for Threema.
See More
Top
Pro
Ability to send pics and videos
Threema supports sending media messages such as video, pics and even voice messages.
See More
Top
Pro
Group chat polls
See More
Top
Pro
Allows verification of contacts identity via QR Code
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS / WP
Publisher:
Threema GmbH
File Size:
15M
Required Android Version:
4.0 and up
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
$1.99
62
20
Disa
All
21
Experiences
Pros
11
Cons
9
Specs
Top
Con
Doesn't support most messaging apps
See More
Top
Pro
Does what it's supposed to do, without bloatware
See More
Top
Con
Disa doesn't follow the Google Design Guidelines
Hamburger Menu/Navigation Drawer (Side Menu): https://www.google.com/design/spec/patterns/navigation-drawer.html#navigation-drawer-content No Animations: https://www.google.com/design/spec/animation/meaningful-transitions.html https://www.google.com/design/spec/animation/delightful-details.html Empty Pages/States: https://www.google.com/design/spec/patterns/empty-states.html# Maybe a Launch screen?: https://www.google.com/design/spec/patterns/launch-screens.html#launch-screens-branded-launch
See More
Top
Pro
Open source plugin API
Everyone can develop their own plug-ins.
See More
Top
Con
Does not support Google SMS
See More
Top
Pro
Easy to use
Disa is very easy to use and has an open source API, so many new services will be added soon.
See More
Top
Con
Closed source
Disa is closed source, so the development speed is capped of their team, no external developer can help or add features that are not on the route of the team.
See More
Top
Pro
Customizable notifications
Ability to set different notification sound/vibration/led based on the plugin.
See More
Top
Con
Doesn't support WhatsApp at the moment
See More
Top
Pro
Unified conversations
Ability to merge conversations from the same contact on different services.
See More
Top
Con
Attaching pictures suddenly failed; no working solution.
See More
Top
Pro
Friendly developers and generally good G+ community
Fast, decent replies to questions, even if they've been asked before.
See More
Top
Con
Smaller development team leading somewhat slow implementation of requested features
Though the main development (framework, etc) is moving along fine, things like quick reply and sending multiple images at once should've been in quicker.
See More
Top
Pro
Many requested features
The developer team does actually listen to the community and adds requested features.
See More
Top
Con
Constantly asks to re-authenticate WhatsApp
See More
Top
Pro
Pushbullet support
Disa works great with Pushbullet, allowing you to answer from your PC.
See More
Top
Con
Doesn't let you customize notifications per conversation or contact
See More
Top
Pro
Many languages
Help and support in many languages.
See More
Top
Pro
Disa takes privacy much more serious
Currently, the Disa team knows less about you than the website you're currently visiting.
See More
Top
Pro
Great material design
With color-changing design with custom colors for each service.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android
Publisher:
Disa.im
File Size:
34M
Required Android Version:
4.0 and up
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
249
66
Line
All
6
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Large celebrity and public figure usage rate
The caveat is that they are in Japan, but the app is commonly used to 'follow' public figures.
See More
Top
Con
Account is locked to the Phone Number & Device
The entire account is locked to the phone number, which cannot be changed. If the application is installed on a new device with the same phone number, the previous account data will be wiped.
See More
Top
Pro
Enormous, constantly updated stamp collection
Since many brands use stamps for promotional purposes, everything from movies to food brands to Taylor Swift have released stamp collections.
See More
Top
Con
Users have been concentrated in Japan
Of the 360+ million registered users, the top country is Japan (50 million). Thailand and Indonesia are 2nd and 3rd with 33 and 30 million, respectively, with very small market penetration in the US (10 million, 11th place).
See More
Top
Pro
Photo filter and editing capabilities
Users have in-app editing tools, as well as Line's separate camera application, which has additional tools.
See More
Top
Pro
Integrated social network
Similar to Facebook's timeline.
See More
Hide
Get it
here
23
9
Wickr
All
9
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Doesn't require a phone number
Unlike most, you can use your phone but you don't have to. You can register without giving anything and add contacts either via e-mail (only) or phone number.
See More
Top
Con
Partially Open source
.
See More
Top
Pro
Content shredder
Wickr has a feature that not only erases all messages, but also overwrites them with junk data.
