When comparing IM+ vs Reach, the Slant community recommends IM+ for most people. In the question“What are the best messaging apps for iOS?” IM+ is ranked 24th while Reach is ranked 29th. The most important reason people chose IM+ is:
IM+ has the most extensive client support out of any of its competition and is the **only** app with the ability to send secure, off-the-record messages.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Can send encrypted messages
IM+ has the most extensive client support out of any of its competition and is the only app with the ability to send secure, off-the-record messages.
Pro Simple user interface
IM+ does the core IM experience incredibly well. The layout is intuitive to use and the very high app store reviews indicate how stable and user friendly the app is.
Pro Advanced chat history
Access your messaging history in the app or on the web
Pro View Twitter feed
Pro Off-the-Record Messaging (As a paid upgrade)
Pro Group Chats
Skype, MSN, AIM, and ICQ only
Pro Photo, voice, video and IM messaging
Pro Web application to chat from your desktop or laptop
Pro Extensive client support
IM+ has the most extensive client support out of any of its competition:
- Skype
- MSN/Live Messenger
- GTalk
- Yahoo!
- AIM/iChat
- ICQ
- Jabber
- Renren
- VKontakte
- Odnoklassniki.Ru
- Mail.Ru Agent
- Gadu-Gadu
- MeinVZ
- SINA Weibo
- mig33
- Fetion
- Mamba
- Yandex IM.
Pro Mass message multiple people at once
Ability to send a single message to multiple people without exposing their contact information to each other. Reach sends individual messages to the group rather than starts a group chat.
Pro Personalized and Individual conversations in "Group Mode"
When sending a message to a group of people, Reach starts a private conversation in your Messages, Mail or WhatsApp apps respectively for each recipient
Pro Reusable Recipient Groups
Improve workflow productivity by creating reusable recipient groups
Pro All platforms in one: iMessage, Text/SMS, E-mail, WhatsApp, and Google Voice
Reach does not require the recipient to have Reach installed on their device. Instead it uses the existing messaging apps on the device to send the message to the recipient.
Pro Message Templates Feature
Prepare message templates which can be reused. Message templates can have recipients name variable, for example the template "hey {first name}!" will be populated with the recipients first name when the message is sent out
Pro Free texting through Google Voice
Reach integrates with Google Voice and allows to send free text messages in the U.S.A and low rates across the globe
Pro Fully automated mass texting with free SMS
Using Google Voice integration, Reach is able to send mass texts in a fully automated mode (without the need to press "Send" button for each message)
Cons
Con Need to press "Send" button per each recipient
When sending a message to a group, the user must press "Send" button for each recipient. The only work around is to use Google Voice integration for fully automatic mass texting