See More
Top
Con
Small user base
Wickr claims that one million users have downloaded the app with no information on how many active users they have. But even if every person that has downloaded the app is an active user, the userbase is really small compared to apps like WhatsApp that boast about hundreds of millions of active users.
See More
Top
Pro
Can find other users securely
Instead of using usernames, emails or phone numbers to find other users, Wickr uses hashes derived from phone numbers or email addresses (this applies to the find friends functionality only). Hashes are the result of a one-way cryptographic function, meaning it's purposefully difficult to reconstruct original data (phone numbers and email addresses in this case) from them. For Wickr, hashes are generated on the client's side so that no personal information is ever sent to the Wickr servers. The app finds people on your contact list that also use Wickr by comparing the hashes that get generated from contacts and comparing them to the hashes that are stored on Wickr servers.
See More
Top
Pro
Group messaging
See More
Top
Pro
Messages have user-defined lifespan
Messages can have a lifespan between 3 seconds and 6 days. Received messages arrive locked. Once they are opened by the recipient, a timer starts counting down until the message is deleted. Of course, the recipient can still copy them or take a screenshot.
See More
Top
Pro
By default, doesn't allow taking screenshots
Wickr disables the screenshot functionality altogether when the app is open. However, there are ways to circumvent this, as if the user has a rooted phone and has installed apps to overide this block or if a screenshot is taken via some apps that project the screen to a PC.
See More
Top
Pro
Includes a basic photo editor
The editor allows cropping images, drawing and writing text on them as well as add decorations.
See More
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
72
25
Telegram
All
37
Experiences
Pros
28
Cons
8
Specs
Top
Pro
Free and convenient large file sharing
Copy/paste videos, gifs, images, geolocation, documents, and even executable files. Drag over files for practically any time up to 2GB in size. Images can be compressed, too.
See More
Top
Con
Not fully open source
Telegram has an open API and protocol free for everyone, but the backend software is not open source. Therefore 100% privacy can not be evaluated.
See More
Top
Pro
Free of cost
The application is available free of cost.
See More
Top
Con
Can only be used with a phone number
It is not possible to activate and use Telegram by mail etc. You need a phone number.
See More
Top
Pro
Privacy focused
In addition to the end-to-end encryption [only in secret chats] that provides privacy to communications, the app also includes self destructing timers for chats, and the ability to permanently delete messages, yours and theirs, from your and their devices.
See More
Top
Con
Only "Secret Chat" messages are encrypted end to end
The only way to get end-to-end encryption (client-client) using Telegram is to use the Secret Chat function, anything through the service is server-client encrypted. Also secret chat is only implemented in the mobile apps, meaning there is no way to encrypt messages end-to-end when using the desktop client or the web browser client.
See More
Top
Pro
Media messaging
Videos, gifs, images, geolocation, and documents.
See More
Top
Con
"Secret Chat" feature is not available for desktop client
Secret chats with end to end encryption are only available on mobile apps.
See More
Top
Pro
Channels for one way broadcasting
Broadcasting channels suitable for announcing things.
See More
Top
Con
No source code sintax highlighting
Telegram does not have source code syntax highlighting, making it difficult to share code snippets.
See More
Top
Pro
Beautiful UI
Very customizable with a lot of clean looking options.
See More
Top
Con
Does not work for visually impaired
Doesn't work for visually impaired.
See More
Top
Pro
Possible to send photos and videos without compression
See More
Top
Con
Does not support spherical 360° photos
Spherical 360° photos becoming more popular these days, but Telegram does not support such format.
See More
Top
Pro
Supergroups of up to 200,000 people
In Supergroups, anyone along with admins can delete their messages from all sides. A message can be pinned to the top. All of the user's messages can be deleted by an administrator, and they can be banned and reported as well. Supergroups can have a public link (outside of Asia, due to high spam volumes), which is also a username.
See More
Top
Con
Does not support text messaging
You can NOT make it your default text messaging App.
See More
Top
Pro
Two-step verification
You can set up an additional password to your account, which can be reset by your email. You don't have to use an email if you do not want to. If you lose access to your email or forget your password, you will be able to reset it via text message if your account is over seven days old and will receive it within a week (in case you recover anything before then).
See More
Top
Pro
Secure
Telegram uses an open source MTProto encryption protocol that provides complete end-to-end encryption for secret chats. To show off their confidence in the protocol the company behind Telegram has organized $200,000 and $300,000 challenges to break the encryption. So far there have been no winners.
See More
Top
Pro
Saved messages
You can write messages to yourself. You can write some notes, add links, and see everything across all your devices.
See More
Top
Pro
Cloud chat keys are kept in different jurisdiction
Even though encryption used for cloud-based storage (e.g. Gmail, Facebook, iCloud) may not be as secure as end-to-end encryption or zero-knowledge storage, Telegram does the most that it can by holding keys to chats in different jurisdictions, requiring intergovernmental cooperation to obtain the keys. This is aside from whatever other security measures have been taken, of course.
See More
Top
Pro
Multiplatform native client apps
There are native desktop, mobile and web client apps, that are optimized for speed and are light on memory usage.
See More
Top
Pro
Open source client apps
Client apps are open source, making whole service more trustworthy.
See More
Top
Pro
Unlimited storage
Unlimited number of files can be stored forever on the cloud. You can upload files up to 1.5 GB each.
See More
Top
Pro
Voice and video messages
You can post voice and video messages if you are too lazy to write text messages.
See More
Top
Pro
Group Voice Chat
This Discord-like feature adds to the interactivity of the application.
See More
Top
Pro
Pinned Messages
You can pin messages to the top of groups or supergroups so members will see them when opening the group.
See More
Top
Pro
Self-destruct messages
Messages in individual chats can be set to self destruct on a timer. They will disappear after the timer expires. Messages in all new chats can be set to self-destruct with a global auto-delete timer in Settings > Privacy and Security > Auto-Delete Messages.
See More
Top
Pro
Edit or delete messages after sending them
See More
Top
Pro
Banned in China
See More
Top
Pro
Save time with inline bots and link previews
Unfortunately, on the desktop videos don't play, but images are viewable without visiting popular websites like imgur and Instagram. You can play YouTube videos and others within the app, so you don't need to embed code or anything. With inline bots, such as @gif, @pic/bing, @vid/YouTube, etc, you can look things up without leaving the client or chat that you're in. Simply type the name and some keywords and wait for the results to load.
See More
Top
Pro
@mentions
You can ping people to get their attention by @mentioning them.
See More
Top
Pro
Desktop app handles HiDPI
The desktop app has a built in setting to scale the UI of the app up to 200% which allows for those with 4k monitors/screens to use the app without scaling issues.
See More
Top
Pro
High quality calls
Uses the latest GPL audio codecs, such as Opus, an adaptative high-quality codec that supersedes AAC at any bitrate.
See More
Top
Pro
Customer support is within the app
Although it's volunteer based, but still pretty top-notch if available, which it tends to be.
See More
Top
Pro
Large groups can have channels called 'Topics'
Topics are now available in groups of 100+ members and have a sleek two-column layout and new buttons to quickly navigate. A default topic called General is now in every topic group, holding the group’s service messages and previous message history.
See More
Top
Pro
Popular in the USA
On SimilarWeb you can see that Telegram is on the top 15 among all communication apps.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, BSD, Windows phone, UWP
Publisher:
Various companies affiliated with Telegram
File Size:
2048 MB
End-to-end encryption:
Secret chats
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
1185
282
Signal
All
16
Experiences
Pros
10
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
Provides security and privacy
Signal uses an advanced end to end encryption protocol that provides privacy for every message every time.
See More
Top
Con
Needs access to your phone number and contacts to work
See More
Top
Pro
Free and open source
Signal is free and open source software, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code. It's the only private messenger that uses open source, peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.
See More
Top
Con
Single device
Signal can only be registered to one mobile device at a time. But you can link Signal to Signal Desktop.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports encrypted group chats
See More
Top
Con
Servers hosted in the US
A security risk due to National Security letters, which require giving up data to the US state, and making it illegal to disclose that.
See More
Top
Pro
Has a desktop app
Signal Desktop can be used on multiple devices and has most features of the Android version, although it still requires you to register with your phone.
See More
Top
Con
Unreliable notifications
Sometimes messages won't be received if the Signal app has been closed for a long time or hasn't been opened after booting the device.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports sharing of various different media types
Signal supports: emoji, pictures, videos, audio, contacts, any location and GIF.
See More
Top
Con
Poor support
Their E-mail adress for support are not working. They have a Community support on here. Sometimes if you need a support, you need to create an account on their forum and need to share a topic and wait for long time.
See More
Top
Pro
Note to Self feature
Allows you to "send: messages to yourself and sync to desktop so you can use Signal as a kind of encrypted Pushbullet alternative
See More
Top
Pro
You can easily view all media exchanged
You can easily view all media shared in the chat without scrolling back to when it was shared.
See More
Top
Pro
Annonymous Sender (Encrypted)
The sender credentials can be encrypted with the rest of the message, leaving only the recipient address readable by the Signal server. Even if Signal wanted they couldn't see who is talking with who by this mean.
See More
Top
Pro
Works everywhere in every country
Unlike most messenger apps, Signal works reliably in all countries by securely circumventing internet censorship.
See More
Top
Pro
Recommended by Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden uses this messenger and recommends it to everyone who is concerned about his privacy.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Mac OS X
Publisher:
Open Whisper Systems
End-to-end encryption:
Yes
Media:
images / audio / video / files / contacts / GIFs / location
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Free
687
181
Discord
All
32
Experiences
Pros
22
Cons
9
Specs
Top
Pro
User friendly
Discord follows the same type of interface design popularised by Slack, which is extremely clean and attractive, and doesn't clutter the interface with unnecessary chrome and cruft.
See More
Top
Con
Proprietary software
Discord is closed-source, meaning their code isn't available for inspection or reproduction
See More
Top
Pro
Free for unlimited users
Unlimited amount of users.
See More
Top
Con
Based on Electron = eats a lot of ram
See More
Top
Pro
Can be used in browser
Users can invite others to join a Discord channel via a web link, which means no installation is required to use the software - which is one of the big typical barriers to entry for social software.
See More
Top
Con
Some functions cut out and available only with "Nitro" subscription
See More
Top
Pro
Good 1-click invite system
Discord allows inviting people to a specific channel with a link. Links can be set to expire. Low effort/passive invite mechanics.
See More
Top
Con
Developer's previous company was sued for privacy violations, among other things
See: http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews.com/class-action-lawsuit-complaints/openfeint-green-international-privacy-class-action-lawsuit-complaint/ https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/closing-letters/openfeint-inc Discord's privacy policy also states that while they might not sell your data, a company they get sold to will quite possibly attain said data and thus may be in "more" shady hands.
See More
Top
Pro
Easy setup
You can quickly send invites to people and they can join in using the web client without having to create an account or install the app.
See More
Top
Con
No self-hosting avaliable
Discord is wholly hosted by Discord (the company), you cannot run private instances, and all servers are hosted on their infrastructure. For most people, this won't really impact their usage.
See More
Top
Pro
Has low-latency VoIP support
See More
Top
Con
Not a generic "team chat" tool
All the UI and the features are aimed specifically at communicating with your gaming team/clan.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports video and text communication
Behaves and looks like Slack for regular text channels, but with the ability to create voice channels as well
See More
Top
Con
Very unstable on Linux
See More
Top
Pro
Numerous controls for setting member roles.
Deny access, Deny write message, Allow read messages etc.
See More
Top
Con
Anti-privacy license terms
See More
Top
Pro
Ability to create bots
Discord provides an API for creating custom bots.
See More
Top
Con
Can change "Now Playing" status to something inappropriate
See More
Top
Pro
Open source bots and management tools
Discord has a wide variety of bots for things from airhorn noises to automated server management, to leveling systems for chat. The bot API is open and there are dedicated sites for finding bots.
See More
Top
Pro
Game integration
Discord shows which game each user is currently playing, which among other things helps users to form PUGs with minimal hassle.
See More
Top
Pro
Dark theme out of the box
See More
Top
Pro
Familiar for Slack users
For those that are used to the way Slack (a similar chat client) works, Discord will be familiar in its use, which lowers the learning curve quite a bit for those that have switched or tried Slack before.
See More
Top
Pro
Low effort invite mechanics
See More
Top
Pro
Android app has push notifications
See More
Top
Pro
Syntax highlighting and Markdown support
The support is limited but still exists. It's a killer feature for dev teams.
See More
Top
Pro
DDoS mitigation
Discord prevents users from being DDoSed out of games.
See More
Top
Pro
Targeting of roles
Targeting roles allows for quickly requesting someone from a group e.g. artist, moderator, etc.
See More
Top
Pro
Ability to thread channels
Ability to create channel categories for channels to sit inside of.
See More
Top
Pro
Friendly payment policy
Free account have no tangible restrictions. Premium account is just a way to say "thank you" to developers. And it work for all servers of discord (not as in slack). And it can be purchased by one who wants. In contrast to Slask, where all active members of the server should be "premium".
See More
Top
Pro
Language localization
Have localization for many language, including Russian.
See More
Top
Pro
Does not allow NSFW related things to be posted unless in a NSFW channel
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Web, Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android
Search:
Yes
Videoconferencing:
Yes
Audio recording:
No
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
1446
474
Viber
All
21
Experiences
Pros
14
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Con
The company evades U. S. tax
The company uses the common practice of tax haven addresses in order to avoid paying US taxes despite being registered in Delaware.
See More
Top
Pro
Desktop apps allow texting, calling and enables transferring calls between devices
Viber has native apps for both Windows and Mac that allow you to send and receive messages from your desktop. You can also use the desktop to make and receive calls. Synchronizes between all devices you are using Viber on. Allows transferring calls between devices.
See More
Top
Con
Proprietary Software
Not Open Source.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports voice calls
Viber has really well implemented voice tech. It has comparable quality to Skype and you can even tranfer calls from your phone to your desktop seamlessly.
See More
Top
Con
No web client
You cannot login from the web to send and receive messages.
See More
Top
Pro
Completely free
Viber uses data connection and the app is free.
See More
Top
Con
Constantly on
Need apps like Greenify to stop it from being constantly on and active, even if you don't use it.
See More
Top
Pro
Clean interface
The interface is simple, functional and intuitive.
See More
Top
Con
Constant reminders of messages
If you don't check your messages (say your in a group chat and simply don't check all of them), it will flood your notifications.
See More
Top
Pro
See who of your contacts is using Viber quickly
Viber is tied to your phone number so it can quickly see who else in your contacts list is using the application.
See More
Top
Con
Doesn't sync well
Sync awfully between Phone and PC clients.
See More
Top
Pro
Android Wear support
Viber includes Android Wear support on Android 4.3 or higher and Viber 5.3 or higher.
See More
Top
Pro
Same protocol as used in Signal
Viber's protocol uses the same concepts of the "double ratchet" protocol used in Open Whisper Systems Signal application.
See More
Top
Pro
Public chats
It's possible to be a fly on the wall on other group or one-to-one chats that have been opened up to the public. These public chats are often promotional chats with celebrities.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports video calling over WiFi and data.
Can call friends using voice or video options.
See More
Top
Pro
Combines cellular and data messaging
This has an advantage in that if you text someone who uses Viber it will be free, if not it will just revert to SMS. This means you can replace your standard messaging app with Viber as well.
See More
Top
Pro
Keys only on device
Starting with Viber 6.0 the encryption keys are stored only on the clients themselves, not even Viber itself has access to them.
See More
Top
Pro
No need to create an account or add contacts
One of the best things about Viber is how it handles setup and sending messages. Viber uses your existing number as your ID, so you don't need to create a separate Viber account.
See More
Top
Pro
Supports 200 person group chat
Viber allows creating groups of up to 200 people on the Android version of Viber. It also has a cool "smart notifications" feature to prevent being overwhelmed with notifications if a lot of people are active in a chat group.
See More
Top
Pro
Insight and well documented encryption
Viber has made a documentation available, explaining in great details their encryption system and giving good insight on how it works.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS / WP / BB / Symbian / Windows / OSX / Linux
Publisher:
Viber Media S.a r.l.
File Size:
37M
Required Android Version:
2.3 and up
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Experiences
Get it
here
129
56
Built By the Slant team
Find the best product instantly.
4.7 star rating
Add to Chrome
Add to Edge
Add to Firefox
Add to Opera
Add to Brave
Add to Safari
Try it now - it's free
{}
undefined
url next
price drop